Thanksgiving Sides: The Five That Earn Their Plate Space
"Five sides, not twenty — the casserole, the stuffing, the gravy, the slaw, and the one jar that has to be started in October."
Notes From Behind the Steering Wheel
A Thanksgiving plate is not a buffet. It is about nine inches across, the turkey has already taken a third of it, and everything else has to fight over what is left. That is why this list is five dishes long and not twenty. Every one of them has to be worth the space it takes off the bird.
The order is not random either. The casserole and the stuffing are the two that people notice when they are missing. The gravy is what makes the other two work. The slaw is on here because by the time the plates go round, every single thing on the table is soft, warm and beige, and somebody has to bring a bite that makes a sound. The apple butter is the outlier, and it is the only one you cannot start on the day.
What is deliberately not here: potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls. We have not written those recipes yet, and padding a list with things we do not actually cook is how a page like this stops being worth reading.
"It is the one side whose absence gets commented on. This version builds its own sauce out of butter, flour and sour cream instead of opening a can of soup, which is the whole difference between a side dish and filler."
"Ten to twelve portions out of one pan, and it carries sausage, apple, walnuts and dried cranberries. Enough going on that it holds its own next to the bird instead of quietly soaking up gravy in the corner of the plate."
"Nothing else on this list quite works without it. Skim the fat before anything else — that is the step that lets you decide how rich the plate gets, and it is the one everybody skips."
"Ten minutes, no stove, no oven. It is here because it is the only bite on the plate that makes a sound — apple and pear against cabbage, and a light enough hand with the mayonnaise that it stays crisp instead of turning into another creamy thing."
"The rolls need something, and this is the only side on the list you cannot make on the day: twelve to fourteen hours in the slow cooker. It goes on the calendar in October or it does not happen at all."
Other Collections From the Truck
Same kitchen, different occasion. Every list here was written on its own, none of them from a template.
- Halloween Cookies Without a Single Cookie Cutter
- Halloween Treats and Snacks That Are Not Cookies
- Thanksgiving Appetizers That Never Fight the Turkey for the Oven
- Thanksgiving Desserts for People Who Are Already Full
- Thanksgiving Leftovers: Five Recipes That Start With Cold Turkey
- Christmas Appetizers for a Two-Hour Arrival
- Christmas Dinner Ideas: Five Mains That Carry a Whole Table
- Game Day Food for an Ordinary Sunday
- Super Bowl Snacks You Finish Before Kickoff