Thanksgiving Menu Ideas
Options For Creating a City Thanksgiving Dinner
It's hard to have an original idea when it comes to planning Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, many don't want something new -- we want this holiday to be full of the familiar. If you're still deciding what to cook for Thanksgiving dinner, we've gone through many of the season's cooking magazines, web sites, and cookbooks and have come up with a few suggestions for what to make. We've tried to balance tradition with healthy eating, value and a range of difficulty. Mostly we've tried to give you ideas about flavors, textures and taste that can combine to produce a satisfying meal -- satisfying to cook as well as to eat.
If you're doing a buffet, keep in mind which foods are easier to self-serve. And if any of your guests will be balancing plates on their laps or on coffee tables, also think about food that isn't too messy to eat. For instance, don't serve soup unless it's one that easy to drink from a mug. Any vegetarians among your family or guests? Make sure there's a generous selection of non-meat sides to choose from and if you know you've got vegetarians, make a little extra of the sides to take into account that they will be eating more vegetables than turkey. For some of these suggestions we've offered recipes but for others, a quick search of your cookbooks and favorite recipe web sites will give you many options.
Hors d'Oeuvres
It is the philosophy here at The City Cook that hors d'oeuvres should be light and few, unless, of course, you're making them for a cocktail party when the snacks will be the only food you serve. But when choosing hors d'oeuvres before a dinner, begin with the meal that will follow. Your goal is to tease the appetite, not satisfy it.
- Cheese Straws
- Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates
- A Bowl of Good Salted Almonds
- A Generous Bowl of Pistachio Nuts (nestle a smaller bowl midst the nuts to take the shells)
- Cheese Wafers
- Mixed Olives (in advance coat the olives with your own olive oil, sprigs of fresh thyme and peels of lemon and orange to help boost their flavor)
- Baked Potato Chips With Sea Salt
- Hot Pepper Jelly (store-bought), Cream Cheese and Crackers (a southern favorite)
- Smoked Salmon or Trout on Black Bread or Slices of English Cucumber
- Crudités With Warm Artichoke Dip or Salmon Mousse
- Spicy Pecans or Walnuts
Cocktails, Starter Beverages
- Champagne
- Sparkling Wine or Prosecco
- Sparkling Cider or Apple Juice (non-alcoholic)
- Pomegranate Juice with Seltzer (non-alcoholic) or with Sparkling Wine/Prosecco (with alcohol)
- Ginger Beer
Salads
- Endive, Pear and Roquefort Salad
- Plain Green Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette
- Arugula, Cubes of Roasted Beets, Disc of Goat Cheese With Vinaigrette
Soups
- Consommé
- Cream of Celery
- Cream of Carrot and Lemon (with no cream)
- Mushroom (cream or clear)
Sides
- Vegetable Gratin (made with root vegetables, zucchini, cauliflower, other vegetables)
- Braised Red Cabbage
- Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Sautéed Kale
- Mashed Butternut Squash
- Baked Acorn Squash with Maple Syrup
- Puréed Roasted Beets
- Creamed Spinach
- Green Beans With Lemon Butter and Shallots
- Glazed Carrots
- Corn Pudding
- Creamed Onions
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Roasted Root Vegetables
- Rice Stuffing
- Bread Stuffing
- Cornbread Stuffing
- Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Compote
- Cranberry Chutney
- Spicy Applesauce
The Bird
- Turkey
- Capon (a large male chicken)
- Chicken
- Goose
- Duck
Other
- Gravy
- Bread
- Biscuits
- Rolls
Desserts
- Pies (apple, pumpkin, squash, pecan)
- Apple Crisp
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Mousse
- Sweet Potato Flan
- Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce or Applesauce
- Baked Apples
