Restaurateurs offer takes on Thanksgiving cooking

For many restaurateurs, Thanksgiving is a busman's holiday.

So I was curious about what two of our local restaurant owners are preparing at home for their friends and family on this gut-busting day of national gratitude.

I discovered they're throwing a virtual Thanksgiving potluck of ambitious feasts.

Riverside Bar & Grille Chef Ted Hastings is taking an untraditional route with a Hawaiian Thanksgiving luau of sorts.

"It's always my favorite" he said, having lived in Hawaii for 10 years.

Hanging out with his wife and a few family members, Hastings will be cooking a feast of ahi poke, pineapple ginger smoked ham, Portuguese sausage dressing, macaroni salad and jasmine rice. Mandarin orange sauce will take the place of traditional cranberry sauce.

A friend of Hastings's who lives in Honolulu ships the Portuguese sausage to him the night before. How do you say "If you have any leftovers, call me," in Hawaiian?

For Beanie's Family Sports Grille owner Don "Beanie" Tichy, the fun starts days prior to the holiday. On Sunday his staff prepares some 40 turkeys, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn and dinner rolls for 750 people needing a warm holiday meal.

Beanie hopes to sit down with his family after everyone helps deliver the meals to four area churches.

"I don't really want to see turkey for awhile. We may be eating at McDonalds," he joked.

Beanie recalled his grandmother's homemade egg noodles, a tradition at the family's table.

"My dad always wanted egg noodles with gravy instead of mashed potatoes," he said.

He still makes the dish to honor his memory.

If you want to eat like a chef on Thanksgiving, try this recipe for red wine cranberry sauce. I thought my recipe for cranberry sauce with orange zest couldn't be topped, but it's fantastically fresh and tangy with an added depth, courtesy of the red wine.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Red wine cranberry sauce

1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup dry red wine

12 ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries

Stir sugar and wine in heavy-duty medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over medium-high heat until the syrup is reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Add cranberries and bring back to a simmer. As soon as berries begin to pop, turn off the heat.

The sauce can be made up to one week ahead and stored in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 cups.