How many side dishes should you make when cooking Thanksgiving dinner?
by 
hellokiddo
ANSWERS: 4
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Must have stuffing and at least one potato dish (I like mashed). Then, one or two veggie dishes - preferrably two so if someone doesn't like one, they can have the other.
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Ideally with any meal, balance should be your focus. Thanksgiving is a food specific celebration and therefore has exceptions which we'll get to, but for the most part, think balance. With that said, turkey is the star. The more you have on the table (and the better those dishes are) the less attention is received by your bird. A balanced meal highlights a protein and is accompanied by a starch and a vegetable. As for the aforementioned exceptions - Thanksgiving in my family would be simply a mediocre dinner after a long day of football without stuffing (dressing for you southerners) and mashed potatoes. Since these are both starches, it makes sense to balance them with two veggie dishes. That brings us to four + turkey, so unless you're hosting more than 15 people, keep things simple. Besides, hors d'ouvres and dessert usually limit how much of the actually dinner gets eaten, at least in my house.
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mashed potatos stuffing cranberry sauce, black olivs for a apitizer and chips and sauce always have a apptizer just in case if they come eiere also have 2 desserts and then if your girlfriend is over take a walk afterword very romantic
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You SHOULD make whatever you want to make, just make enough to feed everyone present :) If you want to make a nice, well rounded meal - I suggest at least 2 side dishes. One starch (like stuffing, or mashed potatoes) and one veggie. We always have more than that - but I think we go a bit crazy. Good choices could be: Stuffing/dressing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, green beans, zucchini, glazed carrots, creamed peas & onions, fruit salad, bread/rolls.... the list goes on. I'd be happy with turkey, stuffing, green beans, and some cranberry sauce.
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