A Guide to Preparing an Amazing Thanksgiving for Two (or Four)

Nov 15, 2020 by Chef David

By Chef David

This year Thanksgiving will be very different from normal, Cynthia Graubart created Thanksgiving for Two (or Four) which contains a total of 20 recipes designed to guide you through preparing a smaller simpler holiday. “Families are used to creating one dish that serves 16 … for the big meal and have never had to make a small Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to help those whose recipes served a crowd find a way to bring joy and right-sized recipes to their table,” says Graubart.

Author with a Social Conscience

Graubart is a James Beard award winner for her cookbook Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking. Thanksgiving for Two (or Four) follows in the theme with her uniquely southern style cooking and is her first collection of recipes offered electronic format. The book is dedicated to the medical personnel fighting COVID with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Frontline Workers Fund.

Smaller Sized Recipes Pack Big Taste

These recipes are perfectly sized for cooking in a countertop toaster oven, making it easy to create smaller sized portions. Graubart commented “This year’s celebration will look different, but it can still be delicious, and still reminiscent of traditional tastes.” Fitting them to a kosher table required a little adaptation and creativity, because southern cooking relies on heavy use of butter for its rich flavors. While potentially problematic because kosher cooking does not mix mile and meat, I experimented with several side dishes and was delighted with the results. I cooked the string beans with pecans, corn bread and cranberry sauce, each made exciting side dishes. Graubart offers a way to introduce southern style cooking into your menu. While I did not prepare the turkey dishes, they could easily find their way to a Shabbos table.

Easy Instructions with a Southern Flare

Graubart’s instructions were easy to follow and were relatively fast to make. The cranberry sauce had a fresh taste using less sugar than the traditional northern style sauces, and stores well in the refrigerator. Unlike many non-kosher recipes, the ingredients are easily adaptable to a kosher kitchen (they do not include pork or shellfish)!

Tart Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Preparation Time: 10 minutes (Start to Finish Time: 40 minutes)

Makes: about 1 1/2 cup

The tangy tartness of cranberries is moderated with the addition of maple syrup and an orange liqueur. If liqueur is unavailable, add a little additional syrup.

Note from Chef David: We made this recipe without the orange liqueur, adding more maple syrup. It came out great!

1 (2) cup fresh cranberries
Zest of 1 (2) small orange
Juice of 1 (2) small orange
1/2 cup water
1 (2) tablespoon maple syrup, or 2 (4) tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Cointreau

Instructions

Add the cranberries, orange juice, water, maple syrup, and salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes, until the mixture has started to thicken and berries are beginning to burst.

Stir in the orange zest and liqueur and simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is very thick. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired. Remove from heat, allow to cool, then store in the refrigerator. Serve cold or at room temperature. Cranberry sauce keeps for about a week in the refrigerator.