6 Thanksgiving Menus for Every Whim and Need
Thanksgiving is far from a one-size-fits-all affair. Even within your own family, every year can be different. There are the years when you don’t have time to cook anything, there was the dinner when your son announced he was vegan and gluten-free, and the season when no one felt like celebrating Thanksgiving at all. Whether this year is all about putting a new twist on old classics or serving thirty people, we have a menu for every situation:
1. If You Want a Norman Rockwell-Approved Dinner with All the Classics:
Classic recipes that honor the forefathers and mothers of American cooking from Julia Child to James Beard.
The Cocktail: M. F. K. Fisher’s Half-and-Half Cocktail
This cocktail fits with our love of sherry and has a timeless classiness. (Photo: Bobbi Lin/Food52)
The Main Dish: Barbara Kafka’s Simple Roast Turkey
This bird is so juicy you won’t miss it. (Photo: Bobbi Lin/Food52)
The Side: Edna Lewis & Scott Peacock’s Sweet Potato Casserole
This casserole is a proper Deep South jolt of sweetness. (Photo: Bobbi Lin/Food52)
The Dinner Rolls: Astor House Rolls
Each portion of dough gets a lump of butter tucked inside before baking. Yes, please! (Photo: Bobbi Lin/Food52)
The Pie: Craig & Kathleen Claiborne’s Mississippi Pecan Pie
This pie is sweet but not too sweet, and has a less jiggly filling than most. In short, it’s perfect. (Photo: Bobbi Lin/Food52)
2. If You’re Serving 30 People
Everybody (and we mean everybody) eats when they come to our house. Here’s how to feed a small village.
The Cocktail: Hot Spiced Drunken Apple Cider
This concoction goes down easy, so sip slowly if you can restrain yourself! (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Main Dish: Spatchcocked + Braise-Roasted Herb Butter Turkey
The meat is succulent and juicy, the skin is shatter-crisp, and best of all, this bird cooks in about half the time than most. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Side: Garlic-Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Adding goat cheese to your mashed potatoes is always a good idea. (Photo: Mark Weinberg/Food52)
Dinner Rolls: Shirley Corriher’s Touch-of-Grace Biscuits
Make these biscuits up to 2 weeks before Thanksgiving dinner, and triple the recipe. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Pie: Bea’s No-Peel Apple Crisp
This is your rabbit-from-a-hat when you have no time to make a “proper” pie. (Photo: Bobbi Lin/Food52)
3. If You Only Have Wednesday to Prep
The big day approaching a little too fast? Prepare this entire meal Wednesday after work, then reap the benefits on Thursday.
The Cocktail: Apple Rye Punch
This is fall in a tumbler. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Main Dish: Bacon Bird with Turkey Neck Gravy
This subtly smoky bird that is swathed in sage and bacon before being served with a turkey neck gravy. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Side: What We Call Stuffing: Challah, Mushroom, and Celery
This stuffing is rich yet light and teeming with fresh herbs – a wonderful dish for everyone. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
Dinner Rolls: Classic Parker House Rolls
Nothing beats a classic pull-apart roll. Especially one that’s sprinkled in flaky salt. (Photo: Yossy Arefi/Food52)
The Pie: Pumpkin Pudding (a.k.a. No-Pie Pumpkin Pie)
This pudding can and should be baked the day before Thanksgiving – both texture and flavor are enhanced with a night in the fridge. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
4. If You Have Vegan, Gluten-Free, or Turkey-Allergic Guests
Don’t hang your vegan feast on a tofurkey—make a meal that will make all your guests thankful.
The Cocktail: Bowery Punch
This drink will please every cocktail drinker at your party. (Photo: Mark Weinberg/Food52)
The Main Dish: Lentil Walnut Loaf
This is much easier to make than a turkey and the leftovers are just as good. (Photo: Mark Weinberg/Food52)
The Side: Moro’s Warm Squash & Chickpea Salad with Tahini
This is a salad that eats more like a gratin, without the cheese hangover. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
Dinner Rolls: No-Fuss Vegan Cornbread
This cornbread is a perfect balance of savory and sweet, rich and light. (Photo: Alpha Smoot/Food52)
The Pie: Raw, Vegan Pecan Pie
An easy, forgiving, and absolutely delicious vegan spin on pecan pie. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
5. If You’re All-for Updating Old Classics
Don’t let traditions turn to turkey fatigue. Mix up this year’s table with a brined turkey breast, gingery beets, and new classics.
The Cocktail: Winter Spritz
Blood orange juice, Campari, cider. Yum. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Main Dish: Torrisi’s Turkey
This recipe boasts a just-crazy-enough-to-work technique for outsmarting dry turkey. (Photo: Mark Weinberg/Food52)
The Side: Autumn Root Vegetable Gratin with Herbs and Cheese
So long boring mashed potatoes, there’s a new potato recipe in town. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
Dinner Rolls: Late-Harvest Carrot Rolls
Roasted vegetables IN your dinner rolls is a next-level combination. (Photo: Bobbi Lin/Food52)
The Pie: Chai Masala Pumpkin Pie
This recipe will have you rethinking your go-to pumpkin pie. (Photo: Nikole Herriott/Food52)
6. If You’re Sick (and Tired) of Thanksgiving Food
Can’t look a turkey in the eye? Make a big, saucy Italian feast instead.
The Cocktail: The Negroni
Brownie points if you already have this in hand. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Main Dish: Rao’s Meatballs
Spaghetti and meatballs isn’t a meal that you slave over and roast all day. Hooray! (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
The Side: Lemon + Olive Oil Marinated Fennel with Burrata + Mint
The perfect near-winter salad. (Photo: Caroline Wright/Food52)
Dinner Rolls: Saltie’s Focaccia
Pairing this focaccia with Rao’s Meatballs is the best combination Not-Thanksgiving has seen yet. (Photo: Eric Moran/Food52)
The Pie: Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse
One thing that Thanksgiving misses out on: chocolate. This recipe will surely fill any holes. (Photo: James Ransom/Food52)
By Leslie Stephens and Catherine O’Donnell, with many contributors from Food52.
