This year, I’ll be on my own for Thanksgiving. It’s not a disaster at all, and I want to make something to eat that is special, a bit of a project for the day. Aaaannnd I’m looking for ideas.
The only foods I really don’t like are celery, radishes, and kimchi. TIA!
Look at it the other way round. This is a special occasion - what do you really like to eat?
Everything, which is proving to be overwhelming.
The comfort foods that I haven’t made in a long time sound good. But I’m also going to have uninterrupted time to make something that my nieces and nephews generally think is too much or too fancy.
I would roast a small duck or 2 duck legs. Lingonberry sauce or cranberry sauce on the side, as well as braised red cabbage, and potato dumplings. Grand Marnier soufflé or another soufflé for dessert.
Duck leftovers the following day in a duck and egg Benedict with Hollandaise.
Do you want to stay in the general “idea” of Thanksgiving? E.g. some type of roast, or something with poultry (turkey or duck for example) .. . . . . Is this a money is no object type of thing?
You could do a confit - turkey legs or duck legs. It would need to be started a few days ahead. You could spend some time on a nice rich sauce, go for a potato side dish . . . . it would be “similar” to Thanksgiving but different all at the same time. . . . . If that’s an angle you’re looking for . . .
it doesn’t have to stay in the traditional Thanksgiving lane. We stopped making turkey years ago. I am loving the duck ideas …
I love duck as well - but it does stay in the Thanksgiving lane a little - roasted bird and all . . . not that it’s a bad thing in my opinion, just saying.
You could do some type of “meat pie” (i.e. pot pie) as well. I’m thinking beef, with mushrooms and again a rich sauce maybe port based (?). Some nice roast veggies for a side. I love a “pot pie” with a super good homemade crust, something very satisfying about it.
I love Cioppino as well. Hearty but seafood driven. You could make your own bread as a side (if you’re into that). Much more out of the Tday lane . . . .
what about going Italian . . .
Porchetta with sweet potato gnocchi in sage butter . . .
You get a gold star for the porchetta suggestion!
on the pie theme, I had a lovely duck Parmentier (French Shepherd’s Pie) at Tocqueville in NYC once. The dessert was a slice of Concord grape cheesecake.
Could make it with purchased duck confit, as a short cut to luxurious meal.
And actually I think America Test Kitchen (or an off-shoot) had a recipe for turkey porchetta that I made once too - if you don’t want to give up on Turkey.
Or maybe it was serious eats (google search has both, ATK was behind a pay wall)
Duck was my first thought - although I’ve never made a whole roast duck - I’ve only made D’Artagnan duck breasts. But I wouldn’t call that a “special project”. But it’s still an amazing dish, and maybe you can go with a fancier sauce, and special side dishes.
Grilled half lobster on risotto.
Braised lamb shanks with ultra-creamy mashed potatoes. OR a rack of lamb?
If you’re a beef eater, what about a Beef Wellington with Hasselback potatoes, or Julia’s Boeuf Bourguignon?
I’ve done a couple solo Thanksgivings in recent years. Very restful getting to choose the menu and not hear comments. 
Here are my most recent solo Tgiving menus:
Turkey breast with herb butter, gravy using very rich homemade turkey stock, NYT herby bread and butter stuffing except I added sauteed leeks, roasted mushrooms and sauteed celery so that the veggies were about the same volume as the bread, NYT red wine cranberry sauce, butter-braised carrots and leeks, and creamed kale. It was all delicious but a lot of work and way too much leftover turkey for me.
Pan-roasted duck breast, wild rice with shiitakes and leeks, NYT red wine cranberry sauce as above, braised endive. Equally delicious, less work, more manageable amount of leftovers.
When Mrs. ricepad is away AND I feel like doing something special for myself, I tend to go in one of two directions. One would be something meat-centric, like a steak or ribs. I’ve been known to make a couple of racks of spares on such occasions, eating half of one and freezing the rest. The other likely food group is fried, and it’d mostly likely be tempura. Mrs. ricepad is not big on a lot of meat - 3 oz is more than enough for her at any meal - nor does she really like most fried foods.
If you wanted to make either one festive, you could. I’m not big on festive.
Why not make a comfort food that you really miss…and something challenging and not the norm? Seriously, why not both? Whatever those might be.
Homemade mac and cheese, served with beef wellington….or grilled cheese sandwich and duck confit?
Depending on the choices, I might make the comfort food (like chili or stew) the night before and the big deal on Thanksgiving as a project.
Maybe a guinea hen? I always refer to them as your own personal chicken (sang to the Depeche mode tune, natch 
).
It makes for a festive solo centerpiece. Sides are up to your personal preferences
You have ruined a fantasy. I had a female friend who once told me that bass line made her horny. Now I’m afraid it’s going to evoke thoughts of chickens. Spoilsport.
Sexy chicken? I don’t see the issue 
OH GOD MAKE IT STOP!
[So is this enough of a complete sentence??]
We’ve only just begun
