Thanksgiving 2017

This year we had 11 adults, one five-year-old and a three-year-old for Thanksgiving dinner. With careful planning, and knocking off a couple of dishes a day, I was able to get a huge amount done in advance and actually had a pretty relaxed Thanksgiving day.

I made the turkey the same way as I have a number of times: deconstructed, then the breast cooked upside down in a saute pan, and finally all cooked over the stuffing. I dry-brined the turkey with salt for one day, instead of wet-brining the breast as the recipe suggests. It looked pretty good, and turned out to be the best I have ever made, moist white meat that held up even as leftovers the next day.

Turkey breast ready to be carved

Here's what I served (and cooked except for the Opera Cake):

Thanksgiving Dinner
 November 23, 2017

• Slow poached garlic shrimp (from Tyler Florence's Ultimate TV show)
• Mustard and tapenade batons (from Dorie Greenspan, Around My French Table)
• Whipped feta with home made pita chips (from Milk Street)
• Tuna and cannellini bean crostini (Bobby Jay)
• Bar nuts (from The Union Square Cookbook)
• Turkey with chicken sausage and sage stuffing, gravy (from Cook's Illustrated for Turkey, The Food Lab for stuffing and gravy)
• Cranberry mostarda (from Food and Wine)
• Sweet potato gratin with sage (from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook)
• Hashed Brussels sprouts with poppy seeds and lemon (from The Union Square Cookbook)
• Apple Tart Mémé  (from Essential Pépin)
• Giant cannelé with pumpkin pie spices (from Atelier des Chefs cooking lesson, modified by Bobby Jay)
• Chocolate espresso Opera Cake furnished by Payard (for mother's 95th birthday)

And here's what some of it looked like:

Hors d'oeuvres were served in the living room, around our old art deco table.

Mustard and green olive tapenade batons

Slow-cooked garlic shrimp

Then we moved to the dining room, spectacularly arranged as always by Joan, for a buffet style dinner.

Thanksgiving table

The turkey, deconstructed and carved:

Carved turkey

Sweet potato gratin:

Sweet potato gratin

Hashed Brussels sprouts:

Hashed Brussels sprouts

Finally, a chocolate espresso Opera Cake furnished by Payard to celebrate my mother's upcoming 95th birthday and two desserts that I whipped up the day before and the day of: Jacques Pépin's Apple Tart Mémé and a giant cannelé inspired by Michel Trama, with a recipe from Atelier des Chefs and added pumpkin pie spices (my [very good] idea).

Apple tart Mémé

Giant cannelé with pumpkin pie spices

Many commented that it was the best Thanksgiving meal I have ever served. Maybe true, maybe not, but when in doubt, say thank you.

Bobby Jay