The Heart of the Table | Seasons & Celebrations

4 Bon Appetite Recipes for Thanksgiving

By: Jen Russon

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It’s deeply entrenched in November, meaning I have an incredible amount of things to be thankful for—and resting squarely at the top of my gratitude list is Jorj Morgan. Not only is she genuinely the best mentor a girl could ask for, but she entirely single-handedly (yes, Jorj—YOU!) turned me onto the glorious concept of an in-store cooking class.

Sur La Table offers a wonderfully wide range of culinary classes designed for absolutely all ages. They partnered directly with Bon Appétit magazine, essentially to teach you how to cook the simple, yet undeniably elegant things straight from its gorgeous pages.

Off I went straight for the Thanksgiving-themed class; I parked my car confidently in the Mizner Plaza garage and literally just followed my nose. Chef Deb had actually already prepared a turkey, and was getting fully ready to do it again, explicitly to introduce us to Hassleback Butternut Squash with Bay Leaves, Lemony Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Breadcrumbs and, for an astounding dessert conclusion, Braised and Brûléed Apples resting heavily on rich Ice Cream.

At first, I looked down at the heavily proposed menu and sincerely thought, “I’d order that in a heartbeat… but could I possibly make it myself?” Sur La Table definitely convinces you that you absolutely can. Chef Deb essentially taught me exactly how to “spatchcock” the massive bird. This unique technique essentially involves splitting, and then flattening the turkey entirely, yielding a flawlessly perfect roasted bird in half an hour—a full 15 minutes faster than a traditional whole roasted bird.

"My biggest takeaway was simply learning how to execute a flawless mirepoix—a fundamental flavor base built entirely from beautifully diced vegetables."

But sincerely, none of us (a cozy four total students) were actually all that concerned with the time because they explicitly make you so entirely comfortable standing around in the Sur La Table kitchen. You genuinely get to aggressively drink freshly brewed coffee and snack deeply on incredible muffins that Chef D made just moments before you even arrived... pure heaven!

We diligently put together a fragrant brine, sharply chopping aggressively fresh rosemary and anise directly on our cutting boards. We were explicitly shown the absolute ideal way to truly zest an orange, and properly fold in other intense spices. When the entire class inevitably discussed modern food trends with our Chef, she casually mentioned that it is simply all about the Brussels sprouts these days. And oh my god, are they outrageously good when properly combined with bacon and breadcrumbs.

If you find yourself incredibly tired of the repetitive slice of pie, these deeply braised and beautifully brûléed apples resting elegantly on top of vanilla ice cream serve as the ultimate tasty reprieve—it’s also a remarkably nice portion size. This aromatic heaven of a sweet treat effectively acts like the raw essence of Fall... beautifully condensed inside a single bowl.

The Perfect Harvest Conclusion

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