The holidays are a time when we put aside differences and come together to share a meal. Family and friends divide the menu, decide who will bring what, all centered around the turkey. Yet for Mo Rocca, what matters most is side dishes and the promise of leftovers.

The eternal Thanksgiving debate: Which is the best part of the bird? You can discuss thigh versus breast and wings versus legs, but Francis Lam votes for skin.

The carver. Not the person, but the knife he or she holds. This tool that shows up once or twice a year is a special breed of blade. Its shape, balance, honing and thickness are created to do one thing brilliantly: ready slices of the great bird for their closeup.

Kevin Young is a poet and recipient of the Paterson prize for sustained literary achievement.