Thanksgiving Menu 2020

Happy belated Thanksgiving and Happy Holiday Season to everyone! We definitely missed our extended family at Thanksgiving this year but our quiet feast was still lovely.

I love to post my Thanksgiving Menu to help me plan in the future. Hopefully some of my menu choices are helpful to others too. I will link the new menu items to posts as soon as I am able.

I decreased the proportions for our small scale feast but we still made quite a variety of dishes in order to accommodate everyone’s favorites. My kids actively participated in the cooking process throughout the day which was the absolute highlight for me. 🙂

We tried a new gravy this year- this change would have been met with great objection from our extended family. 😉 It incorporated roasted poblano chilies, a favorite flavor in our house. We also enjoyed a new festive cocktail which was so fabulous I plan to incorporate it into the menu next year.

Breakfast:

• Fresh honeydew, pineapple, grapes & cantaloupe
• Crumb Cake
• Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts & Raisins (Bundt loaf)

Lunch:

• Classic Split Pea Soup
• Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
• Skillet Cornbread with salted butter

Festive Cocktail:

• Vanilla Pear Sour

Dinner:

• Herb-Roasted Turkey (upside-down)
• Buttermilk-Poblano Gravy
• Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Sage
• Cranberry Relish with Apple Cider
• Herb-Scented Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
• Slow-Roasted Carrots with Browned-Butter Vinaigrette
• Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Pumpkin Pie Bars with optional whipped cream
• Brown-Butter & Vanilla Bean Apple Pie with optional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Leftover Dishes:

• Turkey Stock
• Sweet Potato Biscuits

Yes! My cat, Franklin “the Fluff,” has an Instagram page. ❤

Thanksgiving Menu 2019

Happy Holiday season to everyone! I love to post my Thanksgiving Menu to help me plan in the future. Hopefully some of my menu choices are helpful to others too. 🙂 I will link the new menu items to posts as soon as I am able.

I know that I am taking risks when trying new recipes for a crowd. This year I had a couple of misses…. The first was my Thanksgiving Eve cocktail, Tito’s Apple Cider Mule. It was okay- and we all drank it, of course!- but I had higher expectations as a Moscow Mule fan. I will have to work on creating an improved autumn version.

My daughter and I also made dinner rolls for our feast. After the dough was made, it could be frozen to rise and bake on Thanksgiving Day (a perfect make-ahead plan). They did not meet my expectations either which an unfortunate miss. I did enjoy the teamwork!

My son also contributed to our feast this year by making mashed potatoes. They were delicious. 🙂

The benefit of taking a risk by serving a new dish is finding a wonderful addition to the menu. The Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Sage may be the best “stuffing” I have ever made. It will definitely be on my menu again next year! I also tried three new desserts and they were all delicious- especially the pear and almond tart.

Thanksgiving Eve Eve:

• Buckwheat Crêpes with Mix & Match Creamy Mushroom, Caramelized Sweet Onion, Sautéed Greens, & Citrus Shrimp Fillings
• Martha Stewart’s Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanksgiving Eve:

• Tito’s Apple Cider Mule
• Assorted cheeses with Sourdough Baguette, nuts, and red grapes
• Butternut Squash, Sage, & Ricotta Manicotti
• Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
• Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Pear and Almond Tart

Thanksgiving Day:

Breakfast:

• Fresh blueberries, raspberries, mango, pineapple, & cantaloupe
• Pecan Streusel Banana Bread (Pullman loaf)
• Crumb Cake
• Olive Oil Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts & Raisins (Bundt loaf)
• Bagels with scallion & whipped cream cheese

Lunch:

• Assorted Cheeses with Sourdough Baguette, and sliced apples & Bartlett pears
• Classic Split Pea Soup
• Ina Garten’s Wild Mushroom & Farro Soup
• Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

Dinner:

• Herb-Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy (upside-down!)
• Cornbread Dressing with Bacon & Sage
• Cranberry Relish with Apple Cider
• Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
• Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin
• Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
• Roasted Vegetables with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
• Maple Browned Butter Pumpkin Pie
• Apple-Brown Sugar Pie (with optional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream)

Leftover Dishes:

• Turkey Stock
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Turkey Corn Chowder with Bacon

Thanksgiving Menu 2017

I selfishly love documenting my holiday menu because it is such a wonderful reference in the future. Hopefully, others may benefit when planning for the holidays as well.

I had considered trying a new Thanksgiving turkey and gravy recipe this year, but I was quickly outvoted. 😉 As much as I enjoy experimenting with new dishes, this year’s feast was comprised of many favorites from previous years. I did add a new roasted rainbow carrot dish and double apple pie. I am still searching for ultimate stuffing and apple pie recipes.

In addition to our tasty holiday feast, we had two surprise highlights from our celebration. The first was a “turkey hat” that my brother brought on Thanksgiving morning. Many photos were taken of everyone wearing it! Fun. 🙂

The second highlight resulted from roasting the turkey upside-down. (We had tried this for the first time last year and the meat was incredibly moist.) The roasting rack is lined with buttered ciabatta bread so that the turkey doesn’t stick when it is time for it to be flipped over. The resulting “turkey bread” was indulgent and absolutely delicious. I’m going to have to incorporate it into some sort of a dish next year.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you and Happy Holiday season!

Thanksgiving Eve Eve:

• Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Wine Sauce
• Roasted CSA Vegetables
• Number Cookies

Thanksgiving Eve:

• Cranberry Margaritas
• Easy Mushroom Lasagna
• Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Pecan Pie Bars

Thanksgiving Day:

Breakfast:

• Fresh mango, pineapple, and cantaloupe
• Crumb Cake
• Pumpkin-Orange Bread (Pullman loaf)
• Banana Banana Bread (Pullman loaf)
• Bagels with assorted jams and whipped cream cheese

Lunch:

• Triple Cream Brie & Creamy Toscano Cheese Soaked in Syrah with Sourdough Baguette & Red Grapes
• Classic Split Pea Soup
• Cauliflower-Cheese Soup

Dinner:

• Herb-Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy (upside-down!)
• Stuffing with Mushrooms and Bacon
• Cranberry Relish with Apple Cider
• Classic Potato Gratin
• Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pear & Pistachios
• Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Parsley & Thyme
• Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
• Double Apple Pie
• Pecan Pie Bars (with ice cream or whipped cream)

Leftover Dishes:

• Turkey Stock
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Turkey à la King

One Year Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2016

Two Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2015

Three Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2014

Four Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2013

Five Years Ago: Thanksgiving Menu 2012

Thanksgiving Menu 2016

I apologize for the belatedness of this post. Hopefully, some of this feast will be helpful for others when organizing future (and upcoming!) holiday meal menus. I love documenting my Thanksgiving planning to help create a special meal the following year. 🙂

This was the year of the upside-down turkey! Per Martha Stewart’s suggestion, we roasted the turkey breast-side down for the first hour of cooking, and then flipped it over to brown the breast side. The thought behind this technique is that the juices during cooking seep into the white meat. The result was beautifully browned skin on the entire turkey and the juiciest turkey meat I’ve ever eaten. True. Really!

I purchased the turkey pre-brined (from Trader Joe’s) and we let it rest for a full hour before carving- factors which also possibly contributed to our successful result. It was a little scary lifting a 20 pound, 425 degree turkey- but my husband did a fabulous job. 🙂 Great!

My in-laws brought (and gave us <3) their beautiful wedding china and crystal. So, we dined elegantly in style! So much more fancy to eat the feast on formal plates. 🙂

I’ve posted our menu below and will fill in the links as soon as I am able. Happy Belated Thanksgiving! Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving Eve Eve:

• Rigatoni & Cauliflower Al Forno
• Green Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
• Gooey Cinnamon Squares

Thanksgiving Eve:

• Warm Creamed Kale Dip with Tortilla Chips
• Panko-Crusted Mustard Salmon
• Steamed Spinach
• Roasted Baby Red Potatoes, Asparagus, Rutabaga, & Kohlrabi
• Brown Butter Pecan Pie with Espresso Dates (served with ice cream or whipped cream)

Thanksgiving Day:

Breakfast:

• Fresh mango, pineapple, and raspberries
• Crumb Cake
• Banana Banana Bread (Pullman loaf)
• Bagels with assorted jams and whipped cream cheese

Lunch:

• Triple Cream Brie with Sourdough Baguette & Red Grapes
• Classic Split Pea Soup
• Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup

Dinner:

• Herb-Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy (upside-down!)
• Southern Cornbread Dressing
• Cranberry Relish with Apple Cider
• Duchess Baked Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
• Skillet Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic & Balsamic Vinegar
• Roasted Rainbow Carrots
• Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
• Pear & Cranberry Pie
• Brown Butter Pecan Pie with Espresso Dates (with ice cream or whipped cream)

Leftover Dishes:

• Cheesy Corn Casserole
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Turkey Stock

One Year Ago:

• Thanksgiving Menu 2015

Two Years Ago:

• Thanksgiving Menu 2014

Three Years Ago:

• Thanksgiving Menu 2013

Four Years Ago:

• Thanksgiving Menu 2012