Thanksgiving is an overlooked holiday because it is stuck in between Halloween and Christmas. On top of the underappreciated festivities, several underrated foods sit around the table on this holiday.
I get it; not everyone's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It can be boring, you don't get any gifts and most of the older family members just fall asleep by the end. However, Thanksgiving food is criminally underrated.
First, my favorite is the all-star: the stuffing. You can't have Thanksgiving without the absolute best holiday food out there. Even though stuffing is technically in stores all year round, it only needs one day a year to shine.
Next is the main course, the turkey. This is the main course of all main courses and the bird of all birds that are socially acceptable to eat. When cooked and prepared correctly, the turkey makes or breaks the meal. Thanks to TikTok, I now know how to make the turkey seriously the main course. It's a multi-day process of thawing, cleaning, stuffing, buttering, basting and rotating, but it's worth it because we look forward to a well-cooked turkey all year.
The ultimate sides of Thanksgiving are the cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, mac 'n' cheese, sweet potato casserole and rolls. These are the plates that lift Thanksgiving to new heights. Although somewhat unpopular, cranberry sauce adds the kick the meal needs to spice up everyone's palette. Plus, its unpopularity is made up for by the absolute classics: the rolls, mashed potatoes and mac 'n' cheese. Even though they're offered and eaten all the time, it only makes sense that they keep their rightful place at the Thanksgiving dinner table. The glorified dessert that's camouflaged as a side – the sweet potato casserole – is meant to bring sweetness to the meal, and it does so perfectly.
Now for the benchwarmer and the dish that isn't mine (or anyone's) favorite: green bean casserole. This dish is rarely a top three food for those enjoying Thanksgiving, but having some greens on the table is necessary for a healthy balance.
Finally, this wouldn't be a column about Thanksgiving food being top tier if I didn't mention the cherry on top. I am, of course, talking about the dessert course that rounds out the whole meal: pumpkin pie. This is not only a classic fall dessert; it's the staple of Thanksgiving. When you feel like you cannot stuff your face full of any more food, there will always be room for some pumpkin pie.
With Thanksgiving tomorrow, it's important to express gratitude to family and friends. I certainly will, but I will also be giving many thanks for the delicious meal set in front of me on the fourth Thursday of every year. I wish you all a great Thanksgiving and time well spent with loved ones!
Chase Borland is a freshman studying marketing and journalism at Ohio University. The views and opinions of this columnist do not necessarily reflect those of The Post. If you have any thoughts, questions or concerns then you can contact him at cb297222@ohio.edu.
