Thanksgiving is finally next Thursday, and you know what that means—LOTS and LOTS of food. Let’s be real, if you don’t have a top-notch Thanksgiving meal, the day is absolutely ruined, and all you have to look forward to is being in a mall full of body odor and sticky children for some mediocre Black Friday shopping.
Enough about Black Friday shopping though, let’s get to the real topic: Thanksgiving foods are quite the gamble. Although most of the food can be quite delicious, there is always that one side dish everybody hates, or a dish your Aunt continues to bring every year where you grab a spoonful of it, only to scrape it right in to the trash can later. Many have strong opinions about the different dishes at Thanksgiving, but some may be harsher than others.

Thoughts on stuffing? Let’s start with that. Personally, my taste buds have adapted to the wonderful meal of stuffing. It is basically Thanksgiving all in one, right? Well, according to Camila Zavala ’23, her opinion differs: “I hate stuffing because it is lazy and it is basically chewed up mom bird throw up. It is also hard at the same time. It is too salty, and the texture is bad. I like mashed potatoes.” Maybe Camila has never had good stuffing before? We will never know, but until she does, I’m sure her opinion will stand.

One thing you can never go wrong with for a Thanksgiving side dish is bread rolls. And I’m not talking about buying a twenty-four pack of Hawaiian King Rolls and plopping the package on the table, I am talking about actual homemade bread rolls with butter brushed freshly on the top. Senior Colleen Schmitt, has absolute heart-eyes for bread rolls during her dinner:  “They are a staple in my families Thanksgiving dinner. I eat like eight of them. After everyone’s plates are clean, I find myself in a war battle trying to get the very last roll.”

Hot topic: What is the point of placing mini marshmallows on top of a sweet potato casserole. Key word—sweet. There are already sweet potatoes in the dish, why add more? What is the need for more sugar? It’s like biting into a spoonful of sugar just to slowly chew on some poorly-textured mush. Even Sydney Rosario ’23 can agree with me on this one: “The thought of a sweet potato casserole makes me want to rip my face off and use it as an area rug. It is way too sweet and the added layer of mini marshmallows is overpowering. Plus, it just looks disgusting.”

Aside from all the main side dishes, let’s talk about the main dish itself—turkey. One word to describe it: dry. It needs something. It needs gravy, cranberry sauce; although, don’t mention the cranberry sauce to Camila: “I hate cranberry sauce. Why do you need so much sugar?” She’s quite the critic, but putting cranberry sauce on turkey is better than eating dry turkey. Every time I eat it, I find my hands shaking towards the water cup in front of me just to get rid of the dry taste on my tongue. Senior Caela Cabal shares, “I always look forward to Thanksgiving because my dad makes a mean turkey, and it hits every time.” I am not saying turkey is bad, but it definitely needs to be paired with some type of dressing.

I hope your Thanksgiving dinner is amazing this year, because personally, I know exactly what it feels like to have a mediocre one. Maybe try a new food if it looks somewhat more appetizing than usual? Maybe stay away from that sweet potato casserole though. And even if you are too full to eat anything else, make room. Thanksgiving is all about the feast.