Dine and plan holiday.
It was agreed. We would not even think about Thanksgiving.
My friend Christine and I talk recipes and cooking all the time. Thanksgiving came up in late September. OK, I brought it up.
"No thinking about Thanksgiving until Oct. 15," she declared. OK. Deal. But here we are and at last it's finally time. Hurrah! For Christine and me, this is kind of our Super Bowl — our time to plan, peruse issues of Bon Appetit, revisit last year’s battle plan and page through cookbooks that are devoted to Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving only (I have at least three). We’ll discuss and consider options.
And so a planning party seems in order. We’ll convene for an evening that includes debate: To brine or not to brine? Is it madness to consider a soup course? Is there really a need for appetizers?
We'll dig out our cookbooks and cooking magazines. And of course, we'll eat. To inspire us, we came up with a seasonal menu that incorporates some of the flavors of Thanksgiving: cranberries, ginger, maple syrup, pecans. It’s a grazing buffet, made ahead and set out so we can serve ourselves and munch and chat.
It includes a sensible but flavorful salad, an elegant
but easy appetizer and a savory and sweet chicken salad that gets a little kick from curry. For starters, baked brie is topped with a simple cranberry compote that’s sweet and tart, and it’s garnished with chopped toasted pecans and sprigs of thyme. Curried Chicken Salad with Mango and Red Grapes can be made the day before — and, in fact, the flavors of the spices develop nicely after a day. You can poach chicken breasts or, if pressed for time, use rotisserie chicken. The fall salad is a salute to the season: a mix of greens topped with candied pecans, sliced red pears, shaved Parmesan and a robust vinaigrette made from maple syrup, Dijon mustard and balsamic vinaigrette.
Gingersnaps and sliced pears make for a light dessert, while a glass of prosecco makes it a festive event.
Could one of these dishes make an appearance on the Thanksgiving table? Could be. It’s something we’ll need to huddle about and discuss ... Jan Uebelherr is a Milwaukee freelance writer. Email her at jan.uebelherr@gmail.com.