It's a Friday Newsletter on a Tuesday! I've got the one thing your Thanksgiving table needs, an elegant Thursday morning cocktail, great music, movie recs and more!
I just did a long post on my newsletter about all the things I'm thankful for and I won't regale you with my list, but I am very thankful for people who are out there trying to make this world a better place, putting themselves on the line, protesting and doing mutual aid and just helping fight the good fight. We need people like that right now and I'm so thankful for them.
We are traveling for the holiday, so my only contribution will be mini browned butter bourbon cheesecakes with a bourbon caramel pecan topping (thank you for introducing me to fat washing, Scott!). My go-to for years has been to do an andouille cornbread stuffing that (an emeril recipe that can be found online) and that has been a SMASH hit wherever I’ve taken it.
I’ll be bringing roasted Brussels with bacon, topped with pickled red onion and splashed with a maple syrup apple cider vinaigrette to the in-laws house Thursday.
Friday I’m cooking small bird for our house and along with the usual suspects as a side, whipping up an onion casserole.
It consists of thinly sliced sweet onions, shredded cheddar cheese and potato chips (Lay’s seem to work best here).
In your trusty casserole dish, layer the onions, cheese and chips as high as you safely can. Top it with 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (thinned out a bit with milk) and pour over the top, making sure the mixture oozes down the inside of the dish. Bake at 350° for at least an hour or until the top is bubbling brown and crispy. Take it out and let it rest before serving.
The next day it goes well in sandwiches or gobbleritos.
> But you know what? It’s Thanksgiving, and you may not have noticed, but Uncle Gary left that turkey out to thaw on the porch last night before frying it.
Damnit Cookbook, the porch is 22 Freedom Degrees this morning.
My first thanksgiving in the south we did friendsgiving which coincidentally was also mostly people from the upper midwest and not being able to just store stuff chilled on the porch was very confusing to us all.
One NYE we just set up a turkey fryer on the deck around the complex pool and told people to come over and fry stuff. Not sure I've ever felt worse than the next morning.
Our go-to movie at Thanksgiving is always The Last Waltz. It’s family-friendly as long as no one asks for a deeper explanation of any of the stories the members of The Band tell in the interview segments. It’s full of incredible musical performances from some of the best artists of the 20th century in their prime. I recommend renting it or watching it on a paid streamer, because the “free with ads” version on YouTube breaks for commercials in the middle of songs.
We're in an alternating pattern with my family- we'll travel to them for Christmas this year, so Thanksgiving is just The Missus and I this year (and it's been a pretty crappy last 3ish months for us, so I think we're happy to just lay low and not have to do anything). I'm keeping it basic- a dry-brined Turkey, mashed potatoes, spicy sausage stuffing, gravy and rolls. We may even--and this is brash and arrogant, I know-- cook and eat The Big Meal a day early (*the crowd gasps*) so Thursday I can day drink and giggle like a toddler at the dog show.
Also: the Uncle Gary line made me recall the time my East Texas Redneck father-in-law decided the turkey he bought was too big to cook properly so he cut it (still mostly frozen) in half with his chainsaw ("I put a new chain on it, what's the problem?"). I did not eat the turkey that year.
We had an early Friendsgiving last weekend which gave us a chance to test drive miso green bean casserole. It was a hit so we’re doing it again for the main event.
The only constant on my family Thanksgiving menu is stuffing made with my great-grandmother’s recipe, a poultry, and some sort of pie, but the bird, how it’s cooked, and what’s in the pies varies year to year. Last year, the bird was a spatchcocked capon rubbed with herb butter before roasting, and this year, my mom is cooking turkey thighs in a tagine with traditional poultry herbs, harissa, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans. The pies on Thursday’s menu are the sweet potato pie from The Good Book of Southern Baking, with toasted marshmallow fluff and a gingersnap crust, and a pecan pie sweetened with sorghum syrup instead of Karo.
Both mine and my wife’s families have their non-dessert menu set in stone so I’ll try to bring something new for dessert, unless a special request is made.
My wife’s family requested a pumpkin cheesecake (I’m using the recipe from Preppy Kitchen which I’ve had success with before). For my family I’m going to bring miniature chocolate and orange no-bake cheesecakes (the recipe comes from last years Bake Off winner Matty Edgell, which he currently has as one of his pinned videos on Instagram).
Thank you! The only thing that eludes me with perfecting my cheesecakes is preventing seepage from the water bath into the crust. I use extra wide aluminum foil and wrap the springform pan multiple times but some water still manages to get into the crust. It only has a minor impact on the overall quality of the cheesecake but it’s frustrating to not quite nail it.
Can I tell you something that might be sacrilege? I have NEVER done a water bath. My cheesecakes have *knock on wood* turned out great. Sure I might get some cracking on the top, but especially with something like an Oreo cheesecake, I just through a ton of crushed Oreos on top and the cracks are gone. My biggest reason not to water bath is it just seems like way too much hassle, and my absent-mindedness in the kitchen already increases my baking/cooking time from what the recipe says haha
Yeah I’ve done some with and without the water bath. Without the water bath the main difference I’ve noticed is shrinkage around the perimeter which creates a lip where the edges meet the top. Other than that the flavor and texture are identical. I might try no water bath this year just to get another data point. Worst case scenario I can just put a bunch of whipped cream on the top to hide any imperfections.
We pulled of dinner last weekend in a rental house. Did spatchocked/dry brined/herb-butter coated turkey, stuffing (in a pan under the turkey), mashed potatoes/gravy, roasted veggies with a lemongrass/yogurt dressing, cranberry sauce, and 2 pies (apple and pecan). Somehow everything came out great despite having only one saucepan of a reasonable size.
I'm in a season of instability and disruption (not the Silicon Valley starry-eyed promise kind, but the actual kind when everything is starting to fall over and there's no clear path back to solid ground). So I'm thankful for the beloved, the one constant who always has a way to make things better. I'm thankful for friends far and wide who have shown up in ways a lot of people IRL have just not been there. And I'm thankful for store-bought and boxed versions of food I like so that I don't have to cook as much and still get a good meal.
"If you’re a learned soul who understands that the culinary peak of Thanksgiving is actually making shameful sandwiches in the days after"
THIS! I usually skip the turkey on Thursday and eat all the other stuff. Leftover turkey (and the rest of all the other stuff) is reserved for massive, leaning, dripping sandwiches that end up requiring a fork anyway after the bread disintegrates.
I've dialed it back, but we used to make a family recipe called "Holiday Mashed Potatoes" that was essentially a baking-dish-sized twice-baked potato with nearly as much dairy as potato in it.
It's delicious day of, but it also made an awesome addition to the sandwiches, because it was basically Potato Cream Cheese
I just did a long post on my newsletter about all the things I'm thankful for and I won't regale you with my list, but I am very thankful for people who are out there trying to make this world a better place, putting themselves on the line, protesting and doing mutual aid and just helping fight the good fight. We need people like that right now and I'm so thankful for them.
One thing I have learned from this newsletter is that your readers' pet-naming game is way stronger than my own.
I want to make the spicy cranberry, but I'll probably end up the only one eating it. Filed under "Feature, not bug".
It’s low enough effort and cost that it’s worth making even if you are the only one eating it (I’ll probably be the only one in my house!)
Planned on making the jalapeño version, but we didn't grab any cranberries! So if I'm able to by tomorrow, I'll make it.
We are traveling for the holiday, so my only contribution will be mini browned butter bourbon cheesecakes with a bourbon caramel pecan topping (thank you for introducing me to fat washing, Scott!). My go-to for years has been to do an andouille cornbread stuffing that (an emeril recipe that can be found online) and that has been a SMASH hit wherever I’ve taken it.
Turkey: brined, injected, dry-rubbed, smoked.
Elk roast
Brussel sprouts: smoked & glazed
Mac & cheese
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes & gravies
Pies & rolls
I’ll be bringing roasted Brussels with bacon, topped with pickled red onion and splashed with a maple syrup apple cider vinaigrette to the in-laws house Thursday.
Friday I’m cooking small bird for our house and along with the usual suspects as a side, whipping up an onion casserole.
It consists of thinly sliced sweet onions, shredded cheddar cheese and potato chips (Lay’s seem to work best here).
In your trusty casserole dish, layer the onions, cheese and chips as high as you safely can. Top it with 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (thinned out a bit with milk) and pour over the top, making sure the mixture oozes down the inside of the dish. Bake at 350° for at least an hour or until the top is bubbling brown and crispy. Take it out and let it rest before serving.
The next day it goes well in sandwiches or gobbleritos.
I am *very* interested in this
It’s a comfort food for sure
like I swore I wasn't adding anything to the Thanksgiving menu but that is extremely tempting
I hope my wife isn't reading the comments today
<Ben_Stiller_Do_it.gif>
Baked Turkey
Smoked Turkey
Some combo of deer/duck/elk
Gravy, usually too thin and bland for my liking
Two dressings, one with mushrooms and nuts I think?
Squash casserole
Green bean casserole
Mac n cheese
Rolls, usually Parker House style
Purple stuff (purple jello with walnuts and dried fruit in it, topped with cool whip)
Assorted pies and cookies
I do not do any of the actual cooking, though I may taste test (in an official capacity!), help prep, and I am the *official* turkey carver.
> But you know what? It’s Thanksgiving, and you may not have noticed, but Uncle Gary left that turkey out to thaw on the porch last night before frying it.
Damnit Cookbook, the porch is 22 Freedom Degrees this morning.
if Uncle Gary tries to fry the turkey that was on the 22-degree porch, I recommend you step back and start filming
My first thanksgiving in the south we did friendsgiving which coincidentally was also mostly people from the upper midwest and not being able to just store stuff chilled on the porch was very confusing to us all.
Imagine trying to host a NYE party without Nature's Fridge...!
One NYE we just set up a turkey fryer on the deck around the complex pool and told people to come over and fry stuff. Not sure I've ever felt worse than the next morning.
ahahahaha
Our go-to movie at Thanksgiving is always The Last Waltz. It’s family-friendly as long as no one asks for a deeper explanation of any of the stories the members of The Band tell in the interview segments. It’s full of incredible musical performances from some of the best artists of the 20th century in their prime. I recommend renting it or watching it on a paid streamer, because the “free with ads” version on YouTube breaks for commercials in the middle of songs.
you know, I've never watched The Last Waltz? This feels like an oversight on my part.
This sounds fantastic and much better than watching the Giants and Cowboys.
Or the Bears and the Lions but I am a long suffering Bears fan and must watch them whether they win or get butchered. Go Caleb! Duck!
We're in an alternating pattern with my family- we'll travel to them for Christmas this year, so Thanksgiving is just The Missus and I this year (and it's been a pretty crappy last 3ish months for us, so I think we're happy to just lay low and not have to do anything). I'm keeping it basic- a dry-brined Turkey, mashed potatoes, spicy sausage stuffing, gravy and rolls. We may even--and this is brash and arrogant, I know-- cook and eat The Big Meal a day early (*the crowd gasps*) so Thursday I can day drink and giggle like a toddler at the dog show.
Also: the Uncle Gary line made me recall the time my East Texas Redneck father-in-law decided the turkey he bought was too big to cook properly so he cut it (still mostly frozen) in half with his chainsaw ("I put a new chain on it, what's the problem?"). I did not eat the turkey that year.
I mean, what is a chainsaw but a larger version of one of those electric carving knives? Simply a matter of scale.
Also, [nods at fellow Dog Show appreciator]
We had an early Friendsgiving last weekend which gave us a chance to test drive miso green bean casserole. It was a hit so we’re doing it again for the main event.
https://shop.momofuku.com/blogs/recipes/miso-garlic-crunch-green-bean-casserole
I was just looking at a container of white miso in the pantry and thinking "what can I sneak this into"
The only constant on my family Thanksgiving menu is stuffing made with my great-grandmother’s recipe, a poultry, and some sort of pie, but the bird, how it’s cooked, and what’s in the pies varies year to year. Last year, the bird was a spatchcocked capon rubbed with herb butter before roasting, and this year, my mom is cooking turkey thighs in a tagine with traditional poultry herbs, harissa, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans. The pies on Thursday’s menu are the sweet potato pie from The Good Book of Southern Baking, with toasted marshmallow fluff and a gingersnap crust, and a pecan pie sweetened with sorghum syrup instead of Karo.
In my family the one must have dish each year is stuffing from my great-grandfather's recipe. It's simply referred to as "The Stuffing".
Both mine and my wife’s families have their non-dessert menu set in stone so I’ll try to bring something new for dessert, unless a special request is made.
My wife’s family requested a pumpkin cheesecake (I’m using the recipe from Preppy Kitchen which I’ve had success with before). For my family I’m going to bring miniature chocolate and orange no-bake cheesecakes (the recipe comes from last years Bake Off winner Matty Edgell, which he currently has as one of his pinned videos on Instagram).
Good luck with the cheesecake! Pumpkin a cheesecake is incredible. The NYT recipe is my go-to and it’s worked really well for me
Thank you! The only thing that eludes me with perfecting my cheesecakes is preventing seepage from the water bath into the crust. I use extra wide aluminum foil and wrap the springform pan multiple times but some water still manages to get into the crust. It only has a minor impact on the overall quality of the cheesecake but it’s frustrating to not quite nail it.
Can I tell you something that might be sacrilege? I have NEVER done a water bath. My cheesecakes have *knock on wood* turned out great. Sure I might get some cracking on the top, but especially with something like an Oreo cheesecake, I just through a ton of crushed Oreos on top and the cracks are gone. My biggest reason not to water bath is it just seems like way too much hassle, and my absent-mindedness in the kitchen already increases my baking/cooking time from what the recipe says haha
Yeah I’ve done some with and without the water bath. Without the water bath the main difference I’ve noticed is shrinkage around the perimeter which creates a lip where the edges meet the top. Other than that the flavor and texture are identical. I might try no water bath this year just to get another data point. Worst case scenario I can just put a bunch of whipped cream on the top to hide any imperfections.
Mimosas (for the cooks!)
Turkey
Cornbread Dressing
Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Green Beans
Sweet Potato Casserole
Broccoli & Rice Casserole
Roasted Brussel Sprouts w Bacon
Mac & Cheese
Crescent Rolls
Apple Pie & Ice Cream
Spice Cake
Sweet tea
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. We’ll have a smaller group this year but always quality!
We pulled of dinner last weekend in a rental house. Did spatchocked/dry brined/herb-butter coated turkey, stuffing (in a pan under the turkey), mashed potatoes/gravy, roasted veggies with a lemongrass/yogurt dressing, cranberry sauce, and 2 pies (apple and pecan). Somehow everything came out great despite having only one saucepan of a reasonable size.
I'm in a season of instability and disruption (not the Silicon Valley starry-eyed promise kind, but the actual kind when everything is starting to fall over and there's no clear path back to solid ground). So I'm thankful for the beloved, the one constant who always has a way to make things better. I'm thankful for friends far and wide who have shown up in ways a lot of people IRL have just not been there. And I'm thankful for store-bought and boxed versions of food I like so that I don't have to cook as much and still get a good meal.
All-day snacks: charcuterie plate, relish tray, deviled eggs, cream cheese and pepper jelly, cranberry-jalapeño salsa
Turkey - smoked by the butcher
Dressing - boxed this year
Mashed potatoes
Gravy - jarred works great
Sweet potato casserole - easy and delicious
Steamed broccoli and Mornay sauce - cheese sauce delivery without dealing with mac and cheese
Rolls - store-bought is fine
Cranberry sauce and mandarin oranges
Pumpkin pie - made at home specifically for the beloved, it's his one request
Pecan-sweet potato cake - a new thing from a local bakery
"If you’re a learned soul who understands that the culinary peak of Thanksgiving is actually making shameful sandwiches in the days after"
THIS! I usually skip the turkey on Thursday and eat all the other stuff. Leftover turkey (and the rest of all the other stuff) is reserved for massive, leaning, dripping sandwiches that end up requiring a fork anyway after the bread disintegrates.
I've dialed it back, but we used to make a family recipe called "Holiday Mashed Potatoes" that was essentially a baking-dish-sized twice-baked potato with nearly as much dairy as potato in it.
It's delicious day of, but it also made an awesome addition to the sandwiches, because it was basically Potato Cream Cheese