Yup, Thanksgiving is just three weeks away, and here are a bunch of options to help you have the best-looking table!
On Saturday November 6th and 13th, chef Mark Sullivan is inviting a limited number of guests to join him for his annual Thanksgiving-inspired cooking class in the kitchen at Spruce. This hands-on class will include techniques on how to roast and brine a turkey, prepare the perfect gravy, how to cook wild rice stuffing, and more. After class, you will sit down and enjoy a family-style meal that includes the dishes which you helped create, paired with a selection of special wines. $150 (inclusive of tax and gratuity). Be sure to reserve your spot right now by calling 415-931-5100 (there are only a few spots left).
For those in the South Bay, chef Guillaume Bienaimé of Marché restaurant is teaching a Thanksgiving Sides cooking class on Saturday November 13th. The cooking class will begin with a breakfast of housemade pastries and coffee, and then the class will separate into seven groups of two. With instruction and tips from Chef Guillaume, each group will create one dish from a menu of seasonal, contemporary French selections featuring favorite Thanksgiving sides. Once the dishes are complete, the class will move into the dining room, where they will feast on their creations paired with wine. 10am-1:30pm. $105 per person, including a takeaway packet of recipes, lunch, and wine. Reservations can be made at 650-324-9092. 898 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park
Want to add some new flavors to your feast? On Wednesday November 17th, La Cocina is hosting Thanksgiving Around the World, a class with chefs who will teach you how to make turkey with mole and various West African and Asian interpretations of traditional Thanksgiving favorites. 6:30pm-9:30pm. $65/person; click here for tickets. Ticket sales benefit La Cocina.
At Cavallo Point in Sausalito, there are a few hands-on Thanksgiving classes, starting with Sides, Sides, Sides: What to Serve with that Bird? on Wednesday November 17th, which features one hell of a menu (like root vegetable hash with chorizo and vanilla, and butternut squash and mushroom spoon bread). 5:30pm-8:30pm, $85 per person, plus tax.
And then on Friday November 19th is Thanksgiving Feast: Shop Local, Cook Global with Niloufer Ichaporia King. On the menu: organic turkeys, butterflied then grilled or roasted; wild mushroom and garam masala stuffing, cardamom-crusted pecan pie, and more. Plus, Niloufer promises a few market improvisations along the way, and an exciting way to use leftover turkey. 5pm-9pm. $135 per person, plus tax.
Lastly, there’s Thanksgiving Baking with pastry chef Ethan Howard on Tuesday November 23rd, which is a hands-on bake-and-take class. Each guest will select one pie or dessert to bake and take home to serve at their Thanksgiving dinner. A light snack will be served, and the selection of pies and desserts include: sweet potato maple pie, pumpkin bread, spice chocolate pecan pie, and pear and cardamom caramel tart. 3pm-5pm. $65 per person, plus tax.
Don’t want to cook a turkey? Always wanted to try a turducken, but too afraid to make it? Let a pro do it instead! Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats is doing their annual holiday turducken, a chicken stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey! Their version comes with a tasty cornbread sausage stuffing, which clocks in at 25 pounds of juicy Thanksgiving bounty (and should feed 25+ mouths). It comes with an aluminum roasting pan, a digital read thermometer, and easy-to-follow roasting instructions. The turducken will be resting upon a bed of Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and other seasonal root vegetables, complete with a bag of herbs that will be used to blanket the bird during the roast, and you also get one quart of turducken gravy. All of this is $275. Ordering just started yesterday! Call 415-255-3094 and leave your name, number, and specify that you are interested in ordering a turducken—they will return your call asap to confirm the order and record your information. Pickup dates are Tuesday November 23rd (Hayes Valley) and Wednesday November 24th (Mission).
Oh, and just for kicks, here’s a link to a piece in the Nob Hill Gazette where I was interviewed about my ultimate fantasy Thanksgiving dinner, along with chef Matthew Accarrino, Liam Mayclem, and others.
Turducken from 4505 Meats.
