A Thanksgiving newsletter, pt. 2

My day-by-day cooking plan, plus a great jar dressing for all your fall and winter salads

An important housekeeping note: Today’s newsletter is free to all; you will not be charged if you had a paid subscription when I went on hiatus in July. Paid subscriptions will remain OFF as I slowly regain a regular publishing cadence, and I will give you ample notice before I turn paid subscriptions back on again, likely around the beginning of 2025. Any questions, shoot me an email at gentlefoods@substack.com.

This is more or less my Thanksgiving salad every year. You can read more about it here.

Hello! If you missed A Thanksgiving newsletter pt. 1, you can find it here.

Today I’m breaking down the day-by-day cooking plan that will keep me sane between now and Thursday dinner. How do I know it will keep me sane? I’ve made a version of the list below every year for the last six or seven Thanksgivings, and every year I thank myself for the foresight. It makes me very happy, and it also makes me feel capable and organized during a chaotic week.

Even if you’re making a totally different menu from mine, you can use my list as a general template to understand what things can/should be cooked well in advance (the stock you’ll use in multiple other dishes such as gravy and stuffing) and what should wait until the day of (assembling the salad).

My main strategy is to try to simultaneously have one thing in the oven, one thing on the stovetop, and one project on my cutting board at all times. For example: while my stuffing bread is drying out in the oven, I’ll get a pot of fortified stock going on the burner while I chop up the onions and herbs for my stuffing. Consider which tasks require which parts of the kitchen (oven, stove, counter, appliances) and divide and conquer accordingly! It helps too to have lots of make-ahead dishes on your menu that either reheat well and/or can be served at room temperature.

Here’s my prep list for the week:

Tuesday

Key tasks: Dry brine the turkey, make cheater’s fortified stock, dry out stuffing bread, prep veggies

• Spatchcock and season the turkey; refrigerate uncovered for 48 hours. Salting the bird well ahead makes for juicy meat that actually tastes good, and letting it sit in the open air of the fridge helps dry out the skin so it will crisp nicely in the oven.

• Make a cheater’s fortified stock: Brown the turkey neck and backbone in oil in a big pot. Chuck in some aromatics, herbs, and a splash of dry white wine, pour in 2-3 quarts of store bought low-sodium chicken stock, and simmer until reduced by a third and rich-tasting. Cool and store in quart containers for use in gravy and stuffing. (Find a more formal recipe here under “Rich Chicken Stock”)

• While the stock is simmering, cube and toast bread for stuffing; let sit out uncovered overnight (I just leave the baking sheet of bread in the oven)

• Since your cutting board/aromatics/herbs are already out, mise out all the vegetables and herbs for stuffing and slice lots of garlic for garlic-sautéed green beans; store in labeled containers in the fridge

• Wash and dry all leafy produce (e.g. parsley, radicchio for salad); store in separate bags in the fridge

• Trim and wash green beans; store in a big bag in the fridge

Wednesday

Key tasks: Bake stuffing, cook and store any make-ahead dishes

• Toast pecans for salad; chop and store in an airtight container

• Make/bake the stuffing using yesterday’s fortified stock and mised veggies/herbs; cover and chill to reheat tomorrow

• Make the gravy using yesterday’s fortified stock; cover and chill

• Make the cranberry sauce; cover and chill

• Blanch the green beans in a big pot of water, then shock in cold water, drain, return to big bag, and store in the fridge; reserve pot for cooking potatoes and peel the potatoes while the water comes to a boil

• Boil and mash potatoes; cover and chill to reheat tomorrow

• Make Maple-Sherry Vinaigrette (recipe below); cover and chill

Thursday morning:

Key tasks: Temper the turkey, use the oven for anything that’s not turkey, prep last-minute dishes

• Take the turkey out of the fridge and let come to room temperature

• Roast the squash for salad

• Take the cranberry sauce out of the fridge and let come to room temperature (unless you like cold cranberry sauce)

• Separate and wash endive leaves; bag and store in the fridge until dinner

• Assemble most of the salad: Combine the radicchio, pecans, apple, and cheese in a big serving vessel; don’t dress or add the squash yet (I like to wash the radicchio in a big salad spinner and just add the pecans/apple/cheese directly to the spinner. Store the whole spinner in the fridge until just before dinner so everything stays fresh and cold)

• Sauté the garlic and green beans with some salt, pepper, and chile flakes; plan to serve at room temperature

Thursday afternoon/just before dinner:

Key tasks: Roast the turkey, make apps, reheat everything, dress the salad

• Roast the turkey; resist urge to baby turkey; let it rest at least 30-45 minutes (yes, it will stay plenty hot), which gives you time to reheat gravy, grab serving utensils, light candles, etc.

• While the turkey roasts, make Endive Cups with Boursin, Sautéed Dates, and Celery (recipe here)

• While the turkey is resting, reheat the stuffing

• Finish the gravy: Transfer the turkey to a large cutting board. Pour off and discard most of the fatty drippings from the roasting pan or baking sheet. Add a couple of ladlefuls of hot fortified stock, scrape up the browned bits stuck to the pan, and scrape all of this into a pot with the gravy; bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasonings, and keep warm

• Just before dinner, reheat mashed potatoes in a pot with a splash of milk

• Dress the salad: Combine salad, squash, dressing, a big squeeze of lemon, and salt in a large serving bowl and toss together

After dinner:

• Portion pie and whip cream (pass a bowl of cold cream and a big whisk around the table for a fun way to share the labor of whipping cream)

Whatever your Thanksgiving plans are, I hope you all have a wonderful, restorative time cooking and eating together, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with you all more as I start to send out regular newsletters again.

Talk soon,
Chaey

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Maple-Sherry Vinaigrette

Makes about ½ cup

This is a truly great all-purpose vinaigrette-in-a-jar to use throughout the fall and winter months, as it is BFFs with all the winter chicories, Brussels sprouts, kale, etc. I use it to dress endless variations on what I refer to as a “fall crunch salad” (read more about that salad formula here). When seasoning, taste the vinaigrette on a leaf of the salad you’re planning to serve, so you know exactly how it will taste.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot (from about ½ small shallot)
3 Tbsp. sherry vinegar, preferably aged
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the shallot in a small jar or container. Add the sherry vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes (this mellows the shallot’s raw onion flavor). Add the mustard, maple syrup, salt, and a few grinds of pepper; seal jar and shake to combine. Uncover, add the oil, seal again, and vigorously shake until a thick and creamy vinaigrette forms (if vinaigrette seems greasy or not quite emulsified, take a small whisk to the jar and vigorously whisk until it comes together). Dip in a salad leaf and taste; adjust with more salt if desired. Store jarred vinaigrette in the fridge for up to a week.

I find this makes enough to dress a salad for 4 to 6, as a side.