Sam Sifton's Thanksgiving Rules to Live By

Just in case you're a bit confused about what to make this Thanksgiving, former NY Times critic Sam Sifton has six rules to help you figure it out. The first?  "You will make a turkey. Turkey is why you are here."

Promoting his new Thanksgiving cookbook to Buzzfeed, aptly titled Thankgiving: How to Cook It Well, Sifton spills his six Thanksgiving rules to live by, banning appetizers and salads and instead insisting on plates of mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and green beans (what, no creamed corn?)

For dessert, make pie. Any pie (apple, pecan, pumpkin, or our personal favorites blueberry or cherry), just not chocolate cake. "Save chocolate for nights of depression, for nights of anxiety," Sifton says. That, and more insightful gems from Sifton in the video below, including, obviously, the fact that one should give thanks on Thanksgiving. We'd just like to add that Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches are a must.

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