Tag Archives: turkey

Thanksgiving with a toddler (2021)

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Thanksgiving desserts

Last year we made a simple Thanksgiving family lunch, since we were more or less in lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Things weren’t looking much better this year, but we wanted to host a proper Thanksgiving and decided to have a “2G+” celebration with two other families, each of which brought a toddler/baby along, on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Since we have a toddler ourselves, the group dynamic worked really well.

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What we underestimated was the amount of coordination it took to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for 6 adults + kids, all while wrangling said toddler!

Cranberries were hard to find but we managed to get some!
Pumpkin pie with candied cranberries
Turkey meatballs
Leftovers lunch

F planned well and took Friday off to get a lot of preparation done. In the end, it took us a good day or so to prepare everything, and we were perhaps a bit overambitious with the menu, but it all turned out deliciously and everyone seemed to have a good time. I’ll spare more narrative, since this post is mainly to remind myself what we did, and include what we made below:

  • Mains
  • F salt-brined an entire turkey, roasted it, and it was delicious
  • U & V made our sweet potato casserole recipe
  • This bread stuffing – it was a hit!
  • Simple boiled green beans
  • Brussels sprout & tomato salad
  • Vegetarian & non-vegetarian gravy (F made the latter with homemade stock – yum)
  • Desserts
    • I made cranberry upside-down cake, as usual
    • We made two pumpkin pies: Emma’s recipe, plus this one that F’s boss had recommended. The latter was too sweet for us (we even reduced the sugar in the recipe!), but we liked the addition of black pepper to the spice mix.
    • F & E baked a delicious apple pie
    • Whipped cream, of course!

And with the leftovers? F made delicious turkey-stuffing meatballs and Brussels sprouts mashed potatoes the day after the feast. They fueled me well for the Advents-Aaseelauf. I continued to enjoy the cranberry sauce on bread with cheese throughout the following week.

Pandemic Thanksgiving (2020)

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Simple but delicious

After having a small Thanksgiving last year due to the uncertainty of Baby E’s arrival, F and I had been looking forward to hosting a larger gathering this year. Alas, the global Coronavirus pandemic hindered those plans, but that did not stop us from cooking, baking, and celebrating our favorite holiday anyway!

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Since we couldn’t invite friends over, we decided to make two batches of these maple pecan bars and do distanced delivery drop-offs to neighbors in our building and many of our local friends. It feels nice to share some parts of American culture with others and express gratitude for friendship and neighborliness, especially during these difficult, socially-distanced times.

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F’s beautiful turkey breast

F and I then elected to make a 2-person lunch for Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November, in case you’re wondering). That way, Baby E (she’s almost 1! Not really a baby anymore) could join us for her first Thanksgiving.

We opted for a classic menu, void of some of our usual dishes (no sweet potato casserole or cranberry cake! Maybe I’ll make them for Christmas). Despite cooking a relatively simple meal, we still did a lot of prep on Wednesday to make Thursday less hectic:

  • I made pumpkin pie using my good friend Emma’s recipe (now posted here on the blog!). We each enjoyed a slice for second breakfast on Thursday after a long walk around the Aasee.
  • F brined the turkey breast in a buttermilk brine (from Samin Nosrat in NYT Cooking), adding lemon zest and fresh rosemary and thyme to the brine.
  • F made chicken stock from scratch and then turned it into a classic gravy.
  • I made my go-to cranberry sauce and popped it into the fridge.

On Thursday, all we had to do was roast the turkey breast, make luxurious (read: lots of cream and butter) garlic mashed potatoes, and boil some Brussels sprouts. It was perhaps the most “classic” or “simple” Thanksgiving meal we’ve done, but everything turned out well and it hit the spot. Delicious!

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Baby E’s Thanksgiving lunch

In case you’re wondering, Baby E had her own mini Thanksgiving plate for lunch: boiled Brussels sprouts (I was pleased she ate some!), potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and turkey (just boiled, but then she complained when seeing our plates, so we gave her some of the roast turkey breast and she devoured it. Was there salt in it? Yes. Was it a special occasion? Also yes.). She also enjoyed some leftover canned pumpkin puree – yum.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, socially-distanced Thanksgiving weekend and start to what promises to be a strange winter holiday season. I hope you can connect with your loved ones virtually and/or safely outside. When in doubt, I highly recommend eating dessert for breakfast.

Thanksgiving 2019: Kaffee und Kuchen + A Feast for Two

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Thanksgiving desserts
Happy Thanksgiving!

Given that our tiny human’s arrival is estimated for just a couple of days after Thanksgiving this year, F and I decided it was too risky to plan a massive feast and invite loads of people on the actual holiday. But I wanted to do something to celebrate my favorite holiday and share it with friends in Germany. So, a bit like we did last year, I thought to combine Thanksgiving with the excellent German weekend afternoon tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen (“coffee and cake”), and to celebrate on the Saturday before (slightly less risky in terms of my due date).

Update: As of the day before Thanksgiving, our little turkey was still roasting, so we decided to plan and prepare a a mini Thanksgiving feast for just the two of us to enjoy on the actual day. I’ll outline the menu below the Kaffee und Kuchen details.

Thanksgiving Kaffee und Kuchen – the Saturday before Thanksgiving

the plan
the result

I initially planned to make four desserts, and the week before sat down to strategize how to spread the shopping and baking out over a few days – partly to avoid oven clash, but also to avoid doing everything on one day because I don’t have the energy for that at the moment.

pecan-walnut bars
you beauty, you

But as Saturday approached, my energy was waning and a few people said they couldn’t make it, so I dropped the apple crumble plan and stuck to the following:

  • These maple pecan bars, which this time I made with roughly 2/3 pecans and 1/3 walnuts (pecans are expensive here). These are very rich and sweet – one square at a time is enough – but totally worth it.
    • I made these on Thursday (two days before), put them in the fridge overnight, then cut them on Friday and stored them in a Tupperware container at room temperature.
  • My family’s cranberry upside-down cake, which never fails to surprise and delight people’s taste buds! It’s F’s and my favorite for this time of year.
    • I made this on Friday (the day before) and popped it in the fridge until Saturday morning.
  • My good friend Emma’s recipe for pumpkin pie. I had a bit of a par-baking crust fail on the first attempt (they sunk!), using this pie crust recipe from smitten kitchen. After despairing and then resting, I made a new crust (Emma’s recipe) and risked not par-baking it, which ended up being fine (no soggy bottom!).
    • This all transpired on Friday afternoon (the day before), and I kept the pies in the fridge overnight, getting them out just before people arrived on Saturday (I prefer my pumpkin pie chilled). We served the nice-looking pie on Saturday but I tried the thinner pie (in sunken smitten kitchen crust) on Sunday and almost preferred it due to its higher crust-to-filling ratio.
  • Plenty of freshly whipped cream, made as people were arriving on Saturday.
par-baked crust fail
pumpkin
pumpkin pie – the nice one

The Thanksgiving Kaffee und Kuchen afternoon ended up being lovely! Seven people came around 3pm and we feasted on cake for a solid couple of hours. Coffee and tea were abundant, and I was glad I’d picked up some early-season clementines for a fresh, juicy hit after all the sweetness. It was fun to introduce some of my favorite seasonal American treats to German friends. People were intrigued by the pumpkin pie’s unique flavor and spice combination; the cranberry cake was praised; and the pecan-walnut bars all but disappeared. Yum all around!

Thanksgiving Feast for Two – Thanksgiving (Thurs)day

turkey thigh dry-brining
sage, rosemary, & thyme

To be fair, the mini feast we prepared probably could have served 3-4 people, but around here we like leftovers. Here’s what F and I prepared and ate on Thanksgiving day:

  • My go-to cranberry sauce. So good.
  • Green beans and crispy shallots, inspired by this recipe. I sautéed thinly sliced shallots in olive oil until they browned and crisped. While that was happening, I blanched the green beans in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, then drained them. To serve, I squeezed some lemon juice and sprinkled a bit of sea salt over the beans, then piled the shallots on top. Delicious!
  • This Bon Appétit bread stuffing/dressing – F requested it after we watched the ba YouTube video about it. It was super delicious: moist underneath, with a lovely crunchy top layer that married well with gravy and/or cranberry sauce. Will add this to the Thanksgiving recipe list for next year!
  • One very large turkey thigh that F dry-brined overnight and then roasted at 180-200C for just over an hour. The meat was tender and moist, but overall it was too salty (especially for me); we couldn’t really see the benefit of the dry brine but it was worth trying out.
  • Gravy!
  • We decided to forego desserts, since we had had enough cake, bars, and pie the weekend before.

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving weekend and start to the winter holiday season! When in doubt, I highly recommend serving dessert first.

Thanksgiving in London, 2018

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After skipping Thanksgiving last year (and hosting a festive cookie party instead), F and I were keen to put on a Thanksgiving celebration this year. As a bonus, my parents flew over to London for the long weekend! We planned the usual feasting on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, but this time we added a twist: F and I reversed the traditional Thanksgiving order! Around 3pm we enjoyed all the desserts with coffee/tea — German Kaffee und Kuchen style. A few hours later, we devoured the savory feast. Everyone agreed that the reverse order worked really well, because we had time to socialise in between while the turkey roasted, and we weren’t too full after dinner. Here’s what we cooked for 9 people, and what we did with the leftover turkey:

Pumpkin pie & cranberry cake: F made them this year.
F & the turkey.
Dinnertime!
Leftover turkey soup
  • Dessert:
    • Our favorite family cranberry upside-down cake.
    • Smitten Kitchen’s pumpkin pie with pecan praline sauce. I made the crust, F made the pie, S made the sauce and it was very nice.
    • J&C brought a lovely apple crumble to complete the trio of desserts.
    • Plenty of freshly whipped cream and custard (do you like yours hot or cold?).
  • Dinner:
    • Turkey! We ordered an 11-pound turkey from our favorite local butcher in Crouch End. F stuffed it with apples and thyme, generously salted, peppered, and buttered the skin, and roasted it for a few hours. It tasted great.
    • Gravy: F made a meaty gravy and a vegetarian gravy, and both were silky smooth and delicious.
    • Stuffing: I made the same stuffing/dressing (what is the difference?) that I have for the past few Thanksgivings: this classic sage and onion bread dressing from The Kitchn. I think it turned out the best this year because I used enough broth to keep it moist.
    • Sweet potato casserole: my mom’s/grandma’s recipe that’s been a staple at our family Thanksgivings since I can remember.
    • Brussels sprout and tomato salad: another family recipe.
    • C&W brought some very nice garlicky green beans.
    • Don’t forget the cranberry sauce!
  • Leftovers:
    • There weren’t very many! What we made fed the 9 of us comfortably, and could have fed 10 people. We mostly had turkey leftover, so on Sunday I made a turkey version of my chicken and dumplings, minus the dumplings (we had bread).

We had quite an international group this year: four Brits (all hailing from different regions), two Germans (S was down from Liverpool for a few days), and three Americans. It was the first Thanksgiving for a few people, and I always enjoy introducing my favorite holiday to others. It was also so nice to have my parents around and to share our style of Thanksgiving with them – and how many of my mom’s family recipes we use!

Thanksgiving (in London) 2016 – what we cooked

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F and I hosted our second (or third? I can’t remember) Thanksgiving celebration in London on the Saturday following the real holiday (a bit hard to take a random Thursday off when it’s not a public holiday where you live). F’s parents were visiting, too, so they got to experience their first Thanksgiving, and a few friends joined us as well. Here’s what we cooked for 8 people (plus a 10-month-old) — recipe links below the pictures:

  • Turkey! We ordered a 5.2kg bird from one of the local butchers in Crouch End. F stuffed it with apples and thyme, generously salted, peppered, and buttered the skin, and roasted it for 3.5 hours. It came out super moist and delicious.
  • Gravy: F made this one from Serious Eats, using the neck and innards from the turkey but not using soy sauce.
  • Stuffing: I made this classic sage and onion bread dressing from The Kitchn; same as last year. It turned out well and got a number of compliments
  • Sweet potato casserole: my mom’s/grandma’s recipe that’s been a staple at our family Thanksgivings since I can remember.
  • Brussels sprout and tomato salad: another family recipe
  • Cranberry sauce: this is my favorite recipe. It’s super easy and always turns out well.
  • My (American) friend S brought a lovely green bean dish and a pumpkin pie.
  • Our friends H&S brought a nice apple crumble.
  • Cranberry cake: in my mind, it’s not Thanksgiving without this cranberry upside-down cake, another one that my mom/grandma always make. It’s one of my top 3 favorite cakes ever.
  • Freshly whipped cream. Need I say more?

It was a lovely and relaxing evening all around, with plenty of entertainment provided by 10-month-old H. And despite the horrific political year it’s been, there is still plenty to be thankful for.