Aug 302012
Thanksgiving
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY EATER.COM
From one of America’s finest food writers, the former restaurant critic for The New York Times, comes a definitive, timeless guide to Thanksgiving dinner—preparing it, surviving it, and pulling it off in style.
From the planning of the meal to the washing of the last plate, Thanksgiving poses more—and more vexing—problems for the home cook than any other holiday. In this smartly written, beautifully illustrated, recip
List Price: $ 18.00
Price: $ 3.74
Excellent advice for making a traditional Thanksgiving,
This is one instance when I want to distract you from the number of stars I give the book, because depending on what you’re looking for, the rating is either “absolutely 5 stars” or “not so much.”
Sam Sifton’s _Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well_ has a very clear goal: to make the traditional what-we-grew-up-with Thanksgiving meal the best it can possibly be. Without question, it succeeds. However, it gives no attention, none, to alternatives, let’s-try-something-different, or what to serve vegetarians. If you want suggestions on how to liven up the old turkey-and-dressing meal, look elsewhere. Really. You’ll be completely disappointed.
But oh, OH, it is so good at what it sets out to do. As Sifton writes, “It is a primer on how to face down the Thanksgiving meal. It should provide you with solace as you face the terrors of your first Thanksgiving or the boredom of your 26th.” Solace: That’s the ticket. Because even if Thanksgiving is the High Holy Day to us foodies, it’s a huge meal to prepare for people who are not into cooking, not to mention them coping with stress of the family politics of who is talking to whom, and the subjects we hope Uncle Harry *won’t* bring up. Sifton promises: “You can make a better turkey than anyone has ever served you in your life. You can serve it with dressing that makes your guests swoon.”
He has very clear ideas on what it takes to make the meal (the day, really) a success, starting of course with the menu. And this is where the expectations come in: The recipes he provides are for the super-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. That means turkey, no alternate suggestions. It means the side dishes you can tick off on your fingers — mashed potatoes, green beans, brussels sprouts, cornbread dressing — without a lot of options. The point is simply to make these _great_, so that at the end of the night, people say, “That was a really incredible meal.”
Sifton is opinionated about what ought to be in a Thanksgiving meal, and what must be left out. (No salad.) This is the time for the foods of our childhood, the ultimate in comfort and predictability. “You can make an apple pie with bacon fat in the dough, or with a lattice of Cheddar cheese across the top, the interior studded with raisins. But not on Thanksgiving,” he writes. It means not taking shortcuts: You will make a pie dough from scratch. You will probably make your own turkey stock.
So there is exhaustive advice about how to choose, defrost, roast, carve a turkey (with a couple of variations, such as making one on an outdoor grill). Brining discussions. Giblet gravy, cranberry sauce (both basic and with ginger-and-pecans). Pear cobbler. And, all told, a few pounds of butter. “Thanksgiving is not a day to consider healthful eating,” he cautions. “This dish [for creamed Brussels sprouts] explains why, in a pool of thick milk and cream that is used as a kind of braising liquid and glaze combined, with bacon providing a hit of salt and smoke against the sweet of the sprouts.”
In other words: If you want to make a great traditional Thanksgiving meal, I don’t think you can do better than this cookbook. The recipes are authoritative, and Sifton’s writing is so good that I read the book from front-to-back just for the sheer joy of it.
But I must caution you that this book won’t help if you want anything else.
I’m allergic to turkey. (Not a yucky, call 9-1-1 kind of allergy; just a case of “I don’t like turkey enough to put up with the side effects”). That means the “traditional” Thanksgiving hasn’t been our menu for several years. I’ve sometimes given it a nod (Cornish hens instead, which also avoids the terror of 16 pounds of turkey leftovers for two people), but not always. The point is that I haven’t been thinking about “What mom used to overcook” for a long time.
More relevant to most of you: One of my regular Thanksgiving guests is vegetarian. Sifton offers no suggestions for those who don’t eat meat. They are left to traditional Thanksgiving too, which I know from plenty of family-watching experience means, “Let them eat mashed potatoes and green beans, assuming nobody put bacon in the beans.” I think that’s rude. So if you have a vegetarian showing up at your meal (and these days, who doesn’t?) you will need at least one other cookbook for inspiration. Not that this is a difficult challenge, but coming up with a veggie dish that’s Thanksgiving-y throws you right out of the uber-traditional menu. Even though it’s fine to have two starches and three vegetables, you suddenly contend with, “Hmm, if I make this asparagus-potato tart, should I leave out the mashed potatoes? Will Aunt Hannah forgive me?” And the always-limited oven and stovetop space, too.
The bottom line: If you want to make Thanksgiving with a traditional pattern, this is an awesome book. If your meal, like mine, encourages experimentation (sweet potato…
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|A Cozy Little Book With Basic, Wonderful Classics,
As Thanksgiving provides comfort food, Sam Sifton has provided comfort reading in this small, but packed-full little reader. Would I call this a recipe book? Not sure, but it certainly does contain all the recipes a newbie would need to whip up their first Thanksgiving . But it’s more than just recipes, and that is what I love about it. The author talks about each component of the meal, and also reminisces about past holidays which gave me the same feeling as when I think back to some of my favorite past Thanksgivings as well. We all tend to have that ideal vision, either from a past event of our own, or from a magazine page or movie scene. We hold it in our hearts and do what we can to recreate it year after year. Regardless of how the food comes out or who shows up at our door, we need to remember that part of the joy comes from our state of mind. This book helps put you in that good place.
There are plenty of cookbooks out there with full-color photos, so if that is what you are looking for, this is not that kind of recipe book. There are just a few black and white sketches (the publisher should have put more, they add charm and fit so well with the author). But if you want the feel of a favorite relative or friend sitting with you over coffee or a glass of wine and sharing with you their old recipe box filled with tried and true classics, this is the book for you. Grab a warm drink and snuggle up on the couch with this book. You’ll feel the spirit of Thanksgiving upon you.
It starts with, of course, Getting Started – and talks about the basic supplies, pans, and tools you will need. I have been very happy to see that most of what a do is in sync with the author. I was worried it was going to be ultra Martha Stewart and I would think, oh, forget this. But it’s not. Everything in this book is very do-able. It goes on to the different types of turkeys and how long it takes to thaw, and different methods of cooking it, and how to carve it. I love the mention of making a turkey stock a few days ahead of time. I have never done this before and will try it this year. It goes on to side dishes, gravy and cranberry sauces, table settings, drinks, desserts, and clean-up. He gives all the little details, some of which I want to try – such as warming plates and using the turkey stock to drizzle over the turkey meat before putting on the table to help warm it up after carving.
My holidays have sadly condensed down to only four of us, one being my mother who complains of the “fuss” of the holidays and has a “why bother” attitude. But after reading this book, I realized I miss some of the “why bothers” such as creating a nice table. So what if it’s just us four? This year I am doing a centerpiece and getting a nicer tablecloth and putting out wine glasses. It’s the feeling, the little (yet easy) extras that add to the ambience and set the tone of a celebration, a feast…..a holiday! I will make the most of it no matter how small our gathering has gotten. Thank you, Sam, for inspiring me. After many reatives having passed away and moved away, I still long for those big holidays that used to be very special occasions in my life. It’s the warmth and coziness of this book that makes it a must-read to anyone hosting Thanksgiving to a big crowd, or maybe it’s just you and one or two people. Even just a few – you are still worth the celebration and worth the little extras to make it a special day, to leave you with a warm memory long after the turkey is gone.
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|A Thanksgiving “how to” cookbook and explained nicely.,
I just received this book yesterday and was a bit taken back as the book is not very big, with only 126 pages. But looks are deceiving as this book is packed with information on everything you need to know what to do and what not to do making Thanksgiving dinner. I’m an avid cook and I even learned a few things from “Thanksgiving and How To Cook It Well”.
Excellent information is given as to what you need in the way of pots, pans, utensils, how to do, when to do it, what to use, how to use it, etc. all wrapped up in this book. The recipes are really good and easy to follow steps on how to prepare the recipes. There is even a section on the different kinds of turkeys you can buy, setting the table, serving, basic etiquette, drinks, desset and also a section on clean up and leftovers! This book has EVERYTHING you need to know.
If you have never cooked Thanksgiving dinner, then this book is for you as it will become your best friend for the days before the big day. If you have cooked Thanksgiving dinner before, there are still some things that might pick up from this book. The recipes are excellent and I plan on trying out a few myself.
And thanks to the author, Sam Sifton, for putting this book together in simple language, how to steps and making any novice or hard core cook make them feel like a seasoned chef!!
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