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Thanksgiving 2023

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[TOC] We co-hosted Thanksgiving with Emily and Victor. A little less crazy than [2018](/_id/20181122183628)

Main Course


Most of the items are called out below. We kept the main course pretty simple!
For the bread, we had cranberry walnut (Coscto) and then plain sourdough, olive soughdough, and red chile sourdough (all from Burque Bakehouse)

Wild Rice Salad



Meredith made Pomegranate, Kale and Wild Rice Salad with Walnuts and Feta[@rev] with a mixture of baby kale and dino kale

Green Beans



Meredith made /_id/20200601092941[@rev] with our usual changes

Milk-Simmered Mashed Potatoes



I made wzxhzdk:4/_id/20231123110200wzxhzdk:5[@rev]. I originally saw the recipe on Instagram Reels (copied in that page) and liked the idea because it meant I could use Fairlife Milk, which is naturally lactose-free1, and be something for my mom.
I used 5 lbs of potatoes and milk to cover. I simmered in the milk until they were super soft. It took a lot of stirring because it kept bubbling (and burning on the bottom!). My plan was to pour off excess but after it all going through the ricer, all that was left was a small amount of thick, creamy, milk. I kept that. I used 2 sticks of butter and salt to taste.

Turkey



I bought a fresh, 12.26lbs turkey from Trader Joes. I dry-brined (
) it for about 16 hours then kind of followed klzzwxh:0031 for the seasoning...but not really. I just used plain butter on the inside (non-melted) and melted seasoned butter on the outside. I think It came out really good! Super crispy skin and flavorful meat!next time, I will reverse that! (the recipe calls for both to be seasoned but the outside ones burn).
I also did garlic, sage, and thyme. No shallot (forgot) or parsley (didn't buy).
) it for about 16 hours then kind of followed klzzwxh:0031 for the seasoning...but not really. I just used plain butter on the inside (non-melted) and melted seasoned butter on the outside. I think It came out really good! Super crispy skin and flavorful meat!

I bought a fresh, 12.26lbs turkey from Trader Joes. I dry-brined (wzxhzdk:10/_id/20181130080727wzxhzdk:11[@rev]) it for about 16 hours then kind of followed wzxhzdk:12/_id/20201126145420wzxhzdk:13[@rev] for the seasoning...but not really. I just used plain butter on the inside (non-melted) and melted seasoned butter on the outside. I think next time, I will reverse that! (the recipe calls for both to be seasoned but the outside ones burn).
I also did garlic, sage, and thyme. No shallot (forgot) or parsley (didn't buy).
It came out really good! Super crispy skin and flavorful meat!

Dressing / Stuffing




Turkey, gravy, and stuffing


I followed wzxhzdk:14/_id/20161224124000wzxhzdk:15[@rev] with Ann's guidance in person (including adding cumin). I used the bagged stuffing mixwzxhzdk:16(full)wzxhzdk:17 she suggests. I suspect that if you don't use this, you need to add more seasoning. Anyway, it came out really good. I was very happy with the results. (I originally thought it was a tad dry but others said I was wrong).

Gravy


(photo with stuffing)
I made gravy again with Gravy [Recipe Tin Eats][@rev] since it is super simple. It actually came out really good...when I made it three hours earlier. By the time I served it, having reheated it a few times, it was not a very nice texture. I blitzed it with the immersion blender which helped but it still was not pretty. I need to make it fresher next time and figure out how to hold it at a nice temp.
As seen in another picture, we also served red chile sauce.

wzxhzdk:20(photo with stuffing)wzxhzdk:21

I made gravy again with wzxhzdk:18/_id/20211231172451wzxhzdk:19[@rev] since it is super simple. It actually came out really good...when I made it three hours earlier. By the time I served it, having reheated it a few times, it was not a very nice texture. I blitzed it with the immersion blender which helped but it still was not pretty. I need to make it fresher next time and figure out how to hold it at a nice temp.

As seen in another picture, we also served red chile sauce.

Crispy Seared Salmon




Salmon, Tzimmes, and Quinoa Stuffing with Butternut Squash


I made crispy seared salmon using my usual technique[@rev] but changed up the seasonings. First, I did dry-brine it for about 45min to an hour (I forget my actual timing). For the seasoning, I used cumin, sage, thyme, and finely-diced shallots. I was careful to flip quickly so as to not overcook it.

Tzimmes




Emily made wzxhzdk:22/_id/20231125065118wzxhzdk:23[@rev]

Quinoa Stuffing with Butternut Squash




Emily made wzxhzdk:24/_id/20231125065529wzxhzdk:25[@rev]

Dessert




Somebody was trying to get into it before I could even get the picture


Continuing the idea of low-key, we bought a lot of the stuff for dessert.

Cranberry Bars






wzxhzdk:26/_id/20191128090854wzxhzdk:27[@rev]



  1. As opposed to "Lactose Free Milk" which is basically milk with added Lactaid. Less appealing sounding ↩

  2. These do not agree with King Arthur's Weight Chart[@rev] but do agree with others such as America's Test Kitchen. See this note[@rev]. Use weight if possible ↩