This Thanksgiving: Make Your Escape
Let's face it, there are plenty of reasons to dread the impending Thanksgiving holiday. Sometimes it just makes more sense to get away. And why not? Life is short! You can go back to the old way of doing things (or not) next year. This year, change the pace: make your plans to escape from whatever is dragging you down this holiday season. You will thank yourself.
Flickr/Len Blumin1/6Get Away From The Turkey
For some of us, the most defining element of a Thanksgiving dinner is the single most dreaded: the turkey. Of course there are tons of ways to cook that bird, but try roasting a ham instead. Or consider beef or lamb as centerpiece dishes. If you like fowl but don't want everyone fighting over drumsticks, give them each their own cornish game hen. Or ditch the centerpiece and simply fill the table with side dishes (which are often the best part anyway). But whatever you do, don't get stuck cooking a recipe you hate. Make the meal you want to eat.
courtesy Cafe Boulud2/6Get Away From The Oven
One of the easiest and most exciting ways to gussy up your holiday is to outsource the cooking. Find your local Michelin-starred restaurant and hit Open Table to grab seats for you and your family. Cafe Boulud, for instance, will be serving up a tasting menu that includes Peekytoe Crab with green apple gelée and a Heritage Farm turkey breast with ciabatta stuffing. Nappa Valley's Etoile offers a tasting menu that includes a confit of rabbit salad, turkey with duck fat pancetta stuffing, and a spice-cream pumpkin tart, with plenty of Chandon wine.
© Marcus Nilsson www.marcusnilsson.com3/6Get Away From Tradition
On the other hand, you may like cooking the meal. You're a Bon Appétit reader, right? But it can be so easy, especially with all that family expectation, to get the meal wrong by trying so hard to get it right. You don't need to make it exactly the way grandma did—you just need to make it good. Our editors recently offered some suggestions for shaking up traditions. Try one. Or all of them!
Flickr user edenpictures4/6Get Away From the Cold
Especially for those of us in the Northeast, the worst part of Thanksgiving is the weather. The temperature is dropping, the trees are going bare, and the shortening days and end of daylight saving time means that last month's 6:00 p.m. sunset is now edging toward 4:30 p.m. But if you play your vacation cards right, you can get five or more days in a row off! This may be the year to pack the family up and head out of town. Rent a bungalow in Puerto Rico and try your hand at a mofongo-stuffed turkey, or book a Caribbean cruise. Vacation days are precious and there's no need to spend your family time in a gray malaise.
Flickr user Kevin McShane5/6Get Away From Yourself
Of course one of the best things you can do to make the holiday better is to stop worrying about how you're going to feed yourself and spend some time helping to feed others in need. Consider spending a few hours volunteering at one of the many soup kitchens and shelters in your town. It's a good way to be reminded of what the holiday means and what it should mean. When you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner—no matter what's on the plate or who you are with—it'll help you to remember all the reasons you have to be thankful.
Flickr user THEfunkyman6/6Get Away From Your Family
Some of us, of course, don't have family (or family we care to spend time with), but that doesn't mean we need to let the last weekend in November go to waste. Consider hosting a Friendsgiving (which is exactly what it sounds like), or if you're new in town (or all your friends have plans) jump on Meetup to find or host a dinner with other friendly people. Use the fact that you don't have to stick around to your advantage and book a trip. You can eat turkey any time. Why not visit Turkey? Book a day at the spa and then make yourself a kick ass meal. But whatever you do, eat well.
