Five comforting recipes to celebrate Black Thanksgiving traditions

When I can, I like to drive down to my parents’ home in Riverside the day before Thanksgiving. When I wake up in my childhood bedroom the next morning, the house is already warm. The heater and oven are on and my mother is in the kitchen, grating cheese at the table or stirring collard greens on the stove.

Somehow, she times it perfectly so that all of her dishes are stable, allowing for a midmorning pause to watch the Macy’s parade or take a short nap, while my stepfather takes her place in the kitchen to make pancakes and breakfast sausage. If I’ve made my famous red wine sangria the night before, I might have a nip with breakfast.

So sets off my Thanksgiving holiday. For dinner, the dishes remain largely unchanged year after year — my mother’s mac and cheese, Aunt Debbie’s gumbo, my brother’s smoked brisket. This consistency is part of what I look forward to, but it’s that feeling of waking up snug and cozy that carries throughout the day and ends up defining my holiday memories.

I recognized this warmth as I joined four Black chefs in Los Angeles in their homes and restaurants to learn the traditions and dishes that define their Thanksgiving holiday. The recipes both overlap and differ from my own, reflecting the broad scope of pan-African cuisines.

Food

Warmth and Black traditions around the Thanksgiving table

Black chefs across L.A. introduce us to the recipes that define their Thanksgiving holidays, including lamb biriyani, macaroni pie and carrot cake.

Nov. 14, 2024

At “AfriCali” cookbook author Kiano Moju’s West Hollywood condo, I watched Moju, her mother and her aunt make Swahili lamb biriyani and sukuma wiki, two staple dishes you’ll find served across Kenya.

At Bridgetown Roti chef-owner Rashida Holmes’ parents’ home, I learned the trademarks of macaroni and cheese pie, which takes cues from Holmes’ Bajan heritage with curry, thyme and a crispy crust. She walks through the recipe in a new episode of “Chef That! Macaroni Pie!”

Chef John Cleveland, who owns the South L.A. restaurant Post & Beam with his wife, Roni Cleveland, shared a mincemeat cookie that his family has been making every holiday since his grandmother was a child. Now, you can make the cookie at home, or order it at Cleveland’s California-soul restaurant on its own or in a trifle.

Culinary artist Nia Lee evokes home with a carrot cake recipe passed down from their mother via Patti LaBelle’s cookbook, with their own adaptations that celebrate the life and work of LGBTQ+ activist Marsha P. Johnson.

I can’t imagine that making any of their recipes wouldn’t bring a sense of comfort to your Thanksgiving table, too.

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Rashida Holmes’ Macaroni and Cheese Pie

It’s no wonder this macaroni and cheese pie is one of the most popular dishes at Bridgetown Roti, the vibrant Caribbean restaurant chef Rashida Holmes owns with her mother Joy Clarke-Holmes and business partner Malique Smith. With a crispy exterior, cheesy gooey-ness wedged into the spirals of fusilli noodles and a warm burst of curry spice, the pie is a wonderland of textures and flavors.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Serves 8 to 10.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Kiano Moju’s Swahili Lamb Biriyani

This dish reflects the culinary history of the Swahili Coast — inclusive of Kenya and Tanzania — and the Arab traders who settled there. Culinary producer Kiano Moju makes the saucy, saffron-scented dish with chicken in her “AfriCali” cookbook, which shares recipes that bridge her Kenyan and Nigerian American heritage, California upbringing and global travels, but says that lamb or beef is more common for the holidays.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 2 hours. Serves 4 to 6.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Kiano Moju’s Sukuma Wiki

Sukuma wiki hails from Kenya, where it’s so popular that you can buy the razor-thin strips of collard greens pre-cut from market vendors to make the simple dish even easier to prepare. The fine ribbons of collard greens are sauteed with ginger, garlic and tomatoes, and can be served as a main course or side dish.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 35 minutes. 4 to 6 people.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

John Cleveland’s Holiday Cookies

John Cleveland’s family has been making mincemeat cookies for every holiday since his grandmother was young. When the chef, who owns the California soul restaurant Post & Beam with his wife Roni Cleveland, moved from Chapel Hill, N.C., to L.A. in 2012, he found himself missing those cookies during the holiday season. He developed his own mincemeat recipe and eventually began offering his own version of the cookie, as well as a cookie trifle, on the restaurant dessert menu. Make the cookies at home with jarred mincemeat or purchase mincemeat from the restaurant directly.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 45 minutes, plus overnight chilling. 6 dozen cookies

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Nia Lee’s ‘Pay It No Mind’ Carrot Cake

Culinary artist Nia Lee uses food as a conduit to build community and manifest delicious futures, which means that every ingredient in her “Pay It No Mind” carrot cake recipe, adapted from one of Patti LaBelle’s cookbooks to honor LGBTQ+ activist Marsha P. Johnson, serves a metaphorical purpose. For example, Lee removed walnuts and pineapple chunks from the recipe and added vanilla for a sweeter and lighter finish, with spices such as mace and nutmeg to represent the diversity of queer identities. Their intention is for the cake to feel like a warm hug.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus an hour for cooling. One 9-inch cake.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)