By Robert Nowinski
Two of the more popular starch sides of Thanksgiving are mashed potatoes and stuffing. They are both great options, but they have different uses. Mashed potatoes are quite simple. Take potatoes of any kind or flakes, add milk, butter, and seasoning, then mix them together until smooth. Stuffing is also simple, just follow the directions on the bag and add what you want.
Mash potatoes can be made with many different flavors, such as cheese, garlic, onion, and more. The potatoes used as the base can also enhance flavor or texture. They are usually smooth and creamy, but some people like them more clumpy. They can be mixed with various foods on the table, such as other potatoes and of course, gravy. They provide more variety than stuffing in terms of flavor mix-ins, but are more one note in terms of looks and feel.
Stuffing can also be simple since it’s basically bread, and other bits like herbs and butter. However, it can be elevated with the simple additions of stuff like mushrooms, other vegetables, or different types of bread. Some versions can be made with cornbread, some made purely from vegetables. They are mainly combined with turkey and gravy. They can provide some crunch missing from most other parts of the meal, or give a softness. With it being stuffing, they can be used to stuff things such as the turkey, or if you want to go more classic (maybe not as Thanksgiving-like) use fish or peppers.
Both have a place at the table with their different ingredients, but fill a similar role as a starch that goes with gravy. However, one important difference between the two is what you can do with the leftovers. Potatoes can be heated up, eaten, maybe put in a sandwich, and made into pancakes. Stuffing can be used for things such as making waffles out of them, putting them in sandwiches, muffins, and stuffing things.
They are both good options for your side of choice. But the other choice you need to make is what you put over them. The two contestants are gravy (the better choice in my opinion) and cranberry sauce (meh). I personally don’t like cranberry sauce, but it can add a sweet note to whatever you put it on, which can enhance the food. It can be fresh or canned, or some people might like relish instead, which I never knew about. Gravy is a nice, somewhat salty meat sauce. The sweetness of cranberry sauce can be good, but if you already put some sweet stuff in the potatoes or stuffing, it can make it more sweet. However, if you put salty stuff such as meat into your stuffing, it can provide a nice balancing force. Gravy can add a salt factor to what you put it on and it just makes the item taste better. Also, it can add some liquid to something that might be a bit dry.
Mashed potatoes and stuffing are two of the big starch sides, and they have many different uses. Which one are you choosing this year? Or will you have both this time? That decision is up to you to decide which one will grace your plate.
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