Jose Garces's Spanish-Inspired Thanksgiving Dinner

By Food & Wine
Updated May 23, 2017
Chef Jose Garces’s Thanksgiving menu includes a glorious citrus-marinated turkey and sweet potatoes with chile-spiced pecans.
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Rosé Sangria with Cranberries and Apples

Credit: Petrina Tinslay
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This strong but not overly sweet sangria is nicely spiced with cinnamon, anise and cloves and it has just enough crushed red pepper to give it a tiny kick.

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White-Bean Soup with Bacon and Herbs

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A light broth loaded with chunky Great Northern beans and topped with a sprinkling of bacon, this soup was inspired by the caldo gallego (a Spanish white-bean soup) that chef Garces serves.

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Citrus-Marinated Turkey

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Garces prepares this turkey in the same style as a traditional Yucatán dish called cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork marinated in citrus and annatto paste (made from achiote seeds, the condiment adds an orange hue to foods). Brining and marinating the bird make it especially succulent.

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Sweet Potato Gratin with Chile-Spiced Pecans

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Garces says this dish best exemplifies his Thanksgiving menu: traditional at its core but with unexpected Latin accents. The gratin is silky and sweet, topped with gooey marshmallows and delightfully crunchy pecans flavored with chile powder.

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Sweet-and-Sour Catalan Spinach

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This sweet-and-sour spinach side dish gets its satisfying flavor from the combination of honey and sherry vinegar that’s drizzled on top. It’s relatively light, which makes it a great addition to a hearty Thanksgiving menu.

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Herbed Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic and Manchego

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Garces learned how to make a classic potato gratin while studying at Kendall College’s cooking school in Chicago. It’s still one of his favorite side dishes. This version combines lots of sharp, nutty Manchego cheese and smoky San Simòn cheese (Gouda is a fine substitute) for rich, complex flavor.

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Vanilla-Orange Flan

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This thick, creamy flan—Garces’s mother’s recipe—is a staple in his household. Garces likes to serve it alongside a refreshing salad of melon and citrus.

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