Everyone has their spirit of choice, especially during the holidays. For our Thanksgiving gatherings, the traditional welcome drink has always been a warm, homemade, spiced apple cider—spiked with a dark, aged rum for the adults. This year, with a smaller group and no children visiting, I decided to make Margaritas!
Tequila has become especially popular with our friends and family. It is the gluten free go-to drink, and the Blanco and Silver varieties don’t contain sugary syrups nor are they aged in wood, so they are unlikely to contain congeners—the chemical impurities that can exacerbate hangovers.
For this Thanksgiving-in-a-glass cocktail, feel free to substitute thawed, frozen cranberries for fresh ones, and remember, cocktails are an intuitive process you should approach like you do cooking—if your cranberries are especially tart, use more simple syrup.
This super easy fall dish has graced our Thanksgiving table for years. Along with cranberry sauce, applesauce and stuffing, it is one of the classics, and this simple version, with just 4 ingredients, is always a crowd-pleaser.
If there’s extra time, I prefer to heat a large, cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a drizzle of oil to coat the pan. Add the Brussels sprouts, cut side down and sear for 3-4 minutes, or until light golden brown on the underside. Then, transfer the pan to the oven and follow the recipe below. If the pan is too crowded, transfer the sprouts to a baking sheet.
You can easily elevate this recipe with your favorite flavors. Here are just a few of the variations we have enjoyed.
Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Walnuts: After 10 minutes of roasting, remove the pan and toss the Brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, more to taste. Then, place the pan back in the oven to finish baking. Just before serving, toss the roasted Brussels sprouts with ½ cup toasted walnuts.
Parmesan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts: After 10 minutes of roasting, remove the pan and sprinkle ¼ cup Parmesan cheese over the tops of the Brussels sprouts. Then, place the pan back in the oven to finish baking.
Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Brussels Sprouts: During the final 5 minutes of baking, drizzle the Brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of balsamic glaze. Toss to coat and return the pan to the oven to continue baking. Drizzle with balsamic glaze before serving.
Garlic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts: Toss 5 cloves of sliced garlic with the olive oil, salt and pepper, coating sprouts well. Bake according to the recipe below.
For all flavor profiles, begin with fresh Brussels sprouts for the best results–bright green, and firm. Avoid sprouts that feel mushy or have loose leaves that are yellowing or have black spotting. Submerging sprouts in a bowl of ice-cold water helps cut some of their natural bitterness. Be sure to drain and dry the sprouts so they are completely dry before roasting.
Revisiting family recipes is a delightful way to memorialize traditions, recall shared moments with loved ones, and discover how our ancestors lived. My sister, Susan, found this recipe that our beloved Aunt Marion shared with her many years ago, and it has elicited conversation and curiosity. How did our father and his siblings live, and what did they eat? Italian immigrants, living in an Italian neighborhood in New York City, longing to be more American in the early 1900’s. How did that influence their cooking?
My father often reminisced about the delicious baked cod his mother would make him, and how he looked forward to her eggplant dish. Sardines were another favorite throughout his life, and he talked about having them with grated onion as a child. There was a set night for each dish—cod, eggplant, pasta—and when your favorites were being served, you got home early.
Most of my father’s early childhood meals, surprisingly, were wheatless and meatless. Friday was always fish, and Sunday was pasta day, served with meat. On just one other night of the week, the family enjoyed a meat dish—lamb chops—my father’s absolute favorite. On most evenings, they shared meals of seasonal, garden fresh vegetables, oftentimes served with whole grains and lots of salads. It was an incredibly healthful way of eating, especially by today’s standards, and after doing a little research, I found that their choices were encouraged by the Food Administrator in 1918, and considered the American thing to do.
My father’s sister, Marion, always made two recipes for Thanksgiving that we erroneously called stuffing. According to my Southern friends, a dish is properly called a dressing when you cook it outside the bird. Marion’s delicious Apple Dressing, which I previously shared, is just too good to go inside a bird—a beautiful, aromatic side dish topped with melted cheese.
This recipe is rightfully called stuffing—it is perfect for filling a holiday bird and works equally as well outside the bird—either way it is a wonderful gluten-free (wheatless) side-dish. When made with vegetable stock, outside the bird, it will satiate the vegetarians in the family, too. This dish is filled with the flavors my father loved, including parsley, onions, apples, and walnuts. It is easy to see how my Grandmother’s cooking influenced this dish.
The original recipe included an option to add sausage, and 1 pound of stuffing mix. The take away—you can add sausage and bread cubes if you like. I usually make this recipe with vegetable broth, no sausage and no bread so it can be offered as a gluten-free stuffing; and I reserve some, outside the bird, to offer as a vegetarian, gluten-free dressing or side dish. When I am stuffing a large bird, I simply double this recipe, so I have enough to satisfy all guests’ dietary preferences and have lots of leftovers!
Cranberry orange sauce, with just the right balance of sweet and tart, is truly the perfect complement to a lovely roasted turkey. A Thanksgiving classic that is so easy to make you may never buy the canned version again. When garnished, this sauce is stunning on the table. I love to set out three or four dishes of sauce to enhance my tablescape and invite guests to enjoy as much as they like—it seems there is never enough!
Fresh cranberries become available in late October and freeze quite nicely so you can have them on hand well in advance of the holidays. Make this sauce as a beautiful side for all your fall gatherings, it is delightful with roasted duck, and works as a scrumptious glaze for both poultry and meat.
The secret to a great turkey sandwich—add mayonnaise to your cranberry orange sauce and slather a warm, grilled baguette generously. This has become one of my favorite leftover recipes and an enticing reason to make generous amounts of this sauce for the holidays.
I prefer a thick sauce with a few whole cranberries, but you can simply cook the cranberries with more liquid for a juicier sauce.
A treat, a snack, a condiment, and a wonderful side dish on the Thanksgiving table—homemade applesauce is truly one of the easiest and most delicious recipes you can make. With the bounty of apples available this time of year, it is the perfect season to try this recipe. You can use any apple you have on hand, but a crisp, sweet apple like Gala or Golden Delicious works well.
Applesauce is a wonderful addition to pancake and muffin recipes. In fact, it is a great substitute for the oil in many baked goods. As a child, I loved it over French toast, sprinkled with powdered sugar; and if you have never had warm applesauce over vanilla ice cream, well, you are in for a real treat! Be sure to sprinkle a bit of cinnamon overtop before serving.
