Thanksgiving side dish ideas for picky DH

My DH (yes, I meant to put the "H" there) is extremely picky. He thinks Thanksgiving is the most boring holiday in terms of eating because of this. He'll eat turkey but doesn't love it. He loves mashed potatoes, but that's about it. Maybe a few bites here or there of sweet potatoes and/or stuffing. He doesn't eat vegetables, so any ideas for yummy non-vegetable sides?

Re: Thanksgiving side dish ideas for picky DH

Well there are many varieties of mashed potatoes you can make with white/red potatoes, for instance:
Plain Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Butter and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar and Chives

Or you can do potatoes but not mashed, for instance:
Potato Pancakes
Baked Potatoes
Potato Au Gratin

If you want to get away from that entirely, does he consider squash a vegetable? Has he tried acorn squash mashed with brown sugar and butter? What about spaghetti squash in garlic and butter or marinara sauce? What about butternut squash roasted in cubes?

For sweet potatoes, you can do mashed plain, mashed with orange juice, you can do casserole style with marshmallows on top, or you can do a sweet potato pie.

Is he a meat guy? Maybe he will like stuffing more if it is loaded with sausage. I'd recommend trying sausage stuffing.

Hm... other non-vegetable side dishes. What about bread and rolls? Does he eat cranberry sauces? There are many varieties of those. What about fruits, like homemade applesauce or baked apples?

You can also do a pasta, like Macaroni and Cheese.

Re: Thanksgiving side dish ideas for picky DH

we always do a tray of half peaches filled with cranberry sauce.

Will he eat turnips? Mashed with brown sugar and butter

see and i am the exact opposite of your DH...I hate turkey so for me thanksgiving is all about the sides!

Re: Thanksgiving side dish ideas for picky DH

what about mashed cauliflower (instead of potatoes)

OR

have you tried roasting cauliflower with olive oil and garlic topped with Parmesan cheese? totally doesnt taste like cauliflower

Re: Thanksgiving side dish ideas for picky DH

I don't mind carbing out on Thanksgiving.. how about a gooey tray of homemade mac and cheese? You can throw in some crisp pancetta and use a combo of Gruyere and cheddar and top it with some buttered and toasted panko.

You can pull the leaves off the Brussels sprouts and saute them with some pancetta for a nice, less bitter version of sprouts.

Green bean casserole is a big favorite around the holidays too.

Do you make your own cranberry sauce? I like the canned stuff fine.. but there is NOTHING like a homemade cranberry sauce warmed with a little nutmeg and cinnamon..

Bread! Homemade bread is a treat for just about anyone. And you can keep a loaf for the day after - cut into thick slices and pile high with turkey and trimmings.. and then toast the whole thing in the oven to warm it for an after Thanksgiving treat. Maybe make a nice herb bread or a beautiful challah.

Make some interesting appetizers to tempt his palate.. some roasted garlic shrimp or warm soup cups.. creamy potato with sweet Georgia onions and a few pieces of bacon.. or a warm butternut squash cream soup.

Butternut squash is a nice side too! Or Spaghetti squash tossed with garlic and olive oil.. then finished with a few grates of parmesan.

Re: Thanksgiving side dish ideas for picky DH

after reading these posts, i realize that I did not do my DH justice when I simply said he is picky lol. There will be mashed potatoes so he's covered there. My grandmother makes the stuffing, so no one messes with that. No matter what I do to the sweet potatoes, unless I cover them in chocolate, he'd only have a few bites. But when I said he doesn't eat veggies, I meant he doesn't eat one single vegetable and will not even try a dish with veggies in it. (and he doesn't eat sour cream, anything with vinegar in it, mayo, ketchup, seafood, fish, the list goes on and on )

But, I think mac n cheese may be a great option. I hadn't thought of that. Thank you for all of your responses! I would like to make all of them for myself!

Re: Thanksgiving side dish ideas for picky DH

The mac and cheese sounds good. What about homemade biscuits?