Feed Your People: Big-batch Dishes To Share for Thanksgiving
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
Dearest Friends,
As Thanksgiving approaches, we are are reminded of the reasons to be grateful—especially for the wonderful people in our lives. If you are looking for delicious dishes to gather around, we'd like to offer you a few delicious big-batch dishes from Feed Your People. From macaroni au gratin and turkey pot pie to farm-fresh apple crisp, here are some of our fall favorites to cook, share, and savor with family and friends.
With so much love,
Little Cranberry Pot Pie with Merry “Corky” White
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
When we think of Thanksgiving, we think first of the holiday’s centerpiece: the bird. And while we love finding the perfect 12-pounder; cooking it, lovingly, for hours; and, finally, sharing it with our guests, we’re equally enamored of the way Merry “Corky” White feeds her people fall comfort. Corky, a former caterer, is something of an expert on big-batch cooking; after all, she literally wrote the book on it: Cooking for Crowds. So, when she first visited the island of Little Cranberry, off the coast of Maine, for the community’s annual chicken pot pie–based Harvest Supper, Corky was inspired to create a big-batch–friendly pot pie of her own, Little Cranberry Pot Pie. Her version, featuring a rich crust made with both butter and shortening, with a cream-thickened filling, is toothsome and satisfying. We especially love these pot pies because they’re easy to make ahead and, unlike with traditional turkey, we don’t have to worry whether the pies are under- or overcooked. Best of all, they’re are a snap to serve individually!
Find the recipe here.
Poole’s Diner Macaroni au Gratin with Ashley Christensen
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
Over the years, in sharing meals with family and friends, colleagues and neighbors, we’ve found that some dishes just make the whole table light up with sheer joy the moment they arrive. The most reliable crowd-pleaser? A big pan of fresh-out-of-the-oven macaroni and cheese. We’ve cooked many iterations of this comfort food classic, but we’re especially partial to Ashley Christensen’s version. The James Beard award–winning chef serves the dish at her flagship Raleigh restaurant, Poole’s Diner. Her generous recipe—which serves 12—is a study in simplicity, featuring macaroni, sea salt, vegetable oil, heavy cream, three kinds of cheese, and nothing more. Whether you’d like to serve it as a main course or as a side dish, Ashley’s Macaroni au Gratin is a perfect fit for your Thanksgiving table.
Find the recipe here.
Two Great Grain Salads with Michelle McKenzie
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
Our friends at 18 Reasons, a beautiful nonprofit community cooking school we’ve been fortunate to collaborate with, know a thing or two about feeding a crowd. Over the past decade, they’ve hosted dozens and dozens of community dinners, warm, welcoming affairs where—no matter how many guests arrive—there’s always plenty of food to go around. Former 18 Reasons program director, Michelle McKenzie, and author of Dandelion and Quince: Exploring the Wide World of Unusual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs, always amazed us with the creations she whips up, in particular her salads. We especially love Michelle’s Toasted Millet with Crisped Cauliflower—one of her Two Great Grain Salads. With satisfying hits of spice, citrus, and heat, the hearty main is beloved by vegetarians and carnivores alike.
Find the recipe here.
Roasted Eggplant with Smoky Yogurt and Spicy Almonds with Yotam Ottolenghi
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
Madonna. Prince. Banksy. Ottolenghi. Rare is the chef who is so iconic, they can go by just one name. Ottolenghi is that chef. Renowned for his vibrant, vegetable-forward dishes, the Israeli-born chef is everywhere: writing bestselling cookbooks, opening restaurants, cooking on TV. His newest book, Flavor, highlights strategies for playing with flavor. This Thanksgiving, treat your people to an Ottolenghi original that’s simply bursting with it: Roasted Eggplant with Smoky Yogurt and Spiced Almonds. This vegetable-based recipe deftly combines three disparate (make-ahead) elements, rich eggplant, smoky yogurt, and buttery almonds, into a symphony of a dish...that’s large enough to feed the masses.
Find the recipe here.
Frog Hollow Farm Fruit Crisp with Becky Courchesne
Photo by Molly DeCoudreaux
No Thanksgiving is complete without a great dessert. The challenge, of course, is to pull together everything else—the appetizer, the mains, the rolls, the panoply of sides—and also whip up a show-stopping Thanksgiving finale. Enter Becky Courchesne’s Frog Hollow Farm Fruit Crisp, a delicious, simple dish with a delightful backstory. You could say that this fruit crisp has its origins in a fateful day, many years ago, when the peach farmer, “Farmer Al” Courchesne, met the pastry chef, Becky, when he came to the kitchen she helmed to drop off flats of peaches. The two fell in love and married, and Becky moved to Frog Hollow Farm, where she now turns the property’s extra produce into jams, tarts, scones, and other delectable creations, for Frog Hollow’s Ferry Building café. Becky especially loves making this fruit crisp because, with its nutty, cinnamony crust and fruit filling, the dessert comes together easily. It’s also a flexible recipe, which works equally well with different kinds of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts) and whatever kind of produce is in season. Best of all, it’s incredible à la mode. Bon appétit!
Find the recipe here.
For more beautiful dishes to cook for a crowd this Thanksgiving, check out Feed Your People.