Do you prepare or appreciate a traditional Thanksgiving Feast? or do you sometimes Step Out Of The Box? My menu doesn’t usually stray too far from the traditional… Turkey and sometimes a spiral ham if we’re having a large crowd – mashed sweet potatoes and mashed white potatoes, corn spoon bread, green been casserole, stuffing – I’ve varied the recipe from year to year – Cranberry relish from Harry & David (OMG- awesomeness. I eat it with a spoon right out of the jar, yes I do). Pumpkin pie and apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
This year, dinner will be served at my SIL’s house. I am in charge of desserts and I’m stepping out of the box. Since this family is a chocolate loving crowd, I am making the chocolate pumpkin cheesecake I posted a few days ago… and a big bowl of Death By Chocolate. YUM. (photo courtesy google)
Ingredients:
1 Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Cup Kahlua Liquor
4 Boxes Chocolate Mousee (or Instant Chocolate Pudding)
4 Bars of Heath Bar Candy, chopped
2 Large tubs of Cool Whip
Bake chocolate cake as directed. When cooled lightly pierce the top with a fork
and drizzle with Kahlua.
Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, break up cake into small pieces and layer, cake, mousse,
Heath Bar, and Cool Whip. Repeat layers until the Trifle bow is full.
It’s a BIG crowd pleaser and very easy to make.
So.. how about you? Are you a traditionalist?
Do you prefer something different?
Domino’s Turkey Dinner pizza??… Say it ain’t so.
Do you celebrate at a restaurant or at a community center or church?
Are you a jello mold lover?
It’s OK.. fess up here…
(gag)
Besides my Harry & Davids relish.. I also serve up Ocean spray canned – with RINGS!
So how do you fill yourself up on this, the most Thankful of Holidays?
Karen, I love that death by chocolate and hopefully my daughter is bringing it. It is so good. We stay with our same old recipes every year. Hope you have a wonderful day!
OMG-Just kill me right now with that chocolate, but pass the Kahlua first. 🙂
We were always very traditional; much like your menu.
I hope it's the BEST Thanksgiving ever for you guys!
Oh, and I'll pass on the pizza. YUK!!!:)
Tradition all the way. I make my signature pie, which is a combination of pumpkin and a secret layer of caramelized apple underneath. It's pretty darn awesome.
Love the trifle recipe. OMG!!
I've roasted a large organic chicken the past several years because it seems to be enjoyed more than a turkey. And not so big now for just the two of us. Trader Joe's has some delicious cranberry relish. And roasted potatoes and carrots rather than mashed. If someone brought me some lobster to steam, I'd be all over that and to heck with tradition!!
Anything with Kahlua and Heath bars has to be delicious! I've been looking for a dessert, and this is going to be it! We don't have turkey at our house. My husband is allergic to all fowl. So I'm doing a pork roast this year.By the way, I love your header and background.
Karen- I am pretty much a traditionalist but I do like to add at least ONE thing every year that people aren't expecting. Your layered dessert looks amazing and like something everyone in the family would love. Hope your week is not too crazy…but..if you have a moment would you like to be in charge of MY dessert table, too? just askin…. xo Diana
My kids would freak if I strayed from the original menu. The only creative outlet I have is a different vegetable from the corn the kids have. This year I am making asparagus tips with hollandaisse sauce.
I have seen recipes for the Death By Chocoalte and I have always wanted to make since I have a beautiful trifle dish I have never used. But this year I already have my desserts planned and the ingredients bought. Let me know how it turns out! A moan or a whimper is fine! ;-D
XO,
Jane
Love new recipes and I think the Death by Chocolate might just work. My family always asks me not to make something crazy; they just want the tried and true, so that's what they'll get. One of the best Thanksgiving was when we were the hosts for the Ronald McDonald House. We did all the cooking of turkeys and sides for the families. Touching and rewarding. It humbled us.
We too are traditional…I try something new every once in a while but the main dishes stay the same. One year I tried making a homemade cranberry sauce. I don't eat it so I had no idea of the addiction to the canned, jellied stuff. My mother-in-law asks every year if she needs to bring a can :/
I will definitely make that Death By Chocolate…holy smokes.
hi karen
We will get together with about 60 family members at my aunt house in the woods with tons of food , bon fire and draw names for christmas presents! Your cheese cake looks great im still craving the maple cookies!!!!!
i have made that death by chocolate dessert you showed and it was loved by all….the best part is that it's messy and you just scoop and fill the bowls of those with waiting hands 🙂
and we are whatever mom is….this year is pretty traditional, but other years, we've been a bit more wild 🙂
If I didn't serve canned cranberry sauce everyone would complain! I have to stick with the basics but try to have a little something different each year…this year I am going to do something different with turnips…don't ask me what yet:)
That chocolate trifle stuff looks amazing!!! I think I'll make it for Christmas for those who don't care mince pie!
Granddaughter Julia has requested cheesecake for Thanksgiving dessert-and we'll have a couple of pumpkin pies and an apple. Saw a great looking pumpkin trifle on Pinterest–so I may give it a look. Son is frying a turkey outside–smoking venison and pork tenderloin. We'll have jellied cranberry sauce for hubby and homemade for me! Christmas I'll make that delicious cranberry/orange relish. Have to have cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes and white potatoes for the turkey gravy–with giblets of course!
That Thanksgiving meal is one of my favorites. A carb-fest to be certain. Nummy!
Am I weird for enjoying the canned cranberry sauce I grew up eating? I loved it when my mom would plop it out of the can and slice it along the handy can markings.
🙂
This just might be the first year ours won't include garlic cheese grits and pretzel salad! I might have to cancel Thanksgiving… which isn't sounding like a bad idea.
Ben and I do the same thing we have done every year…for the past 20! I make RESERVATIONS at "our" restaurant overlooking the lake. My daughter always goes to her Dad's. Ben's kids do their own thing with their families. So with just the two of us…it is quite relaxing indeed!
Death by Chocolate is a huge family favorite. I usually make it at Christmas-time.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was served on Sunday. This year…soup. My kids have several turkey dinners on Thanksgiving Day, so this year, I decided soup was an okay idea. Of course, we had the spiral ham and a few other things along with a couple of different soups.
Happy Thanksgiving!
In the Netherlands we don't 'do' Thanksgiving. But I'm sure I can find another occasion to serve Death By Chocolate 😉
Its just the 4 of us this year and to save my energy, we are going to go out for a dinner buffet. My boys are definitely going to think you go to buffets for holiday dinners- although I have cooked in the past.
I miss the huge dinners my aunt would do and all 19 cousins would show up and we'd all have a blast!
Southern tradionalist here. Turkey and cornbread dressing and all the fixin's. But I love to try regional favorites so I've made New England style stuffings, even roasted chestnuts one year. They were very hard to find here in AR! It feels very odd to be having dinner at our daughter's this year. Grandpa can no longer navigate our many stairs so the decision was made. We are getting a head start on preparing the feast tomorrow! Have a wonderful holiday…
That dessert sounds awesome, and I actually have every single thing on hand to make it. Except for a trifle bowl! Wonder what I could put it in? Would a cake tupperware be too tacky? 😉
Foooood! Can you tell I'm starving?! Heehee
That puppy was so cute!
One year we had our dinner and dessert early in order to travel to celebrate with family-this was Christmas-I had made a similar trifle-mine was black forest-and when we got home I thought I'd just finish it up. It'd been sitting for 4 days so I was a little leary but didn't want it to go to waste. WOW it was BETTER than when it was fresh,lol! I dream about it now,it was that good;p
That looks so yummy!
Of course, you know I'm not a total traditionalist as I am a vegetarian. No turkey.
But the side dishes? Mmm. mmm. I love the canned cranberry sauce with the rings. Just bought some today.
xo
Claudia
i love this site rally mind blowing blog
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I just saw a recipe for a choclate pecan pie…but what's a pie without the kalua? Our newspaper had a half page on a marvelous new crust recipe that would keep in the fridge for 2 days so you could premake pies. Who cooks pies on the Thanksgiving day…well obviously not me. Would that my table looked like these…even the one with the dog.
Traditionalist here … the family would have it no other way! And also topped off with Ocean spray cranberry .. straight out of the can! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!