It’s that time of year again. In between taking down Halloween decorations, excavating coats, hats, and mittens from last year’s pile of never-quite-got-washed-or-put-away outerwear, and putting up holiday lights, Thanksgiving sneaks up on us. Once I smell the smoke from my neighbor’s woodstoves and hear the crunch of leaves under my feet, I know that the time to savor pumpkin, squash, and sage is just around the corner.
This year we’re asking readers to send us your own recipes, suitable for a Thanksgiving dinner. We are looking for recipes in three categories in particular: vegetarian entrées, vegan entrées, and side dishes.
If you have a Thanksgiving recipe that you’d like to share with other readers, please send it to me by November 12 at tistheseason@grist.org. Feel free to note any special memory or ritual that you associate with it. And please be sure to note the original source.
Here are a few other things to keep in mind as you write up your recipe:
- Remember to list the ingredients in the order in which you handle them. If the recipe has separate parts, like a pie filling and piecrust, present them as separate ingredient lists and instructions rather than including all the ingredients in one list.
- Please try to include information like how many people it will serve, how long it takes to prepare, whether it can be prepared the day before, and whether it keeps as a leftover.
- Any special directions for the size that vegetables, fruit, nuts, or meat should be cut into?
- Any special equipment necessary, such as a nutmill or baster?
- Do any of the ingredients need to be prepared separately before assembling the dish?
- What size pans are best for this dish? Do pans need to be greased or floured?
- What temperature does the oven need to be set to? Does the oven need to be preheated? What shelf of the oven should this be cooked on? If your dish is prepared on top of the stove, how high should the heat on the burner be?
- How will readers recognize when the dish has cooked enough? How will the dish look? What will the texture be?
- Any special serving instructions? Is there a gravy or sauce that needs to be prepared so that it’s ready at the same time?
- Any other special advice?
My aim is to be able to present your recipes on Friday, November 16, so that you will have the weekend prior to Thanksgiving to test them (I won’t be able to test them myself). That means that you need to send them in by Monday, November 12.
I’ll also be posting a Thanksgiving recipe for pumpkin lasagna featuring smoked cheeses on 11/15. I’ve made it with veggie sausage, so you can serve it as a vegetarian dish, and I’ve also made it with chorizo sausage as an offering for omnivores. It’s pretty good both ways, if I do say so myself.
