Turkey Gumbo

This recipe from the New Orleans Junior League's Plantation Cookbook is really amazing. I love the green "trinity" of just green onion and celery. Brought to me by my mother in law, Betsy, as a suggested Thanksgiving leftover meal. She also generously supplied the Louisiana andouille. It is the best use of the leftover turkey carcass and meat, and has become our post-Thanksgiving tradition. 

INGRIDIENTS 

1 turkey carcass
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons bacon grease
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped celery
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup chopped hot, smoked sausage, preferably andouille
3 cups turkey meat, shredded from carcass
Salt to taste (1 teaspoon)
Pepper to taste
1 pint oysters and liquid
1 tablespoon gumbo file
2 cups cooked rice 

In a soup kettle, cover turkey carcass with at least 8 cups of water and boil about 1 hour, or until meat is easily removed from the bone. Remove carcass and pick meat off of bone. Strain and reserve 6 cups of turkey broth. To make roux, brown flour in bacon grease until mixture is a rich dark brown. Add onions, celery, and parsley; sauté 5 minutes. Slowly add broth to roux; add bay leaves, thyme, sausage, and turkey meat. Salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat 1-1/2 hours*, adding oysters for last 5 minutes of cooking. Add file just before serving, being careful not to let mixture boil once it has been added. Remove bay leaves and serve over hot rice. If planning to freeze, do not add oysters and file until reheating to serve. 

This picture shows the roux just after the vegetables were added to give you an idea of the color you are trying to reach. 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Serve over rice and with leftover Thanksgiving sweet potato biscuits and braised escarole.
-OR-
Serve over or baked sweet potatoes and with crusty French bread and hearty kale salad with lemon vinaigrette. 

NOTES: 

• Help yourself by chopping green onions, celery and parsley before Thanksgiving when you chop those vegetables for Thanksgiving stuffing and store in sealed plastic bags in fridge. 
• If you have fresh broth, you can make the gumbo without the turkey meat and oysters and put in the freezer a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Then defrost and add the turkey and oysters when you reheat the gumbo. 
• Use cassava flour to make a gluten free roux; warning, it darkens in about 10-12 minutes, much faster than all purpose flour. 

Order your andouille sausage from Louisiana if you can. But a polish kielbasa will also work in a pinch. Good sources: 

• Louisiana Crawfish Company
• Cajun Grocer

The original, well-used recipe. 

Mimi's Turkey Dressing

A Thanksgiving Cornbread Dressing 

INGRIDIENTS 

1-1/2 cup yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped 

2 cups celery, chopped 

1/2 cup butter, melted 

6 cups corn bread (may use gluten free mix) 

4 slices or more white bread, toasted (may use gluten free bread) 

1 bunch of green onions, chopped 

1/2 cup of parsley, minced 

4 eggs 

Hot broth (1/2 - 1 cup) 

Black pepper to taste 

Poultry seasoning or dried sage (1 - 1-1/2 teaspoons)

PREP (In Mimi's exact words, see notes for practical tips) 

Sauté onions and celery slowly in butter until soft, not brown, and keep in refrigerator. Add broth mixture to crumbled breads and mix well. (Use canned broth if you don't have enough and you may use some milk). Beat eggs and add. Add seasonings. May stuff chicken or turkey but I like to cook in casserole at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Make broth by cooking liver giblets and neck in water to cover. Add onion and a piece of celery, salt and pepper. 

NOTES

Put the cornbread mix into a buttered 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with foil for the first 35 minutes and remove for the last 10-15 minutes. 

No need to put sautéed vegetables in refrigerator unless you are making them a day ahead, which she often did. 

If using poultry seasoning or dried sage, add this to the onions when you sauté them. If using fresh sage, add when mixing ingredients. 

I estimated the amount of broth in ingredients list above to be 1/2 to 1 cup. She did not specify. I have learned from my sister and cousin who make this often, that it needs too be much "soupier" than you think so it doesn't dry out. So add more if you need to. 

Don't sauté the green onion or parsley. Put those in raw. You can also try leaving the celery out when you sauté the onions and put them in fresh, too, for some extra crunch (Ina Garten does this in her version). I really like the green onion and parsley in Mimi's version and think it makes the dish more visually pleasing and the taste is a bit "fresher" than other versions.

I estimated the poultry seasoning/sage to be 1-1/2 teaspoons; she did not specify. She suggested to use one or the other. If you want to use both, use 1 teaspoon of each. 

I use Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix and it works well. Make sure your mix, if using, isn't too sweet. 

Dressing is baked in a casserole dish and stuffing is stuffed in a turkey to bake.

Fresh broth makes all the difference. 

Enchiladas Verdes: A selection of recipes

Enchiladas Verdes are the ultimate comfort food, and to me, the easiest Mexican dish to create at home. Use leftover or rotisserie chicken, or even better: smoked chicken picked up from your favorite BBQ joint, or turkey from Thanksgiving.  

I use the recipes below as a starting point, sometimes leaving out an ingredient (like substitute jalepenos for serannos) if I do not have it on hand. In short, feel free to free-lance as these recipes are very forgiving. 

Pati Jinich's Enchiladas Suizas (creamy green enchiladas)

Pati Jinich's Enchiladas Verdes

Sam Sifton's Enchiladas Verdes NYT

Amanda Hesser's Enchiladas Verdes, NYT

Homesick Texan's Carnitas or Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

NOTES

• Use only corn tortillas; never, ever use flour. 
• If feeling lazy make an enchiladas verdes "lasagna" by layering tortillas between sauce, chicken, and cheese in the same order as you would a lasagna. You still must "run" the corn tortillas through hot oil for 20 seconds so they don't get soggy. 
• Use Cotija, Añejo, or Queso Fresco for a more authentic Mexican taste. Also, for those avoiding cow's milk, Añejo is frequently made from goat cheese. All three are crumbly like feta and do not really melt but add a wonderful "accent" flavor, I think. Oaxaca is a melting Mexican cheese and also an alternative.  
• For a creamier, more American version of enchiladas, and for ease (as you likely have on hand) use Monterrey Jack, Cheddar, Muenster, or the "Mexican Blend" pre-shredded cheese. 
• Enchiladas verdes is part of my regular repertoire and to make things easier on myself I use canned tomatillos most of the time. I try to keep them on hand. And, yes, I also use canned verde sauce. Siete makes a nice version free of junky ingredients. However, Fresh is Best! 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS 

• Accompaniments: Pickled jalapeños, sour cream if you don't put on top, fresh cilantro, sliced radishes, pickled red onion slices, cubed avocado.  
• Refried black beans; canned work well; I prefer Amy's or Eden brands, which use BPA-free lined cans. 
• Cole slaw with cumin, lime or plain vinaigrette. Be sure and shred the cabbage very finely; a mandolin works best. 
• Pickled carrots.
• Red or green rice. OR, if it is a midweek meal, use a boxed red, green or yellow rice or combination beans and rice box. Choose a quality brand like Lundberg's, or order from Thrive Market. 
• Another option for a quick weeknight meal is to bake sliced chicken breasts or thighs in the green sauce, and serve with warm corn tortillas, sour cream and pickled jalapeños. 

Turkey Gumbo: The Plantation Cookbook

This recipe from the New Orleans Junior League's Plantation Cookbook is the best. The absolute best post Thanksgiving meal. 

INGRIDIENTS 

1 turkey carcass
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons bacon grease
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped celery
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup chopped hot, smoked sausage, preferably andouille
3 cups turkey meat, shredded from carcass
Salt to taste (1 teaspoon)
Pepper to taste
1 pint oysters and liquid
1 tablespoon gumbo file
2 cups cooked rice

In a soup kettle, cover turkey carcass with at least 8 cups of water and boil about 1 hour, or until meat is easily removed from the bone. Remove carcass and pick meat off of bone. Strain and reserve 6 cups of turkey broth. To make roux, brown flour in bacon grease until mixture is a rich dark brown. Add onions, celery, and parsley; sauté 5 minutes. Slowly add broth to roux; add bay leaves, thyme, sausage, and turkey meat. Salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat 1-1/2 hours*, adding oysters for last 5 minutes of cooking. Add file just before serving, being careful not to let mixture boil once it has been added. Remove bay leaves and serve over hot rice. If planning to freeze, do not add oysters and file until reheating to serve.
The picture above picture shows the roux just after the vegetables were added to give you an idea of the color you are trying to reach.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Serve over rice and with leftover Thanksgiving sweet potato biscuits and braised escarole.
-OR-
Serve over or baked sweet potatoes and with crusty French bread and hearty kale salad with lemon vinaigrette.
NOTES: 

• Help yourself by chopping green onions, celery and parsley before Thanksgiving when you chop those vegetables for Thanksgiving stuffing and store in sealed plastic bags in fridge. 
• If you have fresh broth, you can make the gumbo without the turkey meat and oysters and put in the freezer a few weeks before Thanksgiving. Then defrost and add the turkey and oysters when you reheat the gumbo. 
• Use cassava flour to make a gluten free roux; warning, it darkens in about 10-12 minutes, much faster than all purpose flour. 
• Order your andouille sausage from Louisiana if you can. But a polish kielbasa will also work in a pinch. Good sources: 
• Louisiana Crawfish Company
• Cajun Grocer

Turkey Hash

Nice winter comfort food with leftover turkey or chicken. 

Yield: 4 main-dish servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp. butter or margarine

1 small onion

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 c. milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

8 oz. cooked turkey or chicken

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

PREP 

In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly,1 minute. With wire whisk, gradually whisk in milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes.

Stir turkey into sauce and heat through. Stir in parsley and serve. 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, on top of baked sweet potato, or with leftover Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Biscuits. 

NOTES 

This recipe is a good starting point for leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Add additional cooked vegetables such as peas, cubed potatoes or sweet potatoes, chopped carrots. Don't add beets unless you want red hash. 

Use cassava flour for gluten free version. 

Thanksgiving Leftover Sweet Potato Biscuits

I like to re-make Thanksgiving food for leftovers, like making biscuits out of leftover sweet potatoes.  It’s just a more interesting use of the food; one turkey sandwich on Friday is enough. 

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup chilled sweet potato puree 

3/4 cup chilled buttermilk

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons light brown sugar (omit if using leftover sweet potato casserole) 

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus 1 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing

PREP

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk the sweet potatoes puree with the buttermilk. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the brown sugar (if using), baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sprinkle the cubes butter over the dry ingredients; using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles course crumbs, with some of the butter about teh size of peas. Stir in the sweet potato mixture until a soft dough forms. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and pat it into a 1 inch thick round. Using a 2-inch round biscuit cutter, Samp out as many biscuits as you can. Gently press the scraps together and stamp out more biscuits. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared baking seet and bake for about 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Brush with melted butter and serve warm. 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS 

Serve with Turkey Gumbo and braised escarole or as a side to Creamed Turkey Hash for a fabulous Friday or Saturday dinner after Thanksgiving. Serve with butter and cranberry sauce. Delicious! 

NOTES 

1. Make 3/4 cup buttermilk by adding 2-1/4 teaspoons lemon juice to 1 cup milk. Let sit for five minutes. 

Mimi's Giblet Gravy

My grandmother, Dorothy Jane Wiley, known as Mimi, took tremendous price in her gravy and cornbread stuffing. She hovered over a small saucepan in the hours before the turkey was ready. When my cousin Melanie was married, she documented all her recipes in a hand written cookbook called, In the Kitchen with Mimi (which inspired the name for this blog). My Aunt had the book photocopied duplicated and it is my source for those two favorite Thanksgiving recipes of hers. 

Giblets is a culinary term for the edible offal of a fowl, typically including the heart, gizzard, liver, and other organs. A whole bird from a butcher is often packaged with the giblets, sometimes sealed in a bag within the body cavity, which you remove before cooking. 

Yield: 3 cups

INGRIDIENTS

Turkey giblets and neck, washed 

1 celery stalk, cut up

1 medium onion, peeled and cut into quarters 

1 medium carrot, peeled or pared with paring knife and cut cup coarsely

1 tsp salt 

4 whole black peppercorns 

2 cups of turkey or chicken broth (original recipe called for 1 can condensed chicken broth) 

1/3 cup of flour 

PREP

Put liver in refrigerator until ready to use. Place remaining giblets and neck in a 2 quart sauce pan. Add 3 cups of water, the celery, onion, carrot, salt and pepper. 

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer covered 2-1/2 hours or until giblets are tender. Add liver and simmer 15 mintues. Discard neck. Remove giblets from broth and coarsely chop or leave out if you don’t want to use. 

Strain broth, pressing vegetables through a mesh strainer with broth. Measure. Add enough undiluted can broth to make 2 1/2 cups. 

When Turkey is removed from roasting pan, add drippings into a 1 cup measure. Remove fat from surface and discard. 

Make a roux with 1/3 cup drippings and flour in a saucepan. Stir over very low fire to brown flour slightly. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in broth. Bring to boil, stirring; reduce heat, simmer stirring until gravy thickens and is smooth. Add giblets, simmer 5 minutes. 

NOTES

• This is Mimi's recipe, intended from start to finish to happen on Thanksgiving morning. I have begun to make Turkey stock ahead of time and start on Thanksgiving with broth instead of water and reducing cooking time to 1 hour with giblets, then 15 additional minutes for the liver. 
• You may want to use your liver for your bread stuffing, in which case leave it out of the gravy. 
• For a gluten free gravy, use cassava flour, but watch carefully as it browns much faster than regular flour. 
• Mimi’s original recipe says you can add sliced, hard boiled eggs, but I left that step out. 

Thanksgiving Bread and Wild Mushroom Stuffing

 This Wild Mushroom Stuffing is inspired by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse

Servings: 8-10

1 pound chanterelles or mixed wild mushrooms 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 shallots, peeled and finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery 

1/4 pound smoked bacon (or 2 tablespoons of bacon grease) 

1 turkey or chicken liver, diced

1 day-old baguette, crust removed, to make 4 cups cubed

3 cups milk, or as needed

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

1 lightly beaten egg, if desired.

PREP 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Clean mushrooms, and cut in half crosswise. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter, and add shallots and 1/4 of the garlic. Saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until mushrooms are softened, about 8 minutes. Chop coarsely, then place in large mixing bowl. In the same skillet, melt remaining butter. Add the celery and the remaining garlic. Sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add to the bowl of mushrooms. This can be done one day ahead and then kept in the fridge overnight. 

Return skillet to medium heat, and add bacon. Cook until crisp, then remove bacon (discard or save for another purpose), saving fat. Add diced liver to pan, and saute over medium heat until browned, about 2 minutes. Drain well, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add to mushrooms.

In a large mixing bowl, combine bread cubes and enough milk to saturate them. Drain bread, squeezing gently. Add to mushrooms, and mix gently. Add herbs and mix again. If desired, add egg to bind stuffing.

Place in buttered casserole dish. Cover with buttered parchment, and then foil. At this point, the stuffing can be held for several hours, but should be at room temperature before baking. Bake until mostly heated through, about 25 minutes. Remove parchment and foil, add some drippings if desired. Bake until crispy edges form, about 15 to 20 minutes longer. Check often to be sure it doesn't burn. 

Thanksgiving Meal & Traditions

General Thanksgiving Plan 

If we are hosting, this is a typical plan we follow: 

Roasted Turkey in the Big Easy/Airless Fryer 

Turducken: we order this as an addition if we have a very big group

Char Broil's Big Easy Infrared Oil-less Fryer

Giblet Gravy: Jill makes, generally uses Mimi’s recipe, but makes in advance if possible and pours some turkey drippings into it. See recipe. 

Cranberry sauce: homemade plain sauce with orange zest or also cinnamon 

Additions: We’ve tried the dried cranberry chutney, and Sarah is adding Alison Roman’s cranberry relish plate with canned cranberry jelly, oranges, and shallots.  

Sweet potatoes: Joy of Cooking’s recipe with a teeny bit of brown sugar, butter, salt, orange juice and orange zest. Pick number of potatoes for your crowd (1 potato per every 2 people) and divide between two casserole dishes. Make ahead; put in freezer; bake on T-giving day. For one of them, pull out warm casserole, put baby marshmallows on top of one of them and run in hot oven for 5 min so they crisp up—if you leave in too long, they will melt. 

Stuffing: The dishes that elicits the most passion from people. 

*I am attached to Mimi’s cornbread stuffing. It is a particularly flavorful version with lots of parsley and green onion. Trick is it has to look almost like soup when it goes in or it dries out. Easy to make Gluten Free with Bob’s Red Mill GF cornbread mix. 

*Introduced to us by Elizabeth Smyth: Alice Water’s Wild Mushroom Stuffing. This is very, very good. Sarah has embraced this as her own. 

*Don't argue with people about which stuffing is better. People are attached. Let them bring their own. See notes below. 

Mashed Potatoes: 

I am not a mashed potato for Thanksgiving person because I see the stuffing as the starch. But good to have guests bring that. OR, if you have a crowd who is insisting, then Epicurious has a make ahead Duchess Baked Potatoes. I also think it adds another last minute thing to do on a hectic cooking day because they are best cooked the day of. But I get it that it is important to people. 

Veggies and Greens Options: We vary this part year to year…nice to have variety. WIth a smaller group, just one is fine (brussel sprouts or green beans). Easiest way to have more people is to expand this category. 

1. Creamed spinach; John Besh recipe. We use this for Christmas and used for Thanksgiving in the 2010-20 years. But watched Alison Roman’s Thanksgiving special who comments on try to balance Mushy food at Thanksgiving with some crispy/fresh stuff. We agree. 
2. New addition: Kale and green beans with Shallots; can leave out Kale: Sautéed day of. Alison Roman recipe. 
3. Roasted Brussel sprouts: always a good addition. Plain or with bacon. Elizabeth Smyth made a brussel sprout slaw one year and it was nice and fresh. 
4. Platter of roasted veggies. We did this every year when kids were young and I was learning to roast every vegetable. Now we generally don’t but love having it and good thing to offer to bring when you are a guest at someone’s home. 
5. Sometimes we pick up roasted beets with oranges at Black Salt in DC; or the Brussel sprouts with bacon. 
6. We don’t believe in fresh cold salad on Thanksgiving. 

Dessert and Pies: 

*must haves in our family are Pecan and pumpkin. The rest vary from year to year and fun to shake it up. 

Pecan Pie: Sarah has adopted an Epicurious recipe that includes orange zest. 

Pumpkin: We all agree worth picking up…it’s often better than making your own. Stephanie Lowe swears by Whole Food's. Their Gluten Free crust is good as well. 

Ina Garten’s Pumpkin Tart in graham cracker crust. Easy to make Gluten free and it is good. We add it occasionally. 

Desserts we want to try: 

Cranberry curd tart with hazelnut crust (Gluten Free) 

And what about apple or pear crisp with cranberries instead of apple pie…? We aren’t an apple pie family. 

Burton’s cousin Ann Londergan made custards one year in demitasse cups and it was a really nice treat. 

APPETIZERS

There is nothing worse than sitting down to Thanksgiving Dinner already FULL! Keep them light. 

*Shuck and/or grill oysters—do this if you can. Adds an activity

*Pickled things: Green beans, okra, carrots, etc. 

*Potato Chips: Trader Joe’s makes Thanksgiving flavored potato chips 

*little bowls of nuts (nice to make your own spiced pecans early in the week) 

*if you do a cheese platter, make it small 

*grapes 

*dried cranberries 

NOTES

*Very good homemade stock makes a difference in your stuffing and gravy. Or do cheater stock by using boxed Turkey stock and adding the neck, giblets, drippings, vegetables to enhance it. 

*Notes re: guests and stuffing. If you are having guests, let them know what kind of stuffing you are serving and invite/encourage them to bring any stuffing (or any dish rather) that is meaningful to them. When we went to the Smyth’s for Thanksgiving she said, “Bring whatever is meaningful to you, we want it!” How gracious and I try and do the same. 

*Lisel Loy's mom does the Pepperidge Farm stuffing from a bag and that is great, too. 

*This holiday is about joining people together, being Thankful for the blessings you have, the country you live in and to experience joy together through cooking, eating, and sharing traditions. Being open to other people’s traditions is how you bond, learn and often adopt new ones. 

*Having people bring extra vegetables is a great way to pad the buffet if you are having a lot of guests. Having guests bring pies and wine is also a great help and lightens your load. Then you can concentrate on the basics. 

*Involve the kids, involve the kids, involve the kids. Children love traditions. Assign them each a sauce, a pie, making placards, whipping cream. bring them into carving the turkey, setting the table, polishing the silver. My best childhood memories are learning from my Grandmother, Mimi and my Aunt Jane Ann re: Thanksgiving traditions. If you aren't a cook and pick up the meal, make the traditions about setting the table, playing a game, etc. In the year of the pandemic, I made a zoom, “Polish the silver” date with my sister in law, Martha. 

*On that note, my friend Stephanie cherishes her "Granny B's" tradition of assembling the pickle plate, which was given to a grandchild to do as an honor. Since pickled vegetables are a light appetizer...try adopting that as your own. 

*2018, we hosted 32 people from my husband’s family for Thanksgiving. It was amazing, truly! Burton is from a family of “helpers” and it is a joy to have them. Have never had so much fun. After dessert, the teens organized the game, “Try Not to Dance to This Song” —Highly recommend it. 

*My friend Blair always organizes a great post-dinner game of Celebrity…a great multi-generational game. 

Thanksgiving Prep

It pays to be prepared to avoid long grocery lines, stress, and mishaps! It also helps you keep the joy and gratitude front and center throughout the holiday week. 

Middle to End of October: Invite people for Thanksgiving. Leave room for flexiblity/add ons if you can. There is always someone who may need a place to go. 

Early November: Check your supply of candles, tablecloths, napkins, glassware, matches, servers, kitchen utensils. Order anything you don't have. Make a meal and prep plan. I'm super visual and always create a roadmap like the one above. 

2 weeks prior: Make anything that can be frozen! Sweet potatoes (without marshmallows), mashed potato casserole if you want to avoid making fresh the day of, creamed spinach, if making, a soup to have the weekend after thanksgiving. ORDER A FRESH TURKEY FOR PICK UP ON TUESDAY! 

1 week prior: Buy all groceries that can be purchased ahead: sparkling water, cranberries, cranberries in a can, broth and extra broth, sparkling water, apple cider or other kid drinks, bottles of spring water (Aquafina has a nice orange label that looks nice for Thanksgiving), pecans, corn syrup, pre-made pie crust (if using), frozen rolls/biscuits, heavy cream (make sure the date lasts through Thanksgiving), apples for pie, nuts, chips or other nibbles for appetizers. Include a trip to the wine store for wine and champagne and liquor. If you are grilling or shucking oysters for appetizers (a great choice), order them now.   

Weekend before Thanksgiving/Stuff: polish silver,  pull out silverware, glassware, put candles in holders. Some stuffing recipes want you to dry out bread; if so, start now. You can do these things to get ahead: make pie dough, cranberry sauce, blanch green beans. Make an advanced turkey stock from parts of a turkey (this is really helpful). 

SUNDAY: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! If you are purchasing a frozen turkey, start defrosting it on Sunday. Allow four days to defrost in refrigerator. Workaround and my preference: order a fresh Turkey for pick up in advance to avoid this hassle and space issue in the refrigerator. 

SUNDAY: THIS IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT! If you haven't been able to do advance planning for whatever reason. Get up very early, go to the store and designate Sunday as your prep day! 

Monday: Do some advance chopping: onions, garlic, shallots, green onions, and put in baggies in the fridge. Make cornbread for cornbread stuffing. Set the table. 

Tuesday: One last and final trip to the store. BEWARE: Do not go Tuesday evening or Wednesday afternoon/evening to the grocery store. Please, please don't. The hassle is not necessary if you plan in advance. Chop vegetables for stuffing, gravy. Pick up things you have ordered (oysters, turkey, pies, bread, etc.). Trim and blanche green beans. If making gravy in advance make today. 

Wednesday: Turkey: Brine (if brining) or let air dry in fridge. Make pies. Dry out bread or cornbread for stuffing. You may sauté vegetables for stuffing and put in fridge. Pick up things you have ordered that you didn't 'grab on Tuesday. If you need a last minute run to the store: GO EARLY! Review timing for Thanksgiving Day. Set up water bottles and wine. Chill white wine and champagne. Make a batch cocktail like an Old Fashioned.  

Thanksgiving Day: Turn on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Review timing. Have light breakfast like yogurt and fruit or smoothie. Prepare Turkey. Make Kale/green beans. Prepapare stuffing. Make or warm and finish gravy with Turkey drippings. Make Mashed Potatoes, if making. Clean as you go! Put out appetizers. Grill oysters. Have cocktails and enjoy. As plates are cleared, put pies that need to warm in oven; assign someone to make whipped cream. Enjoy your friends and family, go with the flow, don't worry about spilled red wine or candlewax drips or broken crystal. People are more important than things. 

Most important thing is that this is just a guide and obviously things can shift and change to suit your lifestyle. Basic advice is use the two weeks before to make things less stressful. In high stress years or years where you travel. PICK THINGS UP, including the Turkey. When Sarah was born on 11/4, we picked up the whole meal and had people over. Sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, additional roasted veggies all easy to pick up and taste good. Turkey is the toughest to get right but you will figure out what's available in your area or order Turducken. This way you still get to spend time with family and friends. If you live out of town, invite friends over and share your joy. 

Sarah's Adopted Pecan Pie with Orange Zest, Epicurious

 

INGREDIENTS

•           Pastry dough (buy pre-made or use Melissa Clark's pie crust) 

•           3/4 stick unsalted butter

•           1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

•           3/4 cup light corn syrup

•           2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

•           1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

•           1/4 teaspoon salt

•           3 large eggs

•           2 cups pecan halves (1/2 pound)

•           Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (for serving; optional)

 

PREP

Preheat oven to 350°F with a baking sheet on middle rack.

 

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes).

 

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in corn syrup mixture.

 

Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them. Bake on hot baking sheet until filling is set, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely.

 

Cook's Note: Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving


 

Melissa Clark's Pie Crust, NYT Cooking

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 grams)
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed

PREP 

In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Slowly add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist, but not wet.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Tips from Melissa: 

• For the best results, use a high-fat, European-style unsalted butter like Plugra.
• You can experiment with textures and flavors by substituting 3 to 4 tablespoons shortening, lard, beef suet, duck fat or an unsweetened nut butter, such as hazelnut butter, almond butter or mixed nut butter, for 3 to 4 tablespoons regular butter. All should be well chilled before using.
• Or make a crispy cheddar crust, which pairs nicely with apple pie or savory pie fillings: Pulse together 1 1/4 cups flour with 3/4 teaspoon salt. Add 3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar; pulse until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add 8 tablespoons chilled, cubed butter and proceed according to the directions above.
• Melissa Clark's Pie Crust NYT