This Thursday my wife and I will host our first Thanksgiving. Though smaller than previous years, our intimate meal will be all family, all love and plenty of delicious food (that’s the hope.)

I mentioned in last Friday’s weekly menu post that unlike our regular meals, this Thanksgiving feast will be simple and straight forward. In our home Thanksgiving is not about pilgrims and natives; at least we do not want to celebrate a fabricated lie that romanticizes America’s brutal history between these two groups. That said, there are themes to the holiday we do enjoy, specifically sharing with others, spending time with family and celebrating the harvest. It’s true that technically, Thanksgiving falls after the actual fall harvest; but when most people think of this holiday, they think of vegetables that grow this season. I should also note that unlike chickens, turkeys take many months to grow. Therefore, it is fitting to eat turkey in the fall if the chicks were born in the spring. So turkey is in season too.

When writing the menu for our meal I was focused on two ideas – seasonality and simplicity. I grew up in a household that loved Thanksgiving, and it was the one meal that “deserved” elaborate dishes. Upon the elongated table lay all the standard culinary accoutrements: turkey, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green beans, cranberry molds, and pie pie pie. If If we had the money, the time, the kitchen and the community to feed, it may be possible to relive that memory. But truth be told, I would rather prepare a simple meal. I am excited for our Thanksgiving because the menu is about the season a and the ingredients reflect where we live.

With the cooler weather comes the stovetop and oven. I love to braise, broil, roast and bake. On Thursday we will roast roast roast. The only portion of the main meal that will require a multi-step recipe is the stuffing. Everything else will stand on its own. Here is the plan:

• Roasted turkey with butter, salt, pepper and fresh herbs
• Gravy with the juices and giblets from the bird
• Roasted brussels sprouts (olive oil, salt, pepper)
• Roasted beets
• Roasted acorn squash (butter and brown sugar)
• Wild mushroom stuffing (will include chanterelle and morel mushrooms we foraged this year)

And of course a pumpkin and pecan pie for dessert.

I’m convinced that this menu will be affordable, efficient to make and incredibly delicious. Later next week, I’ll have some photos to share.

No matter what you do this holiday weekend, enjoy your friends, family and community. Eat, relax and drink. Celebrate the season and remember to thank the farmers and the cook!

Related posts:

1. Lessons Learned
2. Simple, healthy and delicious
3. Bring Me the Meat! (weekly menu 13)
4. Turkey Day
5. Where have all the simple meals gone? (weekly menu 12)

Tags: cooking, seasonal eating, weekly menu, wild mushrooms