thanksgiving with travail
It’s not a surprise that Thanksgiving is one of the favorite holidays around here and you can see some of our family traditions within all of our Holiday Family Meal Kits.
Shrimp cocktail is always a staple in them and that comes from Chef and Co-owner James Winberg’s family tradition. Every holiday when everyone is just arriving, there’s always shrimp cocktail out and some of his mother’s homemade/canned Antipasto with crackers. The shrimp cocktail though, is the crowd pleaser. It’s the perfect way to have a little snack while you take in the aromas from the kitchen without getting too full. We’re still working on trying to get his Mom to make enough jars of Antipasto for holidays, but those jars are coveted. Better off trying to make friends with her to get one or going to her church.
Usually with the shrimp cocktail comes a brandy manhattan, but if you’re watching all of the games beer usually suffices. One of James’ favorite after-dinner drinks is an Americano cocktail. It’s not too sweet, the right amount of bubbles, bitter and low ABV. You can easily use Aperol in place of Campari if that is what you have on hand.
Americano Cocktail
Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Campari
1 1/2 ounces sweet vermouth. You can go fancy with Cocchi or Torino, but any sweet vermouth will work
Soda water, chilled, to top
Orange twist or green olive
Steps
Fill a highball glass with ice, then add the Campari and sweet vermouth
Top with the soda water and stir gently to combine
Garnish with an orange twist or a green olive
Favorite Part of Thanksgiving, according to some of our staff:
Dave Brown, Sommelier, “Getting together with the family and my favorite thing is probably stuffing a roll. You bite off one part of a quality dinner roll, dig out inside and stuff mash potatoes, turkey stuffing and gravy. Thanksgiving Hot Pocket. It can’t be a Hawaiian bun, it needs to be a quality bun.”
Colleen O’Connor, Marketing Manager, “I like when the cooking is over and I love getting my nieces and nephews riled up and giving them back to their parents. I love dessert - the classic pies and my mom makes pecan pie bars. That’s my favorite part.”
Zach Clement, Director of Operations, “Pecan pie. Football and being full on the couch. We’re trying something new and not doing traditional food so we’ll see how that goes. Cooking is probably my favorite part because I enjoy cooking for people.”
Kadi Kaelin, Photographer, “My favorite part of Thanksgiving is when my daughter gets to see her cousin and play for the day. They don’t get to see each other often but I love seeing their similar mannerisms and sense of humor. I’m lucky to always enjoy a good meal but the sides are the best and important part because I’m not into turkey or football.”
Mike Brown, Co-Owner/Chef, “Seeing family, Football. It’s about a good breakfast.”
Riley Byrne, General Manager of Nouvelle, “I love being with my family, my mom is a phenomenal cook. Watching football, my mom’s stuffing, it's just pure nostalgia. It's the same meal that my grandma made that my mom makes.”
Rachel Jacobson, HR, “Oooh the sausage stuffing from my mom is the best!”
James Winberg, Co-owner/Chef, “Eating, beer, football. Repeat. And having a nice fire outside to sit by.”
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Traditional Shrimp Cocktail, a traditional appetizer for Thanksgiving