Untraditional Twists for Your Thanksgiving Feast

Gia Nguyen

Thanksgiving brings to mind delicious dishes like creamy mashed potatoes, warm turkey, and sweet pumpkin pie, which — despite being a tradition — become repetitive and lose their charm year after year. This fall, spice up your Thanksgiving dinner with these mouthwatering and unconventional recipes.

Buttermilk-Battered Pan-Fried Fish Filets (from purewow.com)

While it may not be the standard turkey fresh out of the oven, these buttermilk-battered pan-fried fish filets will make you wish you found them sooner. Leaner and lighter than turkey, the savory fish is a healthier but just as flavourful alternative to other meat dishes. The buttermilk uplifts the filet’s silky texture with a hint of a sweetness, masking the overwhelmingly fishy flavor of catfish. The crispiness of the skin perfectly complements the soft, tender fish, while the tartar sauce and lemon elevate the dish by adding a tangy aftertaste. Unlike turkey, which can be daunting and expensive to make, preparing these is much simpler and tastier!

Sweet Potato Sugar Cookies With Marshmallow (from purewow.com)

Try a twist on the typical sugar cookies you’d expect from any grocery store. These sweet potato sugar cookies provide a decadent fluffy treat that can be made in 30 minutes. The unique addition of the sweet potato provides a perfect amount of richness to the cookies, adding an unexpected starchiness, which compliments the cakey texture and sweet and delightful taste. Topped with marshmallow, the untraditional ingredients culminate into one delicious dessert. Try it with some fudge for a more smore-like taste. With its richness, it’s best to enjoy the cookies separate from your dinner, as they pair as an excellent extra snack!

Dark Chocolate Truffles (from minimalisticbaker.com)

If you don’t have the time or ingredients to bake a pie, these two-ingredient truffles are an ideal quick and versatile dessert. Chocolate lovers will enjoy these densely packed balls of rich chocolate that simply melt in your mouth. Combining bittersweet dark chocolate and creamy coconut milk, the result is a rich, delectable delight with a soft, smooth texture. With only a few steps and no oven required, these indulgent chocolate bites are simple but sophisticated, working as a fulfilling Thanksgiving snack or a sweet gift for your guests.

Whether it’s an elaborate family dinner or a casual Friendsgiving gathering, use these recipes as exciting and tasty additions to your Thanksgiving plans. Even though you may not have seen them at a Thanksgiving table before, once you try these delicious meals, they’ll soon become staples in your recipe book!

About the Contributors

Justin Le, Staff Writer

Justin Le is a current sophomore, beginning his second year on the Gamut staff. His interest in joining the staff came from the popular 2000s television show, Gilmore Girls, one of his personal favorite series. Since one of the protagonists is a member of their respective student-run newspaper, it only made sense for him to follow suit. Additionally, some of Justin's hobbies include binging TV shows, reading from time to time, and joining sports for about a 24-hour period before promptly quitting them. Although Justin may not be very dedicated to his life as a student athlete, he is certainly dedicated to The Gamut, so much so that he sacrificed his year-long pencil pouch for the sake of keeping a stack of GamSlam brochures from blowing away. Justin’s former Word Hunt addiction might also be pretty compelling, considering he has a total of 1858 wins, more than should be humanly possible. In addition, Justin stays involved here at Oxford, as he is SCC’s Activities Commissioner, as well as an active member of VSA, International Club, and ECO. So when he's not writing moving articles about Taylor Swift, he's got a plethora of other activities to choose from.

Michelle Choy, News Editor

Michelle Choy is serving her final year with Gamut as a News Editor and, despite being in her Senior year, still plans to work just as hard researching and communicating the facts. Some of her many hobbies include bike riding, roller skating, dancing, reading manga, and playing video games like Overwatch 2. She considers herself a foodie and likes eating a lot, but overall eats healthy. She also enjoys traveling and seeing the world, but her all-time favorite travel destination is Hawaii. Michelle considers herself similar to a panda because of her passion for food and comforting nature which helped her reach the position of Vice President in the Big Brothers Big Sisters club. When it comes to reading, her favorite book series has been "The Hunger Games". A fun fact about her is that she has helped foster over fifteen cats in her lifetime. Beyond Gamut, Michelle intends to pursue a career in either economics or business administration.

Gia Nguyen, Assistant Art/Layout/Web Content Editor

Serving his second year, meet Gia Nguyen, the beloved assistant layout editor of The Gamut. Gia’s story with the newspaper began when he decided the structured format of OA’s art program wasn’t for him. Instead, he prefers the freedom that journalism offered him, allowing him to experiment with his art style, and incorporate art with an academic field. Outside of diligently working on Gamut’s art and layout, you can find Gia bopping to the Spider Verse movie soundtrack, tearing up to emotional movies, taking refreshing walks, and cooking and baking (he makes a mean chicken fettuccine alfredo). Despite having a patient demeanor, Gia has a few dislikes: going through the motions, math and science, and wet and mushy foods (wet spinach irks him). With a passionate personality, Gia is excited for this year in Gamut, personally aiming to have a strong work ethic and improve the quality of his Gamut drafts.