Where Bloggers Live: Thanksgiving Foods Ranked + Elephants for Iris

Welcome back to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live! I am lucky to have joined a terrific group of bloggers who give a peek into the places and spaces where they spend their time.

Today's topic is...Favorite Thanksgiving Foods, and I'm going to give you my rankings for 10 popular TG dishes. (For non-American readers and to clarify when there are multiple variants of a dish, I will link to a Google search for each so you know what I'm referring to.)

Thanksgiving Foods I Don't Like:

#10: Sweet Potato Casserole (with Marshmallows)

Fortunately, this staple of TG dinners across the land did not show up on my family's table when I was growing up! When I did taste it one time, I was not a fan. I do like sweet potatoes, but the combination with marshmallows was sickly sweet.

#9: Pecan Pie

It's scandalous for a southerner to say it, but I do not like pecan pie! I've never cared for any of the sweet sugar pies with a thickened syrup-based filling, and pecans are not a favorite nut of mine either. The combination is almost worse than the sum of its parts. My husband's favorite pie is his mom's lemon chess pie, but I can at least understand how the addition of the sour lemon balances out the sweetness of the chess pie. (I have never tried it because I am allergic to lemon.)

#8: Cranberry Sauce

I like cranberries quite a bit, so cranberry sauce seems like something I should enjoy. The issue is that I do not like the "sweet with meat" combo of turkey + cranberry sauce, "pork chops and applesauce," etc. I would probably eat some cranberry sauce on a pumpkin muffin, however! (I have a recipe for pumpkin muffins with whole cranberries that is pretty fabulous.)

Thanksgiving Foods I Do Like:

#7: Green Bean Casserole

This is not something we had every TG when I was growing up, but I liked this iconic dish well enough to eat some; I did prefer it when we had a plain vegetable like peas (from frozen, not canned) though.

#6: Classic Dinner Rolls

I'm a bread girl so there is always space on my TG plate for a dinner roll with butter. If there are leftovers, a roll makes a good base for a "slider" style sandwich.

#5: Turkey or Ham

In my view, one of these two protein sources is critical to the TG meal! (I don't have a strong preference for one over the other so I am putting them together.) The protein is a must-have, but it's not my favorite part of the meal so it comes in halfway through the list.

#4: Dressing/Stuffing

I grew up in a dressing (cooked separately) house rather than a stuffing (cooked inside the bird) house, and that continues to be my weak preference though I am happy with either one. I like my dressing to have a simple taste profile with an herb flavor - nothing crazy like oyster dressing!

#3: Mashed Potatoes

Homemade mashed potatoes are a true joy! I will occasionally (like every couple of years) make a basic version of skins-on mashed potatoes with a relatively low milk component (you can use the boiling water in place of some of the milk), but the fluffy extra-delicious kind my mom made with peeled potatoes and a generous amount of milk is what I consider the TG standard.

#2: Pumpkin Pie (e.g., the "Famous Pumpkin Pie" recipe on the back of the can of Libby's pumpkin puree)

I absolutely love pumpkin pie with whipped cream, but it has to be a version that does NOT include nutmeg! Yes to cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. No to nutmeg. "Pumpkin pie spice" cannot be substituted for the specific spices listed in something like the classic Libby's recipe because it contains the dreaded nutmeg. Even Libby's own "pumpkin pie filling" cannot be substituted for plain pumpkin puree because it contains the horrid nutmeg. I am also a fan of pumpkin cheesecake, which I've made a few times (but man, cheesecake is a lot of work!).

Readers who know me well may be wondering what Thanksgiving food could possibly beat out pumpkin pie on my list! It's something I basically never have because I'm extremely picky about it and can't seem to make myself. Drum roll...

#1: Homemade Turkey Gravy (like Mom/Grandma makes)

In the case of turkey gravy, it doesn't necessarily have to be my mom's specific version; I think moms and grandmas (and I hope increasingly dads and grandpas) across the country make their homemade gravy from the turkey drippings in a very similar way. This stuff is like 100% food magic. It's like the mushroom ketchup from John Cage's Indeterminacy recording that is said to improve the flavor of everything it touched (I wish I could find the exact quote)...though I would not put it on the pumpkin pie. But a plate with turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, a dinner roll, and some plain veg like peas or green beans goes from OK to absolutely divine with the generous application of homemade turkey gravy!

In Memory of Iris: Elephant Outfits & Jewelry

I am sad to say that our dear friend Iris has recently passed away. I didn't know Iris as long as the other members of this group, but she was a lovely person with a wonderful attitude toward life, and I am happy that I got to know her. One way in particular that we could relate to each other was as fellow animal lovers, and she always had something nice to say about the rabbits that I posted. Iris had a particular love of elephants and had collected many elephant items over the years, including as gifts. As a tribute to Iris's love of elephants, I am sharing some OOTD featuring elephants as well as some handmade jewelry with elephants. I like to think that Iris would be tickled to see elephants in action in my wardrobe!

Thanks for joining me today for a discussion of Thanksgiving foods and a tribute to elephants in honor of Iris.

Next month's topic is 2025 Wrap Up/Best of 2025...which is bizarre since 2025 is just barely under way, right???

In the meantime, visit these lovely bloggers as they share about their favorite Thanksgiving foods:

Bettye at Fashion Schlub

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks

Em at Dust and Doghair

Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style

Leslie, blogger emeritus at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After.

Iris, always in our hearts, from Iris' Original Ramblings

What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods? Are there any popular TG foods that you don't like? Are there any TG dishes that you associate with your childhood? Are you Team Dressing or Team Stuffing? Team Turkey or Team Ham? Do you have a favorite animal that you collect, as Iris did elephants?

Blogs I link up with are listed here.