Mini Thanksgiving 2019: The Olympics of Stuffing Your Face

I’m a big Thanksgiving person, so I really enjoy having complete control over the entire menu and cooking allllll the things. But I know from polling y’all that this is one of the most intimidating meals you could ever possibly imagine trying to prepare. Which is why I started doing Mini Thanksgiving last year with some of my tried-and-true classics. This year, I switched it up with all new recipes, and while I’m a Thanksgiving creature-of-habit, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Let’s begin by talkin’ turkey. I’m gonna be honest: a big ol’ Thanksgiving turkey is easy to screw up. Typically, the salmonella-scaries tempt most turkey novices into overcooking their birds, and thus you end up with dry meat. But if you’re only having a few guests for the big day, why not skip the big bird and opt for a turkey breast instead?? It’s cheaper, faster to cook and much more versatile. This year, I got fancy and did a turkey roulade, which is basically French for “Pound, stuff and roll.” Those French are up for anything…

You’ll need a boneless, skin-on turkey breast for this, so I just went to Whole Foods, grabbed a prepackaged turkey breast from the meat section, took it to the butcher there and asked them to debone it for me. From there, all you have to do is carefully remove the skin intact, butterfly the breast and pound it thin with a meat mallet, lay stuffing on top, then roll from one short end to the other. Stretch the skin across the resulting seam, then tie up the roll with butcher twine, give it a little butter rubdown and cook. Voila! Here’s a little video to help you understand:

https://youtu.be/rdvHC_AFImI

And here’s the full recipe:

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Turkey Roulade

This is possibly my new favorite way to eat turkey - and a fantastic option for a smaller Thanksgiving celebration. It's really impressive looking too, not to mention deeeeeLISH!!

Ingredients

• 1 turkey breast skin-on + deboned
• 2 cups stuffing
• 1/2 wheel brie cubed
• couple pinches sea salt to taste
• couple grinds pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp butter softened

Instructions

• Carefully remove the skin with a sharp knife, keeping it fully intact, then set it aside for later use.
• With the knife, butterfly the breast, making shallow cuts until it's splayed out in a uniform thickness, in a rectangle-ish shape. Cover breast with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until it's about 1/2" thick. Season with salt and pepper.
• Mix stuffing and brie, and spread over the top of the breast, leaving a 1" border around the edges, then roll from one short end to the other. Stretch the skin over the seam to seal it.
• Secure it with a few pieces of butcher twine, then rub all over with the butter. Season with a little more salt and pepper.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until it reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees (I use a digital meat thermometer), then let rest about 10 minutes before cutting. Reserve the pan drippings for your gravy.
• Top with chopped parsley and gravy and serve.

And speaking of stuffing…
I’ve tried several variations of stuffing over the years, but nothing ever gets better than the garlicky, buttery mushroom one I go back to time and time again. This one is that base, but with the addition of cranberries. Make a big batch, use a couple cups for the turkey roulade, then reserve the rest to be the star side of the evening.

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Cranberry-Mushroom Stuffing

This. Stuff. Is. Heaven.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 loaves sourdough bread cut into cubes
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup butter
• 12 oz mushrooms sliced
• 1 large onion diced
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

• To prep the bread, I usually leave the bread cubes out, uncovered, on a baking sheet on the counter overnight, or at least for several hours, just to let them get crusty. 
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees + grease a 9x13 casserole dish with butter or ghee.
• First, soak the dried cranberries in enough warm water to cover, letting them sit 10-15 minutes, while you prep everything else.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter + cook until browned, a few minutes. Add in the mushrooms, onions and garlic, sauteing a few minutes, until cooked through. Season with poultry seasoning and salt.
• Mix bread cubes with mushroom mixture, stir in drained cranberries + broth + cream, then spread into baking dish evenly. (If you're using this stuffing for the turkey roulade, remove about 2 cups at this point + set aside for the turkey.)
• Bake for 20 minutes covered, then uncover + bake another 25 minutes or so uncovered, until golden.

When I decided I wanted something cheesy and comforting, but veggie-based, I felt like a Spaghetti Squash Gratin would be money. I love a homemade cheese sauce for gratins, but since there’s so much going on when you’re trying to prep an entire Thanksgiving feast, I opted for ease here with sour cream providing that gooey creaminess instead. But don’t you worry – there’s still plenty of cheese too. When I did my caramelized onions for this, I actually just went ahead and cooked two onions, reserving half for my green bean side dish.

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Spaghetti Squash Gratin

Combines the comfort of a cheesy casserole with the nutritional value of vitamin- and fiber-rich spaghetti squash. This is a good one to make ahead.

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 spaghetti squash cut into rings
• drizzle olive oil
• sea salt + pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp salted butter or ghee
• 1 onion peeled + thinly sliced
• chicken broth, white wine or water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese grated
• 1 cup gruyere cheese grated

Instructions

• Cut off ends of spaghetti squash, then carefully cut into rings. (To make this very difficult task way easier, I microwave the spaghetti squash for 4 minutes before cutting. This does make the finished squash sliiiiightly more soggy, but it really helps with the cutting.) 
• Place rings on a large baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt + pepper, and bake at 400 for about 25-30 minutes, until cooked through. Shred into "noodles" with fork and discard skins.
• While spaghetti squash is baking, melt butter in large cast iron skillet over medium heat, then add onions, cooking until they start to brown. Season with salt and splash with a little broth to deglaze the pan and keep the onions from burning. Cook until they're a deep brown, adding splashes of broth as needed to keep the onions moist and not burning. This will take several minutes.
• Mix together squash, caramelized onions and sour cream, then put half in a medium-sized buttered casserole dish. Top with 1/2 cup each of cheddar + gruyere. Spread the rest of the squash on top and sprinkle with remaining cheddar and gruyere.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, then broil for a minute or two if needed to create a bubbly, golden brown cheese crust on top.

Typically, I do a sweet potato mash on the sweet side for Turkey Day, but when I made this savory Browned Butter + Sage Sweet Potato Mash for a weeknight dinner a month or so ago, I knew it would be a perfect way to shake up Thanksgiving a bit. Cooking the sweet potatoes in a crockpot helps free up oven space too.

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Browned Butter + Sage Sweet Potato Mash

This is a fabulously flavorful, savory alternative to the typical marshmallow-studded sweet potato side. Cooking the sweet potatoes in a crockpot keeps them warm until you're ready to serve and frees up coveted oven space on the big day.

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
• 6 fresh sage leaves
• sea salt to taste

Instructions

• Rinse sweet potatoes and cook in a crockpot on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours, until tender. 
• When you're ready to prepare the potatoes, melt the butter in a small skillet. Once it's melted, add sage leaves to the skillet and continue cooking the butter until it's browned, a few minutes. Remove sage leaves.
• Skin the potatoes and toss them in the food processor with the cream for an ultra smooth mash. You can also just use a potato masher or fork if you don't have a food processor.
• Put sweet potatoes in a serving bowl and stir in the browned butter, reserving a little to drizzle over the top, because hey, it's just plain pretty.
• Taste and season with a little salt if needed.

A green bean casserole with the little crunchy french onion thingies on top is a Thanksgiving staple, but I wanted to make a simpler green bean dish that used the same flavors, hence these Caramelized Onion Green Beans.

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Caramelized Onion Green Beans

This is a YUMMY, lighter alternative to a traditional green bean casserole.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp salted butter divided
• 1 onion peeled + thinly sliced
• pinch sea salt
• broth, white wine or water to deglaze
• 16 oz fresh green beans

Instructions

• In a large cast iron skillet, melt 2 tbsp of the butter over medium heat, then add the onion. Season with a good pinch of sea salt and cook until onions start to turn a bit golden. 
• As onions cook and start to brown more, add splashes of broth and scrape up the golden bits from the bottom of the skillet to help deglaze it and keep the onions from burning. Keep cooking until onions are a deep brown, adding splashes of broth as needed to deglaze and keep onions moist and cooking without burning. (You can also use white wine for this, or even just water.) This could take several minutes.
• Add another little splash of broth, turn the heat to medium-low, stir in rinsed green beans and put a lid on the skillet to steam the beans for 4 minutes.   
• Stir in the remaining 2 tbsp butter + serve.

Cranberry sauce, while perhaps not THE most sought-after side of the feast, is a non-negotiable for me. It just adds a little sweetness to complement all the savory stuff. This version has the slightest hint of rose to switch it up a little, and it’s made in the crockpot, so it’s pretty much a hands-off recipe.

Gravy is one of those things that sounds hard, but it’s so easy and makes SUCH a huge difference. I drown pretty much everything on my plate in it. Just use the drippings you reserved from the turkey roulade here to whip up your gravy as your last step before serving. If you don’t have enough drippings, just add enough butter or ghee to your pan to make 1/4 cup of melted fat before making the roux.

The easiest way to prep an entire Thanksgiving dinner without losing your damn mind in the process is by breaking the cooking up over a few days (although it’s still totally doable all in one day, as evidenced by my Mini Thanksgiving highlight on Instagram). My personal recommendation:

2 days ahead: Make the cranberry sauce, and dry out the bread cubes.
The day before: Prep the stuffing (wait to add the broth until just before cooking it the day-of) and the spaghetti squash gratin (assemble the casserole, but don’t bake it until the day-of).
Thanksgiving Day: Make the sweet potatoes, green beans, turkey roulade and gravy.

For dessert, I served a store-bought pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream (just heavy whipping cream whipped with a drizzle of maple syrup with a handheld electric whisk) and that caramel sauce that I love from Whole Foods, and everyone gobbled it right up. One less thing I had to make.

Most importantly, ENJOY THE PROCESS!!! It’s food, not brain surgery; just put some music on and pour as much love as you can into it. And gravy; don’t forget the gravy.