Thanksgiving for Two with Sticky Rice Stuffed Duck Breast + Finex Giveaway!!!!!!
Thanksgiving has always been a time for gathering and for eating. Growing up, I had classic Chinese American Thanksgiving meals – huge gatherings of friends and family eating not turkey, but likely hot pot, steamed fish, and assorted other Chinese food. It wasn’t until I was in college and stayed in St. Louis for the holiday that I had the whole American traditional Thanksgiving. The college, as a nod to all their international and west coast students, threw a huge Thanksgiving lunch banquet on Thanksgiving Day. Faculty and students from all disciplines trekked to the banquet and mingled like they would not have in their distinct academic departments. Thanksgiving, after all, is a rare opportunity to not only eat second or third helpings of really decadent comfort food, but also to congregate, have good conversations, and give thanks. During my first Thanksiving lunch banquet at the school, I felt giddy, as any freshman should. Turkeys! Gravy! Oh my gosh, there is actually sweet potato covered in marshmallow?
I fell in love Thanksgiving. In the later years we still stopped by the lunch banquets, but we also started hosting our own potluck-style Thanksgiving with our friends. When I moved to Boston, I did my first only-cooked-by-me Thanksgiving meal for a table of 12, and it was both fun and exhilarating and exhausting at once. We had paper napkins, paper cups, and disposable roasting pans, as we’d just moved a few months ago. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The second year, Alex’s family came over to celebrate with us, and I wanted to make a traditional meal to show them that Turkey does not have to be super dry and tasteless, as they had thought. That was even more terrifying but exciting, and it was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. This year, I’m not doing any big meals. Instead, Alex and I are heading to maine with our dog and celebrating in a little loft in Portland with my sister and her boyfriend. I’ll be making a variation of this meal – simple, so easy, and so delicious.
Plus, I’m giving away one of my favorite pans, a Finex 12″ cast iron skillet with lid!! See bottom of post for details 🙂
I loved setting this tablescape up. Photographing a Thanksgiving table scape, whether its for an intimate cozy dinner for two or a larger gathering of twenty, can seem daunting, but if you see every element of a Thanksgiving tablescape as an opportunity for styling, the process can become a dynamic, fun process to express your personal style. Styling can help bring photo to life – thoughtful styling can add movement, atmosphere, mood, and most of all, personality. I tend to lean towards muted, neutral tones accented by select color accents. I find that having a mostly neutral palette (notice the tablecloth, tableware, dinnerware, napkin, and menu are all of neutral tones) allows the shapes and color of the food to shine and draw attention. A simple garland of cedar and eucalyptus, accented by bright persimmons and a delicate string of lights is stretched across the table to provide an earthy, holiday cheer to the table scape. Take note of your color palette, be aware of the details, and have fun with your Thanksgiving table scape!!
Beautiful, beautiful hand lettered menus by Li, who ended up coming over to help me finish this meal :). Thank you, Li!! 
menu:
butternut squash bisque with king oyster bacon
shiitake sticky rice stuffed duck breast
apple and persimmon rose tart
asian pear shrub + prosecco rosemary cocktail
Looking for other Thanksgiving for two inspirations?? See Jessie’s and Meg’s wonderful, tasty menus. I wish I could crash each one!
Trying to stay true to the original usage of bisque, I incorporated shrimp and shrimp stock as the base – and I’m so glad I did. It does take a bit more effort to make the shrimp stock (but literally, just boil water with the shrimp shells!!), but the final result is worth it. The softened butternut squash, crushed tomatoes, and shrimp are blended together to form a smooth puree, but I strained the soup to create an even smoother, bump-free texture that will simply melt and coat your tongue with flavors. It’s topped with my favorite topping, king oyster bacon, and curled up scallion pieces.
The star of the meal. My favorite. Everyone’s favorite. An Asian American classic. Sticky rice!!!!!!! Instead of the classic American bread-based stuffing, Asians usually like to serve sticky rice, which can be flavored in so many different ways. I have the classic, with Chinese sausage and shiitake, and then Alana has a wonderful one with chestnuts and a whole bunch of other yummies. Of course, you can fry in some pork with it to make Shaomai’s stuffing (but just don’t wrap them). or, you can make this – a dish I want to make over and over again. I’m definitely making this come actual Thanksgiving. Sticky rice is stir fried in reserve duck fat, then baked with duck breasts spread across the surface, so that the fat rendered from the duck drips tantalizing into the sticky rice, spreading its flavor and charm. The duck is marinaded in soy sauce and wine and then seared, skin down, in a cast iron skillet to get and extra crispy skin. After the whole thing bakes, I let the duck breasts sit to finish cooking, then I slice it and arrange it prettily across the skillet. Serve and devour. Repeat next week (jk, but am i??)
You all know my fascination with fermentation, right? I did a quick ferment by making an Asian pear shrub! I did a slow overnight shrub, which basically means macerating the chopped and crushed pears with sugar and vinegar and letting it steep overnight. Before serving, I strained it, and as you can see, it provided a dreamy, golden color that perfectly matched the palette of my Thanksgiving meal. Add rosemary simple syrup and prosecco – how can it go wrong?
This is a riff of my apple wreath rose pie from last year. For the finale I wanted something both pretty and delicious, so I made an apple and persimmon rose tart. It’s not really a tart but a mini pie, since the crust is still the buttery flaky crust of pie, but they’re cooked in tart molds to create the individual serving. I served it with dollops of Vanilla bean creme fraiche, and it was divine. A perfect way to end the meal. The apple are cooked slightly to create that flexibility, but thinly sliced persimmons are so flexible and soft already that they don’t need to be cooked to form the rose shape. After baking, the tart is brushed with rose syrup for an extra fragrance and shine.
FINEX PAN GIVEAWAY!!!!
Friends, I am so thankful for each and every one of you. Is there ever a better time to get sappy than the holidays? When I started this blog, I never even dreamed I’d meet so many amazing people in this community. The blog world is seriously warm, giving, and sharing. I’m so happy to be a part of it, and your support means more to me than I can ever express. After last week’s giveaway, I spent some time reading over each and every comment, and I loved matching instagram users to names to comments and discovering what you’d make first with the oven. Without you, my blog would honestly not even make a blip on the blogosphere. So, as a way to say thanks, I’m going to be hosting a giveaway every week for what’s left of 2015!!!!! I’m bringing you products that I truly trust and love. Thank you so much for supporting me. For following along with me on my never-ending food journey, experiment with photography and styling. For just being there, whether you’re a silent lurker or a constant commenter, I feel your presence. Thank you!!!! I’m no magician with words, so I doubt I can ever express how grateful I am for you all, but hopefully these giveaways can express that :).
Ever since I discovered Finex’s cast iron skillets in the summer and tried out their 8″ skillet, I was in love. Instantly. Prior to Finex, I pretty much used nonstick skillets, but oh, boy, was I missing out. Cast iron really takes care of whatever food you’re cooking – whether its browning meat, frying up some eggs, baking oatmeal or simmering sauce for a pasta. I’m so excited to team up with Finex to give away my favorite, everyday skillet – a 12″ Cast Iron Skillet with its own Lid!!! The lid is gorgeous and perfect for steaming or simmering. To enter, simply fill in the widget below and leave a comment telling me what your Thanksgiving plans are! If you’re not celebrating Thanksgiving, just tell me what you want to make with this cast iron skillet. Open to US and Canada residents only. Giveaway closes in a week, on December 1st, 2015, so be sure to submit an entry before then! Congrats to Suzanne for winning the skillet!!!!!! Thank you all for entering <3.
Note: This giveaway is sponsored by finex!!!! All opinions expressed here are purely my own. I’m so excited to give away one of these pans – I literally use it every day :).
Plates and Linens: Farmhouse Pottery / wooden spoon: polder’s old world kitchen / cast-iron pan: finex / spanish wine glass: boston general store / menus: Li Ward
BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE
adapted from here
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
½ cup thinly sliced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
4 cups shrimp stock *
3-4 sage leaves
1 cup peeled shrimp (reserve shell + head for stock)
1 pod star aniseking oyster bacon
pale green to white parts of scallion, thinly sliced and placed in cold water to let curl
1| In a large saucepan, melt butter until foamy. Add onions and bay leaf and let cook until soft and translucent. Add squash and garlic, and cook until soft – 15 minutes. Add in shrimp and cook until shrimp turns pink (2-3 minutes).
2| Add in tomatoes and let cook for 3-5 minutes. Add in stock, star anise pod, and simmer for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Remove star anise. Transfer to blender and puree until smooth. Turn off heat and slip in sage leaves. Cover and steep for 15 minutes.
3| Slice king oyster thinly (about 2 mm thick) and fry with butter in a cast iron skillet until crispy and golden on both sides. Let crisp up on a paper towel.
4| Strain soup and serve with king oyster bacon and curled up scallion pieces.
*Shrimp stock: place shrimp heads and shells in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Strain.
SHIITAKE STICKY RICE STUFFED DUCK BREAST
updated in 2018 !
Sticky rice:
3 stalks green onion, white parts sliced thinly, green parts diagonally for garnish
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (or ~8-10 shiitakes re-hydrated with hot water in 1 hour)
2 ¼ cups sticky rice, soaked in water overnight
sauce
1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
1 dash white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup chicken broth (or reserved mushroom stock, sieved)
Duck
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 duck breasts, skin on, fat slightly trimmed, fat scored in criss cross
1| Duck – mix marinade together and brush over duck. Let sit, skin-side down in marinade for an hour at room temperature.
2| Cook sticky rice in whichever way you prefer. I steamed it in batches by putting a plate on a metal steamer and spreading sticky rice over it (the old fashioned way), steaming on high for 15-20 minutes. Set aside and put a damp paper towel over it to keep from getting dry.
3| Preheat oven to 375. On stove, heat up a cast iron pan on medium-low and cook duck, skin down, for 5 minutes, until skin is crispy. Turn breast over and add remaining marinade in pan. Cook for just another minute. Set aside on a plate.
4| In remaining duck fat and marinade leftover in the pan, heat up pan again over medium heat.
5| Add in white parts of scallion and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add mushrooms and let cook, untouched, for several minutes until browned. Mix to continue cooking.
6| Add in cooked sticky rice, the pre-mixed sauce, and mix. You can taste test to see if the flavor is enough.
7|Place duck breast on top of the sticky rice. If sticky rice is too dry, add in some more stock – should be moist but should NOT have a pool.
8| Bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and let rest further. IN the meantime, taste-test sticky rice – if it’s too bland, add more salt or soy sauce.
9| Add in green parts of scallions and mix to combine.
10| Slice duck thinly and top over sticky rice
APPLE + PERSIMMON ROSE TART
Pie crust adapted from four & twenty blackbirds
Pie crust
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
1 stick butter, cold and cubed
½ tsp salt
1.5 tsp sugar
½ cup cold water (more than needed)
2 tbsp rose water
3 apples, peeled and sliced very thinly
2 persimmons, peeled and sliced very thinly,
3 tbsp sugar
dried rose petals, to topegg + splash of water, whisked
rose syrup to finish
1| Prepare: Cube butter into 1cm pieces, and place it in a bowl in the freezer. I find that this allows the butter to get very cold before you work with it. Put the 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar into cold water, and place this into the freezer as well. Don’t worry about it freezing- you will use it before it can freeze.
2| Combine flour, salt, sugar.
3| Take cold butter, and using a pastry cutter, fork, or fingers, work quickly and cut butter into dry ingredients. Pea size chunks will remain, and that’s completely fine.
4| Take out rose / water mixture. Using tablespoons at a time, mix it into dry ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix or knead. Add the mixture gradually – you can always add more water, but you can’t take it out. The resulting dough should be damp but not moist.
5| Shape into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in fridge. Let dough rest for at least 1 hour.
6| Cook apples and sugar in a small saucepan for 3-4 minutes, until apples start to wilt and become flexible.
7| let apples cool completely. Preheat oven to 350F.
8| Roll out dough and place over individual pie/tart molds. Shape remaining dough into leaves, if desired. Arrange apples and persimmons in alternating layers on top of tart. Brush leaves (if using) lightly with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown on top.
9| Remove from oven and brush immediately with rose syrup.
ASIAN PEAR SHRUB + PROSECCO ROSEMARY COCKTAIL
Asian pear shrub
2 cups asian pears, chopped and slightly crushed
½ cup sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegarrosemary simple syrup
3-4 sprigs rosemary
1/2 cup water
1/2 sugarprosseco
3 oz gin (optional)
1| Add pears and sugar and vinegar into a mason jar. Cover and shake vigorously. Let sit overnight. Strain through a sieve into another mason jar. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 months.
2| Bring rosemary syrup ingredients to a boil and let simmer until all the sugar is dissolved. Let cool completely.
3| Combine 1 tbsp syrup, gin, 3 ounces of pear shrub (more if you want more of a tang), and prosecco together. Cocktails are completely up to personal preference – if you want more prosecco, add more. If you want a sweeter drink, add more rosemary. if you want more of a tang, add in the pear shrub. Have fun with it, and top with a sprig of rosemary!
I love small intimate thanksgiving dinners and I have to say you are the best at styling I have seen
Oh thank you so much Dawn!
This post is amazing. I love how you came to love thanksgiving. And the duck instead of Turkey is brilliant. Enjoying here looks amazing and you’re photography is superb. Just gorgeous.
Thank you Amanda!!! I always gravitate towards duck 🙂
The boyfriend and I were trying to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving this year…I really want to make this dish now!
Yay!!!
so pretty!
Thank you dear!
Wow what a beautiful setting the menus looks amazing too. your photos are so stunning. I wish we celebrated thanksgiving here in England all the food sounds so amazing xxx
Oh thank you Aimee!! Come over one day and we’ll celebrate together 🙂
Beautiful Betty! The sticky rice looks amazing.
Thank you Jessica!
But actually, I’m obsessed with this post – sticky rice stuffing and apple permission petals?! You are a bona fide genius Betty. The styling details also really elevate the look and bring alll the warm feels.
As for my Thanksgiving plans, I’m spending the weekend with family in DC!
Oh thank you for the kind words Vicky!!!! Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving 🙂
Beautiful photos! I’m spending Thanksgiving with my daughter & son-in-law in the Bay Area.
Oh fun! I’m from the Bay Area :). Hope you had a lovely time.
Looks divine! Cooking with apartment roommates for the first Holiday dinner!
Oh how fun!!!!
Although I’m attending a traditional Thanksgiving with the family this year, I am definitely going to try the sticky rice recipe!
YAY let me know how it goes! Last year I did the traditional Thanksgiving and then added sticky rice as well 🙂
Betty this tablescape is beautiful!! My Thanksgiving won’t involve a tablescape this stunning, but it will involve a Turkey Trot in Brighton, then dinner at my mother-in-law’s house (and lots of pies, which I’m responsible for baking)!
Thank you!! And being responsible for the pies is SUCH an honor and privilege!!! Hope you had a wonderful time.
We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving last month. But on this weekend during the US Thanksgiving, we are celebrating my mother in law’s birthday and your apple tarts have inspired me to make an apple tart dessert for dinner. Yay!
oh YAY!! Happy birthday to her, and hope you all had a lovely time!
Wow. Sticky rice sounds like a great alternative to bread stuffing. Don’t even need gravy! Sadly I’ll be in Houston with my family and Thanksgiving will be a vegetarian affair though we will have a turkey. My Thanksgivings are also a mish mash of traditional food (from the children) accompanied by Chinese side dishes (from the parents). I’ll have to try this next year!
Mish mash meals are the best. Thank you for sharing!
Amazing spread! I’m an American in Canada, so I’m looking forward to getting together with other expats to celebrate.
Oh how fun!! I once spent a summer in Shanghai and on the 4th of July I congregated with other expats – there is something so special about spending your home country’s holiday with others in a foreign country, right?
We already celebrated Canadian thanksgiving, but every week me and my boyfriend host a graditude dinner where we share our farmers market bounty with friends. This cast iron would be a welcome addition to our kitchen when we make any and all things on the stove top, and even baking some pumpkin sourdough cinnamon buns in the oven!
Oh that sounds so lovely!! Thank you for sharing.
Beautiful spread and just right for two! My spouse and I will be taking a long walk up to a local bird sanctuary this Thanksgiving and then meandering back home to cozy up with some homemade food. Thanks for the post, it gave me some inspiration of what to cook for us the day of!
That sounds so cozy and lovely!!!!
So beautiful! Those persimmons are on point, love the pop of color! And I’m a huge fan of shrubs, so this rosemary prosecco business is mind-bending.
We’re going away to be with family this year, doing our usual and renting out some old officers housing at Fort Worden out in WA. The kitchens and meager supplies are always…interesting… but we make it work! This pan would be super useful. Love the lid.
Thank you Amy!!!! YES to shrubs!!!! Love it :). Sounds like a fun time with family – hope you had a great time!
The sticky rice stuffing sounds wonderful – would be great with the turkey that I’m making this Thanksgiving for our family. Thank you for the beautiful pictures that accompany your posts. I’ve enjoyed reading and drooling ; )
Thank you for visiting (and reading and drooling :)).
Your table is an inspiration and post reminded me of my crazy thanksgiving feasts with all my parents friends and their kids watching rush hour (how cliche)
Unfortunately this thanksgiving I’ll be working 🙁 but I am making mason jar desserts for everything that can be enjoyed in lieu of my company haha
Oh man, work?! Well, those mason jar desserts do sound good (and convenient!). Hope you had a good time regardless!
I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year. We have this tradition where we’ll have a traditional Taiwanese dinner the night before and an American Thanksgiving on Thursday. So excited to be eating so much yummy food this week!
AHH hope hosting went well!! It’s always a thrill to host – I’m jealous you had two dinners!!!!! Thank you for stopping by.
Love the table setting! I plan to finally get some cooking done (can’t cook in an away rotation with none of my pots/pans/spices) and feed my long distance fiance. The joy of being able to take care of someone is hard to describe 🙂
Away rotation? Med school?! but yes, totally understand – I went to Maine for Thanksgiving and I just had to bring my cast iron pan, and I’m so glad I did !!!!! Luckily it was only a 2 hour drive which made it possible. Thank you for sharing, Alice!
I spent Cdn Thanksgiving with my family, simple mac n cheese casserole. So many things happened this year, we didn’t get to have a traditional meal, but to be able to celebrate together is all we can ask for.
Lisa, thank you for sharing. You’re so right – Thanksgiving may seem like it’s all about the food, but underneath it all, it’s really about celebrating with your family. I still remember last year I hosted for my in-laws, and I was so terrified and wanted to get the food exactly right. Of course, there were some slip ups but having a good humor about it made all the difference. And in the end, when we all sat down and just chatted, that was all that mattered. Being with family. Thank you so much for sharing!
We’re heading to spend Thanksgiving with family in Omaha…it’ll be the pretty traditional meal of turkey, stuffing, potatoes etc. Starchy and delicious 🙂
My kind of meal 😀
I’m serving up some stir-fry tofurkey with dressing and mashed taters! Happy Holidays everyone!
TOFURKEY? I’ve never had it but sounds intriguing!!! Happy holidays!
Betty (!!!) this is too gorgeous for me to handle right now. I love your memories of Thanksgiving celebrating it Chinese style, and then when you got introduced to more of the American classics too! There is so much goodness and variety, its great to see another take on the cozy meals we all crave for this holiday. I hope you have a genuine good time up with you sis for the holiday this week – xo
Thank you jessie! Your comments always make me smile – I had a great time. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful as well 🙂
My husband and I are hosting his family this year! Lots of cooking for me over the next few days!
Oh how wonderful! Hope it went fabulously 🙂
I am having a small vegetarian thanksgiving this year with 4 of my family members. I think small thanksgivings are really nice. I am in charge of the pecan pie and dressing. Although we are foregoing meat this year I will have to try your Prosecco cocktail and apple tart soon, they both look amazing.
Small Thanksgiving are nice – more intimate, cozy, and honestly a lot less stress in terms of cooking and baking. Hope it was a lovely time!
This Thanksgiving my boyfriend’s parents and mine are meeting for the first time! His family is Taiwanese and mine is Cantonese, so we’ll be having a Taiwanese/Cantonese AND American fusion Thanksgiving dinner
Oh my!!!!!! That’s a HUGE moment!!! Hope it went well – congrats 🙂
I’ll be home on Maui for Thanksgiving, celebrating with friends and family, but secretly in my heart of hearts I’ll be wishing I were at this ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS tablescape you’ve created here. Holy WOW. It is perfect. I’m moving in.
In my heart I wish it too!!! But even more so, I wish I could be at Maui WITH YOU!!!!!!
Another Chinese American girl here! I grew up having Chinese food on Thanksgiving (always in celebration of my grandfather’s birthday around this time of year, never for the actual holiday). I’m almost 30 and have yet to experience a traditional Thanksgiving 🙂
I’ll be making Chinese food this Thursday and damn, does your duck and sticky rice look good. So far I was thinking nuo mi fan (my favorite <3) and maybe some hand pies. Maybe pork belly, if my local butcher has some!
nuo mi fan is THE BEST. Thank you for sharing!
Heading back to St. Louis for Thanksgiving with my boyfriend and his family. 🙂 And then eating all my favorite STL foods throughout the vacation.
Ugh so jealous!! I want to go back and eat at all the good places!
A beautiful post! This Thanksgiving will be the first time I’m a married woman! My husband and I are celebrating two Thanksgivings. A huge dinner with my family & drinks and games with friends and my husband’s family.
Thank you!! And wow – awesome!!! I’m jealous you had two Thanksgivings! Hope they were wonderful.
This post is absolutely gorgeous!
I’ll be having two Thanksgiving celebrations! One with my husband’s family and one with my family.
Gorgeous post! I’m living abroad now (in Canada), but I’m still planning to do a small celebration here with turkey legs and sticky rice (my family’s traditional Thanksgiving stuffing). I may add your tarts to the menu!
Thank you Ruth!!! turkey legs + sticky rice sound perfect! So lovely. Thank you for sharing.
And I am thankful I found your awesome blog about three months ago. Your recipes and food photography is inspirational.
We are southern and do a very old timey traditional dinner.
Lots of food..turkey and rainbow trout. All the sides and dessert table.
A two say cooking and baking event if not three.
Lot s of family and friends.
Volunteering for outreach
Day do, watching Macy parade looking for the big guy in the sleigh to make his appearance..signals the start of the holidays for us.
A nap later if lucky, walks, board games..football
.
Vickie, thank you so much for this kind comment. I’d love to see what a traditional southern dinner is. Turkey and rainbow trout?? Already sounds like my kind of feel :). Thank you for sharing!
I’m going to St Louis!
😀
I plan to spend a quiet night with my family in preparation for a memorial service the following day.
Margaret, thank you so much for sharing. Thoughts are with you and your family
going home! missing our pbl group though 🙁
I’m going to miss it more now 🙁
My partner and I will be hosting a small thanksgiving in Queens amidst towering boxes… And moving out of the city two days later!
Oh man, huge things going on!! Good luck!
On Thanksgiving Day, we usually sleep in, and then cook all day with family. We break out the Christmas music, and make an enormous traditional turkey dinner, complete with homemade cranberry sauce and mom’s incredible giblet gravy! Thanksgiving is the kickoff to the whole Christmas season for us.
Ah that sounds so amazing!! Thank you for sharing Loran 🙂
Gorgeous! Spending thanksgiving with loved ones!
Yay! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Betty, the dinner, the table – everything looks absolutely beautiful! And I am in love with those apple persimmons tarts! 🙂
Thanks dear!! I’m in love with everything YOU make!
Your pictures are amazing! // We’re spending Turkey Day with friends in Echo Park, a first of many new traditions since moving west, but should be a great gathering.
Oh thank you! And you already know the results of this giveaway 🙂
Betty! Your blog is my new favourite. I just want to curl up in a dreamy food photography and gorgeous styling-induced blog and get dusted by pretty light. And eat everything you make. Honestly, each photo is so tableaux-old masters-beautiful. Here in Canada we already had Thanksgiving in October but Sunday is the “Grey Cup”, aka Canada’s Superbowl! (you just learned something new, didn’t you, hehe!) and we are doing a spread of raclette (melted cheese on potatoes) with mini gherkins and chips and dip. Happy Thanksgiving! And thank you for having this contest open to Canada, too! XO
Lindsay, you’re way too kind!!! omg your compliments are so sweet! Thank you so so much. I love everything YOU make!!!! Thank you so much for sharing :). Raclette, which I have never had, sounds AMAZING. Hope you had a lovely time!
SO BEAUTIUFL! Love this post, Betty!! <3
Thank you 😀
We are going to eat so much food and gather with the family.. Hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving too. Lovely photos..
Cheers!
Thank you Aysegul!!!! Cheers to you too.
That shrub! Thanksgiving with the family for lunch, then a friends-giving dinner! Going to make a Purple sweet potato pie! So excited!
purple sweet potato pie? Omg, that must be SO PRETTY!
Beautiful, beautiful! I’ll be celebrating with friends in the French Quarter in New Orleans this year.
Oh, so jealous! Hope it was a blast
Thanksgiving morning, I will recreate your tablescape. Then I will serve a fairly traditional meal for my family around it. I’m so inspired by your Instagram gallery of posts. Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving, Betty.
Happy holidays to you too – thank you for sharing 🙂
This menu sounds so great! I’m hosting this year (for the first time)! Happy thanksgiving!!
Oh man, hosting is such a thrilling experience! Hope it was a wonderful time for you :).
Dinner with my family then dinner with the boyfriend’s family, I’m making apple pies for both!
APPLE PIE!!! YES. Thank you for sharing!
I’m making a pumpkin chess pie. I’m still up at 4am making it. My fault for starting at 1am loll. just killing myself!
Love the hexagonal shape of those panssss. eeee!!
I saw your post!!! Looks so good 🙂
Betty, this post is just glowing (quite literally too lol)! I don’t know if I can handle hosting Thanksgiving any time soon but I am mentally bookmarking this post and all your wonderful tips for future use 🙂
Also, those menus are stunning!!!!
Also also, YES to sweet potatoes and marshmallows. They are my fave.
Aww you are so sweet! Aren’t those menus amazing? My friend hand lettered them! Thanks for your sweet comment courtney!
I am cooking Turkey and ham, delivering dinner to my parents because mom is not able to cook and then my children are coming here to eat. Big day for me!
Wow, big day indeed! Hope you had a lovely time. thank you for sharing!
What an absolutely stunning tablescape. I absolutely adore how your menu veered away from the traditional but still exudes the vibe that goes along with Thanksgiving.
Sadly, I am moving (again) this week. . .so while I will not be indulging in a feast like this… at least I will be able to enjoy a fantastic view here in Seaport …and hopefully I slice of pie if I can somehow manage to squeeze a pie making session in between unpacking.
Oh good luck with the move! Seaport? Are you in Boston? If so it’s near me!!!!
I sure am in Boston. I was living in South Boston in a fantastic victorian overlooking the Ocean. Than the Mr. and I placed a contract on a condo in St. Augustines Church. Long story short. . .we pulled out of the contract and are now living in an apartment in Seaport with amazing views. We’re currently loving the location.
I’ll be enjoying Thanksgiving in my home this year.
Hope you had a lovely time!
Finex sent me here and I must say your page is lovely. 🙂
I had plans to do a big family meal, but that suddenly fell apart and now we’re just going to go enjoy the Thanksgiving meal with my Grandmother at the retirement center she lives in.
YAY I love finex!!! Thank you so much for sharing – hope you had a lovely time with your grandma!
Heading up to NYC to visit old friends. <3
Oh have so much fun!
Eating lots of turkey and pie with my family!
That sounds just perfect!
Planning to get my kids involved, tablescapes, bread boards, pies, and a whole lot of traditions mixed up together and trying to make sense of it all 🙂
Oh stephanie, that sounds amazing. miss you – hope all is well!
Thanksgiving is 2 pounds of garlic for over turkey and in the stuffing and mashed potatos. Whole family effort.
2 lbs of garlic? YES. that sounds AMAZING. I want to be at this meal!
That looks like an amazing meal!!! That sticky rice with duck breast looks so good! Will have to try this!
YAY do it!!!
I looove this post, Betty! I love the fact that you briefly mentioned on your photography and styling because it’s a fun and intriguing subject for us weirdos (err food bloggers). Everything sounds and looks excellent. We hosted Thanksgiving in our house like every year for our family of 8. Just cooked a turkey, bought some sides this time (life has been so off the walls I couldn’t do everything from scratch, it’s ok right??), made brownies, Lucille’s type biscuits (!!!!!) I was impressed, lol. It was great to have family because as hectic as it feel at times, nothing can compare to the love only a family can express.
Aw thank you!!!!!! Hehe, food blogger are definitely weirdly obsessed with food photography and styling!!! Hope you had a lovely holiday!
here i am, looking for a cozy soup recipe, and your bisque sounds so dreamy! beautiful and heartwarming thanksgiving menu.
Thank you Myriam!!!!!!!!
Had some family over and had a pretty traditional meal and then played card games!
oh, sounds lovely! We, too, played cards after our Thanksgiving meal. Traditions <3 xo.
Love the photographs. The rose tarts are gorgeous.
Our plans are pot luck style gathering with family. I brought a dutch appeltaart.
dutch apple tart? Must’ve been amazing!!! Thank you for sharing.
We go to my inlaws for thanksgiving! My family and there’s, it’s my favorite day of the year!
Nice!!!! It’s one of my favorite days too :).
Beautiful spread! Thanks to year-round recipe inspirations and experiments through your blog, I was able to host my parents for the first time this Thanksgiving!
Thank you Hannah!!!!! I’m so humbled to hear I inspired you to host!!! How did it go?
i’ll be working!
Oh good luck!
We had lovely visit with family, including cooking your recipe of mushroom gravy and sage biscuit with my mom, in her mother’s cast iron pan! I am lucky to inherit all the rest of them and its all we use in the kitchen. But I’ve been eyeing this one of yours in your beautiful posts….thank you for all the beauty and inspiration!
Oh wow!!!!!! How did the mushroom gravy/biscuits go??!!! I’m jealous you inherited all the rest – I really love how cast iron is so durable that it is literally a heirloom piece. Think of all the sentiment and memories that will be associated with the pieces. Thank you for sharing!
Thanksgiving this year was a very typical spread, but lots of belly laughs around the table made it an even better meal!
belly laughs = always better!
went to parents in ca and cooked the turkeys
sounds great! hope you had a good time!
This thanksgiving I orchestrated my first multi-course family dinner, all home-cooked. Great experience stretched over the course of a few days, and since I’m moving into my own place for the first time (without much cookware) within the week, I was glad to have a good family experience with everyone together. Thanks for the giveaway!
Wow, amazing! Hope it went well – thanks for sharing!
Betty, your Thanksgiving menu looks wonderful! As you know we don’t celebrate it here in the UK, but this would be a perfect dinner party over the festive season. I wish I lived in the US, I always miss out on your fabulous giveaways 🙁 xx