I don’t support Christmas propaganda immediately following Halloween but I can get behind some early Thanksgiving dinner planning.
I often think that running two businesses while having two little kids is about is busy a life as one could lead. Occasionally, I come across someone whose accomplishments force me to me knees in honor of their seemingly impossible achievements. Sam Sifton, national editor of the New York Times and also a parent to two girls, found the time to write a book. A very clever, entertaining, good book.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is such a uniting celebration, not based on religious practices and centered on the gathering of people around food. Right up my alley. I’m drawn to innovation and change and don’t find comfort in routine in my everyday life. Regarding Thanksgiving, I’m somewhat of a traditionalist.
If you aren’t serious about Thanksgiving, this book isn’t for you. If you want to cook a traditional meal and do it well, this is your new bible. Sam’s writing style is direct with a healthy dose of sass. While reading the book’s introduction before going to sleep one night, I repeatedly elbowed my husband and delightedly read him passages aloud:
“Thanksgiving is likewise not a book for those interested in cutting corners. Shortcuts are anathema to Thanksgiving, which is a holiday that celbrates not just our bounty but also our slow, careful preparion of it. There is no room in Thanksgiving for the false wisdom of compromise–for ways ot celebrate the holiday without cooking, or by cranking open cans of gravy to pour over a store-roasted turky reheated in the microwave. Thanksgiving is no place for irony. We are simply going to cook.
Put plainly, we are going to cook Thanksgiving correctly.”
The Thanksgiving purist goes on to instruct the reader on various ways to prepare turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, potatoes, vegetables and desserts. All this with a side dish of wit and pedagogical confidence. One of my favorite chapters was the unexpected bonus at the end – recipes for leftovers.
Whether you are planning one of your first Thanksgiving meals or if you are an old pro, you may find trick or two in this new book. To win a copy, leave a comment sharing your favorite Thanksgiving dish.
On Wednesday, November 7th, I choose a winner and will be sure you have a copy at least a few weeks before Thanksgiving.
Update: The winner is Maureen! Thank you everyone for your interest.
November 4th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Growing up my favorite dish was my grandmother’s stuffing. Now I make it but not as good as hers. What is a favorite now is a dessert I make called pumpkin crisp.
November 4th, 2012 at 11:09 pm
I love sweet potatoes with marshmellow on top!
November 4th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
Thanksgiving is also my favorite holiday, for all those same reasons. I had hosted for years, rarely delegating any of the dishes, but last year passed the torch on to my sister. She continues to make the herb roasted turkey with caramelized onion gravy (from Bon Appetit), but still bring most of the sides. I can’t have Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes with marshmallows, and homemade cranberry sauce. The recipe on the back of the bag with some fresh squeezed orange juice and zest and cinnamon and ginger is foolproof and is delicious on everything, especially mixed into plain Greek yogurt the next morning!
November 4th, 2012 at 11:41 pm
I love cranberry salad. It really makes Thanksgiving set apart from any other holiday in my mind.
November 5th, 2012 at 12:35 am
Pumpkin Pie! And so many more – all my favorites get to come out to play on Turkey Day :)
November 5th, 2012 at 6:54 am
Stuffing. Stuffing. Stuffing. Apple laced, celery infused, dancing with shades of sage stuffing.
November 5th, 2012 at 7:49 am
Stuffing is my favorite part of the thanksgiving meal. Mine has spinach, bacon, mushrooms and cashews along with the usual vegetables.
November 5th, 2012 at 7:59 am
My favorite part of any meal is dessert. I’m not a big pumpkin pie fan because I think the pumpkin mixture ruins a pie crust. However, I’ve starting making pumpkin pie with an oatmeal crust and I’m a changed girl.
November 5th, 2012 at 8:08 am
I love a tender turkey and dessert — pecan pie is my specialty.
November 5th, 2012 at 8:38 am
My favorite would have to be my sister’s father-in-law’s pumpkin pie! I didn’t grow up eating it, so when I was introduced to it about ten years ago, I couldn’t get enough.
November 5th, 2012 at 8:45 am
Nothing beats the taste of TURKEY on Thanksgiving :-) Of course, only if it’s made correctly.
November 5th, 2012 at 8:46 am
It’s hard to choose, since Thanksgiving is my favorite meal in general, but I love a good stuffing with lots of sage!
November 5th, 2012 at 9:08 am
I love Thanksgiving and being with family. Between the smell of the turkey and the leaves crunching outside as we play bocce ball it is a wonderful time of year………..
November 5th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Definitely a toss up between stuffing and pecan pie!
November 5th, 2012 at 9:29 am
My favorite Thanksgiving dish is pumpkin-cheesecake pie..yum!!
November 5th, 2012 at 10:13 am
I love stuffing! especially all of the different ways it can be prepared and the various ingredients that can be included.
November 5th, 2012 at 10:20 am
It’s hard to choose! My mom’s greenbean casserole is always a favorite. But the Swedish foods only come out twice a year in our family (Thanksgiving and Christmas), so potato sausage and lutefisk rank up there also!
November 5th, 2012 at 10:24 am
My favorite Thanksgiving dish, next to turkey and all the pies, is called Sweet Potato Heaven. It’s basically a sweet potato casserole with a praline topping. Divine.
November 5th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Lefse. W/ butter and sugar, preferably warm.
November 5th, 2012 at 11:10 am
My favorite Thanksgiving dish is sage stuffing!
November 5th, 2012 at 11:46 am
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving for me without the sweet potato casserole – mashed sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows topped with an oatmeal and macadamia nut crisp topping. Delicious! Also, over the last few years, roast duck has become the meat of choice in my household for Thanksgiving, with a side of duck fat gravy – amazing!
November 5th, 2012 at 11:54 am
It’s a tie between stuffing with toasted pecans and lots of sage and mashed potatoes with celery root. I can’t wait!
November 5th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
i love dessert! My fave is Chocolate Pecan Pie
November 5th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Hooray for Thanksgiving! It’s possibly my favorite holiday ever, and my favorite dish is really hard to choose–but I think I’m going to go for the classic massive pile of mashed potatoes with copious gravy. Yay! This book looks great–thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
November 5th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
I started my Thanksgiving tradition last year, so this will be year two of hosting. I can use all the help I can get! My favorite dish is my mom’s root vegetable puree. Turnip, rutabaga, carrot, parsnip, and celery root boiled in stock and then pureed with a ton of butter, a touch of brown sugar, and ground white pepper. Yum.
November 5th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
I love my dad’s stuffing, which is VERY roughly based on the recipe in the old New York Times Cookbook. I try to recreate it every year at my house and I just can’t seem to get right!
November 5th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Very cool! My favorite Thanksgiving dish is the gravy. Yummmm.
November 5th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
My favorite Thanksgiving dish is my Mom’s recipe for cornbread stuffing with sausage. She learned to make the recipe from a neighbor when we lived in North Carolina and it is a must make each Thanksgiving.
November 5th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
cranberry orange relish – ymmmy.
November 5th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
I learned the recipe of my grandpernts’ famous rye bread and sausage stuffing by listening to my dad talk about them last Christmas. They both passed away in 2010-2011 – 4 months apart. This year for thanksgiving we are not traveling because our youngest is just 3 months. This means my husband and I get to cook and I am so excited to make this stuffing this year.i hope I can do it justice.
November 5th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
My favorite dish is really not a dish at all. It is the gravy–the straightforward, traditional, creamy and meaty turkey gravy. And I put it on everything: the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes. I even let it pool a bit with the greens. Makes me hungry right now.
November 5th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
Absolute best dish is sweet potato casserole with marshmellows! YUM!
November 5th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Every year my Dad and I create a stuffing dish creation. The running theme, since my family lives on the gulf coast in Florida, is oysters. I’m not sure how we’ll top last years, sausage, oysters, mushroom, and apple concotion but I can’t wait to try!
November 5th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
My favorite dish is undoubtably the sweet potato yams my grandma used to make before she got really sick. They were sweet potatoes sliced, and then had chunks of butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows baked into them. Driving down to Beverly in the fall with that dish in mind was a cornerstone of my childhood.
November 5th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
My favorite dish at thanksgiving is the cornbread dressing oh dear me love it with gravy yum…yum!!! Then there is the turkey sandwiches the next day made with left over homemade yeast rolls oh goodness dee-lightful !
November 5th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
This looks fantastic. I love cookbooks that take one topic and treat it very seriously. My favorite Thanksgiving dish is homemade applesauce, but my real favorite part of Thanksgiving is cold turkey and stuffing at 10 p.m. once hunger hits again.
November 5th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
It’s hard to choose just one favorite Thanksgiving dish. There’s so many and that drives me crazy when I have to decide what to cook on that day. But, I guess I’m gonna have to go with stuffing. It’s the only dish that I ONLY eat on Thanksgiving day and I am so looking forward to it!
November 6th, 2012 at 8:15 am
Stuffing, stuffing, stuffing – with lots of bacon in it!
November 6th, 2012 at 8:49 am
I love sweet potato biscuits!
November 6th, 2012 at 11:08 am
I love my mom’s cranberry sauce! It has a lot of lemon and orange zest and it tastes so good with cornbread!
November 6th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
My grandmother’s stuffing is an absolute guilty pleasure and it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without my great aunt’s split pea soup. All that said, a new favorite for the list – last year, we did one of our turkeys (yes, we have two) on the grill. It came out beautifully! Everyone kept coming into the kitchen to sneak tastes of the good turkey (not that the traditional one from the oven wasn’t great, as well)
November 6th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
I’m a big fan of that first bite of Turkey-potato-cranberry-gravy.
November 6th, 2012 at 8:19 pm
my favorite thanksgiving dish is my mashed sweet potatoes w. brown sugar & pecans. always a hit with everyone :)
November 6th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
A few years ago I made a new mashed potato, roasted chestnut, and they were to die for. I also love to make creamed onions, they are an easy dish to make, but for some reason one I only make for thanksgiving.
November 7th, 2012 at 8:28 am
This is the first year I am actually cooking Thanksgiving dinner and I have no idea where to begin. Perhaps this book would help?
November 7th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
My grandmother’s homemade stuffing! YUM! :)
November 13th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
no cutting corners a teensy bit??