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Thanksgiving 2023

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We co-hosted Thanksgiving with Emily and Victor. A little less crazy than 2018[@rev]

Main Course

Most of the items are called out below. We kept the main course pretty simple!

For the bread, we had cranberry walnut (Coscto) and then plain sourdough, olive soughdough, and red chile sourdough (all from Burque Bakehouse)

Wild Rice Salad

Meredith made Pomegranate, Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Walnuts and Feta[@rev] with a mixture of baby kale and dino kale

Green Beans

Meredith made Omi's Haricots Verts Salad [Gaby Dalkin][@rev] with our usual changes

Milk-Simmered Mashed Potatoes

I made Milk-Simmered Mashed Potatoes [Milk Street][@rev]. I originally saw the recipe on Instagram Reels (copied in that page) and liked the idea because it meant I could use Fairlife Milk, which is naturally lactose-free1, and be something for my mom.

I used 5 lbs of potatoes and milk to cover. I simmered in the milk until they were super soft. It took a lot of stirring because it kept bubbling (and burning on the bottom!). My plan was to pour off excess but after it all going through the ricer, all that was left was a small amount of thick, creamy, milk. I kept that. I used 2 sticks of butter and salt to taste.

Turkey

I bought a fresh, 12.26lbs turkey from Trader Joes. I dry-brined (How to Dry Brine a Turkey [Serious Eats][@rev]) it for about 16 hours then kind of followed Herb-Rubbed Crisp-Skinned Butterflied Roast Turkey [Serious Eats][@rev] for the seasoning...but not really. I just used plain butter on the inside (non-melted) and melted seasoned butter on the outside. I think next time, I will reverse that! (the recipe calls for both to be seasoned but the outside ones burn).

I also did garlic, sage, and thyme. No shallot (forgot) or parsley (didn't buy).

It came out really good! Super crispy skin and flavorful meat!

Dressing / Stuffing

Turkey, gravy, and stuffing

I followed Grandma Huffsmith's Dressing (stuffing), with Ann's Changes & and Cornbread[@rev] with Ann's guidance in person (including adding cumin). I used the bagged stuffing mix(full) she suggests. I suspect that if you don't use this, you need to add more seasoning. Anyway, it came out really good. I was very happy with the results. (I originally thought it was a tad dry but others said I was wrong).

Gravy

(photo with stuffing)

I made gravy again with Gravy [Recipe Tin Eats][@rev] since it is super simple. It actually came out really good...when I made it three hours earlier. By the time I served it, having reheated it a few times, it was not a very nice texture. I blitzed it with the immersion blender which helped but it still was not pretty. I need to make it fresher next time and figure out how to hold it at a nice temp.

As seen in another picture, we also served red chile sauce.

Crispy Seared Salmon

Salmon, Tzimmes, and Quinoa Stuffing with Butternut Squash

I made crispy seared salmon using my usual technique[@rev] but changed up the seasonings. First, I did dry-brine it for about 45min to an hour (I forget my actual timing). For the seasoning, I used cumin, sage, thyme, and finely-diced shallots. I was careful to flip quickly so as to not overcook it.

Tzimmes

Emily made Instant Pot® Cherry Tzimmes Recipe [Kroger][@rev]

Quinoa Stuffing with Butternut Squash

Emily made Quinoa Stuffing with Butternut Squash[@rev]

Dessert

Somebody was trying to get into it before I could even get the picture

Continuing the idea of low-key, we bought a lot of the stuff for dessert.

Cranberry Bars

Cranberry Crumb Bars with Mulling Spices [The Smitten Kitchen][@rev]


  1. As opposed to "Lactose Free Milk" which is basically milk with added Lactaid. Less appealing sounding