As you can probably guess, the UPenn Spoon staff takes Thanksgiving very seriously. It’s a holiday literally centered around feasting, and if we had our say there would be a Thanksgiving every month. Whether we were active participants in the cooking or just active eaters, we all had our favorite dishes. Here’s what we had to say:
Photo by Amanda Shulman
Shaili: My favorite dish was a truffle mashed potato made with truffle butter, parmesan cheese and cream.
Miguel: Mashed potatoes Joel Robuchon style, which is basically butter + a heart attack.
Rachel: My favorite was a string bean casserole topped with crunchy french fried onions. I’m also a super big fan of sweet potatoes whipped with brown sugar and cinnamon and topped with marshmallows.
Hannah: My favorite TG dish has always been mashed potatoes. My mom has mastered the saltiness/buttery balance in this mouth-watering mashed potato dish. I dream about my mom’s Thanksgiving mashed potatoes all year—not kidding.
Arlo: The best dish was this coconut-crusted chocolate almond pie. It has about 5 ingredients– Coconut, butter, condensed milk, chocolate, and almonds.
Andrew: HAM
Photo by Sam Klein
Sam: My family celebrates thanksgiving with family friends, some of whom are vegetarian. Each year our friends make their super secret extra cheesy mac n’ cheese casserole recipe that I can never stop eating.
Steph: My favorite dish was the delicious pecan pie that one of our dinner guests brought from a local bakery. It was the perfect treat to finish off my large Thanksgiving feast.
Photo by Steph Wilf
Dara: Pecan pie!!
Photo by Amanda Shulman
Lucy: Stuffing!!!
Samantha: The best thing I had on Thanksgiving was a bourbon pumpkin pie with pumpkin whipped cream. The pie had just the right amount of spice and the whipped cream was mixed with pumpkin puree and vanilla pudding that added a rich and creamy note to the pie.
Genny: My favorite part of the meal was actually the gravy! It had the perfect thickness and the slightly salty flavor tied everything on my plate together. Also had an incredible pumpkin pie — it was ridiculously smooth and silky with the perfect amount of texture from a graham cracker crust.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
Lena: My favorite dish was roasted carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and leeks mixed with wild rice.
Teodora: Not a traditional thanksgiving dish, but Asian cole slaw. The carrots and red pepper gave the dish the festive color vibe. Instead of ramen noodles, I used mini fusilli and topped it off with shredded almonds! It actually worked as a good side to the turkey.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
Audrey: The best thing I had at Thanksgiving was an apple pie that my mom makes. It’s special because it actually has a little bit of crushed Heath Bar to add some interesting flavor to a traditional dish.
Vini: My favorite dish on my table this Thanksgiving was a simple pecan pie. Typically, it’s spearheaded by my older sister – she makes a mean pecan pie – but, she was stuck in Texas this break and it fell onto my cousin and I to take charge. I made the crust with a pretty design, and my cousin made the filling, chock full of nuts. Although it was one of the several things I made for the dinner, it felt even more delicious because I made it with my cousin.
Photo by Vini Saggurti
Dina: I don’t eat red meat…Unless it’s thanksgiving and my aunt’s brisket is on the table. Perfectly stewed and tender and delicious, I can’t help but make an exception.
Amanda: I got really carried away with the dessert table this year. The standout was a salted caramel chocolate pecan pie. I actually shed tears into this pie.
Photo by Amanda Shulman