Good morning. The texts are starting to come in, asking about Thanksgiving — who’s coming, how many birds, how many oysters, how many pies, what do we need? It’s exciting, a time to dream. I might fry a turkey this year, to go with the smoked one, to go with the oven-roasted one.
It’s also a reminder that Thanksgiving is a holiday that matters to people, that it counts for a lot, that it provides an anchor for the fall, perhaps for the year. You don’t need to start planning for it this weekend, making lists and assigning chores. But you should remember it’s coming and revel in that, even if it means you’ll be driving five hours to eat in an overheated dining room in a state you left after high school. Take a moment this weekend to imagine what you might do this year to make it memorable. Reach out to someone who’ll be there with you, or to someone who ought to be. Pass the excitement along.
Some may go further, and rehearse a few recipes: some Parker House rolls, say, or an ombré gratin. (I would not advise cooking a complicated brussels sprouts situation for the first time on Nov. 28.) Not me. I’m just building castles in the air for now, making some calls, sketching out a guest list in my head. The real work lies ahead, and I’m looking forward to it.
This weekend’s cooking steers in other directions. Nargisse Benkabbou gave us a solid new recipe for beef tagine with green beans and olives (above) that I’m excited to serve: a hearty Moroccan stew that’s fragrant with ground ginger, garlic and ground turmeric, and studded with olives and diced preserved lemon alongside tender beef and green beans. I’d like that with couscous, and Nargisse’s orange cake for dessert.
Featured Recipe
Beef Tagine With Green Beans and Olives
Say that’s Saturday night’s repast. For Sunday, I’ll go with the cheese buldak Maangchi taught me to make, with rice and kimchi, and an apple galette for dessert because, jeepers, there are a lot of apples in my house this time of year. (For you, too? Here’s an ace recipe for applesauce, which freezes very well.)
Other recipes to consider making this weekend: vegan dan dan noodles with eggplant; cabbage soup; Hunan chicken. Or, if you haven’t yet, or haven’t lately: Samin Nosrat’s Big Lasagna, one of the great pasta dishes of all time, and a comfort to all who consume it.
But if those don’t appeal, there are many thousands more recipes to consider waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. Yes, you need a subscription to read them. Subscriptions are what make this whole endeavor possible. If you haven’t already, would you please consider subscribing today? Thanks.
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Now, it’s nothing to do with curries or cockscombs, but I got it into my head to start rereading Elmore Leonard’s work. I picked up “Freaky Deaky,” from 1988, only to realize I’d never read it, nor seen the 2012 movie. Start with the novel, please. Leonard’s sentences are gems.
Staying in the past, it’s absolutely worth it to watch the 1978 British spy series “The Sandbaggers” on Amazon Prime. Competence porn!
The photographer Jonathan Becker has a memoir in pictures out, “Lost Time.” Vanity Fair has a nice preview.
Finally, here’s a new Halsey track, “I Never Loved You.” Listen to that while you’re cooking and I’ll see you on Sunday.
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