On Thanksgiving, families across the United States will sit down to a traditional meal with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole. But in the Gray-Kassoff household, you might find stuffing with Virginia chestnuts, balsamic-glazed brisket, and matzoh ball soup. Chef Todd Gray is from Virginia, and Ellen Kassoff is Jewish.
The couple owns The Federal in Rehoboth Beach and wrote “The New Jewish Table: Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes.” They understand that incorporating their heritage into the American Thanksgiving dinner makes it more personal. In other words, don’t be afraid to be unconventional on a conventional holiday.
Different strokes for different folks
Admittedly, the U.S. is so large that regional differences abound. Louisianians are proud of turducken, a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck. The two birds are then stuffed into a deboned turkey.
While this form of engastration—putting one meat into another—has existed for more than a century, Paul Prudhomme popularized it in New Orleans. “I used to make them for Thanksgiving when I lived in Tennessee,” says Tom Craft, co-owner of Two Fat Guys in Hockessin. “If you do it right, they turn out fantastic.”
The secret, he says, is to place a layer of moist stuffing between each bird. “I would make mushroom duxelles and then mix it with homemade breadcrumbs,” he explains. “A beer in the mix also helped.”
David Leo Banks of Banks’ Seafood Kitchen on the Wilmington Riverfront and Marc-Antony Williams of Zollie’s Jazz Cucina in New Castle were born in the South. They add oysters to their stuffing. Williams uses cornbread, as does Mike Davitt of Rehoboth Beach, whose parents were Southern.
Collard greens are also on Banks’ table, and he and Davitt wouldn’t serve a meal without deviled eggs, the South’s signature appetizer. Davitt also serves pickled okra and his great-grandmother’s coleslaw recipe, while Gray includes smoked cheddar grits and citrus cranberry relish.
Sussex County natives rarely feast without strawberry pretzel salad. Just ask chef Matt Kern of One Coastal in Fenwick Island, whose wife, Karen, grew up in Lewes. Since her family cooks on Thanksgiving—much to his delight—the “salad” that eats like a dessert is a mainstay.
Puerto Rico is part of the United States, and Jesus Gordiany, who was born on the island, includes many traditional dishes on Thanksgiving, including pernil, a marinated slow-roasted pork shoulder “loaded with tons of garlic,” says Gordiany, the executive chef at Benvenuto in Milford.
A holiday melting pot
Soup is a starter at some family feasts. For instance, Banks might offer Brunswick stew, a tomato-based dish originating in either Brunswick County, Virginia, or Brunswick, Georgia. (They both claim bragging rights.) Traditional ingredients include beans, vegetables, and small game. Today, most cooks use chicken.
“Sussex County natives rarely feast without strawberry pretzel salad.”
At Kassoff’s table, matzoh ball soup appeals to Jews and gentiles. However, she’s also served borscht, which private chef Andrew Cini will make on Christmas for a Russian-born client.
Growing up, Cini’s family started the Thanksgiving meal with crespelle soup: Abruzzo-style crêpes rolled around in shaved Parmesan with a dose of pepper. It’s served with a splash of clear chicken broth and more cheese.
Cini’s family looked to Ukraine and Italy for inspiration. His grandfather was Ukrainian, and kielbasa was on the menu. “Pierogi were never far away,” he recalls. “The standard dinner would follow, and my mother would serve shoofly pie for dessert, a staple from her Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, childhood.”
Blending cultures is second nature to Wit Milburn of Kapow Kitchen. His father was Black and his mother is from Thailand. The family gathers around a table loaded with baked macaroni and cheese, tamarind duck, turkey, papaya salad, dumplings, sticky rice, and mashed potatoes.
Similarly, when Warren Rosenfeld of Rosenfeld’s Jewish Delicatessen dines with his brother, Mitch, they share two to three Middle Eastern dishes, including tabbouleh and ground lamb with rice. Mitch’s wife, Cathie, is of Lebanese descent.
Paul Bouchard’s family didn’t wait until dinner to praise their French Canadian heritage. As a child, his holiday morning started with cretons, also called gorton, a pork spread on toast. “I will say, I miss it,” says the managing partner of Tonic Seafood & Steak.
A beloved dish can also come at the end of the meal. Gordiany, for instance, is fond of tembleque, a coconut pudding with a flan-like texture.
Going rogue
In many households, the turkey does not stand alone. For instance, Williams of Zollie’s has also made ham, braised pork shank, chops, and ham hock gravy. This year, his family requested Cornish game hens, and he might cook game.
To be sure, some cooks nix turkey altogether. “The amount of work it takes to make a turkey is not worth it to me, and I’d rather spend that time and money on beef,” says Megan Steele of Rehoboth Beach.
One year, Marianne Sarcich of Wilmington and her family made sushi. Her grandfather was from Japan. “It was a way of honoring our family from the past and present,” she says.
Italian Americans often serve pasta, which is the case in the Pagliaro household. More recently, Frank Pagliaro and his sisters convinced their mother to focus solely on lasagna with her homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella from Papa’s Market in Wilmington, Fierro’s Ricotta, and half-inch meatballs.
“My mom’s turkey was for the birds—dry and boring,” says the owner of Frank’s Wine in Wilmington. “She only did it once a year—once too many.” He brings a Rosso Piceno from the Marche region as a nod to Ascoli Piceno, his father’s hometown. Between the wine, the lasagna, and the conversation, the family has an excellent reason to give thanks.
Related: These Delaware Restaurants Focus on Spectacular Plating
