[THANKSGIVING] What’s a stage-stealing side side dish to bring on the big day?
4Like, imagine you have an overachieving brother in law named Benjamin, who only goes by Benjamin, never Ben, but you call him Enjam just to be difficult. Let’s say this Enjam thinks he’s hot stuff for hosting thanksgiving dinner for everybody and you wanted to bring a show-stopping side dish that makes everyone gush and, if possible, also calls attention to the dry ass turkey that everyone pretends to enjoy, even though it’s only halfway edible if you slather it in gravy.
Anything like that? Asking for a friend.
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The obvious answer is a pot of turkey gravy that’s so good! It eclipses both the bird and the gravy that the host made. From a practical standpoint, you could just follow the instructions that Babish used in his most recent video.
@werehatrack ^ understood the assignment
@werehatrack It would be an epic story that would become part of family lore told for years around the campfire… The Gravy That Saved Thanksgiving
The children cheered, old women wept, and grandpa said “mmmm, that’s good.”
And Enjam didn’t speak for 5 consecutive minutes. It was glorious
@werehatrack @ybmuG My mom used to make both regular gravy and giblet gravy every year at TG. So I grew up liking the giblet variety (also my dad’s favorite). Sadly, once she aged out of cooking duties, I have not had any. (No one else would touch it if I did attempt to make some anyway, so I’ve never bothered.)
You could bring a fancy-ass charcuterie board. Everyone will be too full from eating that to have turkey.
@heartny The Charcuterie Offense - pretty devastating strategy.
@heartny @mehcuda67 YES. The war begins at appetizers.
I’m Southern, so the answer for me is always a variety of differently-styled deviled eggs. OR oyster dressing/stuffing.
@LizZPardz Yes on that oyster stuffing!
Maybe next level on the deviled eggs would be to cut them in the shape of football helmets and color to match your favorite post-turkey team. (Full disclosure: Never tried myself, just throwing it out there as an idea.)
@LizZPardz @mehcuda67 actually, the way to do it is to use a mold, that makes the eggs, square for example
@LizZPardz my uncle is an egg deviler of some repute. I could train for an egg showdown but it’s be a real Highlander situation
@Cerridwyn @mehcuda67 Ohhhhhh now this is brilliant
@jouest Sidebar: I’m absolutely adding “Bedeviler of eggs” to my CV
@jouest “some” repute?
The tasty or the warning kind?
I would actually go for an awesome you-can-only-eat-it-once-a-year super decadent dessert. It will eclipse the whole meal.
/giphy decadent dessert
HIKING! VIKINGS! STRIKE KING [BRAND FISHING LURES]! AWESOME!
@katbyter the last word strategy, I like it.
@jouest @katbyter
something old school, like a trifile,
/image triffle
@jouest @katbyter
or go more traditional with pie that just stops the show visually
i used to have one bookmarked that i would never make but would be beautiful, but i cannot find it anymore
something like this would do though
https://twiggstudios.com/2021/09/poached-pear-pies/
Custard cornbread google southern living custard cornbread
@KSchweitz this sounds legit
@jouest @KSchweitz cornbread pudding has been a surprise hit… Make cornbread, then make the custard to make bread pudding out of it. Serve with hot honey or a more traditional sauce like a whiskey sauce. But hot honey is better.
My own container of ice cream.
@lisaviolet make eye contact while enjoying from the container during main course
Fried duck appetizer.
@pakopako Just remember to keep your leading consonants in correct order.
Or don’t.
Jamie Lee Curtis.
@chienfou Michael Myers always felt like more of a Thanksgiving villain rather than Halloween.
@mikey
I guess I just never would consider Mike Myers as my “side dish”
@chienfou Totally agree. I think JLC is perfect to bring along just in case of a Michael Myers xgiving attack.
@mikey
Oh… duh!
You can’t go wrong with Delilah’s 7 cheese mac and cheese. The only variation I make to this is to double the Gruyere to 2 cups for a little bit of extra “cheesy zing” to it.
Host T-Day lunch and have a turkey done right. Then you get to have plenty of leftovers as a bonus
@speediedelivery But how do you manage to have “plenty” of leftovers left over? (Especially if you’ve got a turkey done right.)
Do people in your family not eat themselves to sickness as much as I’ve seen elsewhere?
@xobzoo Go big on turkey or make multiples. Must have leftovers.
@speediedelivery @xobzoo My partner grew up in a family that was mostly blind and poor, so getting the uber-cheap or free turkeys during the holiday season meant otherwise-inaccessible levels of protein in the diet while it lasted. As a result, he has less than zero interest in doing up a bird as anything other than a catering project for someone else’s event, and is thankful that no one has requested it.
I thought the obvious answer was “bring on over a box of not-yet-expired
{RECENT_PRODUCT}from your favorite deal-a-day site.”I mean, according to the product write-ups on my favorite deal-a-day website, their products will pretty much always impress. And I know their journalistic integrity means they would never misrepresent how normal this behavior is.
Of course, if your favorite site doesn’t sell such high quality goods, mehbe you should find a new one?
@xobzoo wait did one of our writers say that something would impress? Need to have a word with them about managing expectations.
@xobzoo One can be impressed without being favorably impressed, of course.
Chocolate Truffle Bomb
)
(double posting because it’s that good
@heartny It would definitely outshine the turkey, in my opinion!
@heartny I think I just need this for Tuesday
@jouest It’s good for any day that ends with the letter Y.
Stage stealing?
Roast Sutton Foster.
@OnionSoup is this a futon?
I make a carrot souffle that slaps hard enough for Enjam to feel it.
But one time for a work Thanksgiving potluck I made fruit sushi and I think it did steal the day. So much work but so good. Here’s the rundown, from what I remember:
I unfortunately never made it again, but I’ve wanted to a time or two.
Broccoli-pasta-cheese casserole. My go-to for the potluck at work.
@jouest “side side”?
(I’ve been wondering about that all week.)