Thanksgiving

Lessons from my grandmother: intention creates feeling.

Welcome to the first installment of Meal Prep — we’ve dove into Meals Out and Meals In, but in this monthly feature we will explore preparing a meal for guests. From the menu planning and mood board, through to the table setting and meal prep, I’ll walk you through how I think about planning a dinner party.

When planning, I am someone who tends to works from broad to narrow. I start with a general vision, and then hone in on details afterwards. For a meal like this, I tend to have a broad idea of how I want it to look, feel, and taste.

Look

I am a visually-driven person. I have trouble conceptualizing things if I am not seeing them right in front of me. I typically start with a central color palette, floral, or item and build around it. Once things have been percolating in my brain for a while, I will create a moodboard. This typically consists of a hodgepodge of places I’ve visited, things I have encountered, items I already have or am coveting, and photos I seek out to capture a specific idea.

Autumn Sonata tablecloth | Poached pears on an orange tablecloth (source unknown) | Japanese Art Deco home at the Tokyo Open Air Architecture Museum | Autumn Sonata x Gem Home | Noritake dinnerware passed down from my grandparents | Rich colored produce by Permanent Collection | Dark calla lilies | Dinnerware cabinet at Farmoon | Florals in the window at NOAH | Interiors as Inspiration | Dried Green/Yellow Hydrangeas | Moody Lighting

This time, at the center were two things: a tablecloth, and dinnerware. For my wedding, my grandparents gifted me their complete set of Noritake Viscount China from the 1950’s (gravy boat, teacups with saucers, and soup tureen included). When we initially thought it would be a smaller group and planned to use our daily dinnerware, I had resolved to finally purchase the Autumn Sonata tablecloth I’ve had my eye on for over a year. With the shift from minimalist dinnerware to intricate, I had to pivot. Gem recently released a collaboration with Autumn Sonata that is far more muted than their other decorative prints. When I saw it at Gem Home, I thought the yellow/brown color would pick up the gold from the Noritake and make it feel contemporary. I built out florals and other details from here.

For the florals, I wanted to keep them more minimal and natural feeling so as not to compete with the dinnerware. At our wedding, we had two arrangements flanking the stage that had several limelight hydrangeas. Our florist (Lara of Late Bloomer), so kindly dried them after the event and gave them to us. I have these arranged throughout our apartment.

Floral arrangements at our wedding. For NYC friends, Lara is hosting a wreath making class on December 9th that I made the graphic for! See you there!

When dried, they faded to a perfect green/yellow. I used them on the table in glass vases alongside ivory table candles and persimmons. Also on the table were custom napkins our friends at Pintura Studio made for our wedding, place cards from Nico Neco Zakkaya, a vase made by my mom, and utensils that were my husband’s grandmother’s.

Throughout the rest of the apartment, I used winter berries of the orange variety, magnolia, and dried red hydrangeas.

A kitchen arrangement. While I kept the table color scheme streamlined, elsewhere I brought in reds, greens, and oranges.

Feel

When I think of the holidays, I always think of my grandmother’s house. Her attention to detail and ability to make a holiday (or truly any meal at her house) feel celebratory was unmatched. She passed away last month, right before I released this newsletter. Her passing contributed to my taking the leap to finally hit send — hosting, cooking, and decorating are things we connected over and I know she would love reading along.

Christmas dinner at my grandmother’s was unmatched — complete with a full porcelain Christmas village as centerpiece (featuring the china! I love seeing how she styled it).

In the past month of reflecting on my grandmother’s life, one of the biggest things I am left with is that intention creates feeling. She is someone who was purposeful about everything, fully engaged and thoughtful in whatever she did. I always thought that things like holidays or birthdays had an inherent weight and importance attached to them. It was not until recently that I realized this feeling was not innate — it was deliberate.

At left: Meal In - baking Easter pastries in the perfect kitchen she designed. At right: Meal Out - at an Italian restaurant with my grandfather

I have found that the key to cultivating this feeling is attention and planning. Planning requires tending to something, acknowledging its importance. When my husband and I agreed to host Thanksgiving in our small Manhattan apartment, we planned for five to six, us included. Over the course of a few weeks, that number doubled to twelve. Our small dining table and narrow oven necessitated creating a granular document of how every detail would be accomplished.

Other small details I think about are scent and music. This year, I am using the rosemary scented candle from Big Night. When cooking, I don’t want a scent that interferes with the food. Rosemary is ideal for this for me. Once we moved past food into just socializing, I lit some of the incense I purchased in Japan. I opted for the scent that has notes of moss to mesh with the rosemary from earlier in the evening.

My husband is a DJ and he is always on music duty the majority of the night. I like to have a playlist prepared for when guests arrived or as a backup. Since our gathering was a mix of ages, I added tracks that would please everyone while still setting the tone — Feist, Elvis Costello, Cornelia Murr, The Sundays, The Stones. (did not even end up playing it, but was fun to make!)

Taste

On Thanksgiving, everyone loves the classics. I don’t like straying too far. I like to think about making dishes that are classic but bright. This means traditional herb roasted turkey alongside a raw Brussels sprout and endive salad with apple-thyme vinaigrette. Classic (my husband calls them Disneyland style) mashed potatoes made brighter with green onion.

The full menu, with many items contributed by friends and family.

Friends and family all contributed amazing dishes, from my mother-in-law’s mac and cheese to a friend’s spiced sweet potatoes. Another friend brought four (!!) pies, a pumpkin loaf, ice cream, and cookies. My mom unexpectedly gifted me the serving utensil set I’ve had my eye on for quite some time.

We opted for just turkey breasts (small oven constraint) and it far took longer than expected (bad oven constraint), but that feels par for the course on Thanksgiving!

Small apartment problems — the tables were not big enough to serve food family style. Thanksgiving kitchen assembly line it is!

Thanksgiving is a holiday that, while centered around food, taste and flavor take a back seat to good company and experience. Prepping ahead makes it impossible for every dish to taste exactly as hoped. In the end, focusing on the rest of the experience, expressing gratitude, and connecting with friends and family is my best advice for a great holiday.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, surrounded by loved ones. I am grateful for your support in this endeavor over the past month! Here’s to more great food and company in the upcoming year.