If you haven’t heard, Thanksgiving is the best holiday and it’s right around the corner! What makes Thanksgiving so great besides football, the weather, and parades, is the food. I’ve perfected the art of Thanksgiving eating–it’s my finest hour. Her Campus is here to let you know which dishes are the best, which are good, and which are, just, eh.
9. Cranberry Sauce
Not a fan of the off-putting texture. If you’re coming to my house, leave this at the grocery store and bring me another pie instead.
8. Veggies
Anything green on the table is a life saver when you feel yourself colliding into a carb coma. Vegetables deserve more credit at Thanksgiving for keeping us sane and giving our cholesterol a break. Now that I’m older, is it lame that I go for this first?
7. Rolls
While they are not the most exciting part of the meal, the smell alone as they are popped in the oven as we are gathering around the table and my mom yells, “Five more minutes!” gets me excited for the meal. And, yeah, you’re definitely going to eat more of these than you could ever need.
6. Turkey
Turkey can either come out wonderful or tremendously dry. In my experience, it’s rarely anywhere in between, but you need some protein along the way if you’re going to make it to dessert, so gravy up and dig in.
5. Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider
Sure this is the G-rated version of a much more fun drink, but can we really deny how quintessential this drink is to Thanksgiving? This bubbly is covetted in my household for it’s sweet taste and fanciness without the hangover.
4. Yams and Marshmallows
A few Thanksgivings ago, the whole table went quiet as we all dove into our dinner. No one spoke, and I looked around to see that we all dove into the same dish: my aunt’s yam and marshmallow casserole. Some more fork-scraping later, and my cousin says, “It’s so goooood.” We all laughed and looked up from our plates, broken from the hypnosis of the orange and white fluff.
3. Pecan Pie
I love pecan pie. It’s an unpopular opinion, but I love it more than pumpkin pie. The nutty, sweet flavor with the flaky crust is to die for.
2. Mashed Potatoes
Light, fluffy, garlic goodness. The hallmark of a good Thanksgiving is the mashed potatoes. They take up the most room on my plate and leave me wanting seconds, thirds, and fourths.
1. Stuffing
I used to hate stuffing, but now it’s the best dish of the day. I’ve had fork fights with cousins over the last bit of stuffing, called my sisters some names, and may have dishonored my family, and I’d do it all again for stuffing. It’s savory bread cooked inside turkey. Any questions?