Staff picks: Daily Targum editorial board carves out their favorite Thanksgiving meals

As the Rutgers student body flocks home for Thanksgiving break, most will be returning to their hometowns, reuniting with family and chopping it up with high school friends. While we all go our separate ways, what unites us is the shared joy of a much-needed break and the opportunity to enjoy a feast of hearty, delicious food.

Before we go into our respective food comas, The Daily Targum came together to answer one pressing question: "What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?"

Brian Delk, editor-in-chief:

"I love apple pie. Baking it from scratch is a tradition of mine for my family, and watching their faces light up as they eat it is what I look forward to every Thanksgiving."

Lilly Tea, managing editor:

"My favorite Thanksgiving side dish is applesauce. My family makes it from scratch, and it helps balance out the saltiness of the turkey or the other non-sweet dishes. It is also one of the dishes that I help my mom make for dinner."

Tani Dave, head copy editor:

"My family doesn't really do Thanksgiving, but one year the whole extended family, like 23 people, rented a cabin in Maine for a week, and we happened to be up there on the day of. We made alfredo pasta because the ingredients for that were all we had on hand, and for dessert, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. My favorite Thanksgiving food is mashed potatoes though."

Evelyn Oravez, social media editor:

"My favorite Thanksgiving dish is definitely green bean casserole. My family makes it with shiitake and oyster mushrooms which, on top of the green beans and fried onions, makes it a really texturally interesting dish. Plus it's incredibly delicious."

Joel Pesantez, head inside beat editor:

"Let me answer this question by painting a picture: The clock is winding down and this year's Pesantez Thanksgiving dinner is nearly over. Every branch of my family is gathered around our crowded dining room table. I've masterfully sidestepped all the political debates and dodged the million-dollar question of the night: 'So, what are you doing after college?'

"The only thing getting me through it all is the knowledge that my mom's homemade 'torta de plátano' will be waiting for me. It's this rich, flavorful cake crafted from ripe plantains, sugar, flour and cheese that makes the stress of the holidays worth it. Well, that and everyone uniting over our shared hatred of the Cowboys and watching them get humiliated on national television. Go Giants."

Nick Vitale, head inside beat editor trainee:

"Turkey. It's the main event, the head honcho of the feast. You can have mashed potatoes or gravy on any night, but to me, turkey is Thanksgiving."

Zafir Ali, associate inside beat editor trainee:

"Turkey leftovers — my mom used to take the leftover bits of turkey, shred them, douse them in oil and sprinkle them with a bunch of random Indian spices. I remember loving when our Thanksgiving parties would be over because once everyone was gone, it was time for the 'real' cuisine to show up."

Josh Meyers, head sports editor:

"White turkey meat, green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy. My family only had ham for one Thanksgiving meal, but the ham was really good. It was so good that my dad, sister and I took some ham from its tray in the fridge before our actual meal."

Camden Markel, associate sports editor:

"My favorite dish is easily corn pudding, or what my family calls it, 'corn stuff.' I never knew this dish existed outside of my family, hence why I didn't know it had an actual name. Corn stuff generally takes up more than half of my Thanksgiving plate, and then is the only thing on my second plate. My family always knows to make extra and who to send the leftovers with.

"I also love my grandma's baked beans. She made them my entire childhood and honestly, thinking I wasn't a bean guy, I never gave them a chance until the past few years. Oh my goodness, they're perfection. The bacon bits put them over the top. My grandma passed in 2023 just before Thanksgiving, but thank goodness she left the recipe. These beans are extra special now in remembering her."

Matthew Mangam, associate sports editor:

"It's basic, but my favorite Thanksgiving dish is the turkey. After all, it's the main course and symbol of the holiday. As for a side dish, I'm a big fan of this mac and cheese casserole my grandmother makes. I also love mashed potatoes, especially when they're very soft."

Nicholas Hart, associate sports editor trainee:

"My favorite Thanksgiving dish is the antipasto appetizers that my dad and I put together every year. We typically go to the store together to get the cold cuts that we think are best. Also, on Thanksgiving morning, we take a drive to Elio's Bakery and Deli in Jersey City to pick up some of the best-stuffed bread I have had in my life."

Alex Kenney, head news editor:

"I love my Japanese mom's sweet potato pie. Growing up, she would bake it for me and my sister — sometimes to celebrate our academic achievements or seemingly randomly at other times. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but she uses Japanese sweet potatoes, known as satsumaimo, and bakes them into a creamy mixture that goes into a Pillsbury pie crust and gets baked again.

"Satsumaimo have a much more yellow color than American sweet potatoes, which tend to lean more orange. I haven't tried American sweet potatoes, but my mom always says they're too sweet. On their own, satsumaimo just have this very earthy sweetness and a light, at times stringy, texture to them, and the peel can also get really sweet underneath after you bake them, like an all-natural crème brûlée.

"Definitely ignore anyone who says you're not supposed to use them for pies because they clearly haven't been to my house. Pie or not, satsumaimo recipes are a must for the season."

Ruby Hoffman, associate news editor trainee:

"Mashed potatoes and stuffing mixed with gravy on top. This is actually one of my favorite foods ever! All year round, I get Thanksgiving in a bite with the Gobbler sandwich from Millburn Deli, highly recommend it."

Kiran Subramanian, opinions editor:

"My favorite Thanksgiving dish is apple pie because it is the only Thanksgiving food I have eaten."