I just had to share this funny situation and see if anyone can relate. My husband's family has had a wonderful extended-family Thanksgiving for more than 50 people for more than 50 years. My IL's took over hosting duties last year and as part of that, I "quarterback" (their term) the logistics for the day - set up, clean up, menu, decor etc. I worked in catering and love to throw parties so I'm happy to be able to help.
I use Sign Up Genius to coordinate the potluck as everyone pitches in with appetizers, sides, desserts etc. The list of items and quantities was developed with the input of the family who hosted for 10+ years and was tweaked based on the obscene amounts of leftovers we threw out last year (e.g. I am making fewer desserts and only one pan of stuffing instead of 2). Additionally, several family members reached out to see if we could perhaps omit certain dishes from the menu that tend to show up every year and are not delicious - a gloppy casserole, nasty green bean casserole (yes, I'm going there LOL), vegetables that are watery and have no flavor, etc.
So I tried to engineer around this by signing up people who wanted to try their hand at alternative versions of things like veggies and green beans before publishing the list buts NO! The people who always make these bad dishes are still bringing them anyway by putting them in other categories LOL. I give up! At the end of the day, it's Thanksgiving and it's a wonderful day and if I throw out 2 pans of untouched gloppy casserole then it is what it is but it cracks me up that people are so determined that they are going to make "their" dish that they don't care that someone else signed up for it and it usually goes uneaten anyway.
So...do you have any chronic bad dishes that show up at your dinners regardless of how you try to engineer around them to avoid waste and hard feelings? BTW there are plenty of ways for people to help out with this dinner, from set up or clean up to buying chips and dip or beverages or whatever but old habits die hard I guess and those who are cooking their dishes are cooking them come hell or high water. I just vow to not be that person LOL.
One relative makes awful mac and cheese. I don’t know if it is just my husband and kids who hate it (I don’t eat it) or if everyone hates it and is too polite to say please don’t make this anymore.
I hate green beans so green bean casserole should never show up in my opinion but it always does and others seem to enjoy it.
I bring what I am asked to bring. Makes it a lot easier.
Haven’t tried to engineer it out but my sister in law makes this awful dish called cheesy beans. I wish I could put into words how gross this is. Pretty much canned green beans and watered down liquid cheese.
It is amusing though, her family just loves it, the rest of the family eats it to be polite, I throw up quietly in my mouth.
We have pot lucks every month at church. I have to say, we get a variety and it’s getting healthier, not there, but at least aware they should change.
We don’t have a sign up but that might not be a bad way to go.
I usually don’t know what I am going to make till I look in my fridge or cabinet on Sat.
We went for about a year or two, making way too much desert. It’s fairly easy to make and you can make it impressive, so we had a lot of deserts.
But people are cutting back on how much desert they eat so, we had quiet a bit sent back home. Nobody wants their desert rejected or to have to eat it for a week!
There are some brownies made by people who don’t cook, that, well, might be better off buying something at the store…
Sweet potato casserole with marshmallow disgusts me! It’s always at Thanksgiving dinner…when I went to my family dinners, and now my hubby’s. Also can’t stand that cranberry glop in the can. Yuck! Love me some green bean casserole though. To each their own!
My ex sister in law INSISTED on bringing her ‘home made hummus’ to every get together I hosted (she ended up leaving with it as well…lol). The beans must have been undercooked, and no ‘spices’ I could detect, and it was not a nice smooth texture.
It was awful. She seemed to have no clue.
It is surely one of the many things that I have NOT missed in the years since my divorce…
lol
ETA:
Geesh AK mom…I never said I made her feel ‘bad’ about her dish. That is why she kept bringing it!! This was a “JFF” question, Yes?
My mom thinks that her “homemade” stuffing is so great.
Do you suppose that a box of store-brand stuffing, mixed together with stale bread, and somehow burnt AND soggy counts as delicious homemade stuffing? I don’t understand how something so soggy can crunch.
Seriously, we can’t even get the dogs to eat it. SHE won’t even eat it!
gag
Yet it shows up EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. And NEVER gets touched… You would think she would give it up by now. Actually, I suspect that she may just be freezing the same dish, and busting it out every year, just for show. Lol.
Jessica, NO! I LOVE the sweet potatoes with marshmallows! It’s my favorite dish. Lol. Of course, since no one else eats it, I only make a half dish. Lol. (Looks like I am also that person ;)…But in my defense, I don’t expect anyone else to touch it. I know I am making it purely for myself, and since I am in charge of all but two dishes (including appetizers) I feel like I have the right to make something just for me. Lol.)
No, because if someone made it it means at least one person loves it and wants it there. I would be very disappointed in any thanksgiving meal that did not include a green bean casserole, it simply would not be Thanksgiving without it. I hate cranberries, I think they are the grossest thing ever, but I would never try to keep them from being served because I know others like them. I don’t see the point in trying to make others feel bad about the dishes they love and want to share?
We gave up the grey dish of green bean casserole many years ago, thank goodness. What happened is that my mom started making fresh green beans with toasted pecans… No one touched the casserole.
We are ashamed of one casserole we do like. It looks horrible, sounds horrible, but for some reason is good…once a year.
It is canned asparagus ( I know) drained
A can of the Lesuere peas, drained
Small can of sliced mushrooms drained
A can of cream of mushroom soup and half a can of milk
3 to 4 slices white bread, crust trimmed off. Slice these into 3 slices
1/2 stick of butter
Mix all of the veggies and carefully stir in the soup and milk. Place in a 2 qt. casserole. Then dip the bread strips in butter and place them over the top of the casserole. Place n a 350 oven for 30min or until the bread on top begins to brown…
Ok, I shared our food shame…
The rest of the meal has been perfected. No canned anything, no jello products..fresh veggies, fresh cranberry relish, delicious dressing, heaps of mashed potatoes, amazing turkey and wonderful desserts. Pecan pie, fresh pumpkin pie, and my Aunt bakes an amazing cake.
Speaking of which, anyone know of a “Thanksgiving” themed green salad idea but without nuts? (We have a ‘eat nuts will die’ friend in the group.) I’m thinking pears or cranberries with some sort of cheese… but I don’t eat salad and don’t like salad. PM me if you get a brainwave…
hahaha - sooooooooo funny about the canned green beans with the velveeta-ish cheese! my brother in laws mom makes that grossness - HE loves it and all his brothers & sisters but nobody else will touch it ,. heehee - just canned green beans, with velveeta cheese, yuck.
Ambrosia - no recipe should include both sour cream and marshmallows. Actually no recipe served indoors where there is access to a cooking source other than a camp fire should include marshmallows. The people who make ‘those’ recipes (the ones you are trying to eliminate) are always 100% certain that everyone LOVES that recipe and that the world will end if a holiday is celebrated without it.
We used to go to a big family Thanksgiving in Connecticut every year. There was one person who always made this deeply disgusting jello salad thing. It had tiny pretzels in it…(little dry heave here)…that absorbed the jello and got very worm-like. Sweet and salty may mix, but sweet, salty, and soggy is just gross. And yet, not only was it there every year, I put some on my plate every year. One of the great mysteries of the holidays.
well, I thought I was being original when I was going to say the jello and pretzel type of “salad” ish…but AZneomom already mentioned it… HA! apparently that stuff has been going around from state to state…
I love to read these kind of stories to know that I’m not the only one with crazy people in their families!! lol!!
I LOVED hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for my parents for more than 20 years; my Mom did it before that and my Grandma before that!! But now that they’re all in heaven, I quit! It’s just not the same any more. BUT, back when I was doing the Thanksgiving Dinner, my sister always had to “try” a new recipe! I swear half the time, I seriously had no idea what I was eating but to be polite I would at least taste it. Sometimes it was good; other times, not so good.
The real kicker though, was one year my niece wanted to contribute to the dinner. She said she likes to cook “gourmet” dishes. I said ok! Well, she shows up with some store-bought cinnamon bread or something; I still have no idea what it was. And my other niece, who didn’t tell me she was bringing anything, shows up with some Mexican dish!! Although, it actually was good, it certainly didn’t fit for a Thanksgiving Dinner.
This year, I think I’m going to suggest to my kids and hubby that we go out for Chinese!! lol!!!
Funny! I don’t know what you could do to avoid that.
Most of the time, we just have sooo much leftover food. My brothers are fairly clueless about how much food is needed but are really generous. So I might say, “can you bring butter and honey for the rolls” and my brother will bring 2 giant honey bears and 2 lbs of butter. Or I will ask for sodas/drinks and he will bring 8-10 2 liter sodas for a group of 10 adults, 10 kids.
My aunt does make these horrid “stuffing balls”, basically lumps of stuffing baked into a dry little puck. Ruins the best part of a Thanksgiving meal, I think! I also LOVE how anytime someone is assigned a salad, without fail they will bring some sort of jello-marshmallow-fruit glop. There will be like 10 of them in varying colors and nary a vegetable to be seen. We live in Utah, maybe that is why! Ugh, jello! But at least we CAN always count on multiple people bringing Funeral Potatoes, yum!
My grandma makes a special jello salad. Not just the regular jello and pretzels, hers has applesauce, 7up, and some other unknown ingredients. It has a grainy texture and is a weird shade of pink. I think at some point I had a cousin who liked it as a kid, but now we’ve grown up and the jello 7up is still around…
I can’t cook. Seriously, I somehow made potatoes from a box taste like ass, so I try not to be too critical. But my sister & brother in law insist on bringing this horrible cornbreD stuffing that reeks of sage … and has a greenish tint toot. Everyone puts some on their plate, but as I do the dishes, I know no one eats any. Ugh - I can smell it already. I’m working t- giving day so I was hoping for a reprieve, but everyone’s willing towait till Friday. . Lol