What are you eating and/or cooking for Thanksgiving?
I’m not sure how much I’ll be partaking in Thanksgiving, since I just opened up a restaurant and it’d be nice to get a break. But one thing I was thinking that I haven’t seen a lot of is a Thanksgiving dinner with a Mediterranean-style table. I think it’d be a fun spin on Thanksgiving with more citrus, more spices, lots of little salads, and dips and spreads. One of the great things about big communal holidays is snacking, so I might make a hummus or sour cream dip for sharing. I like the idea of slow roasting the turkey with some Indian influence, using cumins and corianders. A healthy side that feels very autumnal to me is dolmas: grape vine leaves stuffed with rice and other fillings, and served with yogurt. I might make the rice stuffing with some cooked livers of the turkey, along with cinnamon, cloves, and other spices we associate with fall and warm flavors. Another side might be a Moroccan-style bean dish with pine nuts, raisins, and lots of fresh herbs. For dessert, I might make a pecan or walnut pie but with more spices and a super flakey crust, kind of like what’d you find on baklava, served with cinnamon whipped cream.
