Mincemeat Pie and other Traditional Thanksgiving Dishes

[jdb in AZ]

Does anyone serve mincemeat pie for Thanksgiving dinner? Long time ago I took a lemon meringue pie to Thanksgiving dinner and you'd think i had kicked the Fiddler off the Roof -- breaking tradition. Never mind that mincemeat is not a family favorite. The lemon meringue got rave reviews and I think that's the last time my aunt fixed mincemeat.

DMIL insisted on pumpkin pie, tho no one touched it (after we picked it up at the bakery.) My DD fixes a pumpkin pie just for her DH, and he'll eat the whole thing, so it's definitely a matter of taste (or lack thereof.) My bro-in-law fixes potato flakes and tries to pass them off as mashed. um, no thanks. His son-in-law brings bake and serve rolls, which are quite popular, since DMIL is no longer with us to bake her famous homemade rolls.

How traditional are your Thanksgiving dinners?

 

[georgina]

Does anyone serve mincemeat pie for Thanksgiving dinner? Long time ago I took a lemon meringue pie to Thanksgiving dinner and you'd think i had kicked the Fiddler off the Roof -- breaking tradition. Never mind that mincemeat is not a family favorite.

DMIL insisted on pumpkin pie, tho no one touched it (after we picked it up at the bakery.) My DD fixes a pumpkin pie just for her DH, and he'll eat the whole thing, so it's definitely a matter of taste (or lack thereof.) My bro-in-law fixes potato flakes and tries to pass them off as mashed. um, no thanks.

How traditional are your Thanksgiving dinners?

My mom always made one. It had apples and raisins (no meat). We made a hard sauce for it, with butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla when I was a kid, so not 'hard', but alcohol can be added! We usually had pumpkin pie also, sometimes apple pie too. From Ireland, she always insisted we peel potatoes to mash.

We go to someone else's house for Thanksgiving now, she usually has a cake for dessert. It's all good.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I do all the traditional foods and add in some different ones too. Never tasted mincemeat pie. We do pumpkin pie, apple, pecan, and whatever else I feel like making or someone brings. My oldest DD is making a cranberry cheesecake and I’m making cakepops that look like pumpkin pie slices (I make cakepops for every special occasion). We’ll also have chocolate pie. I always make the food and host the meal. We always have a huge crowd, this year we’re expecting 30 people. We have a big family.

 

[tvguy]

This will be our first Thanksgiving in 42 years of marriage that it will be just the two of us. My wife normally makes a pumpkin pie for me and a Dutch Apple Pie because that she likes. I told her don't mess with making a pumpkin pie for just two of us, apple is fine.
I love mincemeat, and my mom used to make it, but that is a Christmas Dinner tradition, not Thanksgiving.
My MIL used to insist on bringing a Chocolate Silk pie from Baker's Square. She was the only one who ate it and we always insisted that she take what was left home with her. My wife and I always felt it was salty, not something you expect in a pie. I just looked up the nutrition information. That pie has 1925mg of salt!!!!! My MIL passed away 25 years ago and I haven't had a Chocolate Silk Pie since Christmas 1998, and I never thought to look up the salt level in it until now.
We usually have garlic mashed potatoes made with Yukon Gold potatoes, but I don't think my wife plans on that this year One tradition we do have at both Thanksgiving and Christmas is homemade dressing. As in, baking a loaf of bread from scratch, cutting it up into cubes, letting it sit out for a few days to make our own croutons, and a blend of seasonings from scratch.
I think this year will be a 2 pound turkey breast roast. Sweet potatoes.....without marshmallows. Dressing and apple pie.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Mincemeat hand pies were the provenance of my Jamaican grandmother and with her passing uhh no one picked up the baton. Oh and it showed up at Christmas not TDay.

As for the rest of the TDay menu depends on who is coming.
Must have turkey, fish (generally red snapper stuffed w/ Swiss chard courtesy of my BIL) and a vegan main; that’s been going on for at least 15 years.

The Bermudian cousin arrives with 2 types of cassava pie normally.

At least 3 vegetable sides so that all have “choices”. Certainly, sautéed string beans will make an appearance and a butternut squash and ginger soup is the first course on the table.

The Antiguans represent with dukana (sp?), a kind of dumpling. And they refuse to give the recipe to anyone else?! Pfft. Villagers.

A black fruit cake soaked in rum is often on the dessert table (same cake makes another appearance for December; you only eat tiny pieces unless your aim in life is to get drunk and have the aunties pray for your soul) as well as an apple pie and either a pumpkin or sweet potato pie.

 

[tvguy]

I have another reason mincemeat pie won't be on our table.
HAVE YOU PRICED MINCEMEAT PIE FILLING?
$21 to $38 for a 27 ounce jar !!!!!!

And yes, it has meat in it.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I have another reason mincemeat pie won't be on our table.
HAVE YOU PRICED MINCEMEAT PIE FILLING?
$21 to $38 for a 27 ounce jar !!!!!!

And yes, it has meat in it.

Grandmother made her mincemeat at home but don’t think there was meat in it unless you count the beef suet aka fat.

 

[tvguy]

I have another reason mincemeat pie won't be on our table.
HAVE YOU PRICED MINCEMEAT PIE FILLING?
$21 to $38 for a 27 ounce jar !!!!!!

And yes, it has meat in it.

Okay, I start price shopping and at other stores it is $9, so the first store I went to has the price wrong I suspect.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We always had mincemeat and pumpkin…and sometimes raisin as far as thanksgiving pies were concerned when I was a kid. DHs family always did lemon meringue, which was so odd to me.

Nobody else in our house will eat mincemeat. So I don’t bother. I also still can’t handle lemon meringue at thanksgiving. I am making a crustless pumpkin pie (basically a custard) and a cinnamon roll cake.

 

[leebee]

I love mincemeat pie but nobody else eats it, and I only really want a slice, so no longer bother. We usually do pumpkin, lemon meringue, and apple pies (although sometimes apple crisp instead) and a cheesecake, and ice cream. Sometimes also blueberry or mixed berry pie, although last year I made a blueberry galette instead. Last year I made an eggnog pie that the resident 8 year old has requested for this year. We used to make pecan pie, but SIL and the 8 year old are both allergic to nuts, and as they live here, we try to be nut-free so no more pecan.

As of late, we've been swapping out the traditional turkey. Nobody really loves turkey dinner, and I personally am far more interested in the leftovers made into a big sandwich (turkey, stuffing, mayo on white bread) and turkey soup. It's a big mess, regardless of what or how you eat it. For several years we swapped to duck (and don't think I didn't cry a bit, comparing 39cent a pound turkey to $8 a pound duck), but for the past 2 years we've had a smoked turkey from Sam's. That's the request for this year, also. We'll have stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, homemade mashed potatoes, and several veggie dishes with it. There will be somewhere between 5 and 8 of us, still waiting on the rsvps.

 

[amcnj]

When I was young mincemeat pie was one of the desserts served. But overall it was more popular with my parents generation, of which there are only two surviving members, both in their 90’s.

The younger crowd, now missing a few members and almost all senior citizens themselves, favored pumpkin, apple or pecan pie. As does the next generation.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I have never had mincemeat pie. I would say non traditional. Growing up we had a vegetarian meal and dessert was not served. My dad would go hunting for the weekend and we had the meal with my aunt who is vegetarian. I’m not a big meat eater so I didn’t mind. Out traditional meal was walnut loaf with mushroom gravy, cheesy potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, and rolls.

My dad no longer goes away for the weekend (several of his hunting friends have passed away) and my mom now makes a Turkey and a more traditional meal. We still serve walnut loaf and I usually have that.

 

[Lucas do nascimento]

We’ve got the staples like turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, but every year, someone adds something new. Last year, I brought a roasted veggie platter, and it went over surprisingly well. I can’t remember the last time I had mincemeat pie—it’s not really a favorite around here. I think it’s funny how some dishes, like pumpkin pie, just stick as "tradition," even if only a few people really like them. As long as everyone enjoys the food, I’m all for switching things up a bit.

 

[Meriweather]

Growing up....no mincemeat, still no mincemeat.

Now our dinner always varies....hosted by DS and DIL.
It will have turkey, instant potatoes , boxed stuffing, gravy (not sure but out of a jar most likely), broccoli, they are doing a pie.....either pecan or lemon meringue.
I will be bringing green salad, cranberry salad and pumpkin custard topped with streusel (because I do like it).

Usually it isn't even turkey, but plans changed.

 

[slo]

I’ve never had mincemeat pie, so I know nothing about it.

We do have our traditions - if I didn’t make my corn bread casserole, my DD21 would NOT be happy and if my mom didn’t make her chocolate cream pie, then I would not be happy. My grandma’s sweet potatoes was always tradition and when she passed, I took it over.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

 

[TwoMisfits]

My mom loved mincemeat pie for Christmas. She followed the Victorian England path - no meat, but suet. She would buy the filling premade from Britain and make the pie. I didn't like it - it's just too much as is, ala traditional fruitcake. But I learned to take her filling, use a scoop of it and add it to fresh cut apples (multiple types) and raisins (and sometimes even pears if I was going nuts), and make a much lighter and fresher tasting mincemeat pie. And I think she ultimately liked mine over tradition, b/c again, this pie is a LOT to take in.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

LOVE mincemeat prefer homemade but will use store bought I wait until it’s on clearance then buy it - I’ll eat it right out of the jar !!!