I know it’s a huge deal over there, my friends have invited me and I really want to make a good impression! I have looked at recipes online but there’s so many!

33 comments

  1. The answer is deviled eggs. Easy to make, easy to make seem fancy, and always a hit at every party I bring them to.

  3. Keep it simple, bring an appetizer like cheese and crackers or a dip or something. And some booze lol

  5. The big trick with Thanksgiving is that while some of the core dishes are traditional, (mashed potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce), pretty much every family has their own interpretation and their own ideas for side dishes. It is totally fine to bring anything you think would be tasty served alongside a Sunday roast to a Thanksgiving dinner.

    And you’re a Brit, you know roast dinners. Anything that you think would make a good starter will be fine.

  6. summer sausage, cheese & crackers.

    If you get into side dishes, it’s hard to mess up potato dishes.

  7. The other comments are good suggestions. I’d also recommend to just relax while you’re at the dinner. A big part about Thanksgiving, as cheesy as it sounds, is coming together and enjoying one another. Have fun, relax, and breathe.

  8. I wouldn’t worry about cooking something unless you love cooking. Get some rolls from a local bakery or a bottle of wine or two.

  9. I wouldn’t make something from a recipe for the first time. It’s far better to make the best recipe in your current arsenal.

  10. From dead easy to requiring basic skills in a kitchen:

    Cheese and crackers. If you’re ambitious, look up cheese ball recipes.

    Any dip that you like plus something to dip into it, either chips, veggies, or crackers. If you buy the dip at a store, extra points if you bring a bowl to serve it in (pretty paper or plastic ones are fine).

    Triscuits with a spread of your choice. I like them with cream cheese mixed with herbs and half a cherry tomato on top, but there are lots of versions online. Use a topping with at least two contrasting colors and flavors for maximum effect.

    Dates stuffed with blue cheese wrapped in bacon. These are a little more effort to make, but they disappear incredibly fast.

  12. Little Smokies.

    Step 1: Put some Little Smokies in a crock pot.

    Step 2: Pour in a bottle of Bar-B-Que sauce.

    Step 3: Turn on crock pot.

    If they don’t like Little Smokies, they’re not really Americans.

    Or, they’re Vegans.

    ….But, I repeat myself.

  13. My favorite thanksgiving app is this dill based dip made in a hollowed out loaf of pumpernickel

    [Pumpernickel Bread And Dill Dip Recipe | CDKitchen.com](https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/618/PumpernickelBreadDip64511.shtml)

    you make the dip and refigerate for at least 24 hours. then you carefully hollow out the load of bread, cutting the innards into bite sized pieces. Put the dip in the loaf, put that on a platter, then add the bite sized pieces of bread, and bite sized raw veggies (baby carrots and broccoli) around it.

    ​

    I don’t even like dill usually, but this dip is just so freaking good. It’s also super easy to make

    ​

    edit, go to a bakery and get a nice, fresh baked loaf of pumpernickel (onion bread will work if you can’t find pumpernickel)

    Don’t get it from a supermarket unless they have a bakery in house

  14. Are you in the US? I have a cheese potato casserole **recipe** that is easy and will be a hit at any potluck. PM if you want it.

  15. It’s a big holiday but it’s fairly low key. A “huge deal” is really overblowing it, I’d say. It’s a time to relax with your loved ones and enjoy a meal! Take it easy and make anything you like.

  16. Anything tasty will do, really. There’s a lot of flexibility with side dishes and appetizers. So you can’t really offend them or anything by choosing wrong.

    When in doubt something with a lot of cheese is never wrong!

    Stuffed mushrooms, sausage balls, a cheese ball with crackers, deviled eggs, homemade hummus (a divine recipe is Michael Solomonov’s published in The NY Times, it’s unfortunately in US customary units but worth converting or at least following his method) or baba ghanouj with pita, various creamy dips with tortilla or ruffle chips (spinach and artichoke, buffalo chicken dip, French onion), fried raviolis (there are baked and air-fried recipes around), that kind of thing!

  17. You have any Brit side dishes you like?

    That would be a fun thing. It honestly doesn’t matter. Bring something you would like to eat. Maybe bring some beer, wine, or booze as well.

    Thanksgiving is about the company more than the food (although food is a huge part of it) so just bring food and drink and your duty is well fulfilled.

  18. For a starter, I’d bring something simple that won’t require dishes or utensils to serve and eat, since there will be tons of dishes to use and wash for the rest of the meal. Some sort of finger food that’s not too rich is perfect.

  20. Every family has its own traditions but there is no canonical Thanksgiving menu. Just bring something you’re good at making. If it’s tasty and there’s too much of it, it’s Thanksgiving 🙂

  21. Don’t be nervous – the whole point of Thanksgiving is hospitality and gratitude. Anything you bring will be welcome and appreciated. A bottle of wine is always good (if your hosts drink), or some kind of dessert. Pies are a big hit. Or something representative of your home in the UK.

    Prepare to eat a lot and have a great time. You’ll then spend the day after in a turkey coma.

  22. Bring a pie for desert! Pie on Thanksgiving is super traditional, typically pumpkin or apple (in my experience), but any would work.

  23. A tray of cut up fruit. A cheese and cracker tray. Meatballs cooked in crock pot (you can use Marinara or BBQ sauce. Our favorite sauce is a jar of BBQ sauce, a bottle of Asian Sweet Chili sauce and a can of Cranberry sauce. Buy pre-made frozen meatballs, add sauces, cook on high for 2-3 hours. Perfect!

  24. Stop being nervous, it’s just fun with friends and family and good food, you got this, as for starters, i’m not sure, in my family the guests usually just bring a nice bottle of wine, or liquor, usually whiskey ( single malt ), however me being from eastern europe originally it wasn’t uncommon for my friends to also bring me vodka once I had thanksgiving in the states, just have fun, it’s not like they’ll care even if you didn’t bring anything

  25. It’s a bit cliché, but I like the holiday cheese logs and cheese balls. It would suit me fine if someone brought over one of those and some crackers.

  26. And, of course, it’s not really about the food. It’s about the camaraderie. It’s hard to go wrong.

    Is this taking place in England?

  27. Bring something you like, that you’d like to share. Don’t force yourself to guess at what they like.

    Alcohol is always welcome. Worst comes to worst, it goes unused at their dinner. But then it stays in their liquor cabinet and the host will think of you when they get a chance to try it.

  28. You can ask your friends what they’d like you to bring, or what would be appreciated.

    Barring that, a good bottle of wine (or two).

  29. If there are kids- a can of black olives. So many thanksgiving memories of putting them on my fingers before I ate them

  30. Bring literally anything that you really love and know how to cook well, that you think people might enjoy. Don’t overthink it. People will love enjoying your home-cooked whatever, regardless of whether it fits perfectly as a thanksgiving appetizer.

  31. Any kind of food or drink that you would bring to any party will be fine. There are traditional Thanksgiving foods, but there are also just things that the hosts and guests like to eat. Some families have tamales, which is not Classic American Thanksgiving Food, or phyllo spinach squares (me), or whatever else feels like special occasion party food.

  32. (Following as I’m in the same boat – just booked my flights to Boston and will be meeting my missus Dad for the first time …)

  33. The host knows you’re British. Bring something that’s a common British dish that you do well. It can literally be anything. Don’t get fancy or expensive. You’ll have a simple story/topic to discuss and the hosts will get to try something new. Mincemeat pie was a novelty for me. Or forget food and bring a bottle of wine.

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