Every year, we take a moment to appreciate the abundance and ease of preparing our favorite foods. But on Thanksgiving, we're faced with a different challenge - making the most of a rather unappetizing centerpiece. Let's explore the world of Thanksgiving cuisine and why we should be grateful for the rest.

Turkey - The Shriveled Centerpiece

Imagine a food that's supposed to be similar to chicken but lacks all its good qualities. Turkey fits that description perfectly. It's flake-dry, with a flavor that's often described as nothing or vaguely bird-ish. This nightmare cousin of chicken becomes the center of our Thanksgiving meal, a reminder that not all food is created equal. 1: The local grocery store might offer a free turkey if you've accumulated enough points, but it's hard to believe anyone would pay for it. And while a turkey deep fryer can cost $100 and only make the turkey taste a dollar better, it's a purchase that might seem worthwhile after a hundred years. Shoving a can of Dr. Pepper into the turkey carcass might give you something to talk about with your distant relatives, but it doesn't make the turkey taste any better. 2: Another attempt to make turkey more palatable is to pour a salty gray sauce on it. This is the only gray food we consume on Thanksgiving, and our instinct to avoid it is usually correct. But we eat it to remind ourselves how happy we are that most food doesn't resemble dog food.

Stuffing - Wet Bread with Celery

Instead of enjoying bread on Thanksgiving, we cut it into tiny cubes and soak it in salty liquid, then re-bake it. Stuffing is wet bread with pieces of wet celery stuck to it. Everyone claims to love it, but it's a dish that's only made on Thanksgiving. 1: It's a strange combination that we only tolerate on this one day. The texture and flavor are unique, and it's a reminder of how our tastes change during the holiday season. 2: We eat stuffing because it's part of the Thanksgiving tradition, but it's not a dish we look forward to the rest of the year.

Side Dishes - Factory-Rejected Baby Food

Most of the side dishes on Thanksgiving are like factory-rejected baby food. They're strange, gnarled, and oddly colored, resembling something Tim Burton might have invented for an animated Thanksgiving film. 1: Cutting through turnips can be a challenge, and some of the vegetables are so gross that they need to be hidden under mini marshmallows or a processed food crust. 2: The use of crumbled Ritz crackers or salted powdered cardboard chips to create a crust hides the nauseating vegetables beneath. It's a reminder that we're willing to do anything to make these dishes more palatable.

Pie - A Reminder of Real Desserts

After dinner, we eat pie to remind ourselves of real desserts. We might serve the pie with ice cream, making us think about how grateful we are for ice cream without pie. 1: Pie is a sweet ending to a meal that's otherwise filled with less-than-appetizing dishes. It's a reminder of the simple pleasures in life. 2: Thanksgiving might be known for its turkey and stuffing, but the pie is what we look forward to at the end of the meal.