Introduction:
My family is Russian and usually, we do not have a completely traditional Thanksgiving meal. In addition to all of the Thanksgiving standards such as turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans, we also have Russian style deviled eggs, small sandwiches with red caviar, and slices of pickled herring. When it comes to Thanksgiving, I am a purist, and although I love these Russian dishes separately, I am a firm believer that they have absolutely no business being on the Thanksgiving table.
Regardless, Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. I love food, and no other holiday in the year puts so much emphasis on preparing a wonderful feast of comforting dishes. The one dish, however, that I really don’t look forward to eating is the center of attention, the turkey. To be frank, the turkey is usually dry as hell and absolutely flavorless. This is understandable, however, considering that this large bird is actually really difficult to cook. So when I am browsing the table in search of Thanksgiving dishes, I am almost always reaching for the sides and desserts. This point brings me to the topic of this article, the 3 best Thanksgiving sides/desserts. These may be controversial, so be prepared. The 3 best sides/desserts are cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Let me explain.
Cranberry Sauce:
Cranberry sauce is the perfect compliment to all Thanksgiving dishes. It provides tartness as well as some much-needed sweetness to counteract many savory dishes such as stuffing or mashed potatoes. A majority of Thanksgiving dishes are really heavy and weigh you down, and the cranberry sauce brings your meal balance. The fruitiness and acidity of the cranberry sauce is the perfect burst of flavor that cuts through all of the richness and fat of the other dishes.
Cranberry sauce really does remind me of the holidays. I love to include orange juice and orange zest in my cranberry sauce. These components make the sauce brighter and more refreshing, but also add a delightful warmth to the sauce that just makes you smile. Overall, cranberry sauce is the ultimate condiment for your Thanksgiving meal, and its combination of sweet and tart really is fantastic.
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are the “safety net” dish of the Thanksgiving table. If cooking your meal doesn’t go as planned and you burn your turkey to a crisp, you can always count on the mashed potatoes. Even the most simple version with salt and butter is still very tasty. Now if you want to elevate your mashed potatoes a bit, you can add some whole milk, pepper, and a little garlic powder to the mix as I do in my mashed potatoes recipe. Mashed potatoes are the epitome of comfort and are the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving meal.
Pumpkin Pie:
Frankly, all of the other months out of the year, I don’t go out of my way to find pumpkin pie. However, when the holiday season rolls around, pumpkin pie just tastes so much better. Pumpkin pie is the quintessential fall and Thanksgiving dessert and rightfully so. The creamy pumpkin filling along with the buttery, and flaky crust is absolutely delicious. Many times pumpkin pies are very bland and one-note. However, in my pumpkin pie recipe, I include a variety of warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, as well as brown sugar to really make the pumpkin flavor shine.
Pumpkin pie is also super easy to make. Pour the filling into the crust and bake, that’s all. Even if you have decided not to make a homemade pumpkin pie, at least go to your local grocery store and buy one, because pumpkin pie is a tradition.
