It is, of course, an undisputed fact of life that the greatest part of Thanksgiving is the food. Family bonding time is secretly universally hated, football is overdone, Black Friday is dangerous, and the time off from school is just a poor imitation of what we’ll get at Christmas.
The one area where Thanksgiving truly shines is in the culinary arts. Turkey Day is the undisputed champion of holidays with attached feasts, and the days following Turkey Day are the undisputed champions of leftovers. Friends, it’s time we take a good hard look at the leftovers we’ll be eating. Which Thanksgiving foods are good the second (or ninth) time around? Which fall short? Let’s take a look.
Mashed potatoes: Good. Mashed potatoes are the most underrated of all Thanksgiving foods (they may be the most underrated of all foods just in general, but that is a story for another time). When the holidays roll around, everyone talks up turkey and pumpkins are praised for miles around. Mashed potatoes just sit there, being perfect, and never getting the recognition they deserve. I could eat a Thanksgiving feast consisting of nothing but these glorious spuds and still be happy. One could probably argue that they’re tricky to reproduce in leftover form, but I say a food this perfect could never be diminished by a bit of microwave re-heating.
Turkey: Good. This one kind of goes without saying, does it not? You can serve up turkey leftovers in the same way you served it on their namesake day and relive the glory of the holiday feast. You can put turkey leftovers in sandwiches. You can combine it with your leftover vegetables and piecrust dough and make a turkey potpie. The possibilities are endless. Mashed potatoes may be the silent king of Thanksgiving foods, but the popular monarch of the meal sure does win at leftovers versatility.
Pumpkin pie: Bad. When Thanksgiving ends, pumpkins are over. They are an autumnal vegetable, and anything that people have been using for decoration since mid-October needs to be put out of commission once we’re into the Christmas season. Argue all you want, pumpkin spice latte lovers: pumpkins have had their day.
Rolls: Good, I guess. Presumably, if you had rolls left over after your Thanksgiving feast, you could pop them in the freezer and warm them up at any old time for the same level of carb-fueled happiness they bring on Turkey Day. We all know, however, that these babies disappear from the table about six seconds after they’re set down, so this particular leftover analysis is purely hypothetical.
Stuffing: ???? Stuffing is one Thanksgiving food I’ve simply never grown to enjoy. My problem with it, I think, is that it looks like some kind of leftover compilation/mush from the second it comes fresh from the oven. (Do you make stuffing in the oven? On the stove? In a microwave? Maybe just, like, in a bowl with some big mixing spoons like a taco salad? SOMEONE ENLIGHTEN ME.) I would imagine, then, that it would either work perfectly or deeply terribly as an actual leftover. Go ahead and try it this year, collegiates – and let me know how it goes!
Cranberry sauce: Please. Let’s not pretend this is ever good in the first place. Under no circumstances is it okay to include this dish in your Turkey Day leftover lunches.
Desserts: Good. Always good. Any time. Any place. Any way.
So, friends, there you have it – the good, the bad, and the ugly of Thanksgiving leftovers. Enjoy your meals on Turkey Day this year…but enjoy your leftovers even more.