Simple Thanksgiving Recipes for Smaller Tables
For my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving! May your Thanksgiving celebrate the bounty of autumn and may you pause to enjoy a beautiful meal in the midst of this year’s wild ride. My Thanksgiving menu this year is well-suited to those sitting around a smaller table, yet it’s just traditional enough. Don’t worry, there will still be leftovers!
To my friends in all corners of the world, I hope you find this opportunity to bring a touch of decadence and a touch of comfort into your kitchens.
My Thanksgiving 2020 Menu
This recipe by Samin Nosrat is my all-time favorite recipe for roast chicken, a more practical alternative to roasting a huge turkey. This recipe is incredibly simple and produces a moist, delicious chicken. Nostalgic for Thanksgiving aromas? Rub thyme, rosemary and rubbed sage over the skin after scraping off the residual buttermilk. Instead of brining in buttermilk or yogurt, you could substitute sauerkraut brine! Just strain the liquid from your container of raw sauerkraut.
Roasted red kuri squash & red onions
Use a large, shallow roasting pan for your chicken and cover the base of the pan with your favorite winter vegetables. I’m currently obsessed with red kuri squash, so I’ll be adorning the pan with hunks of squash, thick slices of red onion, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme for good measure, too. The best part, no extra dishes required!
Sauerkraut
I love the contrast of tangy sauerkraut, or any raw fermented veggie, against the rich and heavy roast chicken and vegetables. Traditionally, this is the job of cranberry sauce, but with less work, less sugar, and all the probiotic goodness. Wildbrine’s red beet and cabbage ‘kraut is my favorite.
My top tip for planning a smaller Thanksgiving this year is to pick your non-negotiable dish and go all out for that one thing. For me, that’s stuffing, and in particular, it’s this stuffing from Alice Waters. No need to bake inside a bird, this version of the recipe is modified for cooking in a baking dish. Though, I’d add my own modifications to bring it back to the original recipe; use whole milk for skim, and coat your pan with butter, ghee, or olive oil instead of cooking spray.
Unless mashed potatoes are your non-negotiable, cauliflower puree is a great substitute to lighten the feast. Because this recipe uses frozen cauliflower florets, you can easily scale down for a small batch.
Baked Apples with pumpkin-spiced pecans a la mode
One of the joys of a big Thanksgiving gathering is the variety of pies for dessert. You could take a bite (or a few!) each of pumpkin, apple and pecan pie. This year, if pie is your non-negotiable, you know what to do. Otherwise, with a little creativity, you can layer the best of all the flavors in one bowl!
Cinnamon baked apples: chop 6 tart apples into chunks and toss with 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or ghee and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to coat in the mixture. Bake at 350F (175C) in a small baking dish for 30 minutes.
Ice cream of your choice.
Pumpkin-spiced pecans: coat 1 cup raw pecans in 1 tablespoon coconut oil with ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and toss with 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar (optional) and a pinch of salt. Bake at 350F (175C) in a single layer on parchment paper for 10-12 minutes.
