A Thanksgiving at Home

Never roasting a whole bird again

Due to my new status as a SMO (small business owner—acronym, mine), we were not able to travel to our annual family Thanksgiving in Michigan this year, and as much as I missed seeing my husband’s family and the annual trip I very much enjoy, I reveled in my first time cooking the meal at home. Due to the aforementioned small business I didn’t really have a chance to do much planning, so I went full Roman (as in Alison Roman) and made our meal, almost exactly according to her latest Thanksgiving Special for Home Movies (minus the additional potato dish, Minus green beans, minus dessert). And it was truly fantastic. I am only ever very earnest here, as you will learn if you’re a new reader. To be fair, it doesn’t take much convincing for me to put my faith in Alison Roman for an entire meal (yes, I asked my mom to go on a Sahadi’s run to hopefully procur a coveted copy of her Thanksgiving 2023 broadside).

The cornerstone of the meal was a Turkey Confit of the legs and thighs, plus roasted wings, and I have never had such supple, delicious turkey meat in my life. I will never roast a whole turkey again. My mom (a guest at this event) agreed. What I found most satisfying and comforting and effective about AR’s Thanksgiving, was the way she taught me how to schedule my cooking. For maximum ease and CHILL. At least as chill and easy as Thanksgiving could ever be. An inherently chill and easy thing it is not. But, bonus: I also found maximum COZY thanks to turkey stock.

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a bit you might have noticed how much I enjoy making stock. I just love a pot simmering away. Devoting the day before Turkey Day to making a turkey stock, from heavily browned chicken wings, was an excellent way to spend a day at home. And somehow, despite flying solo with a toddler and a nine-year-old dog, it all worked out.

As I mentioned, I didn’t really plan ahead, but the one thing I did do was call my local grocery store (Adam’s—the best place on earth—for those in the Hudson Valley who know or need to know) to order the requisite turkey parts (and was amused when the butcher said it was weird that so many people wanted wings this year). After putting in my order (he said he would “do his best”), so as I did my regular grocery shopping there and found one package of four turkey wings just chilling in the meat area, I snapped them right up and knew I had my stock. Then on Wednesday I made the journey back over to pick up my preordered turkey legs and thighs and yet more wings. Everything was there (he did it!), but I forgot my wallet at home and had to pack us back into the car and start all over. I breathed through it all, and did our shopping in a zen. These days I try to approach grocery shopping as slowly as possible to not fall prey to feeling in a rush for no reason. I truly was so lucky that day because Tycho was in the chillest mood (why, I do not know). He played in the living room on his own while I got the stock started and then napped for nearly three hours. I was able to get all of my prep-day cooking done AND read my book for an hour (!!!), while the stock bubbled away on the stove. The house smelled fucking great all day long.

THEN I made my gravy and my cranberries. My only real flub of the entire meal was the cranberries. I didn’t bother to check the quantities, since there was only one size of fresh cranberry at the store. Without even looking at the recipe I made them according to Alison’s cooking video, which calls for the honey of “one bear,” and all the while I had 8 oz bags of cranberries, when the recipe called for 12 oz. OOPS! They were hilariously sweet, but honestly not terribly cloying once eaten the following day on a fork with a mouthful of turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing, all layered together. The only way to consume cranberry sauce. Not mad, but yes they should have been more tart.

Aside from the turkey and the gravy (both rocked), the other standout of the meal was the salad, specifically the honey-pecan-fennel topping for the salad. Holy mackerel! Make this immediately. By all means, eat it on the delicious salad it goes with, but I suggest you save some as topping for vanilla ice cream. NEVER have two things tasted so good together. We ate it while watching Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (a great film, truly), and all three of us continued interrupting the movie to remark on how insanely delicious it was. A perfect balance of sweet and savory

Thanksgiving dinner is a lot of work, but I really love doing it. There’s something so comforting about the routine of dishes that are there each year. And it’s nice being in control of all of them. The Turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the gravy, the cranberries, and a couple vegetables.

Dessert didn’t happen, and frankly—it was fine. Normally I’m a dessert fiend, but I was so full I couldn’t possibly miss it. I’m still thinking about the vanilla ice cream accompanied by leftover pecan fennel topping that we had the following evening.

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A Newburgh Thanksgiving, 2023

~Menu~

Cheese plate / I do NOT endorse this—it was NOT my decision—it kills the appetite for the INSANE meal ahead. Maybe this makes me a horrible host but I think everyone should just go hungry leading up to the meal, lol

Turkey leg and thigh confit / I’m ever cooking turkey another way ever again; I saved the turkey-infused oil afterward and it smells/tastes incredible. I’ll be cooking with it for a month, minimum

Roasted turkey wings / not as good as I expected on their own, but still worth doing because you can make more stock from them. You WILL want more stock

Turkey stock—>Turkey gravy with sherry vinegar

Cranberries & Honey (note: delish even though I f-ed up the ratios and it was too sweet)

Mashed potatoes with buttermilk and cream and garlic / fantastic fantastic fantastic. could have maybe used even more garlic and buttermilk and cream

Acorn Squash with brown sugar and butter and sage / Another flub: I let this go too long and it the flavors got weird. It wasn’t good, but it’s probably my fault.

Brussell sprouts with cranberry (c/o my mom! delicious side)

Bitter salad with apples and fennel and pecan / I cannot account for why this salad is so good. It *should* need more than just sherry vinegar, but it didn’t—it was perfect. And then there was the aforementioned honey-fennel-pecan topping that truly rocked my world

DESSERT, or lack thereof - I did not make a dessert, but the following day we had vanilla ice cream, topped with leftover salad topping and it might be the perfect savory/sweet combination I’ve ever encountered.

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While I have you…one recommendation (only one because I’m just keeping my head above water and not really consuming anything new these days. It’s still old Top Chef and Great British Bake Off and that’s pretty much it)

Something to read / This Story Will Change: A Memoir by Elizabeth Crane / Betsy is my neighbor. We live two blocks from each other, and met through a mutual friend who put us in touch because Betsy is an author and I was, at the time, opening a bookstore. It took me a beat to read her memoir because—well—I was opening a bookstore and I have a toddler, but I’ve been selling it at Golden Hour, and I finally did read it, and I devoured it. I think it should be required reading for anyone who is in any kind of relationship, romantic or otherwise (so I think that’s just about everyone). Her experience of her marriage ending told me so much about human dynamics and I was touched by how much she shared. Not to mention: she is also a fantastic writer. If you read it you’ll see why I instantly wanted her to be my friend as soon as we met. What makes her lovable really comes across on the page.