Remembrance of Turkeys Past

Green bean casserole, sweet potatoes topped with mini marshmallows—most of us harbor nostalgia for a certain holiday dish from our childhood. But what about restaurant pros? Do they now shrink in horror from the foods they once loved? Actually, no—and these local stars were happy to share memories, recipes, and a few guilty confessions. Click the links for the recipes!

Tradition Unbound
Local twists on the usual breast plate.

Turkey Pastor Taco, La Verdad
Marinated in cinnamon, brown sugar, and chili, the meat is topped with rich mole sauce and sesame seeds and stuffed into handmade corn tortillas. One Lansdowne St., Boston, 617-351-2580.

Turkey Burger, B.Good
Fresh ground turkey with lettuce, tomato, and mustard on a whole-wheat bun will set you back just 426 calories, leaving more room for mashed potatoes. 31 Dartmouth St., Boston, 617-424-5252; and other locations; bgood.com.

Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey, Coast Caf
Bits of shredded smoked meat season the tender greens. 233 River St., Cambridge, 617-354-7644. —A.T.

Jeremy Sewall
(Lineage) Sewall grew up loving his mom’s butternut squash purée (which he’s since adapted for his own family). But “my favorite part of the day was sitting down with my dad and eating smoked oysters right out of the can while we watched football."

Recipe for Sewall's Butternut Squash Purée.

Christopher Myers
(Radius, Via Matta, Great Bay, Myers + Chang) Every Thanksgiving, Myers and his mother (who is part Pawnee Indian) would pick cranberries on Plum Island. Back in the kitchen, the family made big batches of hypersweet cranberry sauce that was “pretty much equal parts sugar to cranberries."

Recipe for Myers' Cranberry Relish.

Ana Sortun
(Oleana) Despite garnering renown for her exotic creations, the chef gets misty for her grandmother’s “simple hot rolls with salty, yummy homemade butter."

Recipe for Sortun's Mama Jo's Basic Rolls.

Anthony Susi
(Sage) “My aunt would stuff those mild, long green peppers with lots of ground sausage, finely chopped mushrooms, fresh herbs, and just enough bread crumbs to hold it all together. Now that I think about it, they might show up on my bar menu."

Recipe for Susi's Sausage Stuffed Finger Peppers.

Adam Halberg
(former Beehive consulting chef) “It was all about my grandmother’s kugel—a touch of cinnamon and sugar, cottage cheese and sour cream, and pineapple for sweetness.”

Also, see Mary Dumont's Dad’s Apple Pie.

To see five exclusive Thanksgiving recipes from these master chefs, go on to the next pages (or click the above links)...