Thanksgiving 2020
Thanksgiving 2020. A different holiday than usual that’s for sure. Our family didn’t really have any big yearly traditions for Thanksgiving when I was growing up, each year was different, so to me a COVID19 Thanksgiving was just one more variation. However, I know there are so many people that had to adjust their plans and traditions significantly.
Thankfully, I was still able to get together with my immediate family and have a nice dinner and conversation which is what I want the most. Food and good company.
Lara and I ordered a turkey from the same place we’ve been getting the turkey for the past 5 or 6 years, and once again it did not disappoint. We got a 16 lb bird, more than we needed, but I had heard that some turkey farmer’s were worried about how things would go this year so I decided to just buy a big bird, cut it into parts, and only roast 1/2 of it. The other 1/2 would go into our freezer for another day. This worked great!
Half of the turkey was the perfect size for our group of 6 adults (several light eaters) and 3 children. It was also super easy to roast. One leg/thigh combo, one wing, and 1/2 the breast. I dry brined it overnight (uncovered) with salt, thyme and lemon zest. On Thanksgiving day, I added butter under the skin and then roasted on a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet that was lined with (3 layers) of foil. I started the turkey at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then decreased the oven to 325 and roasted another 30-50 minutes until everything was done. The wing was done first, followed by the leg and then the breast. I was able to take them out as they were done to ensure nothing overcooked. (breast done at 155-160 degrees, dark meat done at 170 degrees).
I also made a chopped kale salad with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. This was modeled after Joshua McFadden’s recipe, The Kale Salad that Started it All from the cookbook Six Seasons (which I LOVE and highly recommend!). I didn’t follow the recipe exactly this time, but used it as inspiration, and then added a mixture of shredded Brussels sprouts and leeks that I broiled with salt and oil (one of my favorite things to do).
Next was cranberry sauce which I love at Thanksgiving. I do a very simple sauce, typically I use just cranberries, water and sugar, but this year I switched it up slightly and instead of using sugar, I added in my last small jar of homemade orange marmalade from one or two years ago. Lara had made it for our dad for his birthday, but we had a jar leftover. Neither of us is a huge orange marmalade fan, but an orange marmalade/cranberry sauce was great!
Finally, I made dinner rolls. I used the same recipe as last year. A nice rich, butter, and slightly sweet roll. Nice and soft. Lara wanted to try shaping them a little differently, so we rolled them out like a cinnamon roll and brushed melted butter on them before rolling up. Once they baked up they were a little flakier and fun to pull apart. I would try this again for sure, but I’d try switching up how I laid them in the pan. Nothing wrong with how they turned out, but they looked a little silly in the pan after baking. Some had fallen over, and some had stayed upright, and it all looked a little jumbled.
I decided to not make a dessert this year, but did pick up a few packages of Thanksgiving macaroons from my local macaroon shop. They do such an amazing job I figured I’d let them do the work this year! I got 6 flavors; pumpkin, pumpkin creme brulee, cranberry sauce, speculaas, maple walnut and apple pie. My mom made some chocolate chip cookie bars, and then made a homemade angel food cake that she frosted with a caramel whipped cream. It was delicious! I don’t love angel food cake, a cake without any fat seems pointless to me, but when you cover it in whipped cream this completely changes things. Plenty of fat in that case!
I couldn’t resist a little snack board as well, because I need to have cheese at any party! This year I got Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and Comte. I don’t think I’ve tried the cheddar before and I loved it! It was a lot different than I expected, crumbly and dry, carmely and a little sweet with some crystals. Complex and interesting without being funky (at least in my opinion). I will DEFINITELY get this one again. And Comte is always yummy!
The last item that Lara and I brought was one of Lara’s favorite wines, a Beaujolais that she’d enjoyed at a local restaurant a few times. Our family members aren’t huge wine drinkers, but they’ll sip on a glass, so we brought a couple bottles of one we like and everyone enjoyed.
Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls
From Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients
1 cup (240ml) milk, around room temperature
2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 large egg
1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour or bread flour
Optional topping: 2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter mixed with 1 Tablespoon honey
Add flour, salt, sugar and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the milk and egg - add to the flour mixture. Beat on low speed for 30-60 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed until all of the flour is moistened. Then increase to medium speed and knead until the the dough is well developed and comes together to form a soft dough. It will be sticky. Add flour as needed to make it manageable but don’t add too much so it becomes too dry.
Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.
Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. Set aside.
When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball. Arrange in prepared baking pan. (For a 9x13 inch pan, 15 rolls is nice to arrange in 3 rows of 5 rolls each).
Cover shaped rolls with plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until puffy, about 1 hour. Near the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven, brush with optional honey butter topping, and allow rolls to cool for a few minutes before serving.