This Thanksgiving, do whatever you want

I'm having Sidesgiving.

Maggie Hoffman / Creative Commons

This Thanksgiving may be a little disappointing for many of us; we don’t get to see the family members we usually look forward to seeing, and that sucks. But there is one tiny upside, one fun thing, that comes out out of all of this terribleness: you get to do whatever the fuck you want to for Thanksgiving this year!

This week, to distract myself from the terrible news cycle, I became obsessed with planning Thanksgiving. Since I am not traveling home to see my parents, it’s my first time planning a Thanksgiving on my own. I have spent hours poring over recipe roundups and listicles from Bon Appetit, NYT Cooking, and all my other favorite recipe sites as I tried to craft my own perfect Thanksgiving menu.

I, for one, am skipping turkey altogether because I have always felt like turkey was the most boring part of the meal. The sides are my favorite. So this year, I’m making a meal of all my favorite side dishes. (I’m calling it Sidesgiving.) I’m getting pie from my favorite neighborhood bakery and my favorite natural wines from the good wine store. I get to do everything exactly my way.

Maybe you don’t like turkey, so you roast a chicken instead, or skip meat altogether. Maybe you just want the “leftovers” sandwich as the main attraction. Maybe you buy store-bought food because you want the Thanksgiving traditional “feel” without all the hours spent in the kitchen. Maybe you really don’t have an attachment to Thanksgiving food and make lasagna instead, like my friend Jenna. Maybe you’re burned out on cooking so you just order takeout, or dine outdoors at your favorite restaurant. Maybe you opt out of Thanksgiving altogether.

Whatever you want to do, release yourself from the pressures of having to adhere to any rules or traditions this year. This year has been long and hard. Make your Thanksgiving something you’ll actually enjoy. There’ll be time for all the traditions next year.

If you need more ideas for how to make the holiday your own, I loved this Vice article and this one from Slate, both chock full of ideas for how to do things differently this year.

PS: Whatever you do, don’t forget the origins of the holiday and think about ways you can support Indigenous people or donate to Indigenous groups — here’s a great list of ideas from Vice.

A sampling of all the Thanksgiving recipes I bookmarked in the past week but can’t possibly make them all

Maybe my overly ambitious bookmarking will give you some cooking inspiration!

Extra crispy parmesan crusted roasted potatoes. Roasted butternut squash with brown butter vinaigrette. Kimchi and squash mac and cheese. Sweet potato and onion dip. Savory sweet potato casserole. Scallion cheddar cornbread stuffing. Southern cornbread dressing. Mushroom bread pudding. French onion mac and cheese. Maple-roasted squash with sage and lime. Brussels sprouts with pickled shallots and labneh. Roasted brussels sprouts with honey and miso. Honey-roasted brussels sprouts with harissa and lemon relish. Sweet potatoes with sour cream and pecans. Five-spice roasted carrots. Glazed parsley carrots. Blistered green beans with shallots and pistachios. Maple candied sweet potatoes. Squash and caramelized onion tart. Roasted brussels sprouts with warm honey glaze. Bon Appetit’s “simple is best” stuffing. Baked brie with fig jam and caramelized onions. Hasselback butternut squash with sage butter and prosciutto breadcrumbs. Citrus-ginger raita with chili oil. Creamed corn. The Kitchenista’s mac and cheese. BA’s best mac and cheese. Bread Salad. Winter squash agrodolce.

Here’s what ended up on my Thanksgiving/sidesgiving menu after all that research:

• Charred sweet potatoes with hot honey butter

• Cider-glazed brussels sprouts

• Millie Peartree’s southern mac and cheese

• French’s green bean casserole (why mess with the classic?)

• Because you can’t possibly make everything from scratch, and because nostalgia, I’m planning a few storebought faves from my childhood: Stovetop stuffing, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce (YES THE LOG), and Pillbury crescent rolls.

• Plus, pumpkin pie from my neighborhood fave (with thanks to newsletter reader Sonya Gee!)

• And to pair with the meal, ordered two of my fave wines: Pittnauer’s Perfect Day, and Christian Binner’s Hinterberg.

What I’m reading

How brunch became political, Vox.

The rise and fall of Getting Things Done, The New Yorker.

Emily in Paris and the rise of ambient TV, The New Yorker.

Everything in Eater’s guide to the holidays at home is great (see several Eater links above), and especially this piece: A decidedly un-Rockwellian Thanksgiving.

The perfect time to delete Instagram is right now, Slate. Who wants to fly into a rage when you see indoor, unmasked Thanksgiving dinners with 20 people on IG? No thanks.

For home cooks, burnout is real this holiday season, New York Times.

No, a negative coronavirus test does not mean you can safely socialize, New York Times.

The dream job is dead. Long live the good enough job, Refinery29.

Americans got tired of looking bad on Zoom, The Atlantic. This article seriously made me consider whether I need a ring light for all those Zoom events.

Sedentary pandemic life is bad for our happiness, The Atlantic.

An ode to not going home for the holidays, Refinery29.

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