My Thanksgiving Menu + Office Hours!

My Thanksgiving menu that I'm making this year, plus a fun chat announcement next week!

Thanksgiving is a week away here in America and it’s definitely my favorite holiday of the year. Not just because it allows me to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking, but also because it seems like the only holiday that isn’t centered around gifts, which is nice.

While I’ve posted loads of Thanksgiving recipes on CTK, my basic menu that I cook almost doesn’t change year-to-year. It can take a lot to nudge out a dish and squeeze in a new dish!

Here’s what is pretty much always on my table every year!

My Thanksgiving Menu

The Bird

I’ve cooked turkey probably in a dozen different ways over the years. This year I’m going to keep it pretty traditional, with a dry rub turkey, spatchcocked, and either smoked or roasted (weather dependent).

Stuffing

An unchanging recipe on my menu is Mr. Marquis’s Marvelous stuffing. All I can say about this stuffing is IYKYK.

Butter Rolls

These are about as old-fashioned as rolls get. They are a bit of a project, but what better time to make them than Thanksgiving? Fluffy, perfectly soft, and great for the meal and leftover sandwiches the next day!

Casserole

I like to have a veggie-centered casserole on the table and this year I will probably go with this made-from-scratch green bean casserole. You can make it in advance and just reheat it before dinner. It has amazing flavors and is a bit (a lot) of an upgrade from the traditional soup can method.

Sweet Potato Soup

I kind of can’t get this soup out of my mind, so I’m gonna make a soup course this year just so I can make it again. It’ll take the place of a more traditional sweet potato casserole.

Pies

This year I’m farming out one pie and I’m only making a very traditional apple pie. I don’t have a recipe for apple pie on CTK, but I tend to follow a mix of Serious Eats and Sally’s Baking Addiction for my apple pie.

Other Essentials!

Obviously, there will be the following as well on the table:

• Mashed Potatoes - My Mother-in-law makes really good, creamy mashed potatoes so I’m letting her handle that. I’m pretty sure they involve a metric ton of butter and cream cheese and I’m here for it.

• Gravy - I always make a giblet gravy (Simply Recipes has a good start) and usually make a double batch because I like having extra gravy.

• Cranberry sauce - I personally like canned cranberry sauce, but also make a fresh version.

• Appetizers - I’ll usually set out some charcuterie and oysters so people don’t yell at me if dinner is late.

Thanksgiving Office Hours!

I’m trying something new this year for this Substack Newsletter. Next Monday, at 1pm Eastern Time, I’ll be hosting a Thanksgiving office hours chat on The Crunch Time Club!

You’ll get a reminder email slightly before it kicks off if you want to come chat with me! It’ll be a time to ask questions, exchange recipes with others, and hopefully answer some problems if you have any! I’ll try to stay on the chat for an hour or two if people are interested!