Alright, so Thanksgiving rolled around again this year. Honestly, the thought of another dry turkey and the same old stuffing just wasn’t doing it for me. Felt like I was on autopilot. So, I thought, screw it, let’s mix things up. Went for an Italian-themed Thanksgiving meal instead. Seemed like a good idea at the time, anyway.
Figuring Out the Food
First thing was ditching the bird. Controversial, I know. But I landed on making a big, beautiful lasagna as the centerpiece. Layers of pasta, rich meat sauce, bechamel, loads of cheese. Felt more festive and communal somehow. Then, instead of mashed potatoes, I decided on creamy polenta. Much easier, less peeling involved which is always a win in my book.
Needed some veggies, obviously. Went with roasted vegetables – bell peppers, zucchini, onions, maybe some eggplant if I could find decent ones. Just tossed with olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper. Simple stuff. And definitely needed some kind of starter. Thought about fancy antipasto platters but ended up just doing some good bread with olive oil and balsamic, plus some marinated olives. Keep it manageable, you know?
For dessert, forget pumpkin pie. Tiramisu. Had to be Tiramisu. Seemed like the right way to finish things off.
The Shopping Nightmare
Okay, shopping. Went a couple of days before. The regular supermarket was a zoo, as expected. Grabbed the basics – meat for the sauce, veggies, ricotta, parmesan. Had to make a separate trip to a little Italian deli place to get proper guanciale for the sauce (okay, maybe I used pancetta, depends what they have) and some decent ladyfingers for the Tiramisu. Finding good San Marzano tomatoes wasn’t too bad this time, thankfully. Sometimes it’s hit or miss.
Prep Day Madness
The day before was sauce day. Got the meat sauce simmering early. Low and slow for hours. Filled the whole house with that smell, which was pretty great, not gonna lie. Made the Tiramisu too, because that needs to sit in the fridge overnight anyway. Soaked the ladyfingers in coffee and marsala, layered it up with the mascarpone cream. Covered it, shoved it in the back of the fridge, and tried to forget about it so I wouldn’t pick at it.
Also chopped up all the vegetables for roasting. Put them in bags, ready to go. Anything to make the actual day less chaotic.
Game Day: Putting It All Together
Thanksgiving morning. Got the lasagna assembled first. Layering takes time, gotta make sure everything’s even. Sauce, pasta, bechamel, cheese, repeat. Got that into the oven pretty early because it needs a good long bake and then time to rest. You can’t rush lasagna.
While that was baking, I threw the prepped vegetables onto baking sheets, drizzled more olive oil, and got them roasting. Set a timer so I wouldn’t incinerate them like last time I tried something ambitious.
About an hour before planning to eat, I started the polenta. Just simmering milk and water, then slowly whisking in the cornmeal. Needs constant attention, that stuff. Can’t walk away or you get lumps or it sticks. Stood there stirring, felt like ages. Got the arms working, at least.
Pulled the lasagna out to let it rest – super important step. Makes it easier to cut and serve without it falling apart into a sloppy mess. Cranked the oven heat up a bit to finish off the vegetables, get them nicely browned.
Got the bread sliced, olives in a bowl, oil and vinegar ready. Everything kind of came together in a rush at the end. Kitchen looked like a bomb hit it, but that’s just how it goes.
The Result
Got everything onto the table. The lasagna looked amazing, held its shape when I cut into it. The polenta was creamy, veggies perfectly roasted (mostly). Everyone seemed to dig it. Definitely different from the usual Thanksgiving fare, but nobody complained about missing the turkey. The Tiramisu was the star, obviously. Totally worth making it the day before.
Clean-up was rough, not gonna lie. Lots of pans. But overall? Yeah, it was a good move. Felt more like my kind of cooking, less like following some old script. Might even do it again next year. We’ll see.
