Thanksgiving ideas for the non-traditionalists (and the non-Americans)
And a free 30 recipe cookbook that's all about pie!
Welcome to Let’s Get Lost! I’m Rebecca, a recipe developer, food photographer, passionate people watcher, and chaser of new experiences. You might know me from my recipe websites, Of Batter and Dough and A Little and A Lot.
My husband and I are nomads without a home base but with many modes of transportation, namely an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat. I write recipes and stories for curious people who believe experiences are more important than things and who want more adventure.
Back when we had an actual house, not a 400 square foot home with wheels, I hosted a lot of Thanksgiving dinners, sometimes with a crowd, sometimes with just our family of 5.
For the first several years, I mostly stuck to the traditional spread of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, green bean casserole, a couple of salads, and always something with butternut squash. Then, one year, I served pork carnitas alongside the turkey. At the end of the day, most of the turkey remained and all of the carnitas were gone.
This made me do some reassessing of what our priorities with this holiday really were. In general, I’m not geared towards tradition, both in terms of creating and maintain traditions and caring that traditions are maintained. Lest you misunderstand, I think traditions and rituals are important to social structures, on a personal level and a collective level.
I’m just not the one who should be entrusted with the task. We all have our talents, our contributions to make and our roles to play. Creating and following rules and rituals, and preserving traditional structures are not mine.
Anyhoo, after looking at what people actually ate on Thanksgiving when given the choice, the next year, I asked my family to just tell me what their favorite foods were and I made those.
We ended up with a smorgasbord of dishes, some of which went together nicely and some that did not. No matter. Everyone got their favorite things and, I think, everyone was happy about that. I was happy about that because what matters to me about cooking for other people is making something they really want to eat. If what they wanted was a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, I would have happily made it.
Since moving into the RV, the Thanksgiving holiday has been different from year to year. For a few years our youngest daughter was working as a chef in restaurants that were open on Thanksgiving so we ate dinner at her restaurant just so we could see her for 5 minutes.
We did host Thanksgiving in the RV one year. There were, I believe, 35 people. We served and ate the food outside and it all worked out fine although I don’t think I’ll ever do that again. Not every experience needs to be repeated. 🙂
Last year, we journeyed up to a friend’s mountain home and this year we’ll head to another friend’s home for a very non traditional meal of roasted lamb and pulled pork with chimichurri. We are all going to the theater to see Wicked and are even donning costumes for the occasion. I may or may not have some very strange, possibly hilarious, photos for you later.
And so, with the holiday fast approaching, I’m deviating from my normal structure of a menu with three recipes. What you’ll find instead are some non traditional Thanksgiving meal ideas. Thanksgiving is, of course, an American holiday, and I know a lot of you don’t live in the states. For those of you who are in the states and who are die hard loyalists to a traditional Thanksgiving feast, I hope you find something here to make on other days of the year.
For my fellow Thanksgiving celebrating non traditionalists, I hope you find something here to make your holiday more delicious.
9 Non-Traditional Recipes for Thanksgiving
Mushroom Ravioli in Garlic Butter Cream Sauce: Homemade mushroom ravioli blanketed in creamy garlic butter sauce is a labor of love in the truest sense. My friend Judy says you know she loves you if she makes ravioli for you. 😂 But what’s a holiday if not a chance to be a bit more extravagant than normal?
Lasagna Bolognese: Years ago, our neighbors down the street always used to have lasagna for Thanksgiving and I think that’s a splendid idea. Lasagna Bolognese begins, of course, with Bolognese sauce, a gorgeous sauce that includes pancetta (or bacon) and ground beef cooked slowly in wine and tomatoes until it’s incredibly rich and flavorful. Instead of ricotta, lasagna bolognese includes layers of creamy béchamel flavored with grated parmesan. I’d take a plate of lasagna bolognese over turkey any day!
Asian Short Ribs: These short ribs quite literally melt in your mouth. The prep work is minimal before throwing them in your Instant Pot, Slow Cooker or oven and they will make your entire house smell so good that neighbors will be knocking on your door begging for a dinner invitation. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a good thing, I’m just saying that you should be prepared.
Italian Easter Pie (Pizza Rustica): The origins for this pie is attributed to Italian Catholics, for whom Easter meant the end of lent and the conclusion of 40 days of religious dietary restriction. Since the ingredients in Pizza Rustica are rich and luxurious, the pie was a good way to celebrate the end of a restrictive diet. Today, my understanding is that Pizza Rustica is considered casual finger food in Italy where it’s often served as a starter. Because they know how to do things right over there. Would you like some pie before your pasta? Ummmmm..... yes, please.
Pork Carnitas: I have made this Carnitas Recipe more times than I could possibly count for more occasions than I could possibly remember, including many Thanksgivings. The meat is crispy on the outside, super flavorful, fall-off-the bone tender, and quite easy to prepare.
Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole: This casserole is everything we love about artichoke dip BUT a bit less rich and with plenty of cheese, tons of fresh spinach, and chicken of course. Plus a buttery, crispy layer of panko. Sub in turkey if you want to walk that line between traditional and nontraditional Thanksgiving fare.
Chicken with Apples and Mushrooms in Cider Cream Sauce: Tender pieces of chicken swimming in a sweet and savory apple cider cream sauce with caramelized mushrooms and golden, buttery apples. To me, this dish is as warm and cozy as my favorite sweater and comes with the bonus of blanketing your home with the warm, rich smells of apples and cream.
Dutch Oven Pot Pie with Chicken or Turkey and Cheddar Biscuits: If you are camping this Thanksgiving, THIS is the perfect main dish because it can be cooked over a campfire. For those of you who aren’t camping on Thanksgiving (most of you), this is a little bit like a one pot Thanksgiving meal with turkey or chicken, potatoes, veggies, and biscuits baked together in a cast iron pot OR a baking dish.
Mexican Adobo Chicken: As a card-carrying red chili lover this dish is the encapsulation of everything I love the most. Adobo sauce is lush, spicy, savory, and saturated with the incredible smokey flavor of red chilies. Also, Adobo Chicken is relatively quick and easy to prepare and requires just 1 pot. The chicken can be eaten over rice, with beans or crispy fried potatoes and some pickled onions, or shredded and layered into tortillas for adobo chicken tacos.
Free 30 Recipe Pie Cookbook
No matter what our Thanksgiving meal looks like, there is one non-negotiable: pie. The kind of pie I make might change from year to year, but there is always pie.
The incomparable Sarah Pilley compiled 30 of my favorite pie recipes into this digital cookbook and it’s available to anyone who wants it for free.
I would also like to mention that the title of this book comes from my friend Nicki Sizemore who left these words in a comment on one of my pie recipes, “Pie is my love language.” Nicki is a kindred spirit for many reasons, her feelings about pie chief among them.
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Salad Hacks Worth Sharing and Holiday Cookies!
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BUT, I’m using a caesar salad to share two really great tricks with you: Buttermilk marinated roasted chicken and the absolutely easiest trick to making homemade caesar dressing.
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I’m using your recipes as a springboard for Christmas dinner ideas—my Thanksgiving menu mirrors my spouse’s ultra basic palate but the Christmas meal is unconventional and varies each year.
Love these non-traditional ideas, which I would honestly eat any time of year! The Asian short ribs in particular are calling to me. 😊