From simple to elaborate, for few or for many, for turkey lovers—or not—we've got menus that'll please everyone at the table. Pick one of ours or use the Menu Maker to pull together your own stellar menu.
A Crowd-Pleasing Thanksgiving Dinner
An Intimate Thanksgiving for Four
Ultimate Thanksgiving Pot Luck
A Crowd-Pleasing Thanksgiving Menu
by Anna Thomas
Here’s the perfect holiday meal to please everyone: it’s make-ahead for the host, mostly meatless for vegetarians (though there is still a turkey), and incredibly delicious.
It’s the same story everywhere you go. Say the words “Thanksgiving dinner” and people begin to recite their personal list of who in their family eats—or doesn’t eat—what.
Some cooks adapt to these idiosyncrasies by omitting or substituting ingredients, not always with happy results. Others throw their hands in the air and give up. This menu offers a better way to please everyone, including, you, the cook. It begins by offering two main courses: a gorgeous, buttery roasted turkey for the meat-eaters, and a savory polenta torta with roasted squash, slow-cooked onions, and cheese for the non-meat-eaters. An array of fall vegetable dishes and a hearty bread stuffing round things out for everyone. And because you can assemble the torta days ahead of serving it, this menu is very manageable.
The Menu
Butter-and-Herb-Roasted Turkey with Madeira Jus Roasted Squash and Polenta Torta with Red Onion Marmalade Green Beans and Carrots in Charmoula Sauce Harvest Bread Stuffing Kale with Garlic and Lemon White Wine Smashed Potatoes Sweet Potato and Celery Root Soup Caramelized Pear Upside-Down Cakes with Cognac Whipped Cream
Just because a Thanksgiving dinner is small doesn't mean it can't be festive.
If you're having only a couple of people over, a stuffed boneless turkey breast feels special, keeps with the turkey tradition, and cooks quickly. The stuffing of dates, dried apricots and toasted hazelnuts makes a harmonious combo with the turkey, while a few strips of bacon adds some much-needed fat and flavor to the lean white meat. Instead of a gravy, a simple Marsala wine reduction is easy and quite delicious.
The Thanksgiving side dishes are also a twist on traditional elements: mashed potatoes get an earthy flavor boost from celery root; green beans are tossed with toasted hazelnuts instead of the usual almonds (which also picks up on the hazelnuts in the stuffed turkey); and the uncooked cranberry relish's fresh tang comes from rice vinegar. For dessert, return to a true classic, with the ultimate apple pie.
The Menu
Butternut Squash Soup with Apple & Bacon Dried Apricot & Date Stuffed Turkey Breast with Marsala Glaze Garlic-Roasted Green Beans & Shallots with Hazelnuts Potato & Celery Root Purée Fresh Cranberry Relish Classic Apple Pie
An All-Star Thanksgiving Potluck
Seven top chefs put their delicious spins on a traditional holiday menu. The result? Your best feast ever. by Melissa Clark
Although I have nothing against my family's usual Thanksgiving fare, I do get a little tired of the old reliables. This year, I decided to ask some of the country's top chefs to contribute a recipe to my dinner—a kind of All-Star Thanksgiving potluck, but with me at the stove.
My dream team chef list started with Alfred Portale of New York's Gotham Bar and Grill and Tom Douglas of Seattle's Dahlia Lounge. These two iconic American chefs from opposite coasts provided the meal's centerpiece: the turkey and stuffing, respectively.
For the side dishes, New York chefs Dan Silverman, formerly of Lever House; Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto; and Andrew Carmellini, formerly at A Voce—along with Mitchell Rosenthal of San Francisco's Town Hall—put creative spins on the mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, cauliflower, and green beans my family continues to insist upon. And for dessert, Elisabeth Prueitt of San Francisco's Tartine Bakery enhances the flavor of classic pumpkin pie with freshly ground #.
The flavors in my dream-team potluck are classic enough to satisfy my tradition-bound family, but different enough to excite us. And that's something we can all be thankful for.
The Menu
Roasted Turkey with Juniper-Ginger Butter & Pan Gravy Rustic Bread Stuffing with Dried Cranberries, Hazelnuts & Oyster Mushrooms Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots Maple-Tangerine Cranberry Sauce Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Pears, Sage & Hazelnuts Green Beans with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette & Parmesan Breadcrumbs Sugar & # Pumpkin Pie with Brandied Ginger Cream
From simple to elaborate, for few or for many, for turkey lovers—or not—we've got menus that'll please everyone at the table. Pick one of ours or use the Menu Maker to pull together your own stellar menu.
A Crowd-Pleasing Thanksgiving Dinner
An Intimate Thanksgiving for Four
Ultimate Thanksgiving Pot Luck
