Archive * No. 031: Designing the Thanksgiving Table

✦ Thanksgiving Table Design

While I love to cook, my favorite part of Thanksgiving each year is decorating the table. So, in honor of Thanksgiving coming up soon, I thought I would share my process along with some table design inspiration.

I actually find Thanksgiving to be a hard holiday to decorate for. It’s a transitional moment between Halloween and Christmas, so it still incorporates a lot of that Halloween/fall aesthetic while also marking a shift into winter and Christmas aesthetics.

When gathering inspiration for this newsletter, I went back and read the Thanksgiving section of Entertaining by Martha Stewart. A big part of how she thought about designing for Thanksgiving was referencing the celebration of the harvest. “Early on Thanksgiving morning, when I walk out into our garden and pick vegetables from the frozen soil to grace our table, I feel proud, productive, and grateful. Our family dinner, like Thanksgivings of old, is truly a celebration of the harvest.” - Martha Stewart.

While her approach is very traditional, it’s also a good reminder that Thanksgiving has always been rooted in celebrating what’s naturally available. Even if you’re not walking out into a frozen garden at sunrise, the idea of looking to what’s seasonal, local, and already around you is a helpful starting point.

Designing your table:

I think the easiest way to design your Thanksgiving tablescape is by selecting from the fall color palette. It’s hard to go wrong with a monochromatic color scheme, and you can add variation and texture based on the elements on the table.

When going based on color I like to lean heavily into food and fruits for table decor in addition to traditional flowers and leaves.

Things to consider when picking a color scheme:

1. Table linens, dinnerware, and serving dishes.
   Consider what you have or plan to use on the table and either match it or choose a scheme that complements it.

2. Foraged decor.
   For my process, I like to start by going outside and foraging in my local area. My motto is anything non-native is fair game for me to pick. This can also help define your color scheme. Once I have foraged outside, I build off that with store-bought florals and candles. For both, I highly recommend Trader Joe’s. They have the best selection with wholesale pricing.

Color scheme ideas:

Orange

Food: pumpkin, persimmons, oranges, clementines, apricots (late-season), sweet potatoes, butternut squash

Foraged: fall leaves and branches, rusty eucalyptus, copper beech branches, maple leaves, dried grasses

Flowers: marigolds, chrysanthemums, orange ranunculus, orange strawflower, tiger lilies

Notes: go natural, traditional fall direction

Red

Food: pomegranates, grapes, cranberries, red pears, blood oranges, red apples

Foraged: stems of red berries, rosehips, nandina branches, red maple twigs

Flowers: marigolds, red mums, red amaranth, celosia

Notes: add small orange pops to keep it fall-coded, not Christmas

Green

Food: apples, pears, artichokes, gourds and pumpkins, green figs, brussels sprouts stalks

Foraged: branches and sticks, olive branches, pine or cedar (sparingly), eucalyptus stems, magnolia foliage

Flowers: greenery bundles, green sunflowers, green hydrangea, green mums, rosemary sprigs

Notes: modern direction, play with whimsical grasses and arrangements

Yellow

Food: corn, pumpkins, yellow squash, lemon cucumbers, golden beets

Foraged: branches and sticks, dried wheat, dried corn husks, pampas grass, oat grass

Flowers: sunflowers, golden yarrow, billy balls (craspedia), yellow mums, marigolds

Notes: warm, rustic, harvest-coded

Neutral

Food: white pumpkins, white gourds, walnuts, brown pears, cauliflower, garlic bulbs, white pears

Foraged: dried leaves, oak branches, seed pods, pinecones, bare twigs, dried grasses, cattails, birch branches, dried lunaria, bleached ruscus

Flowers: white mums, white dahlias, baby’s breath, white strawflower, dried hydrangeas, dried strawflower, bunny tails, pampas grass, wheat stalks

Notes: earthy, textural, warm and grounding

✦ Napkin Folding

Folding your napkins in a fun way can really elevate a table. I found an old book on napkin-folding techniques and figured I would share a few of my favorites that you can use in your own table designs!

✦ Three Bean Chili

When it started to get cold my mom would always make this Three Bean & Beef Chili from Ellie Krieger. It’s my go to chili recipe and keeps great in the fridge. Highly recommend!

INGREDIENTS

Chili Base
– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
– 1 red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
– 2 carrots, diced (about ½ cup)
– 2 teaspoons ground cumin
– 1 pound extra-lean ground beef (90% lean)
– One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
– 2 cups water
– 1 chipotle chile in adobo, seeded + minced
– 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
– ½ teaspoon dried oregano
– Salt + freshly ground black pepper

Beans
– One 15.5-ounce can black beans, drained + rinsed
– One 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, drained + rinsed
– One 15.5-ounce can pinto beans, drained + rinsed

TOOLS

– Large pot or Dutch oven
– Wooden spoon
– Knife + cutting board

COOK / ASSEMBLE

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over moderate heat.

2. Add onion, bell pepper, and carrots. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 10 minutes).

3. Stir in cumin and cook 1 minute until fragrant.

4. Add ground beef, raise heat to high, and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up as it cooks.

5. Stir in crushed tomatoes, water, chipotle chile, adobo sauce, oregano, salt, and pepper.

6. Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. Add all three beans and continue to cook, partially covered, for 20 minutes more.

8. Taste and adjust seasoning.

SERVING

– Serve hot over rice

ADJUSTMENTS

– Want it vegetarian? → Skip beef and add extra beans or lentils.