How to Give Thanks

Do you also feel like you need a breather from the onslaught of unbearable news? Me too. I cannot stop thinking about the children paralyzed by instability, hunger, and fear. But I doubt you need me to pile on more sadness and anxiety. I'm sure you have plenty of your own. Here's my contribution to happier things: a menu for Thursday's dinner, where we're hosting 13 people from two sides of our family, spanning four generations. Eldest guest: my bubby, rounding 90. Youngest guest: our one-year-old (!), with an appetite and a belly to rival the grown-ups'.

I tell you, the news from the past several months makes giving thanks seem easier, ever more obvious a thing we must do. We are safe, warm, and well-fed. We worry about small things more than big things. If I overcook the turkey, or forget a dish in the fridge, or break a platter, whatever. What. ever.

So here is our menu, of altogether too much food that no doubt we will all enjoy. I plan to spend time reflecting on our immense luck, thinking about the things that matter. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with loved ones, where you feel safe, sated, and happy.

Thanksgivukkah Recap

Well, that was quite a holiday.

Thanksgivukkah was a total thrill, from start to finish. "Start" was at 6:30 am. We finished the evening around 11. In between, we turned out one-and-a-half turkeys, two quarts of gravy, four kinds of sauces (cranberry, cranapple, pear, pear-cider jelly), 32 doughnuts (sweet and savory!), and three pies. That doesn't count the handful of bottles of wine that my parents brought; the glorious vegetarian stuffing, courtesy of my friend Jana; the five (five!) flower arrangements (biggest and most beautiful again thanks to Jana), and whatever else was arranged or consumed yesterday. It also doesn't count the scores of laughs, the countless political debates (which occurred near constantly and yet left no scars or bruises, victory!), the speeches comparing the stories of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving (just one, but it was one for the ages), and I don't know how many times someone said "mmmm" and made my heart feel as full as my stomach.

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The weeks of testing and retesting paid off. This was my third time making most everything, and by yesterday, I felt wiser for it. I knew to use a slightly larger biscuit cutter when making the cornmeal doughnuts (recipe updated) and to pipe in that cranberry curd while the sufganiyot were still warm.

The timing mostly worked out, too. That excel spreadsheet kept me on track, or even a few minutes ahead at some points. I loved nearly everything I made.

Here's the debrief with lessons learned:

Appetizers:No-knead sweet potato rolls Squash jam Cider-pear-vanilla jelly HarissaTurkey fat-fried latke with cranberry sauce and pear sauce

Second course: Kale salad with pickled radishes and pomegranate seeds Cornmeal-bourbon doughnuts filled with stuffing

Main course:Dry-brined turkey (double the dry brine; roast at 425 for 25 minutes, then at 325 until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165; tent and rest for 30 minutes before carving) My favorite gravy, with dark roux, plenty of turkey drippings, and just a hint of cider Jana's wild mushroom-dried cherry stuffing Pear sauce Cranberry sauce with nutmeg and fresh ginger Sweet potato casserole with cornflake topping (a heavily-modified version of this, possibly the greatest hit of the evening)

Dessert: All pie crusts were this recipe, which is perfect Apple-cranberry pie with a lattice crust Brandied pumpkin pie Chocolate-bourbon pecan pieNutmeg doughnuts with cranberry curd filling

Best moment pre-Tday: stumbling into TJ Maxx with 30 minutes on the parking meter, four other stores under my belt, and no tablecloth, silver polish, gravy boat, or salad tongs to speak of. Walking out 15 minutes and $18 later with all four in hand.

Most stressful moment: the first half-hour of dinner. I was in the weeds, stuff wasn't done, and no one had a drink. Oops!

Best moments on Tday: our grandparents kvelling at getting to be guests in our house, eating our food, celebrating with us. I need nothing more. But, I will happily take any moment involving more gravy. I really love gravy.

Lessons learned:

When guests arrive, serve them a beverage. When folks started to arrive, I was in the weeds. I had semi-subconsciously decided to skip the punch, thinking we didn't have many drinkers coming over, but in retrospect, that was a mistake. Having even a light beverage to sip would have made those first 30 minutes or so more engaging for our guests, and thus less chaotic for me.  Still, the rolls and spreads helped a lot with that first chunk of time.

The latke needed more oil. Late in the game, I switched the appetizer from individual latkes to one big latke, figuring it'd be easier and less stinky to make one latke than 24. Unfortunately, I didn't test the recipe in advance. As a result, I ended up skimping on the oil and not setting the flame low enough. I burned the first one crisp. Fortunately, I made a double recipe of batter in case the first one flopped, and the second one came out better, but still not a particularly memorable dish (at least, not for me).

Kale salad

Kale salad was a huge hit. I knew I didn't have much green on the menu this year, and I had quite a few healthy types at dinner (myself included, doughnut love notwithstanding...) so instead of a light, leafy salad, I made a huge kale salad with a pungent dressing containing homemade mustard.  I really wanted a pop of red to match the flowers, so I pickled some radishes well in advance, and they turned a lovely shade of pink. The salad was kale, those radishes, and the seeds from a pomegranate. It turned out so pretty. Plus, the salad was substantial enough that it could be served as a middle course on its own, or stand up as part of the main course. I designed it this way on purpose; I figured if the dougnhuts took longer than expected, I could serve the kale while they finished up. The way things unfolded, we put out the kale salad about 3 minutes before the cornmeal doughnuts were ready. Kale went around, and cornmeal doughnuts immediately followed. The two together made for  a nice second course that everyone enjoyed while I prepped for the main event.

The half-and-half turkey strategy paid off. I had purchased one whole turkey and one half turkey. I roasted the half turkey Thanksgiving morning, carved it at about noon, laid the slices nicely on a platter, and tented it with foil. The whole bird I'd timed to finish about 15 minutes after guests arrived, and it finished precisely on time. As a result, I actually got to join our guests for salad and doughnuts before heading back to the kitchen to finish off the turkey. While D cleared plates, I rewarmed the gravy and started breaking down the whole turkey. By the time she was done clearing, I was ready with the platter of pre-carved, rewarmed turkey, which I hit with a little of the gravy before bringing it to the table. The operation was seamless; that half turkey got me all the way around the table for round one, and while everyone dug in, I finished carving and plating the whole bird, just in time to have a leisurely first helping myself before circulating seconds of everything. I'll definitely do this again.

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Out with Thanksgiving dinner; in with Thanksgiving lunch. To accommodate those who separate eating  meat/poultry and dairy, we called "dinner" for 2 pm, European style, and waited till 7 to eat all that butter-crust pie. For me, this was perfect. This sort of massive, no-holds-barred meal works much better when spread across several hours. A 2-pm start still gave me plenty of time to get everything done that morning.

and most importantly:

I love my people. Thanksgivukkah brought together my parents and D's, and both of our grandparents, along with some very good friends. We're still marveling at our good fortune that we got to have all those folks in our home yesterday, that we got to cook for my Bubby and D's Safta and Saba, for our very appreciative (and helpful!) parents and friends, and that we had the resources and the time and the plausible insanity to make the feast we ate. I love this holiday. I love everything about it. Even though Thanksgivukkah is done forever, I'm already looking forward to next year's plain old Thanksgiving.

Cheers, friends. Next up, salad. promise.

Bourbon-Chocolate Pecan Pie

The menu is pretty much set. In the fridge are mason jars full of cranberry sauce, cranberry-applesauce, pear sauce, and dulce de batata, a sort of jam made from white Latin sweet potatoes, which we first had at Del Campo and which I replicated with shocking success. In the crisper are bags of diced carrots, onions, and celery, and little bundles of fresh herbs ready to add to round 2 of turkey stock. I've got sweet potato rolls rising on the counter, a turkey and a half dry-brining on the bottom shelf of the fridge, and an assortment of vases, flowers, ribbon, bowls, tea lights, and other random stuff intended to magically self-assemble into a pretty tablescape. (Doubtful.) 

But even if absolutely nothing goes according to plan, we know there will be doughnuts. And more doughnuts. So everything will be okay. And just in case, there also will be delicious, delicious pie.

I tested two pies this past weekend and brought both to a house full of the ultimate taste testers: the hosts of our Thursday night pie/Hanukkah party, and their four children (among the most discerning eaters I know. One's favorite food is pickled asparagus.)

And this, friends, is why we test recipes: all eight of us agreed that while the pies were tasty, they weren't memorable. They weren't worthy of a spot on the Thanksgiving pie table.

One -- an apple custard pie with a rye crust -- was a surprise letdown. I was counting on it being awesome, and it just wasn't. On any other day, it'd be a pie worth making, but with so much else competing for attention on Tday, the pie kind of needs to be amazing.

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The other, fortunately, needed only a few tweaks to go from meh to memorable. And, in a slight wrist-slapping moment, the tweak was actually an un-tweak: I had added some fresh cranberries to Melissa Clark's otherwise-excellent chocolate pecan pie, figuring that the cranberries would offset the pie's likely sweetness. The cranberry flavor was nice, but the texture really disrupted an otherwise fine pie. Out they went. And between you and me, the pie improved significantly on day two. This one, I'm making on Wednesday.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I hope the holiday brings an abundance of delicious food, cozy warmth, good laughs, and plenty of leftover turkey for sandwiches. Also: latkes. Have a wonderful weekend!

Bourbon Chocolate Pecan PieAdapted from the New York Times

For the crust: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (150 grams), plus more for dusting 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed 4 to 6 tablespoons ice water, as needed 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar, mixed in with ice water

For the filling: 1 1/2 cups pecan halves (170 grams) 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (56 grams) 3/4 cup dark corn syrup 4 large eggs 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100 grams) 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (5 grams) 2 tablespoons bourbon 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms chickpea-size pieces. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It should be moist but not wet. On a lightly floured surface, gather the dough into a ball. Flatten into a disk with the heel of your hand. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

On a lightly floured surface, after removing plastic wrap, roll out dough to a 12-inch circle. Transfer crust to a 9-inch pie plate. Fold over any excess dough, then crimp edges. Prick crust all over with a fork. Chill crust for 30 minutes.

While the dough chills, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line chilled crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until very pale golden, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast nuts, shaking pan occasionally, until fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.

Make the filling: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth; cool. In a large bowl, whisk together cooled chocolate-butter mixture, corn syrup, eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, bourbon and salt. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Arrange pecans over filling. Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the filling is just set when the pan is jiggled, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

What I'm Reading, Thanksgiving Edition

Here's what I've been reading, from various corners of the web.  Happy weekend!

• This beautiful Dansk baking dish was on major sale (as in 70% off) at CB Outlet last weekend – might want to check the one nearest you. I can’t wait to roast a chicken in it.
• Love these napkin ties, DIY of course, from Martha.
• Why don’t we eat turkey eggs?
• Leah’s mulled apple cider sangria looks like a great way to kick off this year’s meal.
• If you’re feeling strong and open, read this beautiful, heartbreaking piece from Ariel Levy about her Thanksgiving in Mongolia. Bring the tissues.
• This will make a happy home on my table the week after Thanksgiving. (Why not?)
• When the holidays end and we can take a vacation, I’ll be heading here. (Can’t believe it took the Times this long to cover!)
• Cooking I can do, but tablescapes are not my thing. This guide just became my bible. (Via Food52)
• We received this Madeira as a wedding gift (hi, Beth!), but I didn’t realize until recently that I love it not only in tarts but in a glass, after dinner. Serve this to your guests after the Thanksgiving feast and you will see some very happy—if very full—faces.
• I haven’t loved the NYT’s new multimedia features that much (though the SNL feature is a notable exception), but they did a really stellar job with their Essential Thanksgiving Guide. One essential recipe in each major category, a few variations for the adventurous (or bored), presented in a straightforward manner. Very helpful.
• While we’re at it, Sam Sifton’s lovely little book on Thanksgiving will guide you expertly through the next 7 days.

What about you? Share in the comments. Have a great weekend, friends.