Inspiration For Your Thanksgiving 🦃
Recipes, A Book Giveaway and More
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Thanksgiving Recipes
I’ve written a lot about food in the last decade, and I’ve had the chance to meet some amazing people in the food world—chefs, bartenders, restaurant managers, food historians, journalists, and food bloggers. These are people who nourish us, not just by giving our bodies sustenance but also by helping to feed our souls.
That’s because food and drink are the threads that weave through the tapestry of nearly everything: our culture, religion, politics, communities, families, and personal identity. Food gives us comfort, food brings people together, and food heightens our emotions.
And if there is one holiday that is a celebration of food, it’s Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving on its own is inherently problematic but it’s also deeply ingrained as a tradition for Americans. As mentioned in that linked Delish article, in Time magazine, in 2019, Sean Sherman, founder and CEO of The Sioux Chef and the author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, presented new ways to think about the holiday rather than the whitewashed stories we learned as children.
"The thing is, we do not need the poisonous 'pilgrims and Indians' narrative. We do not need that illusion of past unity to actually unite people today. Instead, we can focus simply on values that apply to everybody: togetherness, generosity and gratitude. And we can make the day about what everybody wants to talk and think about anyway: the food.
People may not realize it, but what every person in this country shares, and the very history of this nation, has been in front of us the whole time. Most of our Thanksgiving recipes are made with indigenous foods: turkey, corn, beans, pumpkins, maple, wild rice and the like. We should embrace this."
So, let’s talk about this food. Studying famous Italian Renaissance chef Bartolomeo Scappi’s work is fascinating on a level beyond the words on the page. He offers the first recipe in print for turkey, a magical new bird from across the sea, and one of the first recipes for pumpkin pie. And yet, those dishes are now as American to us as the food within.
These foods are often deeply traditional, with families making the same thing every year for decades, often passing those recipes on to their children. But our world is shifting and changing, and now this country, this glorious melting pot of people and traditions, is full of people looking to begin their own traditions, be it a college student on their own for the first time or a friend who has just moved to the States. Or maybe the home chef just really wants to mix things up.
The media has, of course, latched onto this, and every Thanksgiving, we are offered a plethora of recipes to try, variations on the old standards (Tofurkey anyone?), or infusing ethnic flair (Aloo green beans and potatoes).
Personally, I’ll take foodporn over doomscrolling any day, so bring on the recipes! Bring on the food!
There are a few recipes from my books that I’ve developed that we’ll likely be making this year, including:
If you want to really go nuts, I recommend downloading the In The Garden of Monsters Cookbook, which has recipes like:
Cherry Rose Tart by Crystal King
Cherry Rose Pomegranate Scones with a Pomegranate Rosewater Glaze by Vanessa Baca, Food in Books
The New Casanova Cocktail by Todd Maul
Ratafia by Camilla M. Mann, Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Saffron Fritters with Rose Glaze by Chef Charles Draghi
Mortadella and Taleggio Puff Pastry Bites by Chef Will Gilson
Snails Saltimbocca (Inspired by Salvador Dalí) by Camilla M. Mann, Culinary Adventures with Camilla
A Light Caesar Salad with Airy Croutons by Camilla M. Mann, Culinary Adventures with Camilla (
Gold-Dusted Baked Arancini by CJ at A Well-Read Tart
Passatelli: Unique Pasta Specialty of Emilia-Romagna by Francine Segan
Lobster Bisque by Chef Charles Draghi
Scallops in Béarnaise Sauce with Pomegranates and Peas by Vanessa Baca, Food in Books
Gilded Chicken by Crystal King and Joe Doucette
Roasted Spatchcocked Chicken with Pine Nut Sauce by CJ at A Well-Read Tart
Lentils with Crispy Prosciutto by CJ at A Well-Read Tart
Rabbit Ragù by Chef Charles Draghi
Date, Pomegranate, and Pistachio Bites by Crystal King
Blood Orange Tart by CJ at A Well-Read Tart
Torta Alla Ricotta by Crystal King
Smoked Cinnamon Pomegranate Gelato with Pomegranate Pine Nut Brittle and Pomegranate Fruit Leather by Hannah Spiegelman, A Sweet History
Chocolate Mousse by Louise Miller, author of The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living and The Late Bloomer’s Club
Zuppa Inglese by Francine Segan
Olive Oil Cake by Candace at Beth Fish Reads
Camilla over at Culinary Adventures with Camilla is planning on making an entire Thanksgiving dinner based on the foods in In the Garden of Monsters. I can’t wait to see what she does for it!
In case you missed the link above, you can download the cookbook for free here.
Book Giveaway — LAST CHANCE!
I had a chance to have an early read of this wonderful new novel from bestselling author, Randy Susan Meyers, and it stayed with me for days after I finished. Meyers masterfully intertwines the political and social upheavals of the last fifty years with the intimate struggles of mother-daughter dynamics. She also juggles a large cast of characters (the book is partially set in a commune, after all!), but she does it with aplomb.
Seven Children. Five Mothers. One idyllic commune. What could go wrong?
The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone delves into the intricate and nuanced dance of familial love and communal ties through the lens of sociopolitical upheaval from the 1960s to the present day, examining which sacrifices are worth the price.
Do you want to win this book?
To sign up for the giveaway, you can fill out this form. Your name will be thrown into the hat for a shot at a paperback copy. This giveaway closes at midnight ET on Sunday, 11/24/24. Winners will be notified within 48 hours of the giveaway closing and announced in my next newsletter/post.
Important to Note: You must be 18+ and a United States resident (pesky international laws make it tricky to do giveaways worldwide). If you are someone who loves to read the rules, you can find the obligatory info here.
WHAT’S BRINGING ME JOY
This really isn’t joy…more horror, but there is also some odd joy in the horror.
A typing race. ⌨️
“Dalí is the incarnation of the Divine Hermes.” Weird, wacky, and long but worth a watch if you want to stop doom scrolling for awhile.
Like Wes Anderson but half a century ago. Piergiorgio Branzi, Beachside bar in Senigallia, Italy, 1957 You can learn more about this extraordinary photographer here.
Thanks for Joining Me
If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! And now you can order IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS!
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Lobster Bisque? I'm in : )
Always a joy to read your newsletter and get your perspective on things.