The Salted Sticky Toffee Pudding Pumpkin Pie is here

And I really, REALLY hope you're hungry

One of my favorite newsletters, Feed Me by Emily Sundberg, wrote this week that Thanksgiving is falling kind of flat this year. And a part of me can only agree? While I am vehemently in the holiday spirit (November 1st equals Christmas, don’t take my joy), it feels like Thanksgiving has remained largely an afterthought in food media this year. Not that it isn’t being covered (it most definitely is being covered), but just that food outlets and our normal sources for Thanksgiving inspo seem to be very resigned to the classics.

The New York Times Cooking has been doing recipe head-to-heads on their YouTube, as well as publishing their very useful and very cute Thanksgiving Dinner Guide. And the Bon Appetit print issue this November had a few interesting recipes (and a great round-up of digestifs), but also included a whole recipe feature dedicated to your classic, normal Thanksgiving fare. I was chatting with my assistant about it this morning and could only help but wonder: After a stretch of years where Thanksgiving was this big arena to showcase the casserole bests-of-the-bests, have we figured out that people already know what they want?

In a way, it’s comforting - we’ve been doing this holiday for centuries, so we know how we like our stuffing. But the part of me that craves a little innovation, a little *spice*, and a little healthy debate about whether gochujang-crusted potato chips belong on my mashed potatoes, is sad that I didn’t see big food outlets pushing the boundaries this year. But in the general cultural zeitgeist, it felt like this year wasn’t the year for raising the bar. When everyone is reporting on the same holiday and the same food, the one-upping can get a little exhausting.

I think we all collectively decided to ease the pressure off this beautiful beige holiday. It’s not supposed to be the ultimate culinary experience of my year. It’s supposed to be a creamy, soft, occasionally crunchy nostalgia extravaganza. Those were the recipes I was thinking about, and those were the recipes I developed.

So behold - my 10/10, “best-you’ve-ever-had,” recipes for this year. They are all in the family of classics (well, except for the sweet potatoes which are just generally fire), but they all are here for a reason.

Family Snacks’ Thanksgiving Round-Up

Bay Leaf Butter Bread - you’ve heard of buttery, fluffy rolls. But these are brushed in bay leaf butter, so I simply cannot say no!

Four Cheese Mac n’ Cheese with Garlic Sage Breadcrumbs - Never, ever serve dry mac n’ cheese again. It’s a crime I committed and a crime I regret. This mac won’t let that happen.

Cranberry Sauce & Radicchio Salad - a delicate, bright salad with a dressing made FROM your canned cranberry sauce. Equal parts acidic and delicious.

Mother Snacks’ Burnt Sweet Potatoes & Tomatoes - my pride and joy recipe. Don’t knock it until you try it!

Salted Sticky Toffee Pudding Pumpkin Pie - my NEXT pride and joy recipe! It’s meant for people who don’t love pumpkin pie, who love toffee, and who also LOVE salty-sweet. I’m obsessed with it.

Now Happy Thanksgiving ya filthy animals. Catch me next week when I’ll be giving you the full recap of our parade viewing experience (with hopefully a boozy hot chocolate recipe in tow).

Xoxo,

Festive_Snacks