Thanksgiving Menu

1. Day Before (Prep Work):

• Turkey (Dry Brine):
  • Dry brine defrosted turkey with salt, pepper, and sugar. Place on a rack on a sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered overnight.
• Gravy Stock:
  • Roast turkey wings, onion, and garlic head.
  • Combine roasted items with carrots, celery, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a pot of boiling water. Simmer until flavors are extracted. Strain and refrigerate stock.
• Stuffing Prep:
  • Tear bread into pieces and leave out to dry or toast slightly.
• Cranberry Sauce:
  • Combine cranberries, sugar, orange zest, water, cinnamon, and liqueur in a pot. Simmer for 10 minutes until jammy. Let cool and refrigerate.

2. Morning:

• Turkey:
  • Remove brined turkey from the fridge to come to room temperature for 1 hour.
• Stuffing:
  • Preheat oven to 190°C.
  • Sauté onion and leeks in melted butter until softened. Add celery, then garlic, and season. Let cool.
  • Whisk eggs, broth, cider vinegar, and herbs. Combine with bread and sautéed mixture. Let sit for 10-60 minutes.

3. Midday Cooking:

• Oven Prep (Turkey and Stuffing):
  • Preheat oven to 232°C for turkey.
  • Grease a baking dish with butter for stuffing. Transfer stuffing mixture, dot with butter, and cover with foil.
• Turkey (Roast):
  • Add water below the rack in the sheet pan.
  • Rub compound butter (butter mixed with thyme, sage, rosemary) under and over the turkey skin. Tuck wings.
  • Roast for 90 minutes, rotating halfway.
• Mashed Potatoes Prep:
  • Boil potatoes for 20 minutes.
  • Simmer cream, butter, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper.
  • Mash potatoes and combine with cream mixture.
• Stuffing (Bake):
  • Bake stuffing covered for 20 minutes at 190°C. Uncover and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

4. Final Hour:

• Gravy:
  • Make roux with butter and flour. Add turkey drippings and whisk until browned. Gradually incorporate turkey stock until desired consistency. Season with Worcestershire, soy sauce, and cider vinegar.
• Green Beans:
  • Blanch green beans for 2-3 minutes, then shock in ice water.
  • Sauté beans with olive oil and toss with gremolata mixture (garlic, lemon zest, parsley, panko, parm).
• Brussels Sprouts:
  • Halve and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast at 190°C for 25 minutes. Toss with balsamic or pomegranate reduction.
• Mac and Cheese:
  • Preheat oven to 177°C. Cook pasta al dente and make cheese sauce.
  • Layer pasta and cheese in a greased dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, broil for 2 minutes for a golden top.

5. Serving:

• Rest turkey for 30 minutes before carving.
• Reheat cranberry sauce if desired.
• Plate all sides and enjoy!
• Stuffing
  • Bread (from scrap bag)
  • 2 – Leeks
  • 4 cloves – garlic
  • 2 – eggs 
  • 1 cup – Celery
  • 2 tbsp – Sage
  • Dash – thyme/rosemary/red pepper flakes
  • 4 tbsp – Butter
  • 1 – Onion
  • 2 cups – broth
  • ½ cup – apple cider vinegar
    • Oven at 190C
    • Melt most of the butter in saucepan
    • saute onion and leeks until softened
    • Add celery
    • Add garlic and season w/ Salt and pepper
    • Grease 13×9 baking dish with some of the remaining butter
    • Whisk eggs, broth, cider, herbs, and a lot of salt and pepper
    • Combine with bread and onion mixture. Let sit anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour
    • Put in baking dish and dot top with remaining butter
    • Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes
    • Uncover and bake 25/30 more minutes until top is golden
• Turkey
  • Turkey
  • Salt pepper sugar
  • Thyme
  • Sage
  • Rosemary 
  • 8tbsp – Butter
    • Dry brine a defrosted turkey with salt, pepper, and sugar
    • Place on rack on sheet pan
    • Remove from fridge at least one hour before baking
    • Preheat oven to 232C
    • Add water below drying rack to prevent burning
    • Combine butter and chopped herbs into compound butter
    • Spread all over and under bird, tuck wings underneath
    • Roast for 90 minutes? Rotate halfway through
    • Remove and let rest for 30 minutes before carving
• Cranberry sauce
  • 1 12oz. Bag – Cranberries
  • 1 tbsp – Orange
  • ⅛ tsp – Cinnamon 
  • 2/4 cup – Sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp – orange liqueur
  • 1 cup – water
    • Combine cranberries, sugar, zest, a pinch of salt, water, and liquor 
    • Bring to boil on medium heat
    • Let get jammy – about 10 mins
    • Turn heat off and let cool

Mac and Cheese:

• 1 lb – pasta corkscrew/cavatappi preferred
• 1 lb – mozzarella cheese
• 1 lb – colby jack cheese
• 1/2 lb – cheddar cheese sharp preferred
• 1/4 tsp – salt
• 1/4 tsp – freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp – garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp – smoked paprika
• 3 tbsp – unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp – all purpose flour
• 12 oz/1 can – evaporated milk
• 2 cups – heavy cream
• 1 tbsp – mustard Dijon preferred
  • Preheat oven to 177C
  • Grease 9×13 baking dish
  • Cook pasta al dente, drain and set aside
  • Shred and combine cheese, divide in half
  • Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add half of the combined seasonings to bloom
  • Add flour and make sure it’s well combined
  • Add evaporated milk (warmed) and whisk. Turn down heat entirely and keep mixing while toasting until blonde
  • Add heavy cream off heat and whisk in dijon
  • Add half the cheese mixture, mix until fully melted
  • Add pasta and mix
  • In baking dish, add half of pasta mix, layer with cheese, add rest of pasta and layer the rest of the cheese on top
  • Bake for 25-30 mins until melted, broil for golden brown top (2 mins)

Green Beans:

• 1 lb – Green beans
• 1 tbsp – Lemon zest
• 2 tbsp – toasted panko
• 3 tbsp – minced Parsley
• 2 ½ tbsp – olive oil
• 2 tsp – minced garlic
• 3 tbsp – grated parm
  • Boil water and blanch green beans for 2-3 minutes
  • Shock immediately upon removing in ice water
  • Combine garlic, lemon zest, parsley, parm, and breadcrumbs in small bowl
  • Pat dry shocked beans and saute w/ olive oil (high heat) 
  • Turn frequently for 2 mins until coated
  • Off heat, toss w/ gremolata, salt and pepper and serve

Gravy:

• Turkey wings
• Onion
• Carrots
• Celery
• Garlic
• Bay leaf
• Peppercorns
• Flour
• Butter
• Wosterschiere sauce
• Soy sauce
• Apple cider vinegar
  • Brown onions, garlic head, and turkey wings on baking tray
  • Combine browned wings and onions with carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns in pot of boiling water
  • Let simmer until flavor extracted
  • Strain and add wosterschiere, soy and cider vinegar
  • Combine butter and flour and turkey drippings and whisk until it browns
  • add stock slowly until absorbed and right consistency
  • Season to taste 

Mashed Potatoes

• 2/3lbs – Potatoes
• ½ cup – Cream
• ½ head – Garlic
• 2 tsp – Thyme
• Salt pepper
• Palmful – Chives
• 1 stick – Butter
  • Cut and peel potatoes
  • Boil for 20 mins (until easily pieced)
  • While potatoes boiling, simmer cream with butter, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper
  • Mash and combine with cream mixture
  • Salt to taste and crack more pepper
  • Top with chopped chives

Brussel Sprouts

• Brussels
• Garlic powder
• Balsamic/pomegranate reduction 
• Salt pepper
  • Cut brussels in half
  • Cover in salt peper and garlic powder
  • Roast at 375F/190C for 25 mins
  • Remove and dress w/ reduction