If there’s one thing I love more than gorging myself on turkey (and stuffing, and cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie… mmm… wait, what was I talking about again?), it’s loafing on the living room couch before and after Thanksgiving dinner and taking in some fine Thanksgiving television.

Holiday-themed episodes of TV shows usually follow a predictable pattern—the gang is planning some kind of celebration until everything goes horribly awry. But by the end of the show, problems have been solved, fights have ended, and everyone sits down together to enjoy a nice meal and/or some serious present opening, accompanied by a well-known holiday tune.

While most Thanksgiving episodes still adhere to the formula, there’s something about them that makes them even more satisfying than Christmas/Hanukkah/Valentine’s Day specials. Maybe it’s because they tend to be less cheesy than other holiday shows. Maybe it’s because I just like watching people enjoy a hearty meal. Whatever the reason, Thanksgiving episodes deserve some appreciation.

So, without further ado, here’s my list of the best Thanksgiving episodes. They’re all funny, entertaining, and heartwarming without being cloying—yes, even that episode of South Park.

[Click on any image to view the gallery]

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m still reeling from Monday’s Bachelorette finale. I’m not sure whether I am so sad for Chris L. or so happy that he’s still a single man (and I’ve got a free Southwest Flight to use to hop on over to Cape Cod to snatch him up). I just can’t imagine what Ali was thinking. I know, I know – it’s not like Roberto was the Vienna of Ali’s season, but still.

It’s Chris Freaking L! COME ON.

But what’s done is done so now it’s time to move on and look forward. And what am I looking forward to? Tonight’s episode of Top Chef (yes, reality TV is the only constant in my life). Because we all know that the only thing that can take anyone’s mind off of Chris L’s body is a perfectly seared scallop with some lobster foam.

And all that got me thinking (and drooling):

Would you rather be the next Bachelorette OR be a judge on Top Chef?

Things to Consider: 25 guys vying for your love, romantic dates in exotic locations, gourmet food, eating…for a living.

Vote and explain yo’self below.

Since we’re well into the lazy days of July, I have no doubt that by now you’ve taken in your fair share of reruns and reality TV.  Between puttering back and forth from a boring job at the mall and babysitting the kids down the street, you’re bound to slip into that coma only a comfy couch and summer television can bring.

As you watch the celebs parade around in all their glitz, do you find yourself yearning for a more sparkly life?  Do you wish you were drinking Cristal instead of Crystal Light?  Maybe wearing Gucci instead of Gap?  Fear not, we’ve all been there.  With visions of sugar plums and Rachel Zoe dancing through our heads, it’s not hard to wish we were someone else.  Someone, perhaps, more like…

Zahara Jolie-Pitt

She’s sassy, she’s precious, she’s got more designer handbags than that bitch who lived down the hall from you freshman year.  Oh yeah, and her dad’s Brad Pitt…NBD.  When God reached his hand down through the clouds and deemed this little Ethiopian tot worthy of Ange and Brad’s love, my heart cried out, “Pick me!  Choose me!”  Her A-List parents aren’t the only reason we want her life- the jetsetting lifestyle, designer wardrobe, and endless cheese doodles are also super appealing.

Chelsea Handler’s dog (Chunk)

Yes, I would be a dog.  But only if that dog had his own hysterical Twitter account, made TV appearances, and was owned by one of the funniest women in Hollywood.  Seriously, tell me you wouldn’t want to sit in the green room while mom interviewed a star-studded roster of guests.

The Bachelorette

Do I really even need to explain my rationale here?  As the Bachelorette, you have 25 hot men competing for your affection while you live in a mansion and ride around in limos.  As if that wasn’t enough, famous stylists give you a makeover and ABC gifts you with a fabulous wardrobe before they send you around the world on romantic vacations.  At the end of all this, your one true love proposes with a ring that would make even J.Lo’s eyes widen.  Umm, sign me up!

Bee Shaffer

Her mom is Anna Wintour, enough said.  Imagine all the amazing free samples Bee is privy to, not to mention the amazing industry connections (hello André Leon Talley!) and fabulous party invites.  She currently interns at College Humor, where she spends her days surrounded by cute twenty-something guys that bring in a paycheck for simply being funny and resourceful (which is more than I can say for those beer-bellied dudes of Beta Chi).

Gail Simmons

The food!  Just imagine all the delicious food you’d get to eat!  As a primary judge on Top Chef, Gail rubs elbows with Anthony Bourdain, Natalie Portman, and a host of other guest stars while tasting mouth-watering culinary creations. FOR A LIVING. Certainly a far cry from splitting a cup of Ramen with the girls while studying French, huh?

You know that scene in Get Him To The Greek when Aaron’s girlfriend says something to the effect of, “Omg I can’t wait to watch like 100 hours of Gossip Girl”? I laughed hysterically (It’s funny cuz it’s true!). David did not (for the same reason).

I don’t know about you guys, but when I get home after a long day of interning, working, and gymming, all I want to do is eat dinner and zone out to one of the thousands of Real Housewives or Say Yes to the Dress episodes I have DVR’ed. Unfortunately, my live-in boyfriend isn’t on the same page. Especially now that it’s baseball season.

Without our usual primetime lineup to veg out to (If you’re an avid CC reader you’ll know about my unerring obsession with Comedy Night Done Right), the pickings have been slim for couple-friendly shows.

Until Now. Enter this summer’s surefire couple-pleasing shows. Read on, DVR and get some popcorn ready.

Last Comic Standing: David and I love this show because it’s (obviously) hilarious. But we love this show even more because Craig Robinson is the host. He’s charmingly side-splitting, and I personally think he’s kinda sexy. Disturbingly enough, David agrees. Anyways, the comedians are either really funny or funny because they don’t know how bad they are. And in either instance, the celebrity judges Greg Giraldo, Natasha Leggero (Chelsea Lately!) and Andy Kindler will crack you up. I’m soo happy this show is back, because girl or guy, who doesn’t love to laugh?

Lie to Me: The eccentric Dr. Lightman is back! This show is 65% Criminal Minds + 20% House + 15% Castle…and the main character is British. Besides the fact that after watching you’ll enjoy talking to each other with distinctive accents for the remainder of the evening (and you’ll say things like “the remainder of the evening”), Dr. Lightman (Cal Roth) is seriously badass. Basically he and his team of uber-psychologists read body language to catch bad guys. Realistic? No. Awesome? Yes.

TrueBlood: The Vampire craze goes coed with Eric, Bill and Sookeh. This weekly drama is a satiating hour long (but the end still comes way too soon every Sunday). It’s got blood and guts galore for him, along with seriously sick fight scenes. For the ladies, it’s got twisted, passionate love stories, Southern gentlemen vampires from a century or two ago, and Alexander Skarsgard. The sex scenes will spark both of your imaginations, and strong, sexy and feisty Sookie is a heroine guys and girls can root for. Plus, HBO has to put all of their parental control warnings (SDVM) on every episode, so you know it’s gonna be good.

Top Chef: There are 3 reasons why Top Chef just might be the ultimate couples’ show. 1. Incredible Food 2. Crazy characters 3. Padma and Tom (I don’t know what it is about that shiny bald head but Colicchio is one smooth, badass mofo). Every season David and I get seriously pumped for Top Chef…like we countdown the announcement of where the new season will be held and set the DVR to record the next episode a week in advance. It’s so much fun to pick our favorites – and we’ve gotten pretty good at it! I picked Angelo, he picked Kenny, and after you watch this season, you’ll know why. It’s a great way to have fun competition with your guy while expanding your vocabulary (seriously, now I know what brunois means). Plus, you can borrow their challenge ideas for a sweet date night. David has accepted my challenge to a cook off, and trust me, once we’re done with Top Chef South Florida, I’ll tell you lovely readers all about it!

There are so many shows about to premiere this summer that I know David and I will be able to agree on (Hello Entourage, Wipeout and Mad Men). How about you guys? What will you and your boyfriends be watching this summer?

Special K. That's about as gourmet as it gets.

I’m a little cocky in the kitchen. But that’s probably because I’m the best short order cook that I’ve ever met (and that’s including the time I met Ratatouille). I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I sat in my college kitchen and re-enacted stressful scenes from Top Chef. I played all the contestants and my broom played Padma (pre-pregnancy). And spoiler alert, I ALWAYS won.

So obviously, when I moved into NYC I had grandiose visions of whipping up gourmet meals (as well as incorporating more 3 syllable words like grandiose into my vocabulary). I would spend my days running all over the city getting the finest cheeses, the freshest fish, and the ripest fruit. And to top it all off, I would carry it all on a hat, Chiquita-banana-lady style. Not only would I be the Julia Child of my building, but I would also be a fashion icon for fruit mascots around the world. Talk about killing two bucket list items with one stone.

And then I went to a real live NYC supermarket and found out that I would be paying $25 for non-name brand cold cuts and $1000 for organic eggs. How could I whip up exotic dishes like baked macaroni and cheese and chicken parm when it cost me an entire paycheck just to purchase drink mixers? And most importantly, what the hell was I going to do with my new cookbooks that I insisted I have? I immediately regretted demanding that my mom buy me the famous cookbook “very expensive meals that have so many rare ingredients that it’s better off that you just got a restaurant and order it. Seriously, these recipes aren’t worth the time, the money, or the frustration you’ll have looking for quail eggs.”

I’ve gone from making creative meals (it’s amazing how much time you can spend cooking when you have a paper to write) to simply cooking old standbys. Egg salad, omelets, pasta, deviled eggs, deviled pasta salad with a side of omelet. I’m lucky these days if I can even muster the energy to make a toasted peanut butter and jelly. Gone are the days when I swaggered around my kitchen wearing nothing but an apron around my waist, a spatula behind my ear, and a hairnet. And trust me on this one, no one pulls off a hairnet better than me.

And while I still consider myself an accomplished chef, I’m growing gravely concerned that I’ve lost my zest for cooking. If I’m already resorting to dinner sandwich entrees at 23, god knows I’ll be eating Lean Cuisines by 24, and canned cat food by 25. So while part of me wants to finish up this blog and whip up a souffle (and by souffle I mean cookies) just to prove myself wrong, the other part of me wants to order in lo mein and froyo and call it a night.  Truth be told, I’ll probably just end up eating chocolate chips for dinner.

I just want to go back to my college days where I can charge all my groceries to my student account, bribe the dining hall ladies for their hairnets, and procrastinate studying by cooking a 6 course gourmet dinner.

Yeah, it's cute back then, but what about when that kid is 18? Still cute?

Okay, so we all know the mantra you can tell how a guy will treat you by the way he treats his mom. Does he take care of her? Open doors for her? Help out around the house? Check, check aaaand check – you have husband material on your hands.

But last night while I was studying and making snowflake chains (I wish I was kidding…I’m desperate for some holiday cheer over here), I happened to flip on the season finale of Top Chef (no, I haven’t watched one episode this season but I still couldn’t look away) and witness a level of motherly love that I’m just not sure I’m comfortable with.

That’s right, I’m talking a fully grown and bearded man going in for a full contact, lip on lip kiss. With his mama.

WTF?! Since when is this socially acceptable? It’s cute when a 2-year-old smooches his mother’s lips, but a grown man planting a wet one on his mom’s mouth is more than I can handle. And I’m convinced this is why Chef Kevin wasn’t named Top Chef; no matter how good his food is, no one has an appetite after witnessing that display.

The whole thing got me thinking (while the other two chefs’ food got my stomach growling): How close it too close? And at what point does a guy’s relationship with his mom send you running for the hills? I don’t know about you, but  I’m just not comfortable walking into Christmas dinner with my boyfriend and having him smooch his mom as we enter.

What do you guys think? Is it no big deal or are you totally skeeved out?

The guy’s a dog, but really? Jessica Simpson?

Oh and Tiger’s named husband athlete of the decade.

The Twilight boys get their own mag?!

4 jackets to top off those holiday outfits.

Sad news for Top Chef’s Kevin Gillespie.

Holy hair, Rachel McAdams.

It’s hard to put into words how much I love Bravo’s series Top Chef. To say I have formed an unhealthy obsession with it is an understatement. I can literally sit on my couch for seven hours straight without blinking an eye if I happen upon a Top Chef marathon. I literally cried real tears when Jennifer Carroll was asked to pack her knives and go last week. And sometimes I even have quick-fire themed nightmares where all of my ingredients have gone sour and the punishment is death-by-Padma.

Needless to say, tonight’s finale has me feeling excited and anxious in places I never knew existed. And what does that call for? A special viewing party!

My two friends and I are getting together to watch the finale together, but before we do, we have some Top Chef themed activities planned. We are each representing one of the three finalists – I will be dressing up as bad boy Michael Voltaggio complete with full sleeve of fake tattoos – and cooking ourselves a nice meal, competition style, of course. After I have been named the winner (duh), we will all settle in to find out who will be named Top Chef.

Lovable, red-head Kevin Gillespie and the brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio are, in my opinion, the best finalists out of all Top Chef seasons past. I can’t even begin to predict a winner. Ok, that’s a lie. I totally can.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe it will be a showdown between the brothers. Would anyone be upset if it is? They’re both magically delicious, and I’m not talking about their food, if you catch my drift. As much as I love Kevin and his beard, I don’t think his simple food is up to the Voltaggio challenge.

I’m rooting for Bryan. Sure, Michael may have him beat in creativity, but his arrogance really pisses me off sometimes. And for that, and that alone, I hope his brother hands his big ego-filled head to him on a platter. Surrounded by Swiss chard and sunchokes, of course. Bryan seems like a gentleman and a culinary scholar. He is the champion of my heart and of my stomach and if he wins, I will certainly travel to Frederick, Maryland where his restaurant,Volt, is located so I can personally shake his hand. And maybe accidentally kiss him on the lips for 30 to 45 seconds.

I know more about these women than I do about our forefathers.

Every Friday I head home from work, tear off my bra, put on my biggest pair of sweatpants, order in Pad Se Ew and settle in for a night of TV. Lame? Maybe. But get back to me after you’re working 60-hour weeks in the real world. Friday nights on the couch are sacred.

Last week, as I fired up the DVR to catch up on all the shows I’d missed from the week, I had a rather enlightening moment. Sorta like an Oprah “aha!” moment, only way more embarrassing. My entire DVR was taken up by reality shows. Top Chef, Project Runway, The Real Housewives, Ace of Cakes… Hell, I even had a little Real World/Road Rules Duel on there.

I looked around to make sure none of my neighbors could see my TV through the windows. I mean, I know I like me some crappy TV, but this was just mortifying. My entire life revolves around watching train wrecks on camera! But maybe it’s not that sad? I mean, everyone loves themselves a little trash now and then, right? Those shows are on for a reason. And some of them are actually really good! Maybe not anything on E!, but we can all learn a thing or two from The Biggest Loser, right?

Right?!?

To make myself feel better about my addiction (and my sad, lame life) I asked the CollegeCandy writers to share their reality TV faves this week. You know you got one, too. Share it in the comments!

Norah – Drake University: I’m obsessed with cake shows. I can’t deal with the drama of other reality shows, but I like to watch people make pretty cakes that look impossible to eat.

Brithny – Duke: So You Think You Can Dance, because of the amazing… dancing. Obvi.

Kim – Stanford: Life would be a little less complete without SAY YES TO THE DRESS on TLC. Who doesn’t love weddddings?!

Lauren H – The New School: Top Chef! I’m a big food nerd, so I watch a lot of the food-based contest shows, but Top Chef is by far the best. The only downside is I’m always hungry after!

Caitlin – University of Alabama: I love E!’s reality shows like Girls Next Door, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami.  UGH but those Lamas…that’s 30 minutes of my life I’ll never get back!

Charlsie – Hollins University: Keeping Up With The Kardashians is my favorite reality show because when Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney get into fights they refer to each other as “stupid bitch ass whores.” If it wasn’t for this show, my sister and I would have boring arguments. The Kardashians keep us fresh with insults and put-downs!

Laura – St. John’s: Rock of Love.  I never tire of the varying extremes of trampy-ness these girls will go through to prove their love to Bret Michaels. (Really? Bret Michaels is the best you can do?)

Ricki – University of Michigan: The Bachelor/Bachelorette – It’s impossible to not believe in true love when every date they have is jet skiing in Hawaii or being alone on a deserted island.

Thu – USC: The City, if it is even considered “reality.” You kind of live a fabulous life vicariously through the people.

Leah – Ryerson University: What Not to Wear and Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style because everyone should feel fabulous about the way they look.

Anna R. – Northeastern University: My favorite reality show is The City. I didn’t watch the first season, but now I’m obsessed with it. It’s SO much better than The Hills (which is really lame and pointless now), and the girls’ jobs are actually interesting to watch. Plus, I love seeing what they are all wearing!

Kiki – University of Missouri: I spent at least nine hours of my life this summer watching 16 and Pregnant marathons on MTV. It’s like True Life mixed with Maury mixed with the best damn abstinence education ever.

Samantha – UC Santa Barbara: VH1’s Tough Love! The women are such train wrecks that it’s hard not to watch! Best of all, no one gets kicked off, so your favorite tranny look-alike is there every week for your viewing pleasure. Watch as these women work through their “daddy issues” and try to find love. Priceless quotes to throw around with the roomies guaranteed.

Sarabeth – University of Texas: I may or may not have seen every episode of Say Yes to the Dress. I mean, come on, really expensive and really pretty dresses mixed with a few horrible women with bad taste? It’s Amazing!

Hillary – Columbia: I watch a ton of awful television, but my favorite reality show will always be Man Vs. Beast, a two-hour special aired by Fox in 2003. In it, people competed against animals in a variety of competitions—a sprinter raced a giraffe, a Sumo wrestler had a tug-of-war with an orangutan, and, maybe best of all, competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi had a hot dog eating contest with a bear. Seriously. Just watch a few clips. They’re amazing.

Erica – Kent State University: The Rachel Zoe Project.  LIT-ERALLY, I love watching Rachel (aka The-Walking-Panic-Attack) & Taylor (aka The-Five-Year-Old-Who-Somehow-Made-It-Into-The-Fashion-Biz) go BANANAS.  Seriously, Rachel has influenced my closet and my vocab.  LOVE her.

Kelly- Simmons College: I love the Real Housewives. My roommate and I watch the end-of-season marathons and get completely hooked for 12 hours about people we don’t like and don’t actually care about. What other show can do that?

Zahra- Northwestern University: Lately I’ve been obsessed with Tool Academy. It’s hilarious when the guys break things or get into fights to show off their manliness, but also brings me to tears when I see girls finding out about their guys’ infidelities.

Alex – Lakehead University: My favourite (yes, Canadian spelling!) reality show is Paranormal State on A&E. College students who moonlight as ghost hunters?! I’m in! Plus this show features some very unique stories, like the demon that follows them through several episodes. I’m hooked!

Jasmin – University of Missouri: HGTV’s House Hunters. Strange, I know, but it’s addictive. When I leave Mizzou for the real world, I’ll be ready to remodel my dream home.

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