This is pretty much how the discussion about which mashed potato dish(es) to serve at Thanksgiving goes in our family.

We need to have everything that we’ve always had, just the way we’ve always had it, but we also need to not have the same old everything or it’s boring.

Also, no one really likes marshmallows on their sweet potatoes, but that’s the way Aunt Sue always made them, so it’s tradition.

But marshmallows have gelatin in them, and then Grannie Annie, Lizzie, and Charlotte, who are vegetarians, can’t eat them, plus, they are the ones who really depend on the sides to make up their meal. So the marshmallows really have to go.

And no one ever really got the whole marshmallows-on-the-sweet-potatoes thing anyway, except for Grannie Annie, who loved them…. when she was a non-vegetarian, and who used to scrape the whole marshmallow layer off of the sweet potatoes, and eat it in the kitchen after the meal and then tell everyone she felt sick, and does anyone want to see if there are good vegan marshmallows?

Now don’t for even one minute think that you’re not having regular mashed potatoes, however the sweet potato issue gets worked out. Because you are.

And with that, here are some mashed potato variations you might want to consider. Also, yes, wine is considered a side dish.

1. Mashed Potatoes: These need no explanation.
2. Mashed Yukon and Sweet Potatoes with Sauteed Leeks. Sweet potatoes and Yukon golds in one dish? You crazy. 
3. Creamy Rutabaga and Parsnip Puree. Now you really crazy.
4. Harissa-Spiked Parsnip Puree. Have you lost your mind?

Would you like to read more about Thanksgiving in my family? Because you can. And here is how to kick Thanksgiving’s butt.