Jim Wilson/The New York Times
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2015
Here We Go!
 SAM SIFTON
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Good morning. "Thanksgiving won't be ignored," Richard Ford wrote in "The Lay of the Land," his third Frank Bascombe novel. "Americans are hard-wired for something to be thankful for. Our national spirit thrives on invented gratitude. Even if Aunt Bella's flatlined and in custodial care down in Ruckusville, Alabama, we still 'need' her to have some white meat and gravy and be thankful, thankful, thankful. After all, we are - if only because we're not in her bedroom slippers."
Frank is a dark, funny man. But even he argues: take the chance to be cheerful this week, whatever comes. You can treat the whole Thanksgiving process like an episode of jet lag, as Bascombe does, with long walks on the beach, serious couch time and the TV on in the background. Or you can join us in the kitchen, to throw down a feast.
Here's hoping you've made a start. (Latecomers can visit ourThanksgiving home page for help catching up.) Your turkey should be thawed or pretty close at this point. Those who write me on Thanksgiving morning to ask about their rock-hard and icy Butterballs will receive form letters directing them to Denny's. You should know who's coming to dinner, within a guest or two or three, or where you're going - Thanksgiving is not a holiday you ought to treat with flexibility, as you may with New Year's Eve. If you've received an invitation, accept it or decline gracefully, but don't leave it up in the air.
Guests should bring gifts. It may be wine (Eric Asimov has some ideasfor that). Or it may be food. Alice Waters's recipe for cranberry upside-down cake (above) is a lovely present, as is Melissa Clark'srecipe for pumpkin bread with brown butter and bourbon.
Either way, make a nice, easy dinner this evening, so you're not stressed going into tomorrow and Wednesday, when the anticipation starts to build and emotions get hot. Melissa's recipe for chickpea stew with orzo and greens comes to the table in about a half-hour and is a pleasant reward for the time spent preparing it. Consume with a baguette or good bread, and some of what I hope is the enormous amount of butter you purchased this weekend in advance of Thanksgiving.
Or if vegetables are not your game, check out Pierre Franey's old-school recipe for ham steaks with Madeira sauce, which transforms supermarket ham steak into something quite amazing, Nighthawkswith a French accent.
Other great recipe ideas for the week can be found on Cooking. (Check out Francis Lam's new recipe for Ecuadorean corviches, for sure.) You can save the ones you like to your recipe box, and cook them later. Organize your recipes into collections. Rate them with stars. Leave notes on them, to help your fellow cooks. And, please, if you run into problems, ask us for help. We're atcookingcare@nytimes.com.
See you on Wednesday. We'll be in the thick of it then! |
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