The stuff in the can makes me laugh. (Sorry.) I'll eat it, because it still tastes good, but I'm definitely in the c) category. Usually I make a spiced cranberry sauce with star anise and cinnamon; this year, it was a new recipe from Cook's Illustrated that used fresh and crystallized ginger. It was pretty good, and the important thing is that there were plenty of leftovers for post-Thanksgiving stuffing/gravy/cranberry sauce meals.
The only food tradition we absolutely have to have at Thanksgiving is cornbread dressing, which my husband insists upon. I grew up with the bread dressing, but have long since switched loyalties to the cornbread kind; I make it using the Cook's technique of soaking it overnight in half-and-half and chicken broth (if I'm doing a non-vegetarian version), or soy milk and veggie broth if I'm having vegans over for the holiday. You get a super-moist dressing this way.
I also always feel a little weird if there isn't something pumpkiny for dessert. It doesn't have to be pumpkin pie (which I love); pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin brownies, etc., are fine, too. It's all good as long as there's pumpkin.
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The only food tradition we absolutely have to have at Thanksgiving is cornbread dressing, which my husband insists upon. I grew up with the bread dressing, but have long since switched loyalties to the cornbread kind; I make it using the Cook's technique of soaking it overnight in half-and-half and chicken broth (if I'm doing a non-vegetarian version), or soy milk and veggie broth if I'm having vegans over for the holiday. You get a super-moist dressing this way.
I also always feel a little weird if there isn't something pumpkiny for dessert. It doesn't have to be pumpkin pie (which I love); pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin brownies, etc., are fine, too. It's all good as long as there's pumpkin.