From an Asian twist to going beyond the roast, we've been showing you the most creative ways we know to do Thanksgiving right. So with all that advice we've been doling out this month, we thought we'd take a step back
Loop app android, get a little personal, and share our own Thanksgiving feast plans.
After sharing our stories, we learned (Hallmark card-style) that the secret to any great Thanksgiving feast is simply being surrounded by friends and loved ones, no matter what you're serving...but as food editors, we can't help but see Thanksgiving as a personal culinary Super Bowl, and every dish has gotta be a touchdown.
Now check out how Epi editors get their own Thanksgiving feasts on:
Gabriella Vigoreaux, Editorial Assistant: I will be going to Montreal to visit my best friend, and sadly it will not be Thanksgiving in Canada. I will instead be going to Joe Beef and eating my weight in smoked meats, lobster spaghetti, and drinking an embarrassing amount of champagne. Then I'm going to go seek out the best pudding ch?meur in the city and eat it all by myself because it's not really Thanksgiving and I don't really have to share.
Rhoda Boone, Food Editor: I am traveling home to Texas. My dad will smoke a wild turkey all day with pecan wood from our backyard. I'll be in the kitchen with my mom sipping Bloody Marys and making cornbread dressing
smartone, parker house rolls, chipotle scalloped sweet potatoes, and saut��ed swiss chard. To finish, I'll be making two new desserts: Brown Butter Pecan Pie with Rum and Espresso, and Our Favorite Apple Pie. Family friends will bring vegetables and appetizers and my husband will stay as far away from the kitchen as possible. There will be football and lots of red wine.
Samantha Dupler, Editorial Assistant: My uncle has hosted our family's Thanksgiving for the past couple of years, and with the help of a catering company, it's always been a huge success. Despite being a vegetarian, he's always provided a traditional turkey for the rest of our meat-tolerating family. That is...until this year. In honor of his 40th year of vegetarianism, the menu has gotten a whole lot greener--and totally vegan. This year's official email bulletin regarding Thanksgiving reads: "Sorry all: no Cajun turkey or blackened catfish this year." On the upside, maybe now we all won't want to pass out before dessert is even served.
Matt Duckor, Restaurant Editor: It's awkward, but we're changing the way we've always done pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Ever since I can remember, pumpkin pie has come from a can of Libby's pumpkin pure��. This year, we'll probably replace that can with a real-life kabocha squash for a pie like this one.
Michele Zotos, Digital Producer: Most of my family isn't really big on turkey, so we'll be skipping the turkey. Instead, we'll be making Roast Pork Marinated in Adobo (Cerdo Brujo), with a side of rice mixed with pigeon peas. My husband will probably make Mofongo, too.
Adina Steiman, Special Projects Editor: My family hates marshmallows on sweet potatoes, so I'll make this praline-covered version from Rick Rodgers instead. I also hate mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, so I'll skip them in favor of another fresh vegetable side (all those savory rich flavors need that contrasting crunch and acidity). I make this weird but wonderful salad that's like a celery root remoulade, with shredded Granny Smiths, pomegranate seeds, and toasted walnuts to make it feel right for fall
Private Cloud.
David Cicconi, Creative Director: Mother's coming to town to spend the holiday with my girlfriend and me. Will not be eating turkey. OD'd on it at Epi shoots and taste tests, so I'll probably skew Italian/French with the rest of the meal: roast a pork loin or shoulder and house some salumi, some sort of confit, rillettes, cheese--La Tur, Robiola, a pecorino stagionato, maybe a Saint Marcellin.
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