Well, as you can imagine I make a few birds before the actual big day. There is the “stuffing of the turkey” segment, the endless brining procedures, and now the rest of the week is filled with turkey leftover recipes.

 

Don’t get me wrong, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the sense of community and the aromas filling the air. I just don’t happen to love turkey and mashed potatoes. That green bean casserole with Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup is a whole other thing, though—I just love those fake canned French fried onion rings on top. I love creamed onions, but those sweet potatoes with little marshmallows—yuk! Do I sound like a Pilgrim Scrooge? You all know I love food, and goodness knows I love to feed people, but what if the true first Thanksgiving meals were really filled with prime rib and fingerling potatoes with truffle butter and creamed spinach? Who knows, none of us were there to prove otherwise.

 

I do like the pies, though, as you may have gathered. But for the life of me, who really does eat mincemeat—it’s like the November version of a fruit cake!

 

 Picky, picky, he wants whipped cream for his sweet potato pie.

Therefore, in keeping with my fondness for pie, we had one last pie wars at ABC 7. Today was all about the pumpkin and sweet potato pies. I am not supposed to tell you that John Scalzi had two slices of each because his wife may be reading this, but sometimes one must really study the true flavors to be able to form a balanced opinion. The sweet potato pie from Fresh Market won by a 5-1 ratio. Poor Scott Dennis was a lone voter for pumpkin—not that it wasn’t good, but the sweet potato had great flavor and texture with a clear bite of the spices that make a good Thanksgiving pie.

 

 Love that Colonial apple pie from Fresh Market.

 

Now in my ever-lasting search for apple pie, I almost ordered what the Wall Street Journal calls the best apple pie in America. I went on the website, $35, not bad for the world’s best pie, baked in a paper bag, until I went to check out online and it was another $100 for shipping. Good thing I found the Colonial apple pie today for $17.99 at Fresh Market. Now I can afford the vanilla Haagen-Dazs to go on top.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and if you have any last-minute cooking questions, I will be on the air on ABC7 on Thanksgiving at 12:30 p.m. to take your calls live for turkey 911.