The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters 838: Our All-American Thanksgiving with Padma Lakshmi and Dorie Greenspan
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Nov 14, 2025 Join acclaimed food writer and television host Padma Lakshmi as she explores the immigrant roots of Thanksgiving and shares her alternative to mashed potatoes: podimas. She reflects on traveling for Taste the Nation and the importance of preserving culinary traditions. Meanwhile, prolific baker Dorie Greenspan discusses her new book on simple cakes, offering a delightful sweet potato loaf for the holiday. She reveals the magic of grated vegetables in baking and shares her cocoa-swirled pumpkin bundt recipe, perfect for any festive table.
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Thanksgiving As An Immigrant Holiday
- Thanksgiving functions as an immigrant holiday that highlights sharing and gratitude across cultures.
- Padma Lakshmi says the holiday's meaning is shaped by appropriation, reinvention, and American nuance.
Turn Turkey Gravy Into Pot Pie
- Make a big Thanksgiving turkey mainly to produce excellent gravy for next-day dishes.
- Padma reuses roast vegetables and gravy to make turkey pot pie for weekend meals.
Immigrant Stories Shape American Food
- Traveling across immigrant communities revealed to Padma that individual stories both mirror and diversify the American experience.
- She uses profiles in her book to show how immigrants preserve homeland histories while shaping American foodways.
