(WXYZ) — We're less than a week from Thanksgiving, and almost everyone is thinking about the big meal.
While the centerpiece of the meal is a turkey, the sides can make or break dinner.
I went out to Ann Arbor to see what people are saying about some of their favorite side dishes and got a tip from a local chef on how to take your side dishes to the next level.
"My favorite? By far Mac and cheese," Josie told us.
"Cheesy potatoes and Mac and cheese," Veronica said.
Holidays are a great time to slow down and gather with family and friends you may not see every day, and what better way to show your love to your loved ones than through good food made with love.
Chef Bob Bennett is the head chef at Zingerman's Roadhouse. He says loving people through his food is kind of his thing, and he's learned a few tricks to take those favorite dishes from delicious to irresistible.
"What would you say is the difference with this Mac and cheese that kind of takes it to the next level?" I asked.
"Noodles are a big piece of it. They push it through copper dyes which gives it these little ridges on it, which does two things: it gives the sauce something to hold on to and it also builds a lot of structure so that it doesn't mush down on top of itself," he said.
You can't forget about the cheese.
"And then we also caramelize the cheese a little bit, at the bottom of the pan which, that's where you see those colors and we think that really ramps it up a bit," he said.
While Mac and cheese did seem to win the show, there were other honorable mentions we would be wrong not to share.
"Sweet potatoes, not with marshmallows, but either with maple syrup or brown sugar, or lots of sugar. Green bean casserole. I know that it's made a lot of different ways, but I like it with the crispy onions on top," Lisa said.
"Well, it's gotta be the green bean casserole. We have it right here!" Zachary added.
Bennett said it's all about the mushrooms.
"One of the things that's kind of grown in the last couple years is the amount of mushrooms that people can bring into their own homes," Bennet said.
When it comes to taking any dish to the next level, Chef Bob says seeking out fresh ingredients will always be best.
"Bringing things From farmer's markets or different grocery stores and bringing those to the table are really fun," he said.
