Time for a breather amid my tales of our trip to Japan . . .
Yesterday was Thanksgiving and, as always, our family met at our apartment. This year we had fourteen, and I decided to repeat my menu of 2018 with few changes. Why argue with success? Here's what I made:
For hors d'oeuvres, I made Michael Romano's great bar nuts from the
Union Square Cafe Cookbook, roasted with an inspired combination of rosemary, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, butter and salt,
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GSfgFrLmpABv5txVoYGbFMDt_vERRbTqx4V0UmDajo12nOxGEeyjG32brP_H8KHRRYZqqr5BltaKT_c1baBtlk14FWp8rLfi0wZrxP0AyLVrEGvmmkB-QINCHO6vgmTk1Q2cFI-X7hY/s400/11.29.19+Bar+nuts+%25281+of+2%2529.jpg) |
Union Square Cafe bar nuts |
as well as Whipped Feta Dip, from Milk Street, served with fresh pita chips.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVI5TgpumQwU0okQU7jQL2vjI8WVwevSXNmO9zgABtb1H9PSOc_Qd9ykehQKNZOC7ZE1me7JgV94Rq2KqvQ0hi1eaQSRBaBzwvmY3KPRaed_SfN4Ipm02EgSoPb2WJpu_vKklxP0bTi9Y/s400/11.28.19+whipped+feta+dip.jpg) |
Whipped Feta Dip from Milk Street |
For some reason, I have been craving
tonnato (tuna) sauce lately, the kind used in
vitello tonnato. I turned to Marcella Hazan's iconic
Essentials of Italian Cooking for her recipe, but altered it greatly to make it into a stand-alone dip, served with little endive leaves for dipping.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFql-4x_OPvLBeL2B4zWqYxz5aoKhjtkkqr22SsoJpA2imPwc2ZvczGISdQtlKoihidkayPwZY6tghkT88EcgM99A9H-JI8i2hqPdbSexTBiANtVBsJwGb1VEUyI8BSQd5paq1IyiRBSY/s400/11.28.19+Tonnato+dip+with+endive.jpg) |
Tonnato dip with endive leaves |
This was accompanied by Dorie Greenspan's simple but delicious mustard batons and my
hors d'oeuve de résistence, Shrimp with Toasted Garlic (
Camerones de Ajo) from Tyler Florence.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI66VSmD36_9mdcrxq71KgKsKanUzVwXbUewH_MrM24uC4D9JpXcyfvXEudpIfx76uWudPuigwTADEU5xVB5QMmeZn-WvVHNH-_22gmzqrgUjeBokOwFsjOsj5pNMC3pM3zCMYcpFCKAE/s400/11.28.19+Shrimp+with+garlic.jpg) |
Tyler Florence's Shrimp with Toasted Garlic (Camerones de Ajo) |
This is always a huge hit, especially with my seve year-old great nice and her grandfather (my brother).
For me the actual dinner is less interesting. I made my usual turkey, a version of Julia Childs' deconstructed turkey (which Michael Chiarello's fennel seed rub) cooked over sausage stuffing from
The Food Lab (also the source of my gravy recipe),
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6gC_qijZF1l0xM0eJVu9ANQWWCYaVGEPrvGV0uUN3UtrZC-4VfwRCYtfkvREAkyNlpApLS0fS7_KGbiomrwRLELoezAdJfJTp1oWFtcBXk6N032QXg0s7Vf0AKWfq5_0NXGht5KzzfaQ/s400/11.28.19+Turkey.jpg) |
Deconstructed and carved turkey |
accompanied by hashed Brussels sprouts quickly sauteed with lemon and poppy seeds, also from the
Union Square Cafe Cookbook (I added toasted pine nuts, which I love, but found they offered little to this dish),
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1QmbVCHw71tYYzbu5mPs09dfaF4T9FemrDPOllWTAP47WVmypmj5Qc_7Mfud7aV0xlns7Movn7PefKZiLLHMbKjqe_wuGsheaosxTTFrYMnj2ok-rxv5ERCX-3W36OQMngMOh9RJS48/s400/11.28.19+hashed+Brussels+sprouts.jpg) |
Union Square Cafe's Hashed Brussels Sprouts |
and Sweet Potato Gratin from
Ottolenghi: The Cookbook,
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3naSlEl3Nt4c08ZGx195e6-lVhHjQUiX6LPaDU1tyqpax3ep0NI8mWsCprgErnXuUSJyl5l8F2vplXprJ8LukWkjO7930VMuiDVFGiKf20m31WPkJT6xnW4zQnbrxnvgb-ckIVfnbSiU/s400/11.28.19+Sweet+potato+gratin.jpg) |
Ottolenghi's Sweet Potato Gratin |
together with my fiery cranberry
mostarda, a confit of dried cranberries and cranberry juice, mustard seeds soaked in wine, mustard powder, orange zest, cinnamon and lots of Champagne vinegar, a recipe from
Food and Wine.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1Brvd1E2uLyXxYtSrRluJauGMjn0omIw7nhVuUCR5k6xBQbCPgzPuO8AvF_itDElI_5ZR1kxh7XGWo2Kt29fTLsrA8bUafR9zKFucnxBgOtQikRfM_B0LdJcMOhhyphenhyphenJbEh2nWvoyBJnA/s400/11.28.19+Cranberry+mostarda.jpg) |
Cranberry mostarda |
For dessert, guests were kind enough to bring a pumpkin pie, a chocolate cake and (yes, it's true) a peppermint cake, but I had to make at least one, in this case Clotile Dusoulier's Flourless Orange and Ginger Cake, a moist masterpiece of a cake suitable for serving friends with celiac disease (my celiac-afflicted friend has become addicted) and for Passover. This is one of my best recipes: it's easy, can be made a day or two in advance and never ceases to please. By the way, I use clementines rather than oranges.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3TVqWZpIpl760Qq92g99AsRC044CTm5nmns28SkIvPwBeOfREJJRaT4N6qySPW-C9ZI3KgInfwgnzd5yB8vloyRXf0O6d19rPlehX_Con3jzRS54gXNKJ9jvZ8JEUoAbJKul43-WSUw/s400/11.28.19+Orange+ginger+cake+-+1.jpg) |
Clotilde Dusoulier's Orange and Ginger Cake |
So there it is, a large meal, followed by a good night's sleep and thoughts of what to do next year.
Bobby Jay