Ideas, Not Recipes for Thanksgiving
Spend less time cleaning, more time feeling grateful (or not).
A few weeks ago my sister-in-law and I joked about ordering pizza on Thanksgiving. I can only imagine many fellow working parents and busy families are contemplating the same sort of low-key holiday.
For me as a private chef, why would I want to cook and clean all day on a holiday when that’s literally what I do every other day? And if you work at all and wrangle a family, the same goes. Even if you love to cook and be in the kitchen, the chores are baked right in.
To be clear, the absence of a big expensive meal cooked by the chef of the house doesn’t signify a lack of gratitude or thankfulness. Simply a desire to free up time to be present with your family, or curl up with a good book (I’m paging my way through Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine by Robert H. Lustig and highly recommend it).
A less meaty and less expensive meal
Ditching a big bird for a couple of scrumptious sides, the best part of the tradition anyway, also scrapes a bit off the monthly food budget. Meat and poultry - holiday table mainstays - rose another 0.7% in October according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while I celebrated a drop in pricing for cereals and baked goods in September, your pre-made pie crust rose again by 0.2% last month.
Even if you love digging into a juicy piece of meat, less is more. My people will enjoy meat in the form of sausage-laden Southern sage stuffing. And perhaps a small bottom round roast that’s been in the freezer if I get around to it (please don’t judge).
Just in case…
If you love roasting a whole bird in all its glorious wonder, here are links to my fast and easy restaurant-style roast chicken (skip the brine), and a showstopper of a centerpiece in my spatchcocked Sweet Tea Roast Chicken. Spatchcocking, or butterflying, a whole turkey or chicken helps it cook faster.
In the absence of soaking it in a brine, the shorter time in the oven helps prevent the white meat from turning to rubber. If you’re roasting a turkey, the only adjustment is more time roasting to reach 165° F (or a little lower if you’re in that camp). Turn the oven down by 50 degrees once the skin darkens to that golden brown and delicious.
A greener plate
Both literally and figuratively, more green food on your Thanksgiving table is better for the planet and your health. Vegetables cook much faster and with less intervention than even starchy casseroles. To roast any root or cruciferous vegetable to sweet perfection:
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Bonus if you stick your pan in the oven while it heats up.
If they look the same, they’ll cook the same. Cut your Brussels sprouts, head of cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, or green beans into like-size pieces.
Oil and season well. Coat the vegetables well with olive oil, and season generously (or not) with salt, onion powder, garam masala, chili powder, or smoked paprika.
Roast and Do Not Disturb. Spread the vegetables out on a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper (my preference) or greased foil and roast them for at least 15 minutes without turning. For tender vegetables that are nicely caramelized on all sides, use tongs to flip them once the first side is a deep brown.
Cook until fork tender. Delicious roasted vegetables are only worth raving about if they’re cooked until tender. For that perfect texture, a fork should easily pierce the largest one on the pan with no resistance. Thoroughly cooked vegetables, especially the cruciferous kind, will lead to less post-meal intestinal discomfort because the oven did the work of breaking down the tougher plant fibers.
For holiday flair, toss liquor-soaked dried cranberries or cherries onto the pan once the vegetables begin to brown. Toss roasted sprouts or root vegetables with butter immediately after, and sprinkle on a bit of chopped sage or parsley if that suits your fancy.
For an even faster, hands-off vegetable. Place frozen or fresh spinach in a large pan with a bit of oil and cook it over medium heat until it softens. Add salt, a squeeze of citrus juice, pepper, nutmeg, and heavy cream or cream cheese if you dare.
Toss in a few slivered almonds or your favorite nuts for added crunch and a little protein. Reduce any liquid until it’s thickened and you’ve just made creamed greens without the fanfare of a flour-based, long-simmered sauce. I make creamed greens this way on plenty a weeknight and the pan is licked clean.
To fancy it up, you can portion the creamed spinach into small ramekins, top with grated Parmesan, and broil until crispy.
Ditch cooking entirely
A cheese and/or charcuterie platter is a fun, easy way to enjoy delicious (if not sinful) cured meats and cheese on Thanksgiving. Look for brands of Proscuitto and salami imported from Europe, they do food better over there, ironically.
Buy a sourdough baguette, your favorite crackers, a jar of pickled vegetables, and you’ve got yourself a beautiful meal. The blueberry goat cheese below is courtesy of Costco, but many retailers sell goat cheese covered lovingly in dried fruit. I recently made eight of these platters for a yoga studio’s open house and they were a hit.
Edible epilogue
Yes, I’m a chef. Yes, I just spent almost 1,000 words advising you on how to cook less the one day of the year in America where food is the centerpiece of the day. I promised this newsletter would break the mold and intend to uphold my word.
I do hope this Thanksgiving allows you time to enjoy the people and things you love, whether it’s cooking a big meal, attending a Friendsgiving, or watching your kids play Nintendo while you sip wine from the couch. Eighty-six stress from the menu tomorrow, we feel enough of it the rest of the year.
In gratitude,
Christina