Happiest Season
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Comedy, Romance | Directed by Clea DuVall
Straight expectations sour a lesbian couple’s holidays in this romantic comedy.
Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart in “Happiest Season.”
By TEO BUGBEE
My Psychedelic Love Story
NYT Critic’s Pick | TV-14 | Documentary | Directed by Errol Morris
This Errol Morris documentary explores the relationship between the LSD guru and Joanna Harcourt-Smith, a woman who likened herself to Mata Hari.
Timothy Leary and Joanna Harcourt-Smith in “My Psychedelic Love Story.”
By GLENN KENNY
Zappa
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Alex Winter
The documentary, directed by Alex Winter, portrays the musician and composer Frank Zappa as a sort of noble.
Frank Zappa, in the documentary by Alex Winter.
By GLENN KENNY
CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK This Thanksgiving, It’s Time to Stop Nap-Shaming In 2020, officeless workers learned to doze off between Zoom calls. Maybe now we can admit that the post-turkey crash is nothing to be ashamed of. By Pete Wells
Zagat and Michelin Hit Pause on New York City Guides There will be no New York restaurant guides from the two companies this year, as restaurateurs struggle to keep their businesses open. By Florence Fabricant
How to Pretend You’re in Hawaii Tonight With a few easy-to-find items, you can discover the archipelago’s breathtaking biodiversity, savor its flavors and music, even delight in an island-inspired Thanksgiving.
A view of Hāmoa Beach in Maui. By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
Waikiki in Honolulu. A new installment of the series Around the World at Home focuses on Hawaii and includes, among other tips, how to create a lei and feel like you’re in a Maui palm forest. By Lauren Reddy
The Barroso is one of Portugal’s most isolated areas, known for its rough terrain, abiding agricultural traditions and stunning beauty. Photographs and Text by André Vieira
Families that have grown weary of eating commercial kimchi in big cities have started making pilgrimages to the countryside where they can learn how to prepare it on their own. By Choe Sang-Hun
FRONT BURNER A New Cookbook From Jacques Pépin His foundation, which offers training programs for chefs, offers a digital cookbook, with recipes from Padma Lakshmi, Kwame Onwuachi and more.
Jacques Pépin, center, has released an online cookbook available to members of his foundation. Jacques Pépin Foundation, jp.foundation. By Florence Fabricant
They Welcomed Dozens for Thanksgiving. Now What? For decades, a couple have been the unofficial parents for many Black students at Notre Dame. This year, that family is scattered, reflecting on the year’s crises. By Kim Severson
You can bake these fall-winter treats in a doughnut pan — or even a muffin tin. By Erin Jeanne McDowell
3 Brilliant Ways to Transform Leftover Stuffing Sohla El-Waylly is here for the holiday’s best side, which she griddles into sandwich filling, fries into croutons and simmers into dumplings for soup.
By Sohla El-Waylly
Give Thanks for This Simple Pleasure Think of these cheesy bread balls in tomato sauce, a kind of deconstructed pizza, as a tribute to the little things, Yotam Ottolenghi writes.
This recipe is simple, communal and comforting. By Yotam Ottolenghi
A Designer’s Endlessly Adaptable Nigerian Stew Niyi Okuboyejo makes his efo riro with turkey and yams, but you should feel free to experiment. It’s a dish, he says, that rewards improvisation. By Nick Marino
A man of many careers, Gianni Bernardinello settled down as a baker. A sign outside his shop over free baked goods read, “To give a hand to those in need, help yourself and think of others too.” By Emma Bubola
Mangrove
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Steve McQueen
The first episode in Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology dramatizes protest and police brutality in 1960s London.
Shaun Parkes as Frank Crichlow and Letitia Wright as Altheia Jones-LeCointe in “Mangrove,” part of the | Director Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology of five films.
By A.O. SCOTT
Collective
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Alexander Nanau
The shocking Romanian documentary “Collective” revisits a 2015 fire that killed scores of people and brought down the government.
The newspaper editor Catalin Tolontan in Alexander Nanau’s documentary “Collective,” about the scandals that followed a deadly 2015 fire in Bucharest.
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Sound of Metal
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Music | Directed by Darius Marder
Riz Ahmed is touchingly credible as a musician who loses his hearing in this unusual drama.
Riz Ahmed in “Sound of Metal.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Born to Be
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Tania Cypriano
This documentary follows Dr. Jess Ting in his work at Mount Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery.
Dr. Jess Ting with Jordan, a patient, in “Born to Be.”
By GLENN KENNY
— Of Possible Interest —
Anu Mosir
Drama | ected by Takeshi Fukunaga
This quietly observed drama follows a teenager living in a community of Ainu people in Hokkaido, Japan struggling to preserve their culture.
Kanto Shimokura in “Ainu Mosir.”Credit…
By NATALIA WINKELMAN
The Thanksgiving Myth Gets a Deeper Look This Year
For many Native Americans, the Covid-19 toll and the struggle over racial inequity make this high time to re-examine the holiday, and a cruel history.
By BRETT ANDERSON
How to Do Thanksgiving With Less Waste
For environmental advocates, it includes small measures like reusing ingredients, and broader efforts like rethinking our relationship to the holiday.
By PRIYA KRISHNA
TECH TIP How to Have a Fully Remote Family Thanksgiving
Skipping travel this year to stop the spread of Covid-19? Here’s how to digitally reimagine the holiday, from meal prep to after-dinner activities.
By J. D. BIERSDORFER
How Does Ina Do It?
Ina Garten, a.k.a. the Barefoot Contessa, has a loyal, diverse and growing fan base that follows her anywhere — even through quarantine and a Thanksgiving lockdown.
By JULIA MOSKIN
This Is Not Your Average Pumpkin Soup
Caramelized onions, apple cider and a touch of curry powder make this simple soup worthy of the Thanksgiving table.
A GOOD APPETITE
Even the Littlest Helping Hands Can Make Thanksgiving
This year’s scaled-down festivities present the perfect opportunity to start developing kitchen skills.
Crumbling cornbread for stuffing is a great task for kids of any age.
By Melissa Clark
Although yams and sweet potatoes are interchangeable to many Americans, yams belong to another plant group; most African diaspora yams are large, with fibrous skin and pale white flesh. (During the 1930s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed Louisiana farmers to market the Puerto Rican sweet potato variety as yams, according to Ms. McGreger’s book.)
By NICOLE TAYLOR
Take Hot Chocolate to the Next Level
It’s getting cold and your table might be outside. Here are ways to warm up with adult versions of winter’s favorite drink.
Well! After watching a podcast on the Mayflower and seeing one o’ those New England Ancestry pages go by, I decided to once again check to see that I indeed had no ancestors on that cursed boat of righteousness and religious bigotry, and this time, I failed! Not one, but three! And none through the bastard side of the family either!
Richard More Sr. and Larry Sanderson are both descendants of Hugh (Stafford) de Stafford KG.
Richard and Larry are 9th cousins 13 times removed
Henry Samson and Larry Sanderson are both descendants of Edward (Despenser) le Despenser KG.
Henry and Larry are 8th cousins 14 times removed (Uncertain)
Agnes (Cooper) Tilley and Larry Sanderson are both descendants of Edward (Despenser) le Despenser KG.
Agnes and Larry are 7th cousins 15 times removed (Uncertain)
But, I gotta ask, is going back to the 1350s too far to fish for ancestors? I mean, that’s what ancestors are, isn’t it? Dead, gone, and lost in the past?
Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer
Apocalyptic comets, complicated math, ancient rituals, eccentric scientists: Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer’s new documentary has it all.
A scene from “Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds,” Directed by Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer.
By GLENN KENNY
Ammonite
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Biography, Drama, Romance | Directed by Francis Lee
Kate Winslet’s fossil hunter and Saoirse Ronan’s convalescent embark on a forbidden seaside romance.
Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan in “Ammonite.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
— Of Possible Interest —
Monsoon
Drama, Romance | Directed by Hong Khaou
Henry Golding plays a man who returns to the Vietnam of his childhood in Hong Khaou’s thoroughly personal drama “Monsoon.”
A scene from “Monsoon,” written and | Directed by Hong Khaou.
By BEN KENIGSBERG
Six years ago, Norman Jean Roy walked away from his career behind the camera. These days, he’s baking bread. By NICK MARINO
FOOD MATTERS In the Arctic, Reindeer Are Sustenance and a Sacred Presence For the Indigenous communities who herd the animals, safeguarding dying culinary traditions isn’t merely about eating but about protecting a longstanding way of life.
A spread of Arctic provisions including, from left, sun-dried white trout, moose antler, venison sausage, caribou blood sausage, dried Arctic flounder, dried sea bream, caribou lichen, meadow onion stems and seed heads, dried wild crowberries and geothermal Arctic sea salt against a deer hide backdrop. By LIGAYA MISHAN
THE FIX A Dining Room That Celebrates Every Meal Even with a socially distant Thanksgiving around the corner, you can create a dining room that lives up to the food you’re serving. By TIM MCKEOUGH
Solo on the Holiday? Reach Out Single people make up one third of all American households and finding ways to celebrate this Thanksgiving means taking action ahead of time. By ANNA GOLDFARB
Clockwise from left, maple-roasted squash, sautéed greens with smoked paprika, herby bread-and-butter stuffing, and turkey thighs with pickled cranberries and onions. By MELISSA CLARK
FRONT BURNER Maybe Just Get the Turkey Leg This Year Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in Chelsea Market now sells turkey leg confit, for an understated, but festive celebration.
FRONT BURNER A Sparkling Dessert Collaboration Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Chandon have teamed up on a new sparkling berry punch sorbet for the holidays.
Jeni’s Sparkling Berry Punch Featuring Chandon, $12 a pint, jenis.com. By FLORENCE FABRICANT
FRONT BURNER An Ancient Grain Flour for Your Pie Crust This gluten-free flour from the chef Thomas Keller’s company can be used, as the brand says, measure for measure.
Cup4Cup Ancient Grains, $13.99 for two pounds, cup4cup.com. By FLORENCE FABRICANT
★★★ Lioco Sonoma County Chardonnay 2018 $22 Tangy, textured, energetic and balanced, with earthy, stony, floral and citrus flavors.
★★★ Julian Haart Mosel Riesling “1,000L” 2018 One Liter $24 Lively, bold and rich, with floral and mineral flavors. (Vom Boden, Brooklyn, N.Y.)
★★★ Gia Coppola Lake County Orange Riesling 2019 One Liter $25 Pretty orange wine, with an amber color, flavors of dried fruits and flowers, and a light touch of tannins.
★★★ Domaine les Aphillanthes Côtes du Rhône Clémentia Blanc 2019 $20 A “sunny wine,” as Julia Moskin put it, with flavors of tropical fruits, flowers and a kiss of honey. (Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, Penn.)
Red Wines
★★★ Castello di Verduno Verduno Basadone 2018 $24 Fresh and lively, with bright, spicy, incisive flavors of purple fruits, earth and a touch of citrus. (Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
★★★ Franck Balthazar Selections Côtes du Rhône 2018 $22 Lively, spicy and fresh, with earthy, peppery flavors. (Savio Soares Selections, New York)
★★★ Forlorn Hope Queen of the Sierra Rorick Heritage Vineyard Calaveras County 2017 $22 Bright, fresh and energetic, with complex flavors of red fruits and herbs.
★★★ Hound’s Tree High Wire North Fork of Long Island Pinot Noir NV $23 Light-bodied, with lively flavors of red fruits and a touch of refreshing bitterness. By Eric Asimov
Chairman of Elite Wine Group Resigns Amid Its Sexual Harassment Scandal Devon Broglie is the latest figure in the Court of Master Sommeliers to be accused of an inappropriate relationship. Devon Broglie resigned Friday as chairman of the board of the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas. The group is in turmoil following sexual misconduct allegations against at least 11 members. By Julia Moskin
When Wine Is More Than Just a Drink The winemaker Taras Ochota, who died in October, created unique wines that were a touchstone for our Australia critic.
Taras Ochota, an idiosyncratic South Australia winemaker who named all of his wines after bands and songs, died last month at 49. By Besha Rodell
At last! At long last! Goodbye, Herr Trump. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass when you leave.
Your title is safe. History will remember you and your followers like they remember Mussolini and Hitler. Most of the rest of us are going to try and rinse the sour and bitter taste of the last four years away.
The Dark and the Wicked
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Horror | Directed by Bryan Bertino
A family is threatened by a diabolical entity in this frightening and emotionally fraught horror movie.
Marin Ireland in “The Dark and the Wicked.” Credit…RLJE Films/Shudder
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Let Him Go
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Directed by Thomas Bezucha
The mature chemistry of Kevin Costner and Diane Lane goes a long way in this searing thriller.
Diane Lane and Kevin Costner in “Let Him Go.” Credit…Kimberley French/Focus Features
By GLENN KENNY
— Of Possible Interest —
Mortal
R | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | Directed by André Øvredal
André Ovredal’s new fantasy film seems more concerned with setting up a sequel than delivering answers.
Nat Wolff in “Mortal.’’ Credit…Saban Films
By BEN KENIGSBERG
