Results are in: Your top pick for standout side dish that completes a Thanksgiving meal
When preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, there are key things to consider.
For the guest, that checklist involves a tasty holiday offering for the host — whether it be wine, dessert or an app — and loose-fitting pants. For the host, the bird's the word — but just as important is the delicious spread of side dishes that draw family around the table.
There are plenty of hot-button topics that can spark debate at Thanksgiving dinner. Aside from politics, a more enjoyable, yet still contentious age-old argument remains embedded in our holiday tradition.
What's the one side dish no Thanksgiving feast could do without?
Everyone has their opinion, and while difficult to narrow these tasty complementary dishes to just the top two, we tasked our Herald News readers with doing just that in a recent online poll.
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And the results are … not surprising.
With 49% of the vote, there was no question as to readers' favorite — stuffing for the win.
A dish that originated from a need to use up stale bread, stuffing has since garnered its much-deserved reputation as star of the Thanksgiving sides.
Homemade Thanksgiving stuffing made with bread and herbs.
No holiday meal feels complete without a giant scoop of it, and each stuffing chef adds their own flair to this Thanksgiving menu must-have — with versions that feature Portuguese chouriço or other savory sausage and veggies (though we would never turn our nose up at store-bought Stove Top).
With a crisp, browned top, this savory bread pudding is a holiday hero.
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Stuffing faced a bit of competition in our reader poll, however, with the classic anytime side, mashed potatoes, garnering 20% of the votes.
Our other candidates fared OK. Cranberry sauce (10%), green bean casserole (6%), and sweet potato casserole (5%) all put up a good fight but were no match for the top two holiday heavy-hitters.
Thanksgiving is a day all about side dishes.
Let's be honest, when you're pitting vegetables like brussels sprouts and creamed corn versus a buttery herb toasted bread, stuffing's victory was a foregone conclusion.
Luckily for you, on Thursday, Nov. 28, you won't have to choose. Fill your plate with turkey, all of these fixings and then some, and go back for seconds.
Here's a recipe for sausage stuffing to try out this year.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Herald News readers pick top Thanksgiving side dishes
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