Rick Rodgers didn’t set out to be the coauthor/ghostwriter/recipe tester/editor or consultant for 60-plus cookbooks. He wanted to be an actor.
Waiting tables on Manhattan’s Upper West Side was a side hustle where he happened to meet a lot of celebrities. When his love for food led him into catering, the famous patrons became his clients. From there, like any good cook, Rodgers, a West Orange resident, followed his instincts and let his food-based career—which has had many iterations—unfold.
Thanksgiving 101, first published in 1998, is one of 40 books Rodgers has penned, and it remains a classic. It offers foolproof recipes and tips for the novice and the seasoned cook.
His number one piece of advice when you are preparing the menu for your Thanksgiving feast? “Serve nostalgia,” Rodgers says. “Change or modify traditions one dish at a time.”
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