Entertainment
If Your Favorite TV Characters Were Thanksgiving Dishes
Thanksgiving is almost here and we've got many things to be thankful for. Things like incredible TV shows and the delicious food we're about to share with our family. Call us crazy, but these two amazing things have quite a bit in common.
Don't believe us? Just hear us out. It will make sense, we promise.
Image: Fotolia
It's Leslie Knope
The Parks and Rec heroine has the same effect as a good helping of warm, delicious stuffing: the sensation of being wrapped in a blanket of cheer and good feelings. She could be all you get this Thanksgiving and you’d be happy.
Image: NBC
Homemade Cranberry Sauce from Scratch
It’s a step above that canned cranberry sauce, which is fine and all, but if you really, truly cared so much your face hurts, you’d make this stuff from scratch.
It's Jess
Apologies for getting the New Girl theme song stuck in your head, but if Jess was a Thanksgiving dish she’d definitely be some adorably artisinal homemade cranberry sauce and you know the bowl would have a ridiculously cutesy decoration on top like a peppermint sprig or a cinnamon stick.
Image: Fox
The Turkey
Everyone chatters on about the other “characters” on the dinner table, but no matter how dry or overseasoned this bird gets, it’s always the main event.
It's Peggy Olsen
Like Peggy, the turkey is always the true focus of the dinner, even if it doesn’t turn out exactly to your earlier specifications. Everyone knows that if AMC insisted on doing a Mad Men spinoff, it would have to be about Peggy.
Image: AMC
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
Is this a vegetable dish? Or a delicious treat? We can’t tell, so we gobble it down with gusto and accept it for the category-defying dish it is.
Image: Fotolia
It's Olivia Pope
White hat/white marshmallow topping obvious comparison aside, this dish is a kindred spirit with Olivia and Scandal in general. The series comes to us a flashy, soapy ABC drama, but underneath lies the healthy, hearty writing of a seriously good show.
Image: ABC
Crescent Rolls
They’re never quite done cooking, but we eat them quickly and voraciously.
They're Hannah Horvath
Hannah is forever “kind of getting it together,” sort of like these forever gooey in the middle Thanksgiving staples. Still, when Girls’ January premiere rolls around (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) we’ll be champing at the bit for another serving of Hannah and friends. We kind of like the gooey parts, too.
Image: HBO
Cream Corn
Every year this dish makes an appearance, and we eat some without entirely understanding why.
It's Everyone on True Blood
This series has been out of its mind for at least the past three seasons, yet we continue to drink it up. We should just say no, but something (like grandma’s guilt over her creamed corn) continues to make us watch. Plus, like vampires, creamed corn is always inexplicably colder than it should be.
Image: HBO
Green Bean Casserole
The consistency is never right, but oh, the deliciousness of those fried onions…
Image: Fotolia
It's Rick Grimes
The Walking Dead character hasn’t really been all that great for the past few seasons, but we can’t let go. Thanks to his crispy onion topping (he’s very, very attractive) and his ability to whack a zombie in seconds, we gripe, but we can’t quit him.
Image: AMC
Rummy Egg Nog
Who doesn’t like to start the Christmas season drinking a bit early? Thanksgiving is pre-Christmas, after all…
Image: Fotolia
It's Don Draper
Because like Don Draper, egg nog will encourage you to decide that any time is a good time for a drink. Especially when Aunt Sue keeps asking you why you don’t have a boyfriend yet.
Image: AMC
Creamed Spinach
It’s predictable and boring, but someone throws some bacon bits on top and suddenly you’re thinking, “OH MY GOD I CAN’T STOP EATING THIS ELIXIR OF THE GODS.”
Image: Fotolia
It's Piper
The Orange is the New Black heroine is a typical upper crust over-educated Brooklynite. She’s well-read, she’s got a perfect man and a perfect artisinal soap company in the works, but throw this girl in prison (that’s the bacon) and boom: you’ve got a series you can’t help but mainline until you run out of episodes.
Image: Netflix
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
They’re dependable, they’re delicious, and when they combine, they get that cute little swirl in the middle.
Image: Fotolia
They're Bob and Linda
These two were made for each other, and sure when you combine Bobs Burgers’ Bob or Linda with one of the other characters (like when you dribble a little dressing on your stuffing, you creative eater, you) the result is often hilarity, but nothing beats the classic pairing of Linda and her Bawbeeee.
Image: Fox
Hot Sauce Your Ornery Cousin Sneaks to The Table
Is this cranberry sauce supposed to be burning my face off?
It's Ygritte
This Game of Thrones lady was not only the much-needed piece in the getting Jon Snow to open up puzzle, she was also the spiciest character yet. We knew she’d be a fun addition to the ensemble, but there was no way we were prepared to her to threaten Jon with castration should he become unfaithful. Spi-cy.
Image: HBO
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream
It’s what we dream about all year. It inspired lattes flavored with orange goo. It’s beautiful while still maintaining the power to command an entire bickering family’s attention…
It's Daenerys
Like the Game of Thrones character, it’s the one delicious, hearty dish that stands out in a crowd. While the table may be full of more dishes (or characters) than your brain has the capacity to process, you’re always waiting for pumpkin pie’s big scene. And most often, that reward comes at the perfectly sweet end.
Image: HBO