6 Things Kentucky Grandparents Still Do at Thanksgiving That Grandkids Don’t Understand

Thanksgiving is Nov. 26, and somewhere in Kentucky, a grandparent is planning the one dish that makes the grandkids stare.

Here’s what Kentucky grandparents still put on the table, and the family stories that come with each dish.

1. Coca-Cola Ham

Relatives of one grandmother tried to duplicate her Thanksgiving ham and couldn’t, according to a 2017 Northern Kentucky Tribune column.

They agreed to visit her in the nursing home and ask for the secret.

The ham never fit in her baking pan, she told them, so she gave the end pieces to the dog.

Then she poured Coca-Cola on top and let the ham warm up.

That was the secret.

Some tables serve country-cured ham instead.

A 2024 television news report followed a Taylor County family that has made and sold country hams since 1959.

The family’s hams cure for four to six months.

2. Yellow Dumplings

Two Eastern Kentucky University sisters told the campus newspaper in 2023 that Thanksgiving brings their whole family together for dinner.

Their grandmother’s dumplings are the stand-out recipe at the holiday meal.

She adds yellow food coloring because she says it makes them look better.

She also makes the dumplings completely from scratch.

Many people outside the family are surprised when they see the yellow dumplings.

The 2017 column also mentions Michelle Greer of Berea, who brags about her Mamaw’s yellow dumplings.

Neither she nor any of the other grandkids will eat white dumplings.

Yellow it is.

3. Ribbon Salad

Grandma Fryer could always be counted on to serve ribbon salad at Thanksgiving, according to a 2022 column by the same writer.

You can spot one by its red and green layers of gelatin, with cream cheese in the middle layer and traces of pineapple.

Her family ate it as a side dish with the entree, or as dessert because it’s sweet.

It worked either way.

Brooke Hall liked her grandmother’s green jello salad, which came in a jello mold.

As an adult, she bought a mold and now has her grandmother’s handwritten recipe.

4. Turkey and Dressing

Roger Garrison of Nicholasville remembers a formal Thanksgiving at his grandparents' home, where Pawpaw carved the big bird.

In Henderson, Stephanie Brown's Granny always had dumplings and a roasting pan full of cornbread dressing inside the stove.

5. Dried Apple Stack Cake

Miche Branscum of Frankfort remembers her grandmother always having jello slush punch and a dried apple stack cake.

If you want to bake one, Kentucky Monthly's recipe builds the cake from five thin layers.

The filling is dried apples stewed with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, then mashed.

Then the cake has to rest for at least two days before anyone slices it.

Hands off until then.

A lot of grandkids see a cake sitting untouched on the counter and can't figure out why.

6. Yeast Rolls With Strawberry Preserves

Carrie Thomas, who grew up in Pendleton County, says her Grandma always made homemade yeast rolls with strawberry preserves.

Now that the grandmother is gone, her great-grandchildren enjoy making the rolls and eating them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Oyster Stew

Janet Windgassen-Cook of Walton grew up eating oyster stew and oyster dressing at Thanksgiving.

A Frankfort family preferred scalloped oysters, and a family in Erlanger served homemade oyster stew.

A 1954 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release even called oysters a Thanksgiving tradition.

Sweet Potatoes

Susan Gall, who was raised in Lexington, named sweet potato souffle as her family's dish.

Jenny Bronaugh, a former Fayette County teacher, says her family has served sweet potato casserole topped with mini marshmallows for five generations.

The family adds a jigger of bourbon to the casserole.

When she reheats leftover casserole, Bronaugh puts on fresh marshmallows.

Chores Before the Feast

For some families, Thanksgiving meant finishing farm work first.

The 2017 column's author says Thanksgiving came near the end of stripping season for his family's annual burley crop.

His family walked out of the stripping room in their detached garage, crossed the yard and sat down to the meal.