Food may be what brings people together on Thanksgiving Day, but everyone knows that the people you share it with are the real stars of the show. WSN’s staff shared their best memories of Thanksgiving through the foods that brought them together.

Buttermilk Biscuits

“Thanksgiving is the one time of the year that my mom and I indulge and make Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits, knowing full well that it goes against the multigrain lifestyle we usually live. While my mom and grandma would handle the big league parts of Thanksgiving dinner, my job was — and continues to be — to make the biscuits. There’s something super satisfying about popping the tin open with a spoon, and it reminds me of a warm kitchen that smells like stuffing.” — Grace Halio, Deputy Managing Editor

Stuffing

“My parents are vegetarian, so we don’t do a traditional turkey at my house for Thanksgiving. But my mom makes an amazing stuffing every year. I’m Indian, and my mom loves cooking Indian food, so she created a recipe that fuses the traditional stuffing with an Indian influence. She’ll put the traditional bread, salt and onions together but mix in peas and spices that you’d commonly find in Indian dishes, like cayenne and coriander. It’s delicious and a hit with our family every year.” — Ankita Bhanot, Deputy Features Editor

“There’s truly nothing on the Thanksgiving table for me that holds more significance than stuffing. My family uses my grandmother’s recipe, which — scoff as you might — is perfected by the addition of raisins in the mix. Besides the classic bread cubes, apples and celery, the raisins act as the hero of the dish because they soak up the juices from the bird as it cooks. The smell of the stuffing and turkey slowly cooking all day long is truly the aroma of the holiday for me. Since it’s the only holiday my family ever traditionally celebrates together, it holds a lot of emotional significance. Besides, it goes well with every other dish on the table — you can pair it easily with turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce or any roasted vegetables and have yourself a tantalizing mouthful.” — Hailey Nuthals, Arts Editor

Red Velvet Cake

“Growing up, I never wanted to be the one to walk into my family’s Thanksgiving dinner with my mom’s red velvet cake in hand. As soon as the cake enters the sight of my extended family, everyone starts fighting over it. It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without seeing adults arguing over how big other people’s slices of cake are and searching for places to hide theirs until after dinner. We can’t be nice to each other every day of the year.” — Taylor Nicole Rogers, Dining Editor

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Nov. 21 print edition. Email WSN Staff at [email protected].