Recipes of Thanksgivings Past
your T-Day guide, plus hit me up with all your q's
Thanksgiving is the biggest day of the year for food media. You typically start pitching and developing recipes for it in the summer, which is not when I want to roast a 12-pound turkey. I used to love the holiday, but having to make countless versions of turkey, sides, and pies every year kinda killed the joy for me. (You don’t want to hear about the year Ham had to roast over 100 turkeys.) All that big bird action meant that we’d often eat something else entirely on the actual turkey day, like prime rib, Peking duck, or southern fried chicken.
I mean, all those things are delicious. Still, since this will be our baby’s first Thanksgiving, I decided to take a break from developing new holiday recipes so we can actually enjoy the holidays (don’t worry, I’ll be back with fresh recipes next year!).
Instead, here’s a roundup of everything Thanksgiving-y I’ve developed in one place. And get in the comments and leave me any and all your questions!
Turkey
My turkey opinions have evolved over the years. At first, I was real cheffy about it, breaking the bird down into parts, searing and butter-basting each part, and then roasting it. Later, I moved on to the spatchcock method, and finally (begrudgingly) developed a recipe for a whole bird after lots of you asked me to. I’m so glad I got over myself and listened to you all because the whole roasted bird is genuinely my favorite method now. Yes, it’s a lot easier, but more importantly, it’s better. The meat is super moist and juicy, the skin is rendered and burnished, and you can live out that Normal Rockwell fantasy. But I understand you’ve got to go on your own turkey journey, so here are all my turkey methods, content, and tips in one place.
Whole Roasted
whole roasted turkey newsletter
whole roasted turkey dry brining video
whole roasted turkey cooking video
how to carve a whole turkey video
Spatchcocked
spatchcocked turkey with honey thyme gravy recipe
spatchcocking a turkey with Al Roker podcast
Roasting in Parts
Stuffing/Dressing
This has got to me my favorite side and it is endlessly riffable once you get what it’s all about. First, get some good bread, tear or cut it up into small pieces, toss with fat and seasonings, then toast into croutons. (You can do this waaay in advance). Then you sweat down some aromatics, toss in your croutons, add some mixins, and bring on the moisture in the form of broth, milk, or a combo of both.
watch a long video about stuffing
watch a short video about stuffing
apple, onion, and pepper stuffing video
cornbread stuffing, but make it taco recipe
Sides
smashed green beans with lemony sumac dressing recipe
Desserts
I haven’t yet developed many Thanksgiving-y desserts. This pumpkin spice latte cheesecake is inspired by my newfound love for psl’s, and is also a great change from pumpkin pie. Every year, I make a super traditional pecan pie, totally following the recipe on the back of the corn syrup bottle. (I level it up with extra salt and the seeds from a fresh vanilla bean.) And this apple pie recipe by love of my life, Stella Parks, has never let me down.
Hit me with your holiday questions! I’m still here for you, doing everything with a little nugget strapped to me.
xx
sohla
ok, but we DO want to hear about the time Ham had to make 100 turkeys....please. And i really appreciate your approach to this year by summarizing all the recipes you've already developed in one place to give yourself space to be present with the baby. enjoy your time together!
Honestly SO impressed by all the work you’ve done while pregnant and since having your gorgeous babe. Thank you for always creating such beautiful recipes and being such a joy both in my inbox and on YouTube doing ALL the things. Enjoy baby’s first holiday season, and thank you again for all the work you do!!