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How do you take your Thanksgiving?

Do you cook the same dishes year after year? Or do you like to switch it up? Maybe you’re not an enthusiastic cook, and you prefer dining out on Turkey Day.

Whatever your style, you’ll find inspiration for this year’s Thanksgiving below. We chatted with a few of our favorite chefs here on the North Shore about all things Thanksgiving: how they celebrate the holiday, what they love about it, and, yes, what they’re actually cooking for their own families this year.

“I always had slightly different Thanksgiving from most,” says Justin Horyn, executive sous chef at Brine Oyster Bar in Newburyport. His dad’s side of the family did a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner—but his mom and stepdad did things a little differently.

They still had the classics, he says, like turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. But they added in some not-so-traditional options, too, like lobster, Italian meatballs, fish chowder, and Filipino lumpia—traditional fried spring rolls filled with ground pork and cabbage. They did stuffed mushrooms with shrimp, too, which Horyn still makes to this day.

“They have a good earthiness to them, and the light sweetness of the shrimp just balances well together,” he says. “It just brings me back to those holidays growing up . . . I always wanted to be a chef,” says Horyn, “so what I love most about Thanksgiving is bonding and eating food with everyone.”

On the other hand, English-born Aaron Chambers, the chef and owner of Salem’s Settler, didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving. But these days, Thanksgiving is huge in his house. For starters, he prepares three turkeys—all brined in warm spices for 24 hours, and then one smoked, one roasted, and one fried.

“Thanksgiving is really special for me,” says Chambers, “because it was the first holiday I spent with Shanna’s [his wife] family back in 2008. While I worked every Christmas Eve and Christmas during my time with Daniel Boulud, Thanksgiving was our opportunity to celebrate together,” he says, “and it quickly became a cherished tradition.”

These days, he takes care of food prep at the restaurant with the kids while Shanna runs the Wild Turkey 5-Mile Race in Salem. They go over to her parents’ house in the afternoon, where they eat, play capture the flag, and “perhaps drink too much wine,” he says.

Eduardo Calderon, executive chef at Mooo in Burlington, loves the seasonal cooking that Thanksgiving brings. His side of choice is a colorful dish of roasted seasonal veggies elevated with a bed of squash purée and a deceptively simple cider glaze that’ll impress guests. “I love cooking with these vegetables,” says Calderon. “The fall season is full of beautiful colors and flavors.”

He also appreciates the love that comes along with Turkey Day. “We’re open for Thanksgiving, and so I’m happy to see many families enjoying our Thanksgiving dinner here at Mooo,” Calderon says.

Family is also behind a favorite Thanksgiving recipe of Jason Carron, head chef and owner of Reading’s Post 1917. His sausage stuffing is gluten free, made with cornbread and Aleia’s Gluten Free bread, since his son has celiac disease. “It’s important to me to make sure he has the best of whatever I can offer,” says Carron.

Post 1917’s sausage stuffing | Photograph by Mark Manne

And the recipe goes beyond Carron’s kitchen at home—while it’s not on Post 1917’s menu, they make it for staff meal. “That, to me, is important,” he says.

But one homemade Thanksgiving side that does make it on the menu? Cranberry sauce at Brine Oyster Bar. Horyn’s cranberry sauce includes ginger, garlic, and even a bag of Earl Grey tea, and he’s made it at the restaurant since November 2020 when they started doing takeout Thanksgiving sides.

Chambers’s pumpkin soup often appears on Settler’s menu, too, fitting in well with the menu of seasonally driven, Mediterranean-inspired dishes. “We use harissa, a spicy pepper paste from Algeria and Tunisia, and ras el hanout, an aromatic blend of spices like cinnamon, allspice, and ginger that’s popular in North African cuisine,” he explains.

Settler’s pumpkin soup | Photograph by Sophia Li

He likes to use Long Island Cheese pumpkins for their smooth, velvety flesh that’s not too stringy, and he’s gotten his parents on board, too. A few years ago, when his folks came to visit for Thanksgiving, he sent them home with some Long Island Cheese pumpkin seeds to plant in their garden. Now, they grow their own pumpkins. “It’s become a little family connection that reminds me how food brings people together,” says Chambers, “no matter where you’re from.”

Roasted autumn vegetables

from Eduardo Calderon, executive chef at Mooo in Burlington

Ingredients

Brussels sprouts
Sweet potatoes
Delicata squash
6 honeynut squash
Acorn squash
Jumbo carrots
Oyster mushrooms
2 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons maple syrup
½ tablespoon cinnamon
1 gallon apple cider
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions                                                              

1. Blanch Brussels sprouts in boiling water for 4 minutes, then immediately transfer them to an ice bath to halt the cooking process.       

2. Squash purée: Roast honeynut squash until tender. Halve the squashes, remove the skins, and blend the flesh with a touch of butter, vegetable stock, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.                                     

3. Cider glaze: Reduce apple cider until it’s down to a pint. Stir in whole grain mustard, 2 tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper, and a pinch of salt.                                    

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the delicata squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms into wedges. Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

5. Roast the vegetables for 12 minutes, then rotate and continue roasting for an additional 12 minutes, or until they are lightly browned.                                                      

6.To serve, spread the squash purée on the plate, arrange the roasted and blanched vegetables on top, and finish with a drizzle of the cider glaze.                                             

Stuffed baby Bella mushrooms with tiger shrimp

from Justin Horyn, executive sous chef at Brine Oyster Bar in Newburyport

Ingredients

18 medium to large baby Bella caps
1 pound tiger shrimp, shell on
3 shallots, brunoise-cut
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chives, sliced
1 teaspoon thyme
¼ pound butter
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cups panko
¼ cup white wine

Directions

1. Wipe and clean mushrooms with a paper towel to remove any dirt, and set aside on a sheet pan lined with foil.

2. Peel shrimp and put shells into a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer, then let simmer for 20 minutes. Dice shrimp and place in a bowl.

3. Melt butter on medium heat then add shallot, garlic, and thyme and sweat till translucent and fragrant. Add shrimp and sauté till it starts to cook about halfway through. Deglaze with white wine and cook the alcohol off, and then add 1 cup of liquid from the simmered shrimp shells and reduce by half.

4. Place mixture in a metal bowl and add panko, lemon zest and juice, and chives, and mix by hand till it comes together. Season with a good pinch of salt. If the mixture is still dry and crumbly, add little bits of shrimp liquid till it becomes just wet enough to not fall apart.

5. Drizzle all mushrooms with a little bit of olive oil and salt, and then pack each one with the filling. Bake at 350 degrees F till golden brown and hot through the center, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Pumpkin Soup

from Aaron Chambers, chef and owner at Settler in Salem

Serves 6–8

Ingredients

4–5 pounds Long Island Cheese pumpkin, stemmed, halved, and seeded
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium Vidalia onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 thyme sprig
1 sage sprig
4–5 cups low-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup crème fraîche

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Drizzle squash all over with 4 tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place squash, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast squash 35 to 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out meat and discard skin.

3. Place a Dutch oven or heavy-bottom soup pot over medium-low heat and add butter. When butter has melted, add onion, celery, and carrot. Sauté vegetables until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and sage; cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add 4½ cups broth to pot, along with roasted pumpkin, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer soup 10 minutes, occasionally scraping bottom of pot to prevent scorching. Let soup cool slightly.

5. Working in batches, purée soup in a blender until completely smooth. Transfer back to soup pot, adding more broth if soup seems too thick. Bring to a simmer and season with more salt and pepper to taste.

6. Turn on broiler. Mix pumpkin seeds with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Scatter seasoned seeds evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil until golden brown.

7. To serve, ladle soup into bowls, top with a dollop of crème fraîche and some crunchy pumpkin seeds.

Gluten-free sausage stuffing

from Jason Carron, head chef and owner at Post 1917 in Reading

Ingredients

1 cup onions
1 cup peppers
1 cup celery, diced
Spice mix: 1 tablespoon each celery seed, salt, dry parsley, sage, and onion flakes
A little bit of bacon fat or sausage cooking leftovers, to taste
3 quarts chicken stock, hot (can add however much you desire depending on moisture level preference)
6 links sweet Italian sausage
3 links hot sausage
1 tablespoon butter
3 boxes of gluten-free stuffing mix

Directions

1. Take the sausage and either grill for smoke flavor or pan sear and finish in the oven. Once cool, cut in half the long way, take the meat out of the skin and crumble.

2. Add olive oil to sauté pan and heat. Once hot, add all of the vegetables and sauté until just past al dente.

3. Add chicken stock to sauce pot and bring to a slight boil. Turn off and have a ladle ready to add stock to the mix. Once the vegetables are cooked, add seasoning and coat the veggies.

4. Add a tablespoon of butter, melt, and then add 2 boxes of gluten-free stuffing. Add the sausage and mix well. Slowly add in the 3rd box of stuffing.

5. Once all is mixed, add 2-3 oz ladles of the stock. Start to mix and squeeze some of the breadcrumbs. Be careful not to over soak, but you also don’t want it to be too dry.

6. Once desired moisture level is obtained, spread mixture in pan. Place a couple slices of butter spread over the top. Cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until done.