An unconventional Thanksgiving

Let's Get Lost bonus issue, Nov.16, 2024

Hello friends! For all of you who live outside the U.S., our Thanksgiving holiday is later this month. So, the recipes in this issue are directed at those of us who will be celebrating that holiday with a Thanksgiving feast.

BUT, no matter who you are and where you live, I think you’ll find at least a couple of interesting recipes in this issue because many of them are not at all what’s considered traditional Thanksgiving food.

I am not much of a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving. Ok. I am not much of a traditionalist when it comes to anything.

I have hosted a traditional Thanksgiving dinner many times. But, as the years went on, I got a lot more loose with the menu, and at some point I just started asking everyone what their favorite foods were and making those.

One year, I made a traditional roast turkey and served it alongside a platter of pork carnitas. At the end of the night, most of the turkey remained and all of the carnitas were gone. I haven’t roasted a turkey since.

This year, we are headed to a dear friend’s house for Thanksgiving where we are doing a roll-you-own-sushi party. I cannot wait.

Regardless of your Thanksgiving preferences, you’ll find 12 traditional and nontraditional Thanksgiving recipes below. While the most important part of the day is not the food, it’s who we are spending it with, I do hope you’ll find something delicious in that mix.

But before we get to the recipes I have some really good recommendations to share with you this week!

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Recommendations

In September, I wrote this in Issue #22 where I asked the question, Does anyone else want to go through people’s homes?

“Two years ago our youngest daughter came to visit us in North Carolina and the two of us drove to a ghost town with several buildings still standing. There was an abandoned house with peeling wallpaper and I could have stayed inside that house all day trying to conjure the people who lived there in my imagination.”

If you are also fascinated by the fact that so much of our life happens within a few small square feet of earth that we call home, you will LOVE the new Tom Hank’s movie, Here.

Now, here’s the thing: A lot of people really hate this movie. 😂 BUT, when I started reading the personal reviews from the people who loved it and the people who hated it I strongly suspected that I’d find myself in the group of people who loved it. And I was right.

The movie is a creative look into all that has happened in one tiny square plot of land. I was completely absorbed from start to finish.

At the movie’s conclusion, Steve said, “I think that’s the first truly original movie I’ve seen in years.” I agree.

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The Festive Belgian Bakery by

Sarah Frison

If you’ve ever looked dreamily at the rows of beautiful, delicate chocolates and sweets in a European pastry case and marveled at their magnificence, you may be surprised to learn that you can, with the right instruction, make many of them in your own kitchen. This book is a masterful mix of aspirational and accessible and will have you turning out Belgian pastries and chocolates that will impress everyone you know, but maybe especially you.

I’ve been happily working my way through many of the recipes in this book since getting my hands on it and these are my favorites so far: 

• The cocoa covered marzipan potatoes are ridiculously easy and so addictive I’ve decided I can’t be trusted to keep them around.

• Spritz cookies took me straight back to my childhood. I don’t think we ever had a Christmas without these buttery cookies and Sarah’s recipe produced cookies that were just as delicious as I remembered them.

• I had never even tasted Stollen, that sweet, rich bread stuffed with fruit, nuts and marzipan, let alone baked it. But Sarah’s recipe inspired me to try it and now I am completely in love.

• We happily stuffed ourselves with Smoutebollen/ Oliebolen one late Sunday morning, which are a bit like doughnut holes and totally delicious, just don’t ask me to pronounce their name. 😂

If you are interested in chocolate making, you’ll learn how to properly temper chocolate and pipe and shape it into everything from letters of the alphabet to adorable chocolate figures. And don’t miss her recipes for Epiphany cake, ice cream cake, and buttercream stuffed chocolate yule log.  Sarah’s book will make you feel like a Belgian pastry chef.

Available on Amazon at Barnes and Noble

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Earlier this week,

Martin Sorge

wrote about developing his own version of a quirky, old-timey recipe: Election Cake. According to Martin, the cake may have originated in Hartford, Connecticut. It is a fruit-filled, spiced, yeast-risen cake. If you are as intrigued as I was, you’ll find Martin’s recipe right here:

Election Cake

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Cheryl Queen of Markets

wrote a delightful article for the FoodStack Library that was one of the one of the most enjoyable, and relatable, things I read this week. The article brought back so many of my own memories of learning how to cook from cookbooks and magazines that were such a reflection of the time.

“It’s a hard lesson to learn, being betrayed by something or someone you trust….Discovering that having confidence in what I considered safe hands wasn't always warranted. Through the prism of The Brownie cook-book and continuing with Family Circle, I learnt about disappointments, rock cake by onerous rock cake. Finding out at an early age that some recipes just don't work. It was going to be a difficult and determined journey.”

Never trust The Brownie Cookbook

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In one of the Open Kitchen Discussions,

Sheryl O'Connell

recommended Panda licorice to me after I told her that my husband loves black licorice while I couldn’t stand the stuff. Here is what she said:

“I accidentally discovered Panda a few years back which is from Finland. It is much stronger in anise flavour and not very sweet but also quite soft and less chewy. I buy it in health-food stores or in the natural section of grocery stores / whole foods etc. If your husband likes black licorice… it is a game changer I think he will love it!”

I found it online and ordered some that very day as a surprise for Steve and here’s the kicker: I love it as much as he does. Possibly even more than he does.

I am now rethinking my whole life. Have I always liked black licorice but just never had any actual good black licorice or have my tastes changed so much over the years that I now love something I used to hate?

I don’t know and honestly don’t care because from now on there will be at least one package of black licorice in our home at all times. I’m hooked.

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This piece from

Andrea Gibson

is so, so good. A close friend said this after reading it, “I’m going to read that every day for awhile.”

“…it’s so important to choose curiosity over certainty in a moment that asks us to create something entirely new. This is that moment. I keep asking myself, “What is my job in this moment? What do I specifically have to offer?” It’s empowering to ask those questions because no one’s job will be the same.”

Andrea suggests throwing a What’s My Job party and exploring those questions with your community and I want to do this so much. Anyone else?

Post-Election Letter To A Friend

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Another piece that made me think and offered hope is this one from

Farrah Storr

.

One of my favorite quotes: ‘The vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.’

Friends, I am trying with all my might to believe this. 

The most important lesson Kamala taught us

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Two things that left me feeling lighter

This note from

Dan Harris

:

And this quote from

Heather Cox Richardson

while speaking to Jon Stewart on The Weekly Show.

“A hero is someone who keeps trying to do the right thing even when they feel that the walls are closing in.”

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12 Traditional and Nontraditional Recipes for Thanksgiving

#1. As I previously mentioned, this year’s Thanksgiving involves roll your own sushi, but we’ll be starting the meal with champagne, Roasted Carrot Soup, and homemade dinner rolls. This soup is easy to make in advance and aside from roasting the carrots, the only other steps involved here are making a quick broth and then pureeing everything in a blender.

#2. Homemade Dinner Rolls are pretty much the only Thanksgiving tradition we keep to. I have been making them for decades and spoiling our appetites by eating them before the meal with a glass of bubbles is part of the fun.

#3. I love starting a big meal with warm bowls of soup and this delicious Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Stew seems particularly appropriate for the Thanksgiving holiday.

#4. If you share my love of sweet potatoes but much prefer savory sweet potato dishes to those covered in marshmallows, this recipe for Sweet Potato Gratin is for you. Sweet potatoes are sliced thin and then layered with béchamel sauce with fontina cheese, then topped with parmesan cheese and crunchy, buttery panko bread crumbs. The cheesy-creamy-crunchy combo is fantastic.

#5. I have made these Pork Carnitas more times than I could possibly count for more occasions than I could possibly remember, including several Thanksgiving dinners. The meat is crispy on the outside, super flavorful, fall-off-the bone tender, and surprisingly easy to prepare.

#6. Turkey is fine and all, but I’d happily take a plate of carnitas or these Asian Short Ribs instead of turkey. Just throw them in the Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or oven and let them do their thing and they will make your entire house smell so good that neighbors will be knocking on your door begging for a dinner invitation (Ok. Depending on your neighbors, that might not be a benefit.)

#7. What is delicious with everything? Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, that’s what. This simple recipe includes tips for how to ensure your mashed potatoes are rich and creamy plus a long list of ideas for add-ins and substitutions that will take your mashed potato game to the next level.

#8. Roasted Carrots and Dates are a delicious vegetable side dish that requires only about 10 minutes of hands-on preparation and will compliment pretty much anything else you have on your Thanksgiving table.

#9. Israeli Salad is one of those things that I make for everything, all the time. The salad is low in calories, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free, making it the perfect option for dietary restrictions and anyone interested in clean, plant-based meals. But don't let its health benefits fool you. Israeli Salad is also bursting with flavor.

#10. I became obsessed with German Apple Pie the moment I discovered it. It's creamy and delicious and ridiculously easy to prepare. To make this pie, simply toss sliced apples with a mixture of sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cloves, pile them into a pie crust, and pour cream over the whole thing. As the pie bakes, the cream combines with the sugar and apples to create a rich, smooth, creamy filling that's unlike any other kind of apple pie I've ever tasted.

#11. This is the best Pecan Pie I have ever eaten and it does not contain any corn syrup! The toasted pecan filling is smooth, creamy, and packed with rich, caramel flavor. And because it's made without corn syrup, it's less sweet and more flavorful than traditional pecan pie.

#12. This creamy, fudgy, Chocolate Almond Pie studded with roasted almonds and a hint of bourbon is for serious chocolate lovers only. You chocolate-is-ok-sometimes kind of people need to find yourselves another pie because this one is pure, unadulterated chocolate, and extremely unapologetic and in your face about it.

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Have a wonderful week, friends and I’ll see you next Saturday. ❤️

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