Ah, Thanksgiving. One of my favorite holidays…the arrival of my Thanksgiving Bon Appétit every year is practically a Henricksen holiday in it’s own right. One of the reasons I love it is because we have a 5 year tradition of renting a house with friends in fun places like Paso Robles and Palm Springs. This year we’re headed back to Palm Springs for a 2nd year with a crew of 13. It’s the first year we have to rent two houses and we have a record high of 5 people flying in from the East Coast…so it’s going to be a fun long weekend full of good friends, fun in the sun and great food.
I have to admit though, I also love Thanksgiving because I truly enjoy the challenge of planning out the meal and strategizing for how to bring it all to life in a way where I can still relax and enjoy the day with friends by the pool. The fact that I have to cart half of my kitchen and brining turkey to our destination certainly makes for an added challenge, but that just makes a successful meal all that more satisfying!
My menu for this year with links to recipes is below. I’ve also provided my “week-of” schedule since that’s the secret to my success. Lots of cooking and prepping the week leading up to Thanksgiving so the day of it’s mostly just cooking and assembling. The day of, hour-by-hour schedule is also included since timing is everything on Turkey Day! Wish me luck as I scale up to cook my largest Thanksgiving yet…and of course if you have tips and tricks of your own I would love to hear them…
| THANKSGIVING 2011 MENU | ||||
| Dish | Source | # of Servings | Make Ahead | |
| Appetizers | Pancetta Crisps with Goat Cheese & Figs | Bon Appétit | Makes 12 | No |
| Union Square Cafe’s Bar Nuts | Food Network | 2 1/4 cups | Yes | |
| Butternut Squash, Ricotta & Sage Crostini | Bon Appétit | Makes 12 | Yes – 1 day then assemble | |
| Thyme Gougères | Epicurous | Makes 55 | Yes – 1 month, freeze then rewarm 10 minutes | |
| Fruit Platter | DIY | 6 | No | |
| Veggie Platter & Ranch Yogurt Dip | DIY (Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Packet with 2% Greek Yogurt) | 6 | Yes | |
| Dinner @ 4pm | Beer Brined Turkey | Homebrewchef Website | 8 | Brine 2 days in advance |
| Suz’s Famous Sweet Potatoes | SavoryGirl Recipe | 8 | Yes | |
| The Fluffiest Mashed Potatoes | Bon Appétit | 8 | No – but can warm for 2 hours | |
| Classic Stuffing | Bon Appétit | 10 | No | |
| Mixed Mushroom & Tarragon Gravy | Bon Appétit | 7 cups | Yes – 1 day | |
| Turkey Stock | Bon Appétit | 8 1/2 cups | Yes – 4 days | |
| Iron Skillet Succotash | Bon Appétit | 10 | Yes – 1 day | |
| Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad | Bon Appétit | 8 | Yes – 8 hours & mix last minute | |
| Cranberry-Pepper Jelly | Bon Appétit | 2 1/2 cups | Yes – 3 weeks | |
| Cranberry Sauce | Storebought | 6 | N/A | |
| Dessert | Rum Pumpkin Pie (with Paula’s Perfect Pie Crust) | Food Network | 8 | Yes |
| Apple Crunch Pie & Vanilla Ice Cream (same crust a above) | Food Network | 8 | Yes | |
| Cheesecake | A friend is bringing | 8 | Yes | |
| WEEK BEFORE PREP SCHEDULE | |||
| WEEKEND BEFORE | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY |
| Make gougères and freeze | Pick up Turkey! | Start brining turkey | Make pumpkin & apple pie |
| Make cranberry-pepper jelly | Make bar nuts | Make turkey stock | Bake sweet potatoes & butternut squash |
| Make pumpkin pancake batter & freeze | Carmelize pecans for pie | Chop all succotash ingredients | Mix sweet potatoes & cool/chop squash |
| Make pie crusts & freeze | Prep bread & veg for stuffing | Make gravy | |
| Mix & bag dry ingredients for pies | Make succotash, but undercook slightly | ||
| Make veggie dip & fruit dip | |||
| Set up bar and chill wine | |||
| THANKSGIVING DAY SCHEDULE | |
| 9am | Crisp pancetta & take out pre-cooked squash |
| 10am | Put Turkey in oven… |
| 11am | Build veggie and fruit platters |
| Assemble pancetta crisps & butternut squash crostini | |
| Rewarm gougères | |
| 12pm | Put out appetizers |
| 1pm | Prep kale salad, but keep separate |
| 2pm | Make mashed potatoes & keep warm |
| Prepare stuffing & take sweet potatoes out of fridge | |
| 3pm | Put pre-made sweet potatoes & stuffing in oven |
| Reheat succotash & gravy | |
| Set table & put out cranberry sauces & wine | |
| 4pm | DINNER TIME! |
| 6pm | Make whip cream & assemble pumpkin pie. Warm apple pie |
Resources:
Attached is the spreadsheet I use for all of the information above, but it also has a dish by dish shopping list included! When I’m ready to go shopping, I take that shopping list and sort by ingredient to get totals for everything I need. Then I add a couple of columns…one to mark if it’s a pantry item or perishable item (so I know how early I can buy it) and another column to indicate if I already have it on hand, and therefore can delete from the shopping list. If necessary I then break it out by store (I tend to like to get my nuts, olive oil and a few other things at Whole Foods vs. the rest at my standard Safeway) and aisle/section, check online for coupons and then go shopping!
Note: there is no Turkey on the shopping list…I pre-order mine from a local store about a week in advance, but if you haven’t done so make sure to add it to the list!
Wow….amazing, I’m very impressed once again….but what’s the turkey stock for?
Aw, thanks! The turkey stock is mostly for the gravy…but it will also be used for basting & stuffing as needed. I know Brent is an expert stock-maker…any tips to improve the recipe I normally use on the menu?