While we all know how important the food is at Thanksgiving, the wine comes in at a close second. Here, Geoffrey, as chef/partner of The Lambs Club and Point Royal, and Margaret, president of Zakarian Hospitality, share their go-to wines and what to have on hand for guests.
1. Lucien Crochet Sancerre
2. La Caravelle Rosé Champagne
3. La Tâche French Burgundy
“It’s a holiday. You want specific, special top wines that will mark the special occasion as well as satisfy all your guests,” says Geoffrey. “There are lots of flavors involved with Thanksgiving and you need different focused wines to accompany all of those flavors.”
Let’s Talk Thanksgiving
What should you have on hand ?
For arrival, we like to build a full charcuterie board with cured meats, cheeses, marcona almonds, castaveltrano olives, a vegetable chip (like beet), hummus, red grapes, and sometimes shrimp cocktail with a spicy horseradish sauce,” says Margaret. “Just putting out cheeses can be limiting when you have a variety of people coming that may all have different dietary preferences. It’s better and more colorful to put out a full assortment of things to snack on.”
What’s your number one tip for using Thanksgiving leftovers?
“Sandwiches! Everything tastes great later or the next day on wonderful crusty bread. Make sure to buy some during your Thanksgiving prep shopping or even better, buy some parbaked so you can have hot out-of-the-oven fresh bread to use.
How do you usually prepare your turkey?
Breakdown the turkey and cook the breast separate from the legs. Each type of meat cooks differently. You can cook a separate whole one for show on your buffet.
Potluck or host preps all?
We have different opinions here. MZ loves a potluck as it makes it interactive and everyone gets involved. GZ: One chef in the kitchen only!
What’s your family’s favorite Thanksgiving tradition?
Everyone gets to go around the table and shares what they are most thankful for
