Massachusetts’ favorite Thanksgiving side dish is easier to master than you think
By Matt Reed
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BOSTON (WCVB) — Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, it’s a Thanksgiving staple, and a recent survey found that it is Massachusetts’ favorite side dish during the holidays.
Christopher Kimball, founder of Milk Street in Boston, has some tips for your Thanksgiving meal.
“Well, you can just make stuffing and forget about. Do you really need to make a turkey, I mean really? Well first thing is you don’t want to stuff the turkey because until the stuffing comes up to temperature you can’t take the turkey out of the oven,” he said.
Kimball said you can use anything for the base of your stuffing.
“We actually made this with what was left in our refrigerator. Last night we had some we had some bread we have some celery, we had some leeks, we had some mushrooms, throw it all together and just shove it in the oven. So, it’s really not hard — a little egg to bind it and a little broth to bring it together,” Kimball said.
Though stuffing is the Bay State’s favorite side dish, mashed potatoes take the top spot nationwide.
“The mashed potatoes is like the turkey. It’s sort of passive. It doesn’t have a ton of flavor. Just supposed to put the gravy on those. You put gravy on those because they’re kind of bland, right? So, you want to have some flavor. Stuffing’s not bland. I mean, I love a cornbread stuffing, personally, but you know stuffing is infinitely creative. You don’t need a recipe really and you clean out your fridge and make stuffing,” Kimball said.
Kimball had some advice for people making their first holiday meal.
“Make half as many dishes as you’re planning? Like nobody ever got up from Thanksgiving and said, ‘You know, there weren’t enough things on the table.’ So, make some mashed potatoes, turkey, some stuffing one side and make one dessert and then you don’t have to make four pies. People try to do too much. and then by the time they get to the meal, they’re drunk, they’re exhausted. they’re sweating, and they’re in a terrible mood. I mean, you want to enjoy your family, so I would say reduce the number of dishes. Just keep it simple.”
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