When you look forward to your Thanksgiving feast, are you dreaming of the turkey or the sides? Do you get through the meal for the dessert or are you savoring every bite you eat? When planning a Turkey-Day menu, there are a lot of things to consider, ensuring your guests leave full and satisfied. What is the right balance? While most would agree on some basic needs, there are some nuances.
It’s About the Sides
Princeton Perspectives got feedback from more than 60 locals, all of whom care deeply for their Thanksgiving meal. While a turkey on the table has become synonymous with Thanksgiving, it turns out 81% of those we heard from favor their sides over the bird. “Probably 20% meat, 30% veggies, 50% starch,” one respondent put it.
If you are planning a full vegan or vegetarian meal, the sides become even more important. Sweet potato souffle, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (cornbread or sausage were stated favorites), brussel sprouts, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce topped people’s preferences. Some eat their foods separately, and for others it’s the “smoosh” of eating it all together that makes it great! What makes these sides even more special? Several that took our survey said they are once-a-year treats.
“Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top is my favorite! I never make it outside of Thanksgiving and it sits right next to me at the table,” admits Nessa Tallo. And Pam Adler confesses, “I like to keep it traditional and always look forward to mashed potatoes. I don’t eat them any other time.”
While most prefer starches to vegetables, some believe you can’t have one without the other.
“Stuffing, turkey and gravy are number one, but there also needs to be vegetables. String beans, roasted root veggies, and salad. Something green on the plate is a must. And of course, cranberry sauce,” Dane Dickler explains.
Family heritages play a big role, too.
“Offering both Italian and American sides, starters… antipasti, zuppa, salads, cheese, salumi,” Raoul Momo says of his family’s meal. As co-owner of Terra Momo Restaurant Group, he puts many family favorites, some served at Teresa Cafe and Mediterra, onto the table. “Lots of Italian dishes like lasagna, tortellini in brodo, involtini di melanzane (a/k/a eggplant rollatini) along with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner turkey, stuffing with sausage, mashed sweet potatoes baked with pineapple.”
Danielle Mack told Princeton Perspectives, there’s a similar trend at her family’s table. “My Italian mom will always have antipasta, burrata and some kind of pasta as earlier courses before turkey. So definitely everything that isn’t turkey is a highlight for me.”
Sweet vs. Savory?
When planning your side dishes, what should the balance be between sweet and savory? Nearly 60% of respondents desire a balance of both…but if you had to pick one, savory wins out, 24 to 1 (many recommend saving the sweets for dessert, which we’ll get to later!).
Personal preference of the chef and family traditions tend to dictate what will be served, but there are some general guidelines, shares Shelley Wiseman, chef, author and owner of Shelley’s Table, which offers international cooking classes & culinary adventures.
“Whether you are a turkey person or not, there should always be enough sides to satisfy vegetarians, vegans and other diets, which are so prevalent these days—a son’s new girlfriend might be joining the table! While sweet potatoes or yams are a must, you might change up the marshmallows-on-top with a savory version (*see recipe below),” Wiseman details. “If not everyone is in love with brussels sprouts, but they are still a must have, try shredding them ahead on a manual slicer and lightly sautéing them for a lighter, crowd-pleasing flavor. Add a drizzle of apple vinegar at the end and some toasted nuts to liven them up.”
Even with all of these amazing side dishes, it does appear that most homes wouldn’t consider it Thanksgiving without serving a turkey as well.
Turkey on the Table
“People get either whole turkeys, or we also do a boneless turkey breast that’s easier to deal with, easier to cut, but a lot of people do like the traditional whole turkey. We cook them fresh that morning so all you have to do is heat them up,” shares Adam Angelakis, co-owner of Olives, where his staff arrives early on Thanksgiving Day to prepare fresh meals for local pick-up. “We’re here from 3am cooking fresh turkeys and making the stuffing.”
Whether you buy it cooked or make it yourself, be sure to serve both white and dark meat, to suit everyone’s needs. And don’t forget to save the carcass (some guests find that to be their favorite part!). Guidelines suggest 1-2 pounds of turkey per guest (don’t worry about cooking one too large, as the leftovers are even better). Wiseman offers some guidance on how to cook your turkey to perfection:
Roasting time…
For a 10 to 16-pound bird:
At 450°F: about 10 minutes per pound (a 12-pound bird will take about 2 hours)
At 350°F: about 18 to 20 minutes per pound
For an 18 to 25-pound bird:
At 450°F: about 7 minutes per pound
At 350°F: about 13 to 15 minutes per pound
Internal temperature when removing from oven: at least 165°F in thigh (check in several places: the temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees while resting, then fall again as it starts to cool). And always let meat rest before carving so the juices redistribute into the fibers of the meat.
Resting time: 20 to 30 minutes loosely covered with foil
“Looking for balance in the menu means balance of color and texture, as well as taste, and consider a balance of cooking methods so you don’t find yourself with everything needing to be in the oven or on the stove, or too many things being last minute. My best tip though, is to get family to bring some of the dishes, so you don’t have to do it all yourself!” Wiseman provides.
Don’t Forget Dessert
Many love to bring along a favorite dessert and once the main course is complete, that’s what everyone is looking forward to. No matter how full, there always seems to be room.
“All diets are off that day,” Angelakis states, as Olive’s prepares many sweets for Thanksgiving. “No one forgets about dessert. We do a lot of dessert. We sell traditional pies and also do lemon merengue, chocolate mousse pie, other specialty desserts. By far the most popular is pumpkin, it’s the favorite.”
Princeton locals agree, with 36% sharing a preference for pumpkin pie. Apple and pecan came in second with some suggesting cookies or something chocolate instead.
“A plate full of stuffing and pumpkin pie is the most perfect plate there ever was or ever could be, in my opinion!” someone shared anonymously on the survey.
So, it seems there’s a majority consensus that you should balance your sweets vs. savory side dishes, serve them along with some turkey and be sure to include pumpkin pie on your dessert tray. But who will you be sharing it with and when is the best time to eat?
Who is at Your Table?
Nearly 60% of those on our survey said they enjoy Thanksgiving meal with family, though almost 20% incorporate family and friends at the same table. For timing, our restaurant and cooking experts recommend an afternoon feast, providing for enough appetizers to get one started for a later afternoon sit down meal.
However you choose to put it all together, there is no right or wrong way to prepare or plan your day. Just be sure that you balance all of your efforts with some relaxation and enjoyment with your loved ones.
Lisa Jacknow spent years working in national and local news in and around New York City before moving to Princeton. Working as both a TV producer and news reporter, Lisa came to this area to focus on the local news of Mercer County at WZBN-TV. In recent years, she got immersed in the Princeton community by serving leadership roles at local schools in addition to volunteering for other local non-profits. In her free time, Lisa loves to spend time with her family, play tennis, sing and play the piano. A graduate of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Lisa was raised just north of Boston, Massachusetts but has lived in the tri-state area since college. She is excited to be Editor and head writer for Princeton Perspectives!
According to the 
“It’s more than just land use because it is tied into so many things,” shares Justin Lesko, Princeton’s Acting Planning Director/Senior Planner. “Even if you’re not interested in planning this legal document, you still can be interested in taking part and contributing to it because it touches upon open space, recreation, how we get around, cars, e-bikes, mass transit, historic presentation, green building and sustainability, etc. It’s not just something I am going to type up that is going to sit on a shelf and never gets looked at.”
Unfortunately, the Princeton government has been utilizing an outdated “map” for far too many years. Though there were some updates made since 1996, the essential community input remains and must be reworked to address what is needed and wanted today.
So, who is contributing most to the direction of the new Master Plan? You! Every effort is being made to ensure that anyone that wants to share their thoughts, concerns and desires, has a chance to do so. In addition to the opportunity to attend Steering Committee meetings, locals have and will be invited to take part in community surveys and are requested at open houses (the first of which will be at Princeton Public Library November 30th from 4-7pm).
“Some think of it as a college town, which it is, but in a very different way than, say, a Big 10 town. For others, it is a bedroom community for commuters to New York, which it is, but not the way Westchester County or Greenwich, Connecticut, are. Some see it as a small city, which, again, it sort of is and sort of isn’t. Others, particularly some of the people who grew up here or who have been here longer than I have, idealize it as small town, one that was certainly experienced differently if you grew up in Witherspoon Jackson or Jugtown, as opposed to the Western Section. The challenge of this Master Plan is to forge consensus on a way forward out of these multiple and distinctive views of what Princeton is and should become,” Quinn points out.
I got back into local journalism a few years ago, frustrated by the fact that there was nowhere to learn about the many local candidates that would appear on my ballot. Sure, I might have seen an ad or an editorial, but I wasn’t finding any information about a candidate’s experience, plans for office, and no unsolicited information to help sway my vote. So, I wrote an article about some. Now, I dedicate every October issue to informing you as a voter. This issue of Princeton Perspectives marks the 3rd annual elections issue.
The United States has always had its divisions within politics which, for the most part, didn’t influence people’s daily lives or conversations. Yet in recent years, like it or not, politics has become part of the fabric of how people live their lives, make decisions, talk and view others. The Democrats have their key issues, Republicans have theirs and some would argue that both sides have shifted to the point that moderates within the parties either no longer exist or are not strongly regarded. This has led to a growing number of people who, whether officially registered as such or not, describe themselves as Independents. For the purpose of this article, we’ll be using the terms Independent and Unaffiliated interchangeably, since ‘Unaffiliated’ has been the statewide registration classification since 2006.
“76% of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction that our country is going in—this is among people of all political persuasions (Independents weigh in at 77%). Nationally, more people consider themselves independent” explains Sue Davies, founder of New Jersey Independent Voters. “According to the 
Despite that lapse, the Independent voter has played a major role in the November polls for more than a decade.
Unaffiliated voters are now finding themselves voting for or against issues. Those in support of abortion rights may lean towards a Democratic candidate while those in favor of stricter border policies likely lean towards a Republican one. This can be further complicated when a candidate aligns with you on one major issue but against you on another.
“Take our national 
Every year, as September 11th approaches, I am reminded of living in New York City in 2001. I recall the horrors of concern, fear, grief and pain we all went through. I am also vibrantly reminded of the heroes that overcame the unthinkable, that put others before them, that dedicated all they had – some who survived and others who perished.
A hero can be thought of in many ways. It can be a character created in movies, that saves the day; a person that shows incredible courage under difficult circumstances; or, as Meriam-Webster adds, a hero can also be “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities.”
Witherspoon, a Scottish-born Presbyterian clergyman, was the only clergy or college president to sign the Declaration of Independence. He is credited with transforming the college, both financially and academically. Buried alongside other Presidents at 
Joseph Hewes, not as famous as some of the other signers of the Declaration of Independence, was also born in Princeton. He became a merchant, an expert in shipping and soon applied his maritime knowledge to help the cause and oversaw the creation of the first naval warships.
Though names may not all be written in our history books, their heroic contributions are being recognized. In his book, 
His father, Aaron Burr, Sr., was the second President of The College of New Jersey where junior would later find himself a student of theology. He went on to study law, and after the Revolution, that helped him rise through the ranks. He ultimately became a U.S. Senator and made two attempts to win the Presidency. In his second try, in 1800, he tied with Thomas Jefferson in electoral votes but, in deciding the tie, the 
Several years later, Woodrow Wilson would lead the United States into World War I as the 28th President of the United States. His tenure saw major advancements, with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote, and as a supporter of the League of Nations, for which he won a 
Most well-known for his time living in Princeton is one of the most famous scientists in the world, Albert Einstein. You know, the 
A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. – Christopher Reeve
Michele Schwartz was just 37 when she found lumps in her breast in 2018. She was in the early years of starting a family with 7-month and four-year old sons, and the doctor initially tried to brush off her claims as an infection from dried up milk. But Michele knew something was really wrong, with the itching, redness and swelling she was feeling.
And with her heroic vision, she has. Nearly four years later, she is still working on her recovery, as the infection led to another surgery, 28 rounds of proton radiation, an oophorectomy (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes) and further procedures of fat grafting and more to help with the skin and shape of her chest area. She’s still got more work to do but has put a hold on any more surgeries for now.
Finding hope is at the basis of being able to survive. And sometimes, when you feel that everything is working against you, it’s a hard thing to find. But Barbara Arndt, is a survivor many times over. Seven years ago, four months after discovering a lump on her breast, she was told she had positive cancer cells in her breast and lymph nodes.
Unlike Schwartz, Arndt didn’t have the support of family and friends. She’d always had a good job, with health insurance and savings, but when her money and insurance ran out, she found herself struggling and then homeless. That’s when she went to 
Despite the hardships Arndt had and is still going through, she has only recently been able to recognize the hero inside her, how strong she’s had to be to get through it all. She’s opted to try and pay that forward by posing for photographs that exemplify the beauty of a woman that has had her body changed due to breast cancer. Most recently, Arndt posed for 
Schwartz found such an immense connection and help from the BCRC that, once healthy enough, she opted not to return to the elementary school classroom and is working with adults as the BCRC program and outreach coordinator doing breast education and helping people through diagnosis, treatment and beyond.
“What we’ve always offered is support for women and their families diagnosed with breast cancer, at time of diagnosis, going through treatment, then beyond. Once past treatment, we continue to provide resources and programs for them,” White-McMahon shares, acknowledging that financial, emotional and other physical traumas can add to the situation. “We try to remove those barriers for these women going through a hard time.”