Considering this is a lapband website and this is the first Thanksgiving I've been banded, I was wondering what you all eat for Thanksgiving. We have a traditional dinner which included turkey, cornbread dressing (I'm really good at make dressing but we never stuff it in the turkey), 5 cup salad, cranberry jelly, peas, fresh vegetables (very expensive), gravy and a couple of pies. We always have pecan pie, but this year I'm going to add Sweet Potato Pie. I've never had it but people say it is good. I love, love, love Thanksgiving. I love to cook all that stuff. This year I'm introducing artichoke bottoms with mushroom stuffing that is laced with real Gruyere from Switzerland. The recipe is in my French cookbook and it's good. The Gruyere costs about $10 a slice, but it's worth it. It is really good cheese and I'm a cheese lover. I asked my students and a lot of them have pizza. I guess Mom or Dad doesn't like to cook. But I'm really stoked and can hardly wait to start cooking. The only problem is that I won't be able to eat much of my own cooking. I emailed my doc in Mexico and told him I was thinking of have an unfill to 4cc and he said to have an unfill to 3.5 cc for the holidays. I really like that man.

What has your experience been with big holiday dinners? One thing I know for sure is that I will not have champagne for New Year's Eve. I just can't take the carbonation. Maybe a nice still wine this year. Let me know.:kiss2:

Thank goodness, it's almost all cooked and in the fridge. All I have left to do is roast the turkey and make mashed potatoes & the gravy. My MIL told me that the lady who lives across the street (and her worthless, middle-age, unemployed son) were going to be alone tomorrow and would eat their TG dinner at Luby's, so I invited them over. I already had 19 people coming, so what's two more?

I made sweet potato dressing. For one thing, it's very moist, so I think I can eat a little of it, and for another, my DH bought a 10 pound box of yams, and you can only make so much sweet potato casserole.

My banana pudding turned out beautifully, as did my coconut cream pie. My German chocolate cake looks okay - not great (a little lopsided), but okay. I'm sure it will taste fine, however.

The ham has about 15 minutes left and then I'm going to bed. It's been a rough week. I have the cold from hell and my damn dog is in season. What else do you have in store for me, Lord?

We are frying the turkey, and one for a friend. I made the deviled eggs tonight while DH peeled and chopped the potatos for the mashed, they are boiled and ready to be finished tomorrow. I have several cans of cranberry sauce in the fridge and several bags of frozen veggies ready to go. My mom is making sweet potato casserole, and pie. My sister is making ham and green ban casserol. I only have to cook the veggies, mash the taters, and heat the premade pies that I bought. There are going to be 13 of us tomorrow, I'm glad it's almost over. Happy Turkey day all. ~Mandy

I got through the whole thing. We only have 3 people and I made a 16 pound turkey so my friend Mary took most of it home with her. I used to eat a whole lot of turkey, but I started eating, got something stuck and had to throw up some water I had drunk to try to get it down. That was disgusting, but they said they couldn't hear me throwing up. After that it was all smooth sailing. I ate turkey, cranberry jelly, some dressing and an artichoke bottom with mushroom filling. The artichoke bottom was a little stringy so I mostly ate the filling. Also I ate a small slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I didn't make the sweet potato pie because Mother wanted pumpkin. I'll make one some other time though we'll have to give away half of it. I'm a little hungry now (aout 8 hours after dinner) so I think I'll nuke some dressing or something. My friend said it was the best dressing I've made yet. She says that every year. Mother said it was the best dinner I've made yet, but she says that every year too. Still it stirs this old cook's heart when people compliment the dinner. I worked like a stevadore. The dogs did very well with the drumsticks, wings and the leftover carcass. They are happy. So everyone is happy including me. I'll be less happy tomorrow when I have to have the MRI about my previous stroke which I didn't even know I had. I hope they can work something out to keep me from stroking out so I can make Thanksgiving dinner next year. I highly recommend Assam tea. It makes superior iced tea. I got some in England two years ago and guard it with my life, but I ordered some on the internet so I can make more tea this year. We can't buy it here. It is the best tea I've ever had. Expensive, but good. It beats Earl Grey hands down. Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and don't work yourself to death for Christmas. I'll have prime rib and turkey again for Christmas. I just love this time of year because I get to cook really good stuff. Now I get to decorate the house for Christmas which is my second favorite thing to do. Happy days!