Thanksgiving 911
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“Justine! WHAT DO I MAKE FOR FRIENDSGIVING?!”
I love cooking around the holidays, despite my previous diatribe about my lack of affection for the Turkey Day meal. Cooking for others is the best way I know how to show I care, and this season allows me to do so in spades.
I hosted my first Thanksgiving meal my sophomore year of college at my first post-937 S. Plymouth apartment on Cornelia, just blocks from Wrigley Field. It was bitterly cold that day. We were all broke college students just trying to scrape together money for whatever cut-rate boozy nightmare we guzzled. I awoke to the news that Nick and Jessica Simpson had gotten a divorce. (Why do I remember this?)
I felt so grown up, getting up early to prepare a full spread for my Chicago family. I was a novice at best, but even then I was absolutely obsessed with cooking and feeding people. When you’re 21, literally any culinary skills above “microwave this” qualified you as a great cook in the eyes of your friends, and I took my inflated, unearned title very seriously.
Nothing about that meal was memorable and I think we named the *shudder* turkey breast I had been convinced to prepare after our boyfriends at the time. I am pretty sure I still have photos from the day that were snapped with a black and white disposable camera (so noir! such Columbia kids!). TBH, I miss those analog days with every fiber of my being.
Anyhoo, since then, I’ve been kind of a de facto cooking resource for people. I get pinged all the time for recipes or suggestions about how to make this really beautiful cut of meat or bouquet of greens that just looked gorgeous at the store. I help people plan their menus or teach them how to cook. I get texts while friends are cooking, asking for suggestions on the fly. AND I LOVE IT! (Seriously, it’s my favorite thing.)
With my hopes of this blog becoming a regular stop when you need inspiration, I had delusions of grandeur that I, an actual copywriter and creative marketing type, would plan out a big old spread of holiday recipes and content, all with beautifully styled photos shot by yours truly. In, like, one week.
That obviously didn’t happen. But I have put together a collection of my go-to holiday dishes that are low key ridiculously easy to make but taste and look very impressive. They’re perfect for when you are trying to upstage that one friend who has been faking her way through being the chef in the group since college.
- Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad: Infinitely adaptable and I find it keeps for a few days, like a hearty slaw. It brings desperately needed acid and crunch to the meal. Also exceptionally tasty topped with roasted salmon.
- Sweet Potato Crisp: Creamy, tart, sweet, and crunchy—easy peasy to make, too. And not a marshmallow in sight!
- Broccoli Rice Casserole: This is literally my favorite dish in the entire world. Would select as part of my death row meal.
- Bourbon Cranberry Sauce: My dear friend and culinary spirit sister Jenn created this little number. Puckery with a hint of spicy heat, I make this year-round and put it on my oatmeal. Makes a delightful relish for the next dish.
- Bo Ssam/Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder: With no festive trash bird bamboozling my holiday table, I always make this. It hogs the oven for a while, but it is the most mouthwateringly tender and perfectly seasoned pork ever. Makes dynamite hash the next day (which is saying something because I am also—hold on to your butts—anti-leftovers).
- Scallion Pancake Challah: It’s not necessarily the most obvious choice to bring to Thanksgiving, but I like it and it’s a fun way to practice some useful bread baking skills.
- Cranberry Curd Tart: This may be behind a paywall, so whoopsie daisy if so. Just Google the recipe; it’s absolutely delicious, but I do generally swap out the crust, which I find overly fussy without that much payoff, for a plain shortbread style.
- Cristalino Sparkling Rose: Okay, so it’s not a recipe, but it is perhaps the most important ingredient for your Thanksgiving needs—at just $8 a pop.
- Apple Cider Sangria: Built for the long haul that is Thanksgiving, fizzy and light as written but a little brawnier if you swap the brandy for bourbon
And duh, all of the other recipes I’ve posted.
May your Thanksgiving meals be plentiful, only mildly stressful, and devoid of racist relatives barfing words they heard on Fox News.