A Slightly Impractical, Over-The-Top Thanksgiving

A fantasy dinner party, just for fun

I love how my family approaches Thanksgiving: casually, comfortably, and carb-heavily. It’s leisurely and familiar, usually with a “sweatpants welcome” dress code and a lot of time spent around the kitchen island, jazz playing through the speakers, and the sounds of whatever football game is on TV in the distance. I wouldn’t change a thing.

But with all the At The Table With interviews I do, where guests imagine their dream dinner parties and describe how they’d decorate, who they’d invite, and what they’d serve, I find myself pondering my own dream dinner party. It’s not a dream in the sense that I wish this were what my Thanksgiving actually looked like, but it’s more like a rendering of a parallel universe where I’ve been put in charge of everything and I have a ridiculous budget. (Even in that parallel universe, I’m sure my family would make fun of me for using silver-plated knife rests.)

Melvin Sokolsky, 1965

Anyway, I went through the exercise of writing a menu, choosing table décor, and picking out every plate, serving tray, and piece of glassware I’d use in this hypothetical dream dinner party. The result is something between a low-lit fancy steakhouse vibe, a Wes Anderson film, and how I imagine Elizabeth James would set her own Thanksgiving table. Pretty chic, if you ask me!

Let’s start with the menu.

Recent At The Table With guest Alexander Widener posted about a challah turkey just the other day, and I am simply enchanted. I’m a vegetarian, and honestly, I can’t imagine anyone would prefer a cooked bird over a buttery ball of challah that’s shaped like one. Genius.

Everything else on the menu falls into one of two categories: rich and decadent or zingy and citrusy. I’ve forgone some classics (like stuffing, a decision for which I frankly deserve jail time) in favor of a few things that are more colorful and vibrant. This is an aesthetic exercise, after all.

In the rich and decadent category, we’ve got Alison Roman’s Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese, which is the best there is, and Ina Garten’s Mashed Potatoes with Lemon (a twist!). On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Sheela Prakash’s Brussels Sprout Salad with Pomagranate and Pistachios and Andy Baraghani’s Roasted Squash with Citrus Chili Crisp—both sound perfectly autumnal, but fresh and light.

For dessert, we’re skipping pumpkin pie and are opting for a stunning Cranberry Curd Tart by Joy Huang. To drink, we’ve got gin martinis (ice cold), a light, chuggable red wine, and a non-alc rosemary and ginger mule. (I’ll take one of each.)

All of this will be displayed on a dedicated buffet table and plated on a variety of trays and vessels from Match Pewter. The table will be covered with a custom box-pleated tablecloth made by Marseille-based textile artist Sarah Espuete, and in the center will sit a giant floral arrangement by Sydney-based floral designer Lisa Cooper. (People are really coming from all over the world to make this party happen.) Each dish will be labeled on a small, folded card (Smythson, the ones with silver edges!). Do you see the vision?

Moving onto the dining table…

Starting with the first layer, we’ll use a simple, crocheted lace-trimmed tablecloth from Heather Taylor Home. I love Heather’s tablecloths because they have a natural texture to them that doesn’t feel too precious, and because we’ve got things like pewter and silver in the mix, I like the idea of the linens feeling a little more casual. We’re also going classic with our base layers—a plain white porcelain dinner plate, silver-plated cutlery, and delicate glassware. Dessert will be served on Ginori plates, because duh. Imagine that bright pink cranberry curd against the green!

Now come the aforementioned vintage knife rests, some patterned Autumn Sonata napkins (to bring in an autumnal color), and the idea I’m most proud of: napkin brooches. Have you ever seen a brooch on a napkin? No, I didn’t think so! But instead of a napkin ring, how cool would it be to have a vintage rhinestone brooch pinned, gathering the napkin into a little fan of sorts? I got the idea from the styling of this Rachel Comey sweatshirt, where a brooch was used to bunch up the fabric, creating an interesting little drape.

Down the center of the table are table lamps from Houses and Parties. I’m not wild about open flames on a dining table, especially in my house, so I like that these little guys are meant to hold battery-operated tea lights (which I would otherwise never, ever have visible on a table). I also like the addition of lime green here—like the citrus in the food, the color cuts through some of the stuffiness.

Lastly, we have our paper goods: custom place cards from Saigon-based letterer Calligraphy by Phuong and embossed initial stationery for thank you notes. A couple of years ago, I hosted a dinner party for my birthday where I placed a thank-you postcard at each place setting for each of my guests, thanking them for being my friend and coming to my party. My friend Jessie did the same thing at her birthday a couple of weeks ago, and it just reminded me how special those little touches are. It feels especially fitting for this Thanksgiving table, where I am asking guests to eat bread shaped like a turkey and to please avoid setting their knives directly on the table. I would layer the place card on top of the handwritten note, then the note on top of each plate, so when guests sit down, they can read what I love about them. (We’re doing this in lieu of going around the table to say what we’re thankful for, because it’s awkward.)

Lastly, I made a playlist for the occasion—it’s full of songs that have end-of-the-movie, roll-the-credits, happy-ending vibes.

Feel free to steal any of these ideas for your own Thanksgiving table—and if you do, send pics! Also, I should remind you that the À La Carte Holiday Shop has a Food Hall, which has tons of food-related gifts and recipes you might want to check out ahead of next week.

I recently bought myself a copy of The King Cookbook, a newly released collection of recipes from King Restaurant owners Clare de Boer, Jess Shadbolt, and Annie Shi. Honestly, I bought the book because R.F. Alvarez, the artist behind King’s iconic branding, also made illustrations for the book, and I love his work and wanted a little piece of it. But I was pleasantly surprised by how excited I was to cook from the book once it arrived—it’s full of comforting, elegant, simple recipes that are perfect for both cozy Friday nights in and lively dinner parties. I think it’d be the perfect gift for your friend who loves New York restaurants, who collects beautiful books, or who eats a ton of pasta (me).

• A necklace for ribbon lovers, a hair mask you haven’t seen everywhere yet, and a gift idea for office supply enthusiasts were added to Gifts for People Who Like The Same Stuff I Do!

• Katie Parla’s long-awaited book on Rome is out and it looks stunning—I added it to Gifts for Pasta Girlfriends.

• I added a handful of new items to Gifts Made by Artists, including tin ornaments, some sweet holiday cards, and a very well-designed calendar.

• Tons of the Gifts for Men I added earlier this week sold out (!) so I went through and updated the list with fresh vintage items and a sweater that flew off the shelves the first time.

• The sweetest handmade stuffed bear is now in Gifts From Cool Aunts. I want one.

x

Ali

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