Growing up on Crooked Road, Thanksgiving was my absolute favorite holiday. My parents knew how to do it right.
My mom has this talent of making the effort of hosting look effortless. Plus, it was magical to spend a day with my favorite people, as my dad’s siblings would often join: Uncle Bill (my favorite), Aunt Susan (my other favorite) and my little cousin Andrew, who is 12 years younger than me and always seemed adorable and amusing.
Now that I’m the hostess, I see from the inside how much effort Thanksgiving can be. (I do not make it look effortless. Sorry, Mom!).
And while Thanksgiving is still one of my favorite holidays, with my very favorite people (including all-grown-up Andrew and his lovely girlfriend, Megan), I’ve revolted completely against the typical American Thanksgiving offerings.
Here’s my beef, if you will – You would never sit down with a stack of cookbooks and plan that meal. Who would serve that many carb-intensive side dishes? Who would slather all of the vegetables in canned soup and marshmallows? As a foodie and a planner, it feels like a completely illogical menu.
So, for the past two years, we’ve gone Italian. And this year, to mix it up, we went even more fully Italian and served six courses over about eight hours.
There is something profoundly depressing about spending three days cooking and about 45 minutes eating said cooking. This year, we spent about three hours cooking and the entire day reconvening around the table in between watching the parade, sitting by the fire and playing games.
Capturing the lightness
A few epicurean epiphanies: a) Eating this way allows you to really focus on the flavors and textures of just one or two dishes. Seriously, risotto, when not competing with a main dish and other sides, was the highlight of the meal; b) Eating this way helps you avoid the overly fully belly and the post-meal slump; c) Hosting this way was an enormous sanity saver!
Also, when I went back through my photos from the day, I realized that we ate across the entire day’s spectrum of light: midday sunlight reflecting off 18 inches of fresh snow, waning daylight, rosy dusk and quiet, snowy evening with only the glow of the Christmas lights outside.
Next year, my goal is to continue to embrace the potential lightness of the day.
Apertivo: Blue cheese and fig jam savouries, made by Benji, and prosecco with fresh pomegranate juice
Antipasto: Prosciutto di San Daniele, genoa, olives, roasted red bell peppers, yellow tomatoes, goat cheese with tapenade and pepperoncini
Primo: Asparagus and lemon risotto with Prosciutto di Parma crisps, by Sophia
Secondi and contorno: Marcella Hazan’s drunk pork roast and green beans with brown butter and toasted hazelnuts
Formaggi e frutta: Saint-André and Piave Stravecchio with black grapes and satsumas
Dolce, caffè and digestivo: Fiadone (Corsican cheesecake), coffee and limoncello crafted by Andrew and Megan
