Thanksgiving with the pros: Local chefs share their holiday traditions
For Megan Belle, pastry chef at Harvest, Thanksgiving is a day for her and her husband, fellow chef Ian Stowell, to take a break from the kitchen. Belle brings a pumpkin cheesecake made with goat cheese (“it adds a tang”) but leaves the rest of the meal to mom.
“I like a very traditional Thanksgiving,” she said. But unlike Stouffer and Stalboerger, Belle is “definitely more of a sides person.”
“I love cranberries,” she said. “My mom does a cranberry relish with orange zest and cranberries, not a lot of sugar — she keeps it pretty tart.”
One of Belle’s favorite dishes used to be her mother’s stuffing. But since the secret ingredient is sausage and Belle has become a vegetarian, she doesn’t eat it anymore.