My fearless Thanksgiving suggestion.

Green bean casserole goes down and goes down hard. Sweet potatoes don’t seem to be on anyone’s favorite list either, and a appreciable percentage of you think I’m crazy. Well sort of. At least I completely disagree with removing green bean casserole (GBC) from MY Thanksgiving table.

Honestly, I think Thanksgiving can do without the turkey…..now you’re thinking I really am crazy, but listen. The turkey is likely the most expensive item, it is easy, and I mean way too easy to mess up, and there is always too much of it left over. The side dishes are what Thanksgiving dinner is all about, next to leftovers. If you are lucky enough to get a moist piece of turkey on Thursday, I can guarantee you aren’t going to be so lucky on Friday. What I can say for my beloved GBC is that it is consistently good. From year to year, and from Thrusday to Friday GBC is good. So what if it comes from a can, and you would never think to make it any other day of the year?

So if I’m going to have Thanksgiving without turkey what kind of meat is going to be at the center of the table your asking? I’m suggesting roast pork shoulder! It’s a white meat, it’s relatively light, easy to prepare properly, inexpensive, and leftovers don’t turn into jerky by Monday.

As for sweet potatoes, let’s face it, once the marshmallows are gone you can just about remove the sweet potatoes from the table. Unless you have a sweet tooth and want to moisten your turkey with sweet potato syrup. Cranberry sauce goes the same way. Either use it to liven up the turkey or push it to the side. What a shame too because cranberry jelly out of the can is really a complex and interesting thing.