New Poles!

In honor of Thanksgiving, this week, there are two poles to participate in. The first, The Great Debate, Does Your Family Call it Stuffing or Dressing? Or even better does you family have something interesting that they add to their dressing? My aunt made a delicious roasted chestnut dressing one year with raisins and apples. We all sat around the table shelling the sweet smelling roasted nuts, knowing that our labors would be well worth it. Or maybe your family makes cornbread stuffing, or stuffing with Polenta or grits. We'd love to hear about your tradition.
I also have a second pole, Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish. I got to talking to a lady around Thanksgiving one year, in a store, and she asked what my family ate for Thanksgiving. I responded "...you know, the usual" She informed me that "the usual" is not the same for all families. Her family enjoyed a turkey, but beyond that the menu was nothing like our "usual" dinner. They ate collard greens, grits, black eyed peas, corn bread, stewed apples, and mashed potatoes with red eye gravy. I realized that Thanksgiving is a holiday frocked with tradition and heritage, and each family comes from a different background and each heritage brings something different to the table. For example, my Mother's heritage is French Canadian. It would not be Thanksgiving (or Christmas for that matter) without Meat Pie. It's a savory pie filled with ground beef, onions, garlic and cinnamon. You eat it with butter, salt and pepper. It's deliciously wholesome and wonderful!
Does your family have a favorite that's not on the list? We'd love to hear about it! Let us know in a comment, and as always, recipes welcome.
And finally, in last week's pole, Favorite Pie, it would seem that the Autumn type pies are preferred. Apple, Pecan and Pumpkin tied for first. It's definitely pie season so eat up and enjoy.