Getting ready for Thanksgiving!

Our menu ideas for a Thanksgiving to remember!

Over the past few years, Thanksgiving has been stepping up in our books. From an incredible version my family had a few years ago complete with three turkeys and impressive cocktails to boot, to the augmented Parisian Thanksgiving which is more like a Thanksgiving party. Either way, we love it all. The friends, the food, the fun and of course, the drinks!

In fact, for the last three Thanksgivings, I have hosted 16 people in my tiny 300 square foot or so apartment (200 square feet of which is bedroom and bathroom) and prepared the food myself in my minuscule kitchen which is at best 6 feet by 4 feet, including a refrigerator, stove/oven, sink and a two square foot spot of counter space.

The trick to doing this? Start early and make things ahead. In such a small space, you really can only make one thing at a time so learning how to make things ahead and reheat them when it’s time to eat it key.

Some might turn down their nose at the concept of reheating… but I learned while doing my pop-up restaurant, reheating…

is not bad,
can be necessary and helpful,
is something all restaurants do,
gives the flavors more time to develop.

All positives in my opinion!

So armed with doing as much as possible beforehand, another pillar in my Thanksgiving is that it should be traditional. Traditional in the best sense of the word, I want to it be like it was every year while growing up, with the same foods my mom made.

But for me, positive variation on theme is also the goal and adding a new little twist to update things is always welcomed. For example, one year, we had three turkeys in three different styles.

Turkey =Traditional as Three Different Styles of Turky = Positive Variation

I realize that Thanksgiving can be very, very different for everyone. My family has lived all over, from the East Coast, the Midwest, the Rockies, the West Coast and even the Pacific. So here for you, our family favorite recipes, simple, easy to make, and above all delicious. All can be made ahead and all can be halved, multipled, doubled, tripled, whatever, depending on your party size.

Check back often for a new recipe as they will all be posted over the coming days!

This is going to be one Thanksgiving holiday one for the books! Happy Eating and see you at the gym on the other side!