Do I Dare Mess With It?

Thanksgiving dinner, that is.

 

It's my turn to host Thanksgiving dinner for the family -- 21 of us -- and I'm pondering the age-old question that confronts me every time I host a holiday gathering. Do I serve the traditional favorites, made the traditional way, or do I mix things up with some new recipes and foods that people may not be familiar with?

 

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Cooking Light magazine and this is the time of year when they bring out their best healthy holiday recipes. Leafing through the glossy pages, salivating over the pretty pictures while reading calorie and fat counts, I gotta tell you: I'm tempted.

 

Case in point: I usually make a do-ahead mashed potato dish that's really delicious, but involves sour cream, butter and cream cheese -- not exactly what you'd call healthy. However, during my year with Shape, I became a huge fan of the sweet potato (which I'd never even tried in my life, since my mom didn't cook them). I often eat a baked sweet potato for lunch -- they're loaded with vitamins and fiber -- but I can't get anyone else in the family to appreciate their orangey goodness. Do I dare force a new sweet potato dish on the entire family, or do I give up and serve the traditional mashed potato favorite?

 

I'm curious to know how you handle hosting holiday gatherings in your home. Do you keep it healthy, even though your guests may long for butter-laden side dishes? Or do you tell yourself it's just one day and keep it traditional?

 

How do you know when it's time for a new tradition?

Comments

[Allison]

Cooking light has a streusel topped sweet potato dish that is delicious! I absolutely love them, but to make everyone happy, I actually do both sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes. When you have a crowd, I think it is easier to provide a variety because some people will eat some things and others won't. It is tougher when you only have a few people.

[Alyssa]

I think offering a variety is a good idea, but it's more work for you! Is there someone else who'd be willing to make mashed potatoes while you make the sweet potatoes? Maybe a new tradition could be that everyone makes one dish for the meal? That way you could experiment, and whoever's hosting wouldn't have to work quite as hard.
Just a suggestion. It's what we did last year, and it worked out well.

[Seabreeze]

Why not make the traditional favorites (but 25% less by volume) and one or two new dishes in order to encourage people to mix it up. This way you have healthy options and they can have their favorites and maybe find a new favorite.

[Roxanne]

I do a little of both. I found a pumpkin pie recipe, for example, in a heart-healthy cookbook after my mom had heart surgery. It was such a bit HIT that it has become a standard around here. Maybe over time you can have similar success with new, healthier favorites?

[Sagan]

We had a traditional mashed potato recipe that we used every year, but for Thanksgiving this year (its in October for us Canadians) we served Tosca Reno's version with cauliflower and parsnips. And we got no complaints! Everyone really liked it.

Maybe you could make both dishes and make slightly less of the traditional mashed potatoes? Might be a bit of extra work for you though...

[MizFit]

I think my fave thing about my family is we have NO traditions when it comes to things like thanksgiving.

in a great way!

this y ear Im hosting and it feels completely stressfree because theres nothing to mimic or recreate.
that said, Im instituting something I hope will BECOME a tradition :)

Ill letcha know how it goes...

I say YES to your question.

[Dara Chadwick]

Thanks for chiming in, everybody. I love to hear all these holiday traditions!

Sweet potatoes will be on the table this year -- but the mashed will be, too.