If there is one thing we can all agree that we’re thankful for, it’s food.
So, this Thanksgiving weekend, please join me in an ode to Thanksgiving food:
Thank you, Thanksgiving meal, for showing me that there has never been a color wheel so beautiful as a plate piled high with your foods.
Every autumn shade manifested in its edible form, grounded by a golden-brown slice of deep-fried turkey in the center.
They say we eat with our eyes first, but even the looks of such a perfect feast can’t compare with the taste.
I can’t thank you enough for choosing to revolve around the tastiest food group of all – carbs, carbs and more carbs.
Hawaiian sweet rolls in the stuffing piled high next to the thick-cut slice of crusty, homemade sourdough bread. Why not throw a buttered roll onto the plate, too?
You never limit the amount of bread we consume and, for that, you make being thankful easy.
Thanksgiving might be the day to gorge ourselves but, still, you take a moment to remind us of the power of a little elbow grease.
It’s only through the peeling and mashing of pounds and pounds of potatoes that we yield perhaps the most coveted dish of all.
And thank you for recognizing that every meal should appropriately recognize the versatility of potatoes.
Only you, Thanksgiving meal, really understand that gravy is a good match for mashed potatoes but a hot scoop of cheesy, scalloped potatoes is even better.
You also teach us to never overlook God’s wisdom.
If He knew that a food as simple as a potato was good enough to make a regular and a sweet version of it, then we better use it.
Today, you unearth that buried treasure and turn a bright orange root into a casserole covered with a layer of toasted marshmallows.
Maybe it’s more like a s’more than anything else, but you empower us to call it a side dish without any judgment.
Thank you for being so welcoming and never refusing any dish be added to your plate.
There’s no need to debate whether mac and cheese is truly a “Thanksgiving food.”
Do we give thanks for tender shells bubbling up with every kind of cheddar?
If the answer is yes, Thanksgiving meal will gladly welcome it to its plates.
Veggies may be part of a well-balanced meal, but you understand that greens get a little more balanced themselves when they’re covered in cream and cheese, too.
Only Thanksgiving meal still allows us to call something with as few green beans and as much cream as green bean casserole a “vegetable.”
I will admit, Thanksgiving meal, that all the goodness you bring can verge on overindulgence.
But you’re sure to remind us of the importance of balance.
At the dessert table, every hot slice of pie (apple or pumpkin, take your pick) is topped with a nice, cold scoop of ice cream on top.
So thank you, Thanksgiving meal, for giving me so, so many reasons to give thanks.
-Kayleen Petrovia is a reporter for the Journal-Tribune.