I didn't take a single photo. Not even with my phone, shockingly, the food was still edible ;) There were a couple recipes that really worked and I wanted to document them largely for myself, but you may enjoy them as well. I give you permission.
Brown Bag Turkey with Smoky Citrus Rub: Roasted for 4.5 hours on 325, stuffed (always!)
Caramelized Onion Gravy: Jumbo made this, but here's what he said he did. Caramelize 3 onions, deglaze with red wine, build a dark rue (separate pan), add to onion pan with beef base and water. Add dashes of sage, rosemary, salt, pepper, worcestershire to taste.
Green Bean Salad with Creme Fraiche: Recipe from Food Network Magazine. It wasn't awesome, so I won't link it.
Green Bean Casserole: Made this for a different Thanksgiving meal, and it was pretty solid. This made an entire 9x13 pan. Trim haricot vert to 2" pieces, steam briefly, then ice bath or run under freezing water to halt cooking. Dry fry (just a mist of oil) 1 lb sliced baby bellas until very brown; add in 2T minced garlic and cook for a minute or so, season with S&P and set aside. Deglaze pan with 1/2 bottle of white wine; reduce. Add in 1 cup cream, 1 cup parmesan and more wine (if needed) to get a saucy consistency. Toss beans and mushrooms in sauce and transfer to a buttered casserole dish. Brown 1 stick of butter in cast iron skillet; drop in 2 minced shallots and sizzle. Add 1.5 cups panko and stir to combine. Cook until deeply toasted, then top green beans. Bake immediately for 10-20 minutes at 425. Can be made ahead; store breadcrumbs separately and bake 10 minutes before topping with crumbs (total bake time of 30 minutes or so.
Maple Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow and Spiced Pecan Topping Modified to add maple syrup instead of brown sugar. Swapped coconut and cashews for TJs sweet and spicy pecans. Decorated casserole in stripes using large oval correlleware. Baked at 375 until internal temp was 160, then topped and returned to oven until marshmallows browned.
Sourdough Stuffing with Cherry, Pancetta and Roast Chestnuts Chestnuts are real sons of bitches to work with. My younger brother who can reach into an oven and remove a casserole dish with bare hands complained for days that his hands hurt and he only helps for about 15 minutes. 3 hours. THREE HOURS is what it took to score, par boil, roast and peel 3lbs of chestnuts. Admittedly I gave up on a certain percentage that just weren't peeling well at all. Out of the 3lbs I purchased, I managed to end up with exactly the 4cups requested by this recipe. I used sourdough I made with my own starter. It's *fine*, but NEVER AGAIN with the chestnuts. And I'd add more sage. And honestly I prefer my stuffing pork in the form of sausage vs. pancetta. Note to self: Make stuffing. Stuff bird. Fill small casserole. Pour remaining stuffing into 2-3 other casserole dishes for freezing and do this before you bake it.
Smashed Black Pepper Parm Potatoes Fine, and super easy (uh...no peeling) but I used plain white potatoes because that's what my local farmers market had. Perhaps it would fly better with reds. It wasn't creamy enough for me to rave over it, but who really needs more cream at Thanksgiving?
Lemon Ginger Molasses Cake No complaints. Kind of like a fancy quick bread, but way better than a pie, and less fussy than a real cake. I have no love for pies and truly couldn't tell you a single thanksgiving where I cared about dessert. Take your 97 pies and give me all the dinner leftovers.
