I’M A COOK who relishes a challenge. At Thanksgiving I typically scratch that itch by embarking on culinary flights-of-fancy like pit-cooked turkey “pibil”—prepared in an actual hole in the ground—or a sky-high meringue-and-pumpkin torte. But after a wallet-straining summer (here’s looking at you, sleep-away camp) and knowing food costs continue to pain many families, including mine, this time I decided to tackle a different sort of test.
Last year this paper reported that the cost of a typical Thanksgiving meal rose an estimated 25% between 2019 and 2023. This year, early numbers suggest surging prices have leveled a bit—but when is pinching a few pennies around the holidays a bad move? Could I devise a feast grand enough to satisfy even my pickiest cousins, all for $100 or less? The answer was a resounding yes. Here’s how you can, too.
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