2020 thanksgiving menu
Thanksgiving is only days aways, are you ready?! We have been working on our Thanksgiving menu over the past few weeks, and we are so excited to finally share it with you guys! This year we are spending Thanksgiving with close family, and we have a classic menu filled with traditional Italian dishes, an elegant selection of wines, and of course decadent desserts. We’ve got it all covered from our Antipasto Lunch filled with cheeses, Italian meats, fruits, nuts, and of course mimosas to our Italian tradition of Chicken Meatball Soup as an appetizer to the Thanksgiving classics for dinner that we all know and love.
So if you guys don’t already know this, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday! In fact, I will even go as far as saying it is my favorite day of the year. Quite possibly even better than Christmas and my birthday. I love Thanksgiving and the holiday season so much because it is all about traditions. And I am a biiiig traditions girl! Growing up in a half Italian family, we always had so many traditions around the holidays and Thanksgiving is no exception! So, we are super excited to be sharing our Thanksgiving menu and traditions with you this year!
We are super excited for this years Thanksgiving. Usually it is just my mom, my dad, my brother, my cats, and I for a small yet fun and festive Thanksgiving day. However, this year we are celebrating with our very close family so it feels extra special! We having been planning since October, thinking about new dishes to incorporate and coordinating wine pairings and fun cocktail ideas! Needless to say we be indulging on both food and drinks this holiday season!
We really hope you guys like our menu this year as much as we do! We have crafted it with much thought, pulling in our Italian classics as well as adding some new recipes! Some of our newer recipes we will be sharing this coming week, and others have been out there on our blog or Instagram for some time. So, stay tuned for all the delicious goodness to come, and don’t forget to check out what we already have out there!
Let us know if there are any Holiday recipes you would want to see from us, and of course don’t forget to share yours with us! Because we love to see everyone’s beautiful creations as well!
Breakfast
It can be so easy to skip breakfast on Thanksgiving, but why not start the day with a fun and delicious breakfast?! Having some food in your stomach early can ensure more room for dinner later as you won’t be snacking all day! And of course we all know thanksgiving eve is a big night out at the bars, so some of us might be in need of a little hangover food ;) ! Also, with this festive fall inspired breakfast casserole we have, you surely won’t want to skip a morning treat!
Cocktails
Ok, so we all know the drinks are just as important as the food on Thanksgiving. Not only do you need the perfect cocktails but you definitely need the perfect wines as well! So, lets start with breakfast/antipasto drinks!
Cranberry Holiday Mimosas (Coming Soon)
Now, let’s talk wines because in our family good wines are super important. This year we are serving one very special white and one very special red. The wine is a crucial part of the meal when it comes to Italian holiday traditions, so here is this years selection!
Aubert Pinot Nior
Peter Michael Sauvignon Blanc
Antipasto
Italians are sure to never skip on the Antipasto spread when it comes to Thanksgiving! Personally, the lunchtime Antipasto is my favorite part of the day! It’s all about snacking, socializing, and drinking mimosas/cocktails when it comes to this part of the day! We always prepare an Antipasto Board filled with cheeses, meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, you name it! We also always have a veggie tray, an assortment of breads, and deviled eggs! All the essential holiday snacking bites! Antipasto Boards are not as hard to perfect as everyone might think! We like to keep ours simple and fill it with all our Italian favorites! So here’s the spread!
Cheeses: We love to stick to our favorites when it comes to cheese. There needs to be a variety for sure, but we stick to what we know! First off, there we always needs to be burrata because nothing pairs better with fresh bread than burrata drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. We also always go for a creamy cheese, a brie of some sort. Typically a Cremeux de Bourgogne. We also love to include a goat cheese like Humboldt Fog or an herby goat cheese. Then, of course, we like to throw in a firm cheese such as Molitierno or Crucolo as well.
Meats: For meats, we stick to the classics. San Daniele Prosciutto and Mortadella. Maybe throw in some pepperoni. But it is as simple and easy as that.
Fruits: Holiday fruits are always a must. We love to throw in some fresh figs. They can often be hard to find but they are always so festive. It’s never a bad idea to have some pears or pomegranates around during the holidays. And of course, you can’t forget the citrus. If we can find them this early in the season, we love to have blood oranges!
Bread/Crackers: It is always important to have a variety of breads and crackers when it comes to Antipasto Boards. We are all about fresh baked breads more so than crackers, but we do like to include both. We love to make homemade breads or go to the Italian Market in Philly before the holidays to purchase all our favorite fresh baked rolls and breads.
Nuts/Spreads/Olives/Etc.: So, we love to throw in a nut mix on Thanksgiving. We’re big on Hazelnuts and Marcona Almonds they are both super festive! When it comes to olives we love a good selection of black olives and gorgonzola stuffed green olives. For Italians the olives are always important! It can never hurt to have a good fig spread to pair with cheeses, and one of our staples is fried Cubanelle Peppers. The peppers and the pepper oil pair perfectly with the fresh breads. This is such a staple in our house!
Extras: Our Antipasto spread always includes a veggie tray and deviled eggs because why not?!
Appetizers
So yes, we have a pretty decadent Antipasto board for lunch, but the appetizers before dinner are just as important. In our tradition, we do a soup as appetizers! It’s a cozy dish to get the meal started and the chit chat flowing over some wine! Our traditional soup as Italians, is an Escarole Soup with Chicken Meatballs. This has been a tradition in our family since the beginning of time. Rolling the mini chicken meatballs is a childhood memory my mom and I will never forget! However, we wanted to provide some other soup options for those going for a more classic thanksgiving dish as well.
Mains
We have had a standing tradition for the past few years when it comes to our turkey. Every Thanksgiving Eve we go to the local Amish market and purchase a 20 lbs turkey. it doesn’t matter if we’re 4 people or 10 people, we always purchase this size turkey, and it has never failed us! We have tons of leftovers, but that has never been a bad thing! We always use William Sonoma’s gravy which can be purchased straight off their website. Why make your own gravy when William Sonoma’s is SO delicious! We also love to used their turkey rub. It makes the turkey so much tastier!
Herby Butter Roasted Turkey
William Sonoma Gravy
Sides
We are all about the sides on thanksgiving! There is also quite a selection on our table. So, if you’re big into thanksgiving sides like us, have at our favorites!
Green Bean Casserole (Coming Soon)
Mushroom Bread Pudding (Coming Soon)
Herby Mashed Potatoes (Coming Soon)
Homemade Dinner Rolls (Coming Soon)
Desserts
Butter Pecan Toffee Pumpkin Pie (Coming Soon)
day-by-by thanksgiving prep
Sunday:
make the chicken stock for the escarole soup; refrigerate
make your shopping list and get organized
Monday:
make the mini chicken meatballs for the escarole soup
make and freeze dinner rolls
Tuesday:
shop for the big day: get all the ingredients you need, pick up the turkey, purchase your wines and spirits
Wednesday:
start prepping
chop the vegetables
wash and chop escarole for soup
prep the mushroom bread pudding, mushroom pie, and green bean casserole
make the cranberry sauce
make the pies
set the table
Thursday Morning:
craft the antipasto board
prep the turkey
make the gravy
make the mashed potatoes
roast parsnips
Whether you’re cooking, relaxing with a drink, or appreciating some time off don’t forget to enjoy thanksgiving! After all, thanksgiving is a time to relax with friends and family and take a break from everyday life, so don’t forget to enjoy it this year. It is well-deserved for everyone!!
