Thanksgiving Dinner 2020 (Menu plan)

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving with their local loved ones. I am so grateful to all of you for your incredible love, support, encouragement, and motivation. May your homes be filled with good food, plenty of warmth, and peace. Even in these challenging times, we can find reasons to be thankful. Count your blessings for everything you have and take your failures as lessons, as you enjoy this Holiday of Gratitude with your family. This is my way of showing gratitude to those who mean the most, rather than to utter it with just a word. 

Our intimate Thanksgiving dinner was small but full of delicious dishes prepared from scratch without leaving many leftovers. I wouldn't call it traditional, as there are some changes as per the kids' requests with the menu choices. My little one was so into this dinner menu discussion with me for the past couple of days, and readily gave a big helping hand with his tiny little fingers during the dessert making and the table setup as well. 

These delicious dishes are perfectly suited for any celebration, be it an intimate or a larger gathering, just multiply according to the number you are expecting. This menu would be ideal and the safest choice to cozy up and cook for your friends and family for any upcoming occasion. 

Changes from the traditional menu started off with Green bean casserole, which was swapped with shrimp pasta casserole. Mashed potatoes with gravy were a big no as well, but I wanted to keep it presentable to tempt the boys, and they loved my version. We have been stopping buying turkey for the past few years as the quantity seems to be a lot. We occasionally buy the turkey leg quarters if available. Ninja came in handy for a perfectly cooked whole chicken with no hassle. 

Baked the rest in my conventional oven or on the stovetop for the remaining items on the menu. Using different modes of cooking saves a lot of time with ease. You can plan to make ahead or just prepare them in full swing in the last minute. I thoroughly enjoyed preparing these dishes, in fact, spent more time presenting than cooking 😆

Menu:

Drinks:

• Kombucha - non alcohol (ginger, pink lemonade flavored)
• Graham's Six Grapes Ruby Port (Portugal) - Red wine

Main menu +Sides:

• Charcuterie Board (cheese, crackers, fruits, and pickled veggies)
• Clam chowder soup (with crackers)
• Chicken (Korean BBQ+Hot Sauce)
• Shrimp Pasta Casserole (Organic Fusilli- brown rice)
• Mashed potatoes with liver pepper sauce
• Green bean and mixed nuts stir fry(spicy)
• Sweet potato wedges

Dessert:

Persimmon Cheesecake with fresh whipped cream 

Persimmon Cheesecake

Menu timeline with description:

Day ahead (1 hour):

Making the dessert ahead, marinating the chicken, and prepping your veggies would be a great idea. I gladly skipped the veggies, being a small feast that required just a couple of veggies to be chopped. I whipped some fresh cream (optional) before the cheesecake mixture to reuse the same mixing bowl. I chose to use eggs to bake the cheesecake for a firmer texture, unlike my previous no-bake version. Bake and rest to cool in the refrigerator to set well overnight. Decorated peeled persimmon thin slices, which worked well to place between the piped whipped cream.

Marinate the chicken in the Ninja container itself with Korean BBQ sauce and hot sauce to kick it up with spice. Don't forget to refrigerate the chicken covered overnight to prevent any contamination.

In the morning (1 hour):

Pressure-cooked the potatoes (laid on a stand) to retain the moisture. Cool peel and grate for a softer texture than to mash with a potato masher. Sprinkle a dash of white pepper, garlic salt, and a tsp of milk. Using a small cake ring, I shaped the potatoes and sprinkled some red chilli flakes and dried herbs as well. Our family is not into the bland traditional gravy, skipped the roux, but using the chicken liver, I prepared the instant pepper gravy with a heaped tablespoon of freshly ground pepper and garlic salt, and it was heavenly, spiced up gravy. If you are not into liver, swap it with mushrooms(Bella or Shiitake)  as it enhances the flavor with not much of a compromise.

Cook your pasta (fusilli brown rice pasta) as per the instructions mentioned on the box. But remove from the heat when it's 3/4 cooked, as the rest of the cooking will be done in the oven. Make the alfredo sauce starting off with the roux, chopped mushroom (optional for flavor), milk, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and finally add the shrimp. Once the sauce is done, beat a couple of eggs and mix them with the sauce. To this add the cooked pasta, cheese, and fresh parsley. Grease your casserole with butter or oil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Spread a layer of cheese on the top and broil for 2-3 minutes only. Cover and set aside.

In the afternoon (1.5 hours):

Turn on your oven to cook the chicken at least an hour before serving. Remove the excess marinated sauce to avoid any burns while baking. Reserve this marinade to bring it to a boil on the stovetop for additional sauce if you prefer. I pressure-cooked the chicken for 5 minutes using the Ninja and then changed the setting to bake and roast for 20 minutes. Check using a thermometer by poking into a fleshy area, avoiding the bone, to see if it reaches 160°F. Remove when done and let it rest for 10 minutes to finish cooking.  

Stir-fry the mixed nuts and beans with fresh garlic, salt, and chili flakes. Bake the sweet potatoes in a conventional oven for 30 minutes and sprinkle with garlic salt (my favorite condiment). 

The final step was the clam chowder to keep the soup warm and ready to serve. The recipe is very similar to the Crab Potato Chowder I shared earlier.

Set up your dinner table with your Charcuterie Board. The little presentation and decor I managed with what was around. Threw in some shelled nuts, fruits, and candles for a quick and easy table set up. Remember to reheat before serving during these cooler days. Easiest would be to pop all the cooked dishes in their appropriate oven-safe serving bowl/ platter to keep warm in the oven with the warmer setting on. 

Do reach out to me if you have any queries, as I have given a brief description about the preparation. Thanks to you all for being there for Busy Mom Creates!