Kitchen Shrink: Dressed for the holidays – What’s your Thanksgiving style?

“My wife dresses to kill. She cooks the same way.” ~ Henny Youngman

While we all embrace the special spirit of Thanksgiving when close family and friends gather to share love, laughs, gratitude, and an obscene assortment of carbs, we all celebrate the holiday with an array of styles reflecting our individual tastes, creativities, preferences (and pain-in-the-butt guests with their varied dietary restrictions and requests). I’ve curated a style guide for food fashionistas to identify their own particular category and perhaps borrow from others for a refreshing change up–add a little flair to a hum-drum or low-key table, or tone down an overly flamboyant or formal one. Whatever your style, feel confident to strut your stuff with pride. Just make sure the turkey isn’t undercooked to the point where a competent veterinarian can revive it or overcooked so that it can be used in your next football toss.

Classic Traditional Style

Here Oscar de la Renta meets William Sonoma with a polished table setting including cloth napkins and perhaps Grandma’s sterling candlesticks and flatware. Dinner is served, and yes—we’re saying grace. The classic herb-butter roasted turkey is carved with reverence, accompanied by a large side of etiquette. Other apt dishes include a savory sage and chestnut stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, string beans almandine, and cranberry citrus relish (see recipe below) for an elegant, traditional, and bountiful feast. While dessert is predictable—a pumpkin and pecan pie duo with dollops of fresh whipped cream, and coffee served from a silver pot–of course.

Eclectic

Stripes, polka-dots, and animal prints collide on a communal table. This Potluck Pro is a master of culinary organization and delegation, providing the space and cornerstone dish, whether a roasted turkey or ham, while allocating other family favorites to assorted guests, avoiding repetition of dishes. The host sets up a carving station for the bird and other meats and fowls, a carb corner, a vegetarian venue, a pie parade with sides of whipped cream and holiday shaker spices, and a bar with a signature cocktail like a crowd pleasing cran-apple sangria. Up to the lips, over the gums.

Trend-setter

This Thanksgiving host curates the event with an Avante-garde edge turning the holiday on its head by disrupting gustatory traditions with creatively unhinged eye-popping dishes. The collection of couture cuisine features a Tuscan-seasoned turkey wrapped in pancetta carved tableside by a chef flaunting bejeweled Dolce & Gabbana evening gloves. This bird is impeccably paired with golden brioche saffron lobster stuffing, truffle mashed potatoes piped into rosettes, and purple asparagus tips dusted with gold leaf. Runway ready desserts include a pumpkin tiramisu encased in a dark chocolate shell topped with a spun sugar mythical animal. Gucci, Gucci, goo!

College Preppy

This dorm-style mode of entertaining is classic college student cuisine and décor. The cozy quarters are filled with the flicker of fairy lights, scent of pumpkin spice candles, and tunes from Taylor Swift’s folklore era. Sparkling apple cider or iced matcha washes down charcuterie served in recycled sorority/fraternity party cups mixing cheddar cheese chunks, sliced apples, pretzel sticks, and dried cranberries. Ready-made mini turkey pot pies are the cornerstone of the meal accompanied by a boxed stuffing mix, and packaged buttermilk biscuits. For sweet endings, a preppy pumpkin pie parfait constructed in Mason jars topped with canister whipped cream. Give this host an ‘A’ for effort.

Boho Chic

Close your eyes and inhale the earthy, floral, and spicy notes of patchouli and sandalwood incense burning in a funky home with colorful floor cushions and vibrant mixed-match vintage plates on a rustic wooden table. The menu of a Friendsgiving bohemian artist would probably include kale of some manner, maybe a salad with a tahini drizzle, a Moroccan-spiced turkey with the warm blend of cumin, coriander, ginger and turmeric, or an organic plant-based roast like seitan, and a couscous confetti dotted with pomegranate seeds and slivered pistachios served in a steamy tagine pot for an impressive presentation. A cardamom chai bundt cake paired with Moroccan mint tea soothes the mind, body, and soul. Namaste!

Goth

Think black velvet tablecloths, burgundy candlesticks, and dried roses setting the stage for a feast of shadows. Some main dishes might include a black garlic and rosemary roasted turkey, or a black pepper-rubbed prime rib with red wine jus, accompanied by fitting sides like forbidden black rice stuffing with wild mushrooms, and blood orange and beet salad. Espresso martinis and blackberry lambrusco spritzes along with dark treats, such as, bittersweet chocolate pyramids, or black sesame pumpkin torts followed by tarot card or oracle readings and candlelit storytelling pull the melancholy curtain on an enlightened evening.

Sporty Casual

This host chooses to wing it with a laid-back vibe under the stars on rustic patio furnishings. A smoked turkey is paired with a camp-style skillet jalapeno corn bread stuffing, cast-iron roasted acorn squash, and carrot slaw served family style with a friendly game of touch football between bites. Craft beers and spiked hot maple cider wet the whistles, while the meal glides into an easy, breezy dessert of fire-pit baked apples with cinnamon cream.

Minimalist Modern

Simple and classic with white linens, seasonal greenery, and tapered candles whisper gratitude with a sprinkling of clean, uncluttered aesthetic. A crisp Sauvignon Blanc and sparkling citrus water (no need for appetizers) get this subdued party started. A dry-brined turkey breast accompanied by a roasted root puree, and poached pear and arugula salad gives an understated yet elegant aura. For just desserts, mini vanilla bean pots-de-crème just hit the simple spot.

My final morsel of style advice is this universal recipe for cranberry relish that will beautifully accessorize any table.

Kumquat Ginger Cranberry Relish

Makes 3 cups

½-cup ruby port½-cup orange blossom honey16 kumquats, stemmed, chopped¼-teaspoon ground black pepper1 stalk lemongrass, split1–12-ounce bag fresh cranberries½-cup minced crystalized ginger

Combine first 5 ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Stir until honey dissolves. Reduce heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes. Remove lemongrass. Add cranberries. Cook over medium until liquid is slightly reduced and berries burst. Stir about 6 minutes. Fold in Ginger. Cool. Refrigerate. Can be prepared one week ahead.

Courtesy of Chef Bernard Guillas