Why we eat what we eat on Thanksgiving
Writer Francine Maroukian and chef Tony Aiazzi have come up with a handy 'zine stocked with 25 side-dish recipes including cocktails.
Many of us eat turkey for Thanksgiving.
Old City's Francine Maroukian, a two-time James Beard Award-winning writer, and Tony Aiazzi, former chef-at-large for the Charlie Palmer Restaurant Group, got to asking the question about our side dishes: Why do we eat what we do?
As in, the anthropology of Thanksgiving.
Of course, ethnic concerns enter into the equation. But regional preferences do, too.
Under the name The Workshop Kitchen, they've come up with a handy 'zine stocked with 25 side-dish recipes including cocktails.
It's divided geographically (Northeast, Coastal Southeast, Midwestern Plains and Great Lakes, Southwest, Northwest) and explains how immigration patterns influenced home cooking. Holy Trinity Cornbread with Tasso? Spiced Corn Elote? Yes, please.
The zine gives the Inspiration (the story, or how the dish came to be), the preparation (the recipe, or how the dish is made), and the presentation (odds and ends, mostly tips for serving or storing the dish).
It's priced at or below $15 at La Colombe, Capogirio, Sugarcube, Magpie Artisan Pies, West Elm, Fante's, and The Cookbook Stall in Reading Terminal Market (which also handles the mail order)