A Different—and Innovative—Thanksgiving CelebrationA Conversation with Lauren Powers, Kim Barnes, Joel Kleinbaum, and Eric Beckman Thanksgiving 2020…what a different holiday it will be from other years! We at Barnes & Conti put our heads together to think about all of us—our virtual family of friends, clients, and colleagues—can innovate this Thanksgiving so we can have a celebration that expresses gratitude, is meaningfully connected to all of our loved ones, as well as being delicious! Lauren: As with most of us, we will have a much smaller table. We will miss my mom and all her stories and holiday commentary; she passed away this past May. Our extended family and close friends will be physically separated from us, but we plan to connect at some point through Zoom. Our multi-day tradition—which consists of getting together with our friends pre- and post-holiday at the local bar, having the kids’ friends sleeping over the night of Thanksgiving, followed by a scrumptious day-after-Thanksgiving brunch prepared by my dear friend Signe—won’t be happening. But we will look forward to the time when we can reunite and will take this year as an opportunity to give thanks for the love we share and the hopes we have for the future. Kim: Every Thanksgiving, I make my mom’s Apple Noodle Pudding as a side dish. It's sweet, so some people find it odd as a side, but it goes really well with turkey and/or ham! The recipes of those we love can help keep us connected to family and friends over time and distance. This Thanksgiving, if you’re missing family and friends due to loss or distance, why not try making something you associate with them? Joel: If you like to cook and/or feed your friends and family, you can still do that! Since this past April, I’ve been cooking holiday meals for a friend who comes by, picks up the entire meal on my front porch (including wine!), goes home, and then we eat together over Zoom. According to the Center for Disease Control, cooking for others and then delivering it or having them pick it up is extremely low-risk, as long as you wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, and practice common sense about sanitation. If you’re cooking for high-risk people, you might want to wear a mask while handling uncooked food (salads), or dishing the hot food into your to-go containers. Lauren: We are trying new dishes as opposed to going with all of our tried and true ones. My husband did draw the line at too much innovation by making sure we retained our turkey, stuffing and gravy recipes, but we will see if we can find some new recipe traditions for future years. Below is a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, Gratin of Leeks and Potatoes, that we intend to try — we just love leeks and potatoes! Joel: Regarding new dishes, I’ve never taken to the traditional Thanksgiving green bean casserole. First of all, it’s not seasonal where I live, and it’s all (or almost all) out of cans. Brussels sprouts are a big fall favorite, especially roasted with olive oil and chopped onion. Eric Beckman shared this recipe in a newsletter a few years ago But this year, we’re going to be completely different and have greens (collards or kale, depending on availability) braised with caramelized onions, with smoked chicken sausage standing in for the more traditional ham hocks. Eric: In preparing for a virtual Thanksgiving at our house, we realized how often the holiday can feel heavy with the weight of tradition and expectation. We also decided last year that many of the traditional Thanksgiving foods really end up like baby food, so we went for substitutes that have texture and contrasting flavors. My suggestion for squash is a Roasted Butternut Squash with shallots and pomegranate — a recipe inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi (see recipe, below). It combines wonderful flavor with beautiful colors that will show up well in person and on a video chat with others. Lauren: If you miss cooking with family members in the kitchen, why not cook separately, but keep one another company over Zoom? Maybe you could even have your preparation become a virtual cooking class! Joel: In terms of cooking for fewer people, you can cook with parts of a turkey and still have leftovers. Even a turkey half breast for two has a couple of days’ worth of leftovers in it. I think dark meat is underrated, and wine-braised turkey thighs (see my recipe, below), is just one delicious and different suggestion for a small group. If you are roasting a whole turkey and aren’t able to feed half an army, why not just pick a few side dishes for Thanksgiving and make them in smaller amounts? Then you can make different side dishes on different days as you enjoy your leftovers. Eric: Another way to spice up typical Thanksgiving fare is to upgrade your pumpkin pie. I saw a fun version for a family of automotive fans by placing a toy car on the pie and using whipped cream to make a “burn-out” around the top. What other ways might you get creative with your pies? I like sprinkling some chopped dried cranberries and chocolate nibs or crumbled dark chocolate on top before baking. The cranberries add a touch of acid to accent the heavy one-note of pumpkin and the dark chocolate nibs combine well with both flavors for a serious pie upgrade (and who doesn’t like a little chocolate at the end of a meal?). Kim: Some years ago, I wrote a Thanksgiving article in which I suggested a Thanksgiving of Learning. While that could certainly apply to every Thanksgiving, this year, perhaps we could emphasize a Thanksgiving of gratitude and connection, despite the restrictions that our current situation imposes. Keeping the connecting strands of love and friendship visible and creating new ones seems especially important in this world where we are more isolated than ever before. In the spirit of the the holiday, we wish you health, joy, and wonderful, warm, meaningful connections. Article for a Peaceful Thanksgiving: "Disagreement Doesn’t Have to Be Divisive"by Francesca Gino from Harvard Business Review (excerpt) Editor's note: Whether you're able to celebrate in person or need link via Zoom, Thanksgiving table talk—post election—can tend towards the contentious. We found this article very compelling; it is not only relevant but it echoes our concepts of Constructive Debate and Exercising Influence, especially stressing the importance of receptive influence behaviors. An excerpt is below:
Thanksgiving RecipesFeatured Recipe: Potato and Leek GratinContributed by Lauren Powers, SVP Business Development. Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Ingredients:
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Serves 8 as a side dish Salad/Appetizer: Mixed Green Salad with Figs, Gorgonzola, and PecansFrom B. Kim Barnes Here's a new and elegant recipe from Kim that's sure to please. Ingredients:Mustard vinaigrette
Salad
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Makes 8 servings. From Annabel Cohen. Side Dish or Vegetarian Main Dish: Roasted Butternut Squash with Shallots and PomegranateEric Beckman, Chief Operating Officer Squash is plentiful in the fall, and roasted squash is a staple of comfort food for many cultures around the world. This roasted squash recipe was inspired by chef Yotam Ottolenghi. The dish is a delicious and colorful accompaniment to your table, or serve over a bed of rice with sautéed portobello mushroom slices for a whole meal. You can combine more than one type of squash in the recipe by making all the pieces about the same thickness for roasting. Also, flat leaf parsley can be used instead of cilantro, and commercial za’atar or Moroccan spice blend can be used instead of mixing the spices yourself. Ingredients:
Spice Mix:
Combine spices in small bowl and stir in 2+ Tablespoons of olive oil until smooth blend. Method:Pomegranate: If using a whole pomegranate, remove the seeds by cutting off the very top and bottom, then scoring the skin vertically into quarters. The pomegranate can then be split into four parts that allow easier removal of the seeds to place in a bowl for later use. Squash: Preheat oven to 400 F. Slice ends off squashes, cut in half length-wise, and scrape out seeds. With skins on, slice them crosswise into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Place pieces on large parchment covered baking sheet. Brush squash pieces with olive oil and spice mix. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the squash is fork soft and browning at edges. Cilantro or Parsley: Remove leaves from stems and chop medium coarse. Set aside. Shallots: While the squash is in the oven, sauté the shallots in a tablespoon of olive oil stirring frequently over medium heat. Add garlic after 2 minutes. As shallots begin to brown and caramelize, deglaze with lime juice, add pinch of salt and pepper each, and remove from heat. To Serve: Fold squash and shallots together, and plate on large serving platter or shallow bowl. Garnish evenly with the cilantro/parsley. Spoon yoghurt across middle of dish and sprinkle whole thing with pomegranate seeds. Can be served individually as well by parsing out squash and shallot mix into bowls and garnishing each as above. Main Dish: Red Wine Braised Turkey ThighsJoel Kleinbaum, Web Developer and Internet Strategist Reprinted from our 2013 Thanksgiving Newsletter Ingredients:
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Beverage: Hot Spiced Apple CiderElaine Turcotte, Operations Manager Elaine contributed this version of a classic, warming autumn drink. Joel, our recipe editor, suggested adding a shot of rum or brandy to make it even more warming, and Elaine did not object! In large pot combine:
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