Is it odd...

[owlmoose]

..that even though Thanksgiving is three weeks away, and we have no gatherings of any sort planned (although I need to ping my family about virtual possibilities), I've already started creating a holiday menu for just T and myself?

I've never done a big Thanksgiving on my own -- I gather with extended family for potluck, and since I've never hosted, I've not been responsible for the turkey and usually not the traditional sides (although we've done potatoes a couple of times). T and I would never eat a whole turkey on our own, not even a small one, so I don't think we'll go that route. As I think about this, it occurs to me that turkey isn't the definitive Thanksgiving food for me, anyway. That honor goes to mashed potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin pie. So I think we will most likely roast a chicken instead of turkey and use that to make the gravy. And homemade mashed potatoes. (For the pie, I'm okay going store-bought.) Since, again, there are only two of us, I don't know how big I can go in terms of other dishes, but I want at least a couple of vegetables, maybe a baked good, another side? And then we can eat the leftovers for a week.

Have any of you ever done traditional holiday meals for two? Recommendations and/or advice very welcome!

Comments

[lassarina]

If you really want the flavor of turkey, you can get just a breast! It's much more reasonable and my mom has done it when cooking just for herself and my dad.

[owlmoose]

I thought about this -- we are both more dark meat people so it would more likely be some thighs -- but I think we are pretty set on the chicken route. That said, if there's a good turkey parts option at the store, I might still consider it. :)

[umadoshi]

we are both more dark meat people so it would more likely be some thighs -- but I think we are pretty set on the chicken route.

I'm just going to slip in here, whisper one word, and run away.

That word is: duck.

[owlmoose]

I'm not going to lie -- I've long been curious to try my hand at duck. Probably not for Thanksgiving, but there are other holiday meals for two likely just around the corner...

[singedsun]

We've done a holiday to ourselves at least once for whatever reason. My husband likes cooking, and he's done the basic Turkey/stuffing/potatoes kind of spread even just for the two of us. And then we just have so many leftovers, but I love Thanksgiving food, so it works out well for me. :) You can do the spatchcock process with a turkey that's much quicker so if you're doing it at home for just a few people you're not waiting all day for it.

[owlmoose]

I also love traditional Thanksgiving food, although we don't have the best track record with eating up lots of leftovers. I've used the spatchcock process on chickens a few times but never with turkey.

[okrablossom]

The two of us like dark meat and one of the local farms sells turkey parts now, so we get a couple of thighs, which gives us leftovers for sandwiches. But I second the other commenter: turkey breast is usually easy to find and very wonderful for a small meal. I enjoy roast chicken very much and this is a good opportunity to try a fancy brine or marinade or spatchcock it, too :)

[owlmoose]

I've thought about fancy brine or marinade for a roast chicken -- Cook's Illustrated, which is our main recipe source, has some compound butter options that sound really tasty. I wonder, though, if adding extra ingredients to the chicken would flavor the drippings in ways that might affect the gravy.

[okrablossom]

I think you are probably right. I had forgotten about gravy as we don't make it much. Apologies for giving less than useful comments!

[owlmoose]

Totally understandable. :) And it was still a good thought to look for a more complex recipe! A simple brine, especially, might be nice.

[oracne]

Cornbread for a baked good? You could make dressing with it, perhaps.

Veggies: roasted brussels sprouts and/or carrots and/or parsnips? Creamed spinach? Some variety of sweet potatoes?

[owlmoose]

Brussels sprouts are a strong contender. We make them all the time, though, so I might think about how to jazz them up.

I do like cornbread. Not as big on stuffing, but I think T likes it. I'll have to check in with him on that.

[oracne]

I like cornbread because it is flexible. It can be savory or sweet or neutral.

[krait]

I'm afraid I have no suggestions, as I count as the best Thanksgiving meal of my life the year I was living 2,000 miles from all my family and I bought Indian food the day before to be my Thanksgiving meal.

No relatives, no schedule, and food I actually like!

I wish you luck with your pared-down feast, though, and hope you find a way to create all your faves. :)

Mmmm, tasties

[sairuhfeenah]

You oughtta make your roasted Brussels sprouts that you've made for us in the past. Cracktastic.

May I suggest roasting a chicken? I've been using the following recipe a lot, although their time estimation was way too much (at least for our oven; ymmv).

https://food52.com/recipes/82954-slow-roasted-chicken-with-crispy-skin-recipe

Re: Mmmm, tasties

[owlmoose]

Thanks for the recipe rec! I'll take a look.

As mentioned above, brussels sprouts are a strong vegetable contender, but I might see if there's a more festive variation on the recipe. I saw one with pomegranate seeds that is tempting me, if I can find pomegranate seeds.

Re: Mmmm, tasties

[sairuhfeenah]

If pomegranate seeds can't be found, how about substituting dried cranberries? Maybe throw in some roasted nuts?

Re: Mmmm, tasties

[oracne]

I like this suggestion! I often get fresh or frozen cranberries, as well; some places tend to carry those more in fall/winter.

[elainegrey]

I have done many many Thanksgivings for two. When we were omnivores, i was happy to do a turkey because i was happy to freeze meal size packets of various parts. A roast turkey is not what i consider fussy, and the turkey carcass makes great stock. However, as noted above, alternatives -- whether just a breast, or a chicken, or cornish hens -- abound.

As pescetarians, we started celebrating with Dungeness crab, since the season starts just about the same time.

We've done things like spread the dishes over the whole weekend, so greenbean casserole one night, a pumpkin dish another.

We've also done things like keep it light: one year we had crepes with squash/pumpkin filling and a seasoned ricotta.

I had an incredibly rich pumpkin soup recipe, cooked in the pumpkin, with layers of cream, french bread and Gruyere cheese. That was a sufficient celebration.

And, honestly, we hand pizza once or twice. 8).

[owlmoose]

Spreading out the dishes over multiple days is an interesting idea! I'll have to think about how that would work while still eating up the leftovers.

[oracne]

Your pumpkin soup sounds FAAAAAAAAABULOUS.