I love the traditional Thanksgiving meal. I feel it is imperative that we always have turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce on our table each year. This year I want to try some new dishes as well as all of our tried and true! Since I have traveled extensively in the past, I found an article on Gogobot’s blog that lists what some of the luxury hotels will be serving to their guests on Thanksgiving this year!
I plan to take some of their gourmet ideas and customize them for my table this year! I hope everyone enjoys the new additions. I want to shake it up a bit this year! The kids need to develop their palate. If the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando is serving up velvety pumpkin soup with lobster, I will too! Delectable and comfort food in an appetizer is yummy! A thick warm soup is just what we need as a precursor to our meal. A touch of elegance to go with our traditional family meal will be exceptional.
- The Plaza, NYC: For Thanksgiving 2013, the Plaza’s menu highlights traditional turkey alongside some decadent remixes of autumn flavors. Pumpkin risotto with duck confit looks like a promising first course, while a Skuna Bay salmon with black truffle holds down a fish option. Plus, a chestnut tagliatelle with guanciale and mushrooms.
- Ritz Carlton, San Francisco: Parallel 37 restaurant’s Thanksgiving menu at San Francisco’s Ritz Carlton is indeed ‘music to our ears’. Classic and decadent, but not without some inventive twists, their warm beet salad with goat cheese – standard on menus across the country – sports inventive additions kumquats and lobster.
- Waldorf Astoria, Orlando: If you’re looking for bona fide excellence, take our advice and choose the Waldorf Astoria. Their Thanksgiving menu at restaurant Bull and Bear stays miles away from the jello salads and small dishes of pickles that are traditional on some family holiday tables. Start your dinner with a velvety pumpkin soup accented by lobster, followed by a turkey with all the trimmings. The side dishes are supposed to be the best part of Thanksgiving, after all. Don’t forget to cordon off a corner of your stomach for a sweet potato donut (sic) at the end.
- Trump International, Chicago: Book a table at Sixteen, the Trump International’s excellent restaurant. Perhaps to contrast the flat plains of the Midwest, the chef has created a menu with positively fanciful categories, like ‘The Poisson & the Pressing of Autumn Fruit,’ or the ‘The Bounty of the Hudson Valley’.
- The Venetian, Las Vegas: Thomas Keller’s Bouchon at the Venetian does a traditional Thanksgiving to the nines, commencing with pork belly and finishing off with a trio of pies. And remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – except perhaps those extra five pounds.
I also like to use Pinterest for ideas on appetizers and desserts that my kids will enjoy making with me in the kitchen. As they get older, they love to help me out in the kitchen. I have found that the simpler the dish the better because complex equals mess! The less chopping, mixing and measuring needed the better. So, I’ve been thinking of some fast and fun dishes to make that the kids will still enjoy.
Please have a safe and happy Thanksgiving
filled to the brim with superb food and wonderful memories!
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