Little recognized truth: I began my profession in catering. Once I landed in Austin at age 21, I scored a job as an occasion planner at a catering firm, having no thought how a lot I’d fall in love with the frenzy of creating positive a high-pressure occasion went off and not using a hitch. (And if one thing did go mistaken, ensuring my consumer by no means knew about it!) I used to be single and dwelling in a brand new metropolis, and I can bear in mind staying up late at my neighborhood espresso store, pouring over menu ideas to create a meals expertise that was the right stability of fascinating and acquainted, satisfying with out being heavy. To today, I really feel the identical means about Thanksgiving menu planning.
It was throughout these late-night work periods that my slight obsession with menu planning was born. For me, settling in with my cookbooks and designing a menu for a cocktail party is a real artistic outlet. Over time, associates have shared that they really feel ill-equipped within the space, and I get a variety of menu-planning questions from you guys right here and on IG—particularly because the holidays approach.
Intuition is a key ingredient in my Thanksgiving menu planning process. However, when it comes to this holiday in particular, I lean on a tried-and-true formula that checks all the boxes for what the people want, without totally exhausting the host (me) or leading to means an excessive amount of meals. Some leftovers are good. However a large casserole dish that hardly bought a dent put in it? Not a lot.
Learn on for my tried-and-true Thanksgiving menu planning method, then get impressed with a few of my favourite recipes so you’ll be able to combine and match to make it your individual.
Here’s the general formula I use when deciding what we’ll be serving each year. Thankfully, most of my family members are great cooks, so I also use this formula to divvy up what people will bring potluck-style.
- Turkey. Adam often fries one, and I typically roast a second turkey for leftovers. If we’ve bought a actually huge group, we’ll decide up a honey-glazed ham, too.
- Gravy. Not my favourite, but it surely should be executed.
- Potatoes. Mashed, roasted, or scalloped.
- Dressing. Or “stuffing,” relying on the place you reside. Cornbread, white bread, wild rice, oyster.
- Orange Vegetable. Candy potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, carrots.
- Inexperienced Vegetable. Brussels sprouts, inexperienced bean casserole, broccolini, sautéed greens like collards or kale.
- Bread. Rolls, focaccia, cornbread. I often decide these up from an area bakery.
- Pies. Pumpkin, pecan, chocolate, buttermilk, apple, I might go on and on.
Keep in mind: when you’re having a smaller group, select your faves and depart the remainder. Simply because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t imply you’ll want to spend the complete day within the kitchen.
Now for the enjoyable half! Scroll on for my favourite recipes for Thanksgiving. Select one from every class, and also you’ve bought your self a foolproof Thanksgiving menu all served up.
Turkey
Brined Roast Turkey
Regardless of what number of turkey recipes are on the market (1000’s? hundreds of thousands?) not a November rolls by that I don’t sort “What’s the very best Thanksgiving turkey recipe?” in my Google search bar hoping to realize some readability. And though there are numerous scrumptious methods to cook dinner ’em, from stuffed to spatchcocked to fried, it’s laborious to beat the simplicity of a traditional brined roast turkey—particularly when it’s cooked to perfection with crispy pores and skin and an inside that’s juicy and flavorful. So, in an effort to lastly nail down the very best, foolproof method for a brined roast turkey, I referred to as within the professional: Michael Fojtasek, the proprietor/chef of award-winning restaurant Olamaie, right here in Austin.
Potatoes
Make-Ahead Vegan Mashed Potatoes
It’s laborious to image Thanksgiving and not using a savory bowl of buttery-smooth mashed potatoes on the desk. And this crowd-pleasing model can really be loved by everybody. It simply so occurs to be vegan with out sacrificing any of the traditional creaminess that they’re all craving. Maybe the very best a part of these mashed potatoes is that they are often made a few hours forward of the feast so that you’re not scurrying to combine them up when every thing else is happening the desk. Starring Yukon Golds, these have a velvety texture that’s to die for.
Faux Parmesan Cauliflower “Potatoes”
As a self-pronounced mashed potato connoisseur, the thought of cauliflower mashed potatoes didn’t initially excite me. How might they presumably stay as much as the true factor? This recipe for fake parmesan cauliflower mashed potatoes from chef and creator, Helene Henderson’s cookbook, Malibu Farm Sunrise to Sunset, alleviated all of my doubts. Not solely do they look like tacky mashed potatoes, however they style like them, too. I’ve tried cauliflower mash after cauliflower mash, and no different recipe can match this one’s genuine potato taste.
Orange Vegetable Aspect
Roasted Honeynut Squash
Every thing about this roasted honeynut squash recipe makes it a top-tier possibility in your Thanksgiving menu planning choices. Topped with pecans for the right crunch and sizzling honey for a little bit of a kick, visitors will likely be raving over this distinctive and flavorful aspect.
Sweet Potato and Caramelized Date Salad
Candy potatoes are an apparent alternative for an orange Thanksgiving aspect dish, however this salad is something however primary. Pomegranate seeds carry a tangy distinction to the savory flavors of the autumn root veggie, and caramelized dates encapsulate the right candy salad topping.
Roasted Acorn Squash
In relation to Thanksgiving sides, Tieghan Gerard, aka Half Baked Harvest, completely nailed this roasted acorn squash. Squash is all the time a filling aspect that everybody loves, however isn’t all the time prepped to its fullest potential. It’s balanced, candy, and a bit of bit nutty. What extra might you ask for?
Blood Orange and Beet Salad
Have you ever ever seen a prettier coloration combo? Deliver the beets and oranges in a bowl separate from the yogurt, then prepare on a platter simply earlier than serving.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes With Brown Sugar Cornflake Crunch
For those who love a nostalgic tackle recipes, this traditional Thanksgiving aspect dish was made for you. The filling is product of contemporary mashed candy potatoes and topped with a crunchy, brown sugary topping for the last word mix in textures. One chew will carry you proper again to your golden youthful days watching Saturday morning cartoons and consuming a giant bowl of cornflakes.
Roasted Delicata Squash and Kale Salad
Sheela Prakash shared her kale salad recipe from her cookbook, Mediterranean Every Day. It’s heat, comforting and our favourite salad to incorporate in our Thanksgiving menu planning.
Honey Roasted Carrots with Sage and Pepitas
Halved carrots are tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roasted at 425 F till simply cooked by means of and crispy on the perimeters. In the meantime, I make the key sauce on the stovetop: a deliciously syrupy combination of orange zest and juice, rice vinegar for a burst of acidity, a giant squeeze of honey, sliced jalapeño or a shake of crimson pepper flakes (I commute), and the important thing addition of contemporary sage, which perfumes the complete dish with autumn vibes.
Dressing/Stuffing
Vegetarian Skillet Cornbread Stuffing With Kale and Caramelized Onions
This vegetarian cornbread stuffing streamlines the standard course of by omitting that first step of baking a loaf of cornbread, then crumbling or chopping it up earlier than folding within the mix-ins. This one is extra of a cornbread/stuffing hybrid: you make an superior cornbread batter and fold all of the toppings and seasonings proper into the combo, then bake all of it collectively. Not solely does it make the complete course of faster start-to-finish, however I like the country look of serving it proper from the cast-iron pan it bakes in, particularly with the vivid shades of crimson onion and kale crowning the highest.
Inexperienced Vegetable Aspect
Sweet & Sour Cider Brussels Sprouts
As a substitute of leaning on my typical technique of roasting halved sprouts till crispy, I shredded these into skinny little ruffly bites, then did a tough sear in a cast-iron skillet to get the char I’m all the time after. A fast toss in a candy vinegar sauce with a secret ingredient (apple cider!) and a sprinkle of toasted pecans, dates, and chilli flakes, and these are fairly near good.
Holiday Jewels Kale Salad
Look no additional for probably the most gorgeous (and easy) salad your Thanksgiving menu planning thoughts might think about. Apples, pomegranate seeds, and a mouth-watering mustard-shallot French dressing make these greens a must have for all of your vacation gatherings.
Cacio E Pepe Brussels Sprouts
I’m already obsessive about Brussels sprouts, however while you add parmesan, lemon zest, and hazelnuts to the combo, contemplate me lifeless.
Pies & Tarts
Pumpkin Pie with Gingersnap Crust
This pumpkin pie is my all-time favourite. Whereas pumpkin is most individuals’s traditional Thanksgiving pie, I discover it might get a bit of boring with out sufficient taste in-built. Fortunately, this recipe is filled with candy and spicy notes, and the gingersnap crust is probably the most genius tackle custom. (If I do say so myself.)
Classic Buttermilk Pie
This Traditional Buttermilk Pie recipe is a Types household traditional. My mother is the pie baker within the household—we all the time beg her to make all of the pies for Thanksgiving. So I feel you’re going to like this traditional buttermilk pie recipe. It’s so easy to make, but the flavour is wealthy and scrumptious.
Easier-Than-Pie Warm Apple Tart
This tart is tough to chop heat, but it surely melts in your mouth. (And nobody minds a heat crumbled apple tart spooned right into a bowl, with ice cream melting on prime.) Cool, it’s equally alluring and simpler to serve in good slices. However the very best factor about this tart—moreover consuming it—is figuring out how straightforward it’s to make it once more.
Apple Ginger Pie (Gluten-Free)
When the time rolls round to do my Thanksgiving menu planning, this pie all the time appears to make the reduce. Granny Smith apples maintain the pie from being overly candy, and the nice and cozy spices make a slice of pie the comfiest cozy dish to twist up with after-dinner—and for breakfast the subsequent morning with a cup of espresso!
Chocolate Pecan Slab Pie
This always-delicious traditional is bulked as much as feed a crowd. The trick is doubling my favourite recipe and baking it in a jelly roll pan as an alternative of a traditional pie tin. Reduce into squares as an alternative of sliced in triangles, it’s much like a pecan bar however doesn’t skimp on the gooey pecan filling.
Now, I’m going to put up up in entrance of the fireplace with my sizzling tea and stack of cookbooks. Completely happy Thanksgiving menu planning!
This put up was initially printed on November twelfth, 2020, and has since been up to date.
