Thanksgiving is one of my favorite and most important holidays and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to spend almost every single one with my immediate family, cooking all day. We don’t change the recipes, but rather, look forward to eating the tried-and-true classics that we’ve been preparing for over a decade. Here is a roundup of some of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
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Jump to the recipe for:
- Buttermilk Biscuits
- Cranberry-Port Chutney
- Pizza Antica’s Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Apple Crumb Pie
- Pecan-Butter Mochi Cake
- Easy Hot Spiced Cider
Buttermilk Biscuits
Tallest, flakiest buttermilk biscuits! I tested these during the pandemic and the layers are insane. These take me back to when I was a kid and ate my Pillsbury biscuits by peeling each layer away. The recipe is from Fox in the Snow Cafe in Ohio.
Equipment:
Biscuit cutter or stainless set
Cranberry-Port Chutney
This is the first recipe I check off my list for my family’s Thanksgiving meal. It has port that’s reduced and cooked in the chutney, for extra depth of flavor. I like to make it 1-2 weeks ahead and keep it in the fridge, to let all the flavors meld.
The aroma of the cranberries with the port and citrus is one of the things I look forward to most during Thanksgiving; it’s the ultimate edible simmer pot.
Pizza Antica’s Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
Sautéed Brussels sprouts, hard-cooked egg, bacon, caramelized onions, and crunchy croutons in a warm vinaigrette.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, we have a local pizza restaurant that serves this brussels sprouts salad every fall/winter and it’s truly the highlight of the menu. I would even go as far as ordering this dish alone, sans pizza as my main dish.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s basically any exact replica. I should give fair warning though that it is rather time consuming but absolutely doable for Thanksgiving if you cook as many of the components ahead of time, then I reserve cooking the Brussels sprouts and tossing everything together for the day of.
Apple Crumb Pie
It is a tradition in my family to have apple pie for Thanksgiving. Even though a lattice pie is prettier, I like to finish mine with a crumb top for better taste and texture.
Other apple pies I’ve made:
Cinnamon-Swirl Apple Pie
Apple Spoke Pie
Pecan-Butter Mochi Cake
I love butter mochi so I tried this twist on the classic that was a hit at my a Thanksgiving potluck. It incorporate a pecan topping that gives Thanksgiving pecan pie vibes and adds a pleasant crunch that contrasts the glutinous texture of the mochi.
Photo by Isa Zapata
Easy Hot Spiced Cider
My family has an ambitious Thanksgiving menu that is all from scratch except for the stuffing (Stovetop, FTW) and this simple cider. I basically use Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider, which has the right balance of warm spices in it. I heat it up on the stove and add some sliced oranges for tart contrast and more cinnamon.
You’ll need:
Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider
Orange, cut into slices
Cinnamon sticks