thanksgiving 2024!
and going live with ali labelle
happy friday all! what a crazy few weeks it has been. and therefore, it wouldn’t seem right not to update you all on how my 2024 thanksgiving turned out! so, here goes.
so, let’s just start with that; it turned out bloody fabulous if i do say so myself (and in great part to everyone who helped on the day)! incredibly, there were no crazy day-of slip-ups. everything turned out as i envisioned it; the turkey was amazing and so moist!
the table was just incredible—thanks to my wonderful friends at year & day and falcon enamelware for providing so many beautiful things to adorn our table. and to my best friend kate and her sweet mom for actually being the true visionaries and designing the entire tablescape completely and so beautifully. it really was particularly stunning set within the backdrop of our garden, alongside the pool and the blue sky. just so special.
prep begins
cooking a thanksgiving meal is no small feat at the best of times—let alone 20 people, but i did it (and honestly, loved every single second of it all)!
i’ve made no secret of the fact that thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. i think it is something about the fact that it is about being with both family and friends (for us anyway), that makes it so special to me. despite not agreeing (at all) with it’s original concept, for me—it is a time to be thankful for friends, reflect on the year just passed, and, of course, take the opportunity to plan an incredible feast. and that we did!
right from planning the dishes, all the way through to day-of execution—i truly love it all. i did however, allow everyone to bring just one appetiser each because i’m type a like that—i have to cook the thanksgiving meal. so sue me!!
menu curation began about a month before, and went a little something like this—
but the true prep began on the tuesday before thanksgiving—the grocery store shop begins. and then finally—the produce shop at the santa monica farmers market on the wednesday morning, of course.
tuesday night i made the cranberry and cardamom sauce as well as chicken stock and vegetable stock for the gravies. more on how to make both of those soon!
my husband, without fail, every year— always makes the cornbread (traditional) and sausage rolls (not traditional, but festive to british people). he makes both of them the night before because they can both sit out a room temp until the next day.
it’s his thing, it’s his tradition and he is indeed, a very good cook, so i let him (ha).
—
morning of, i felt pretty organized to be quite honest. i kept saying that it felt like i had forgotten something—things were going too smoothly. i made my pie dough the night before and had it chilling the fridge, and so started on the filling first thing. at the time, i really didn’t know what kind of tart i was going to make but landed on a walnut, honey and cardamom pie. it was based of a honey and almond tart i developed for west-bourne a few years ago but i made my own pie dough this time and swapped out almonds for walnuts and added in a tablespoon of cardamom for a seasonal flavor profile.
*i use cardamom a lot in place of where pumpkin spice could potentially go because i prefer the flavor profile, but it still gives everything that warming edge. think chai not pumpkin spice.
she cracked a little in the oven, but i still loved her. and honestly, the pie tasted phenomenal. festive in all the right places, without it being too same-y, if you know what i mean.
as the prep continued, so did our hunger! i really could not wait to eat this feast.
people started arriving from 1pm and we were wishfully aiming to sit down for around 4pm for a late lunch/early dinner as we were eating outside. low and behold, i couldn’t quite believe it when we really did end up sitting down at 4pm—on the dot. it was quite fabulous how on time we were.
my favorite dishes of the day were ricci’s squash, rosemary and goat cheese crostinis, kate’s shaved brussels salad, my husband’s cornbread, my ‘sams place’ sweet potatoes and sandy’s savory shortbread (not pictured, but wow).
all in all, it was such a glorious day. i adore my friends so much, and i love nothing more than when we are all together, sat at beautiful table eating delicious food. a perfect thanksgiving in my eyes.
thanks for tuning in, and see you for thanksgiving again next year! and now, onto christmas!!
and on that note—
substack live! with ali labelle
indeed, the festive season is only just beginning, and in light of all things christmas—my dear friend ali labelle and i are going to be going live on substack on monday at 4pm PST and 7pm EST for a holiday 101 open discourse!
we will be answering any of your burning questions over on substack live, so please feel free to leave any questions that you may have in the comments section below or dm either one of us on instagram. we are both so excited to host our first substack live!
we hope to see you there!
thanksgiving 2024 family photo :)
talk soon
xo