Thanksgiving 2022 All-Star Recipe Lineup

My favorite recipes for Turkey Day.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner (unless you’re not American, in which case it is literally just another Thursday).  Now that I have my substack up and running, it’s my occupational duty as Yet Another Person Who Writes About Food on the Internet to weigh in with my suggestions for a great spread.  We have all the hits here:  turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole — the list can (and will) go on and on.

I don’t need to wax philosophically about how Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of meals (but btw, why don’t we ever say the Super Bowl is the Thanksgiving of football?).  This is the holiday when we trot out those fun, guilty-pleasure recipes only to shelve them for 364 other days. Given all the obsessive behavior that goes into so many of these dishes, you’d think we’d serve them up a little more frequently.

Luckily, we as a society have found ways to sneak extra doses of sausage stuffing and sweet potato casserole into our lives, courtesy of Friendsgiving dinners (and, let’s face it, visits to Boston Market).  Who doesn’t love a Friendsgiving??  It’s just like Thanksgiving… but potentially more fun?  First off, there’s usually less travel. Major win there.  Secondly, friends!  Generally speaking that’s a good thing.  Third, better food! Yes, here’s my hot take of the week: Friendsgiving food is more exciting than Thanksgiving food. Maybe there’s less pressure to serve up the same tired classics. Or maybe it’s a safe space for recipe experimentation. Or maybe the gathering of friends means the cross pollination of family traditions. Whatever the reason, Friendsgiving goes off. So, in the spirit of Friendsgiving season, I have some dishes for your menus.

Fun fact:  while Friendsgiving dinners have certainly happened for decades, the word “Friendsgiving” only emerged around 2007, and even then it didn’t become mainstream until four years later when the “Gobblefellas” episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey aired (followed by a prolific marketing campaign for Bailey’s Irish Cream a few months later).  True story!  But honestly, I’m bringing this up merely to highlight the enduring global impact of The Real Housewives.

Teresa Giudice of RHONJ: unlikely Friendsgiving pioneer.

The following recommendations have all been huge hits with my friends and family, and I truly believe you can’t go wrong with any of them.  I have faith that there are many more dishes that deserve a spot in this compilation, and you can rest assured that I will continue to seek them out. In other words, yes, I’m already scouting out the Friendsgiving 2023 menu.

Oh and one last thing: turns out I have very few photos of the following dishes. So, in lieu of visuals, just close your eyes and pretend you can see lots of amazing pics shot with excellent lighting from flattering angles. Because that’s TOTALLY how I would have taken the pics. Totally.

Very Good Turkey with Tangy Roasted Shallots and Excellent Gravy | Alison Roman

Proud turkey papa in 2021. Photo courtesy of my friend JUDY. (Her presence demands all caps)

The understated name for this turkey deeply betrays its excellence.  I made it for the first time in 2021 for a humble, four-person Thanksgiving, and we were all shocked — dare I say, GOBSMACKED — by this bird.  We all agreed it may have been the best turkey any of us had had.  The key is seasoning.  The recipe calls for lots of kosher salt, which dry brines the poultry in magnificent ways.  We couldn’t believe how juicy and flavorful this turkey was.  The real surprise, however, might be the shallots, which endure hours of bubbling in olive oil and turkey fat.  They emerge jammy, sweet, and absolutely heavenly. To top it off, the gravy is a full showstopper with its blend of pan drippings, roux, Dijon mustard, and soy sauce (!).  Admittedly, I’ve only made this recipe once, but I have a hard time believing it won’t be my new method for years to come.

For a different approach, I also recommend Chef John’s Peruvian Turkey, which also yields delicious results.  It was my former go-to recipe for years.

Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing | J. Kenji López-Alt

My friend Kambra is a wiz at making stuffing.  She doesn’t follow a recipe — she just throws stuff in a pan and conjures up fennel-flavored magic.  I tried to learn from her, but I never quite developed the stuffing instinct.  I’ve since turned to various recipes, including Ina Garten’s famed sausage and herb stuffing, but none have captured Kambra’s wizardry.  J. Kenji López-Alt’s approach, however, is about as close as it gets.  There’s nothing fancy or clever bout his recipe; it just works.  The textures and flavors are all on point, but of course, as a nod to Kambra, I always add in about an extra tablespoon of fennel seeds.  I recommend you do too.

Celery Root and Potato Puree | Anne Burrell

Apparently mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving is a “Yankee thing,” according to my friend Neil, who hails from Winter Park, FL.  Here’s the good news:  a) I’m a Yankee; so I can have mashed potatoes on my table, and b) Southerners can add this dish to their spread because technically it’s not mashed potatoes — it’s a celery root and potato puree!  But let’s be honest, this dish is basically mashed potatoes.  I actually like it better than a simple mash because the celery root adds a layer of flavor that’s hard to describe beyond… celery-ish. I know, not a huge sell there. Just trust me. And because I’m wild, I usually throw in a diced apple while the celery root is boiling to add a subtle dash of sweetness (that trick is from Ina Garten).  Protip:  tell people it’s mashed potatoes with celery root.  You’d be surprised how fixated people become on semantics if you call it a celery root puree. I literally once had to defend against someone huffing, “What do you mean there’s no mashed potatoes??” Although, I suppose that’s only an issue in the North?  If it’s the South, just say it’s a NotMash of NoPotatoes and Celery Root. Whatever – just make it.

Sweet Potato Casserole | Toni Tipton-Martin, adapted from Bob Jeffries

This recipe, originally from Bob Jeffries and adapted by Toni Tipton-Martin in her excellent cookbook Jubilee, delivers a classic sweet potato casserole without the need for an insulin shot afterwards.  There are no marshmallows (although you could always throw some on), but a praline topping keeps things crunchy and wonderful.  I might add some orange zest this year just to keep things interesting.  Since the recipe doesn’t seem to exist on the Internets, here it is:

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing the dish
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped toasted pecans
1 cup melted butter
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
⅓ cup evaporated or whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

The Steps:

1.	Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter. 

2.	In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, pecans, and ½ cup of the melted butter. Set aside.

3.	In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sweet potatoes on medium speed until light. Beat in the remaining ½ cup butter, the granulated sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle with praline topping. Bake until the top is browned and firm, 30 to 35 minutes.

Blistered Broccolini with Charred Dates, Lemon & Sesame | Molly Baz

Molly Baz’s broccolini, as seen in my very first NBD Fancy post!

It’s always good to have something green and charred on the table.  Brussels sprouts rarely fail, but if you’re looking for a change-up, give broccolini a try.  You can simply toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at a high temp, or you can use this recipe by Molly Baz from her cookbook, Cook This Book.  It calls for charring broccolini in a cast iron skillet, adding dates, and then ultimately lemons.  Unfortunately I can’t find the recipe online; so if you don’t have the book, try this very similar and equally delicious approach from the New York Times.

Cranberry Sauce | a metal can

I don’t have a cranberry sauce recipe.  Honestly, STOREBOUGHT IS FINE.   I like the canned stuff.

Little Gems with Garlicky Lemon and Pistachio | Alison Roman

I like to refer to this salad as simply “THE Salad.”  Hailing from Alison Roman’s Nothing Fancy cookbook, this straightforward assemblage of greens, lemon, dill, pistachios and garlic is so deeply wonderful that it may become the only salad you ever make again.  That’s nearly the case in my household where this salad hits the table multiple times a week.  Easy enough for a weekday meal, but elevated enough for a group dinner, this may just be the best salad of all time.  Go hard with the dill and don’t worry about the other herbs if you don’t have them.  Pomegranates, persimmons, and parmesan also play well here.  But one word of warning:  Alison Roman calls for dicing a WHOLE lemon which has always scared me.  I have never been brave enough to include that step, and I’m okay with it.  Proceed as you wish.

Roasted Squash with Yogurt, Walnuts, and Spiced Green Sauce | Joshua McFadden

There are so many awesome roasted squash recipes out there, it can be hard to settle on just one for Thanksgiving (this may be a future NBD Fancy article in the making).  My choice is this one from Joshua McFadden’s collection-essential cookbook Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables.  He sets up the recipe with a standard, cheffy lie:  “Such a stunning dish, and with so little work.”  It’s work, people.  But worth it (and not very difficult).  Here you’ll be roasting squash and serving it with a zingy green sauce and thickened garlic yogurt.  The first time I made this dish was at Thanksgiving 2019, and it was probably one of the very best items at the table.  Maybe the best?  Although, it was the same year that THE Salad debuted.  And my friend William also brought some absurd sweet potatoes.  Okay, not sure where this squash dish ranked that year, but it was excellent.

Happy Pilgrim | BLT Steak of White Plains, NY (RIP)

On one fateful trip home for Thanksgiving in the 2000s, my parents treated me to dinner at BLT Steak, formerly of White Plains, NY.  I ordered an apple-cider cocktail called the “Happy Pilgrim” which was so tasty that I actually called the restaurant from Los Angeles a week later to get the recipe.  I’ve been making it ever since. The formula is a breeze: 

2oz whiskey
1oz apple cider
1oz “spiced simple syrup,” (1:1 water and sugar boiled with whole allspice, whole cloves, and a cinnamon stick)
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice 

Mix, serve over ice.  

I never got specifics about the spiced simple syrup, but when making it, I usually throw in some allspice and cloves and cinnamon — anything that smells like a Crate & Barrel in December. I try for whole spices, but I’ve used ground to great effect too.  Alternatively, you can just buy spiced apple cider and use regular simple syrup.  And if you live in Los Angeles, where apple cider is shockingly IMPOSSIBLE to find, a decent cold-pressed apple juice like Simply Apple will do the trick.  Anyway, the Happy Pilgrim is a great cocktail for any fall gathering, especially one that centers around Thanksgiving.  Just know that this drink is deceptively strong, and I will not be responsible for any embarrassing or harmful behavior it fuels.  Oh, and I’m also open to giving the Happy Pilgrim a rebrand, since, you know, colonizers.  The Happy Turkey? Puritan Punch? Scurvy-tini?  We’ll workshop it.

Cauliflower & Celery Root Soup | Ina Garten

Did you think I wasn’t going to include the Queen of the Blue Button-Down, Ina Garten?  Hush!  If you’re serving soup for Thanksgiving, try this one out.  It’s easy, surprisingly healthy, and absolutely delicious.  Make it the day before to really let the flavors meld by the time it hits your table.

Bourbon Pecan Pie | John Besh

Here it is:  the best pecan pie recipe I’ve ever used.  Dark, moody, and full of flavors you didn’t know a pecan pie could have, this recipe is absolutely astounding.  John Besh calls for blackstrap molasses, but I’ve had great success using normal molasses instead.  I also rarely make my own pie shell.  But if you want to roll one out, then you do you.  Be prepared for a rich and intense pecan pie.  It’s so good I’m literally going to make it RIGHT NOW. Not even joking. Byyeeeeeeeee.

Happy Thanksgiving!