Thanksgiving Dinner Menu Ideas

When I was studying in the States, I often remained on campus during Thanksgiving break. My residential college, Ezra Stiles, always had a budget for treating those who stayed back with Thanksgiving dinner. I really appreciated the thought, and it gave me an opportunity to experience Thanksgiving and a typical Thanksgiving dinner menu.

For me, Thanksgiving dinners always remind me of turkey, pumpkin and apple cider. Of course over the years I encountered other dishes, but those three items I mentioned were very synonymous with the event. I enjoyed every moment of it during my student days.

Fast forward to about a decade after I left college, I began hosting turkey dinners with my usual eating gang. It doesn’t matter that Malaysians don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. For me and my friends, we just needed an excuse to eat turkey. November (Thanksgiving) or December (Christmas) were the months we usually organize a turkey dinner, because this was the time we can even find halal turkey anywhere. Only one time Tesco (now Lotus’s) stocked halal turkeys at a very good price, and I ended up having a turkey dinner in March.

At first, I just made various Thanksgiving-themed sides and ordered the roast turkey from somewhere. However, after many times being disappointed by dry or underseasoned meat, I began roasting my own and never looked back. While I did try new recipes for sides, eventually I stuck with a few favorites when organizing my turkey dinners.

Here are the menu items I’ve made over the years. Have a look!