The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New cooking classes, cookbooks think small
Culinarians offer ideas for modifying the biggest food day of the year to fit the times.
With public health officials advising against large gatherings to mitigate the spread of COVID19, Thanksgiving will be different this year.
Culinarians have come to the rescue, with ideas for modifying the biggest food day of the year to fit the times. Between a couple of cookbooks and a handful of cooking classes, there are plenty of ways to maintain holiday traditions — and perhaps start a few new ones.
COOKBOOKS
“Thanksgiving for Two ( or Four)” by Cynthia Graubart.
James Beard Award- winning cookbook author and Atlanta resident Graubart has a new book out offering 20 downsized recipes for small Thanksgiving celebrations.
“At the end of August, I saw what was happening and, realizing that people were going to be cooking Thanksgiving, perhaps for the very first time, I wanted to help those peo
ple out,” said the author of 11 cookbooks. “People are used to carrying one big dish that serves a lot of people to a Thanksgiving gathering. It’s quite different to be at home, with just your family, and put a Thanksgiving meal on the table.”
Released by Empire Press and available as an ebook ($ 3.99) and paperback ( 9.99) on Amazon, “Thanksgiving for Two ( or Four)” offers scaled down versions of traditional favorites. There are meaty mains, like sheet pan Cornish hen and bone- in herbed turkey breast ( with just enough for nextday leftovers); sides, like sweet potato souffle and skillet green beans with pecan brown butter; plus, individual mini pies and tarts for dessert.
The book can serve as a resource beyond Turkey Day, Graubart noted. “Many of these recipes, people will find equally useful for their Christmas table,” she said.
A portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to the Frontline Workers Fund, which provides financial support to workers on the front lines of the COVID- 19 pandemic.
“Quarantine Quisine” by Grace Ubben and Isabel Sanchez. Leave it to young people to turn lemons into lemonade during tough times.
When COVID- 19 drove University of Florida friends Grace Ubben, 22, and Isabel Sanchez, 21, off campus and into isolation in their respective hometowns of Tallahassee and Port Charlotte, Florida, they devoted themselves to a project that combined Ubben’s passion for cooking with Sanchez’s love of photography. The result is “Quarantine Quisine,” a nearly 100- page cookbook filled with 35 recipes aimed at helping people enjoy healthy, homecooked meals during the pandemic.
“Don’t let the quarantine blues get you down. Put on your apron, wash your hands, and let’s get cooking!” write the 2020 graduates in the introduction to their self- published book, which sells on Amazon for $ 19.99.
Recipes are presented in five categories — breakfast, smoothies and snacks,
meals, salads and sides, and sweets — and use readily available pantry, fridge and freezer items.
The recipes are not super complicated, Sanchez said, and the cookbook is aimed “at college students who want to cook for themselves, but want to cook healthy.”
Sanchez said she thinks that small Friendsgiving gatherings will be popular this year among college- aged roommates who can’t celebrate with family due to the pandemic. For those open to a nontraditional spread, Sanchez’s favorite recipes include beetroot hummus, stuffed peppers, steak tacos and lemon pesto.
CLASSES
If you can’t get together with family for Thanksgiving, you can make the divide feel a little less wide by joining your faraway relatives for an online
cooking class. Learn to make everything from holiday pies to turkey, then eat the meals you all create — apart, but together.
Online cooking class, with Cozymeal.
A professional chef will guide you through making a Thanksgiving meal of vegetable and pumpkin stew, duck breast with cranberry relish and creamy corn pudding. The
75- minute class is fully interactive and provides a list of ingredients to shop for ahead of time or the option to get ingredients delivered to you.
Dates available: Nov. 12- Jan. 31. $ 39. bit. ly/ 2ISELQF
Online Thanksgiving With Emeril, through Sur la table. Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse teaches you to make turkey roulade, pan gravy and butternut squash soup in this class, with
a moderator present to field questions. A prep packet provided includes a shopping list for participants to buy their ingredients ahead of time. If one class isn’t enough, Sur la table offers a variety of other Thanksgiving- themed classes, including tutorials for turkey and gravy, a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast and pie baking.
4 p. m. Tuesday. $ 49. bit. ly/ 32YGJ9A
Holiday pie baking, with Pietisserie.
The San Francisco- based bakery is offering a live pie- baking video presentation the day before Thanksgiving. Baker Jaynelle St. Jean will walk viewers through each step of making a ginger citrus and cranberry pie. Ingredients will be provided in advance via next- day shipping.
6- 7 p. m. Wednesday. $ 135. sweetthursday.
eventbrite. com
Thanksgiving cookalong, with Cuiline.
Take a trip to the Irish countryside with this live and interactive Thanksgiving Day session. Dublin chef Alix Gardner will lead the three- hour, three- course class, with recipes for duck breast in plum sauce, colcannon ( mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale) and sticky toffee pudding.
3 p. m. Thursday. $ 185 for two meals, with the option to purchase two additional meals for $ 45, including delivery of pre- measured ingredients and a shopping list to purchase meat and produce locally. There also is the option to have all ingredients delivered for an additional $ 60 for two meals, and $ 50 more for two additional meals. bit. ly/ 2INC9IS
Transforming Thanksgiving leftovers, with the Seasoned Chef.
In this Black Friday class, professional chefs will guide you through transforming your Thanksgiving leftovers into ham and cheese melts on a croissant, with cranberry, arugula and basil aioli; turkey empanadas with marsala gravy; fried cheese stuffing with spicy cranberry dipping sauce; garlic and rosemary mashed potato croquettes; and a pumpkin pie martini. The Seasoned Chef also offers pre- holiday Thanksgiving classes.
2- 4 p. m. Nov. 27. $ 40. bit. ly/ 3nygfot