The OS Holiday Table Guide
The holidays are here, and this year, we decided to come up with our own virtual Oyster Sunday Holiday Feast.
From playlists to recipes, wine to workouts, we each put a personal touch on our holiday recommendations. And because we love a good dinner party, we asked everyone to share their dream dinner party guest. We hope you enjoy our curated selections and can take a moment to give thanks and enjoy this time with family and friends.
Happy Holidays!
Byron Lo
Wine
Role: Digital Marketing Manager
Dream Guest: Duke Ellington
Bringing: 2021 4 Monos Viticultores 'GR-10' Tinto
It’s cold. You’re running late to a holiday party across town. Quick pit stop at the bottle shop and you’re face-to-face with an intimidating scene: a large wall of beautiful labels and no clue where to start. It’s an all too familiar feeling and, really, you just need to grab something and go.
If I were in that shop with you, I would tap your shoulder, offer a reassuring smile, and gesture toward the Spain section. Behold: 4 Monos. It’s a blend of mostly Grenache and a touch of Cariñena and Syrah that’s full of raspberry and strawberry notes and subtle earthiness. It’s juicy and energetic. Exactly what’s needed to get the party going. It’s a wine that plays well with the most beautiful of charcuterie boards and roasted birds, and in my experience, will have at least one person at the table asking, “Who brought this?”
A quick story as you check out. This wine was created by four friends who met while hiking in the Gredos mountains and bonded over their shared love of nature and wine. It’s a special bottle to share with friends, family, and those you love.
Jalees Khalid
Music
Role: Director of Finance
Dream Guest: Mavis Staples
Bringing: A groovy soundtrack
Growing up, our holiday table was an amalgamation of cultures. With a Thai-Chinese mom, a Pakistani dad, an Irish grandpa, a Polish grandma, and Mexican cousins, sh*t was always loud and delicious. This playlist is a love letter to those holiday meals. Shout out to the kid’s table!
We start off with some funky party grooves, including a few celebratory songs from around the globe, before settling into some bonafide head-nodders. This playlist has everyone covered.
The holidays are also a time for reflection. What’s going on in the world? Where are we going? What can we change? There are songs scattered throughout whose lyrics contemplate these thoughts, but with a dope beat, of course.
The last 45 mins of the playlist are a sort of wind down. Gentler tunes for your full tummy. Hope you enjoy it!
Ali LaRaia
Aperitivo
Role: Program Manager, OS BENEFiTS
Dream Dinner Guest: Evelyn Hugo
Bringing: Reverse Martini, Fennel Stuffed Fried Olives
I treat aperitivo as a time to tell a story or share a culinary memory before a meal. For this, I'm using a terroir gin from my old neighborhood, Alameda, CA, to highlight fennel, my favorite foraged plant along the California coast. For the snack, and because I cannot have a martini without olives, these are stuffed with caramelized fennel and then fried.
Cocktail: Reverse Martini
1 oz St Georges Terroir Gin
2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
Olive juice
Garnish: small sprig fennel frond
Add gin, vermouth and 2 bar spoons of olive juice to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir until the glass is frosty and the ice begins to melt. Strain into a coupe and garnish with fennel frond.
Bite: Fennel Stuffed Fried Olives
1 jar Castelvetrano olives, pitted
1 fennel bulb
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta, using cheesecloth, squeeze out extra moisture
sea salt
black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil + enough to fry depending on size of pot
1 egg, whisked in shallow bowl
1/4 cup AP flour, in shallow bowl
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, in shallow bowl
Heat oven to 400F. Slice fennel 1/4" thick and spread out on a parchment lined sheet tray in a single layer, drizzling with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, then add to a blender or food processor, along with the ricotta cheese, salt and pepper to taste and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Blend until smooth. Put into a piping bag and fill with olives. Toss stuffed olives into flour, then into the egg mixture, and finally the panko to cover. In a heavy pot, heat 2" of olive oil to 350F. Using a slotted spoon, add panko coated olives in batches. Let fry until golden brown on all sides, about 45 seconds. Remove from oil and lay on paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt and let them sit for a minute or two to cool down before serving.
Sophie Amodeo
Appetizer
Role: Director of People + Operations
Dream Dinner Guest: My husband's Grandma Francis
Bringing: A Snack Tray to Gather the Family Around
Straying away from traditional charcuterie, a snack board may seem like a hodgepodge of items from the back of the cupboard and lonely vegetables from the crisper drawer. However, with the right mix of crunch, salt, and fat, it's the perfect warm welcome to any guest, and pair for their ice-cold cocktail.
Inspired by my time working FOH at Prune Restaurant in NYC, this is A Snack Tray to Gather the Family Around. A modest quantity of each of these on a platter or cutting board does the trick and invites everyone to grab a little (or a lot) of whatever they’d like. This season, the high-brow, low-brow snack board of my dreams includes:
Deviled Eggs
Zapp's Voodoo potato chips
Chunks of sharp cheddar cheese + Honeycrisp apple
A few cans of tinned fish w/ crackers – mussels, anchovies + razor clams are a few personal favs
Pork rinds
Castelvetrano olives
Radishes with butter + salt
Ideally, I'm pairing my snack board with an ice-cold gin martini (or, Ali’s Reverse Martini) over a game of rummy – nothing passes the time for the turkey to cook like a little friendly competition. My dream guest would be my husband's Grandma Francis. A woman I never had the chance to meet but whose legend lives long in our family - especially when it comes to competitive card games.
Jessica Abel
Main Course
Role: Chief Operating Officer
Dream Dinner Guest: Nell
Bringing: Zuni Café Chicken, Mud Australia ceramics
In colder months, there are few things better than pulling a roast chicken out of the oven. Whether you share it over a meal with family or friends, or enjoy it throughout the week on salads or sandwiches, you can’t go wrong. I personally love the Zuni Café Chicken recipe via the New York Times. And if you’ve never dry-brined a bird, welcome to the other side. I’m personally a huge fan of Mud Australia’s ceramics, and while they’re absolutely an investment, they bring me joy every time I pull a piece out of our kitchen cabinet.
Arguably the best part about roasting a chicken? Homemade stock. We’ll either simmer the carcass in a pot with carrots, celery, fennel, onion, bay leaves, and fresh herbs for a few hours the next day, or throw it in the freezer to make a bigger batch at a later date. Once you’ve made homemade stock, you’ll never go back.
Sarah Teich
Veg-Centric Side Dish
Role: Director of Marketing
Dream Dinner Guest: Ina Garten
Bringing: Maple-glazed Acorn Squash With Toasted Pepitas
Just like the concept of “shopping local”, the concept of harvest is not new. There is no better time than Thanksgiving to consider what it means to harvest, shop locally, and express gratitude for our food system.
My team knows I’m a produce nerd (I run a seasonal potluck party that throws birthday parties for produce at its peak), so if tasked with bringing a vegetable side, I would look to shop locally for my personal favorite seasonal fall produce - squash. There are 15+ varietals of squashes which makes for great side dish options.
The best recipe? Local produce, olive oil, salt and pepper cooked in the oven until crispy and topped with extra oil and flaky salt. Something more complex? This maple-glazed acorn squash with toasted pepitas.
Carlie Johnson
Dessert
Role: Project Manager
Dream Guest: Priya Parker
Bringing: Pumpkin Gooey Butter Bars
Here’s a St. Louis classic with a seasonal twist!
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Bars
Crust:
1 (18 ¼ ounce) box yellow cake mix …(I like “BUTTER” flavor by Dunkin Heinz)
1 egg
8 Tbs. butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
8 Tbs. butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine cake mix, egg, and butter & mix well with electric mixer. Pat mixture into lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan. To make the filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese & pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, mix in the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the crust and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey! Serve with whipped cream.
Mia Jacobs
After-Dinner Coffee
Role: Brand Marketing Manager
Dream dinner guest: Hello Kitty
Bringing: Sey’s Ethiopian Landrace, Hario V60
It’s a yearly tradition: my family insists on dishing out the turkey at 2 pm, I stuff my face until I need to unbutton my jeans, my plate’s nearing licked-clean, and suddenly… I’m hit with that… sleeeepyyyy… feelingggfd…. zzzZZzzZz.
There’s a common myth that turkey contains enough tryptophan to make you pass out for 48+ hours on the couch. This isn’t *entirely* true. While turkey does contain some of this amino acid, it’s probably the mix of carbs and the marathon eating that makes us all exhausted after our holiday meals.
Here’s my solution. Are you ready for it? It’s coffee.
Sure, there’s something special about drinking a big ol’ cup of Folgers at grandma’s house, but we’re here to show off to all the aunties and uncles. Impress the fam with a single-origin bean from your local third-wave coffee roaster.
I plan to show up with Sey’s Ethiopian Landrace: an oh-so-lovely bean that has notes of watermelon, honeydew, and jasmine when brewed. Make it a real show and brew it with a Hario V60 (yes, I will be bringing one along with me).
Watch as your distant cousins wait for their sip in anticipation and keep their heated spats spirited conversations going. After you make them cups, you can help out whoever’s stuck with the dishes, clearing out after-meal sleepy vibes to make way for caffeinated bliss.
Elizabeth Tilton
Final Touches
Role: CEO & Founder
Dream Dinner Guest: Carl Sagan
Bringing: Pearl Street Caviar, Cajun Caviar
The pressure is on at the Tilton / Dupuy household when it comes to adding something to the Thanksgiving table. As local New Orleanians, we take all meals seriously, especially holidays. The serving table and wine fridge are always stocked, so I like to bring the cherry on top— caviar and oysters.
Given my time in New York and roots in New Orleans, I would add Pearl Street Caviar from New York and Cajun Caviar from New Orleans to the table. As for oysters, the Gulf Coat has a reputation for being large and brackish, but this is changing. Similar to the AOC oysters on the West and East Coast, Grand Isle, Louisiana has been the center of attention, and my friend Ryan Anderson at Little Moon Oyster Ranch is harvesting oysters worth seeking out.
And if you can’t tell, I think oysters are rather remarkable with their ability to create sustainable ecosystems in our waterways. I wanted to give a little call out to the Billion Oyster Project in New York and the CRCL'S Oyster Shell Recycling Program in Louisiana. They are doing meaningful work to restore our coastlines and the viability of our waterways.
Norah Davis
Workout
Role: Head of Product, OS BENEFiTS
Dream dinner Guest: Husband’s late parents
Bringing: Turkey Workout
In lieu of your morning Turkey Trot, we offer this pun-filled workout from my Full-On-Dad-Humor-Personal-Trainer-Husband (owner of NW Fitness Project in Seattle, WA).
Our Thanksgiving mornings, for the last 10+ years together, start off with coaching donation-based group workouts before we head home to spend the rest of the day drinking wine and cooking recipes pulled from Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, vintage issues of Gourmet, Food52.com, a few handwritten ones saved from my grandmother, or texting my pastry chef best friend. My dream guests would be my husband’s parents who both passed before our getting together, and I can’t imagine a better way to introduce myself than by hosting them for Thanksgiving dinner.
Double Helping (Double Up) Circuit of 6 Exercises
Second Helpings (2 Rounds Through)
Main Course- 8-10 reps
Turkey-ish press (½ Turkish Getup )
Gobble Lunges (Kettlebell Step Back Lunge)
Sweet Pota-TOE Touch (Jam Ball Unilateral Crunch Up to Toe Touch)
Gib-Lateral Lunge (Lateral Lunge with Kettlebell)
Dinner Rolling Pushup (Pushup to Alternate Side Plank)
Row-sted Veg (TRX Single Arm Row)
Dessert Course (Finisher) 8-10 reps
Bicep Pump-kin pie (KB Sumo squat to Bicep curl)
Slice of Bur-PIE - (Single leg or Single arm burpee)
Clean up (Kb Clean and Press)
