Photo by M. Palmer.
Per usual, I take a roundabout path to the crux of the post. This post starts with myths and horrible truths about the American Thanksgiving holiday. Then shares what we did to stay safe during the trimmed holiday festivities during the pandemic year of 2020. Then finally, focuses on the critical planning and scheduling of the meal so that everything came out on time.
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Thanksgiving Holiday
My readers know that I was not born in the USA (Germany), nor predominantly raised here (mainly in Europe + Asia). Not being raised with this American tradition, I historically did not “celebrate” this holiday, just ate the food.
I was originally introduced to this holiday from a Native American’s perspective. This friend abhorred the holiday for it had “white washed” the historical truths surrounding the European immigrants of 1620’s (called Pilgrams or Puritans) and their impact on Native Americans. In truth, there are so many myths surrounding Thanksgiving, it would take a book to discuss. Since I cannot fully address the myths here, let me at least make a few comments:
- Thanksgiving was not originally a family affair, nor was it a religious celebration, it was a multicultural community harvest festival that occurred many times throughout the year (1).
- The turkey + cranberries and the other traditional foods we eat are a Victorian creation (in 1863) when it became an established holiday of “thanks.” Originally it had nothing to do with Pilgrims and Indians (2).
- ReadersDigest: Regarding the pilgrims. by the fall of 1621, half were dead, mostly as a result of illness and poor nutrition. With half their number having recently died, the “first Thanksgiving” was probably more of a “wake” (think: drinking, socializing, and remembering the dearly departed) than a celebration.
- Smithsonian: In truth, massacres, disease and American Indian tribal politics are what shaped the Pilgrim-Indian alliance at the root of the holiday as many know it today.
- NatGeo: Details some of the devastation the Pilgrims actually wrought, from moving onto a land that was a Native American cemetery, to stealing corn from Native people’s graves for food.
This country’s stories about the Thanksgiving Holiday are mainly false and very misleading, while the real stories have been white-washed to cover terrible truths about the interaction between European Immigrants and Native Peoples.
I wish the concept of a Thanksgiving holiday was divorced from its current history. For I do like the idea of a holiday dedicated to giving thanks. In reality, my family does not celebrate the myth, but they do love the tradition of gathering and feeding our greater community of family and friends.
Pandemic Holiday Dinners
Starting the Day
Our son lives in Seattle and other family are scattered across the country, so per CDC recommendations not to travel, we are texting, calling and zooming for the holiday this year. Our close friends are older people, and many have underlying conditions, also requiring physical distancing per CDC recommendations. So it was going to be just me and my spouse.
However, we have a friend, Michelle, who visits us twice a week to take our dogs out for a long walk. During this pandemic year, she has been the one person we see the most regularly, so consider her part of our “covid bubble.” We discussed having her over for dinner, and we all agreed it could be done safely.
Our Thanksgiving day started like any other, I got up first, opened up the house, and fed the dogs. Although I have to admit, that I did an unusual thing: called in to have scones and coffee delivered from Peets Coffee + Tea (my sincere gratitude to delivery drivers and food preparers). This really made the day special as I sat and read the news; a bit of semi-calm (it was the news after all), before the mad dash to get all the food ready.
Then after my spouse got up, we texted and face-timed our son, talking about food and what we planned for the day. A little later, at 0830 I started to cook, and my spouse cleaned up the back yard and got the outdoor table ready. Luckily, it was a beautiful day, plenty of sun to keep us warm, and a setting that had us two at one end of the table and our friend at the other. A good 7’ apart.
Around noon Michelle came over and took our two very wild and excited dogs for a long walk. During that time, we continued to follow our schedule, that was designed to get everything cooked, and served, by one o’clock.
2020’s Safe Holiday Dinner
We followed CDC guidelines.
- Keep it small; We had only one guest.
- Do not travel: Our guest is considered part of our family bubble and lives nearby.
- Have event outdoors: We ate outside and in an open environment (not enclosed with a tent or anything else).
- Limit time of exposure: We ate, talked a bit, and she left.
- Keep physically distant: We sat ~7’ apart.
- Wear masks until eating: She kept her mask on when in the house and only removed it when we were seated outside at a safe distance, and eating.
- Wash hands: We also washed our hands before serving ourselves so as not to contaminate the serving utensils.
- We kept the food in the house, to prevent us all from breathing on it, and because my backyard attracts a lot of bees.
After a great meal and conversation, we made sure she had food to take with her. I put on my mask, washed my hands and placed the food into the containers, and into a carrying sack.
After dinner all the food was put up, and the dishes went straight into the dishwasher. I then focused on wiping the counters down with soap and water, then later used disinfectant wipes.
Cooking is About Timing
What was unusual for this meal is not what we cooked, but that we had a strict dinner start time of 1pm, with limited wiggle room. So the planning of this meal was very critical for everything to be cooked, and served, at the appropriate hour. Below is how we made it work.
The Week of Thanksgiving
Week Before Planning: Menu + Ordering
The menu was under discussion for a few days, and we decided on:
- Small turkey, less than 10#.
- I wanted to spatchcock the bird, so needed veggies to layer the bottom of the pan, and then serve either whole or mashed together. So we choose russet potatoes, carrots, celery root, and leek, with fresh herbs.
- Stuffing with sourdough + cornbread, celery, carrots, sweet Italian sausage, and lots of herbs from our garden.
- (In 2019 I made a gluten-free, vegetarian Cranberry-Chestnut Dressing.)
- I needed to make turkey broth (chicken + turkey broth cook the same way), so would use the neck, wing tips (that only burn anyway) and giblets (but not the liver).
- Orange Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with lentils, honey, and chopped pecans.
- I wanted to make cranberry sauce with orange juice and zest.
- Finally, we also wanted biscuits.
I signed up at our Natural Grocery Store for a small (less than 10#) Diestel Turkey. They sell this brand because this farm states it uses regenerative farming techniques, has a Global Animal Partnership certification, and provide Step 3: Enriched Outdoor Access for their turkeys.
It was only later that I learned:
- (2017) EcoWatch reported: Popular Diestel Turkey Sold at Whole Foods Tests Positive for FDA-Prohibited Drugs
- (16 October 2020) A class action is being taken against Diestel Turkey Ranch for “deplorable conditions” of its turkeys.
- Sigh, it is hard to live an ethical life in a world such as ours.
On that same day, my spouse put in a reservation for an Olallieberry pie at a local restaurant, Fat Apples (El Cerrito), that we support.
Monday, 23 Nov
We reviewed what we had on hand in our freezers and pantry, and listed what we still needed. Luckily, we had most of the ingredients on hand so only a small amount of shopping was required. I went out and bought:
- Package of fresh cranberries + 3 oranges.
- Whipping cream to make for the pie.
- Sweet Italian sausage.
The last thing we did this day, that involved our holiday dinner, was to work out the schedule so that everything was done and ready to serve at 1pm.
Our schedule relied on these factors and conditions:
- Fowl bone broth takes up to 12-24 hours to make in a slow cooker. But I could not make the broth until I had the turkey parts.
- A <10# turkey may take 2 to 2.5 hours to cook in the oven before it reaches 165F and is considered done. But I did not know the exact size of the turkey yet, and would not know until I picked it up.
- Gravy takes ~10 minutes to make, but can only be done after the turkey comes out of the oven, and I have the drippings.
- Twice baked sweet potatoes will take ~2 hours to make in the oven. This is not conditional on anything else.
- Stuffing is quick to make, but can cook in a slow cooker or oven; if oven it can take ~30 min to an hour to warm up, and requires the turkey broth to make.
- The biscuits will take 15-20 minutes to cook in the oven, if we use packaged biscuits for ease.
- Cranberry sauce will take ~10-20 minutes to make on the stove top and can be made any time.
Of course the cooking times did not capture the prep time that each dish requires.
Tuesday, 24 Nov
I did nothing in anticipation of the holiday dinner. I turned into a PattySlug for the day, and thoroughly enjoyed lazing about. Well, I did eat another Ramen Soup and updated the blog, but that was it.
Wednesday, 25 Nov
On this day we picked up the turkey (which turned out to be 7.14#) and pie.
Later in the day we sat down and discussed the timing again to make sure we were right, and talked about safety requirements for sharing our meal. Quickly it became obvious there was a schedule problem and that I needed to cook four things today, so we could meet the planned schedule.
1) As I had planned to spatchcock the turkey, I opened the turkey plastic wrapping, removed the spine, both wing tips, and extra skin; and baked those items with the giblets (not the liver) and neck. Then, these browned meat parts were placed in my slow cooker with 8C of water and would cook for ~16-18 hours in order to create a good turkey bone broth.
2) Then I sprinkled kosher salt and freshly ground pepper all over the flattened bird, inside and out. It rested a bit while I made a wet rub using sage-infused, browned-butter, along with thyme, oregano, and a small bit of basil. This savory mixture was smeared all over the bird, inside and out. Then I placed the turkey in its baking pan, covered it, and moved it into the fridge to marinate overnight.
3) The Orange Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes dish has a natural break point before it undergoes the second baking. So I decided to cook the sweet potatoes and lentils, combined, and then re-stuffed the skins. The baking pan was prepped, the stuffed sweet potatoes were placed on it. The whole dish was put in the fridge, ready for the final toppings before going into the oven on Thursday.
4) Finally, I made the cranberry sauce. Amazingly a simple dish containing a sack of cranberries, 1C fresh orange juice, 1 orange zest, and 1/2C sugar. That was placed in the fridge too.
Everything I could prep in advance was now done. Plus, with the turkey in its baking pan, sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, and the cranberry sauce in a bowl, I had no fridge space left.
Thursday, 26 Nov
8:30 I started the morning by setting up a meat workstation and a veggie workstation; washed all the veggies first and let them air dry as much as possible; then gathered around my workstations everything I would need for today’s cooking.
Chopping started by matchsticking carrots, thinly slicing celery, dicing shallots, and cutting sausage for the dressing. I also peeled and chopped celery root and russet potatoes, then cut the carrots and leeks for the turkey.
9:00 I took the turkey out of the fridge so it could warm up to room temperature. Meanwhile, I placed the large chopped veggies on the bottom of the baking pan. Added the turkey on top, and added ~2C broth.
9:30 At this time, I set the oven to 425F and turned to deal with the broth. I filtered the cooking broth into a large bowl for use, and while the well used bones where tossed, I saved any meat for the dogs.
Then I started to make the stuffing. First, the dry ingredients. I added sourdough bread to one bowl and cornbread cubes in another. Then mixed in matchstick carrots and finely chopped celery. I sautéed 4 sliced sweet Italian sausages with diced shallots and split half into each bowl.
Second, were the wet ingredients. I made more browned, sage-butter and added that, with 1C of broth, to both bowls and mixed well. Then I mixed both dressings together, and 1/4 went into a pan for baking later in the morning, and 3/4 went into the slow cooker. (I remembered too late that if I add too much liquid to the slow cooker it will make the bread stuffing mush, for it does not lose liquid, so a little goes a long way — luckily I love tasty mush and a warm up in the oven helps dry it out a bit.)
10:00 The turkey went into the 425F oven for 30 minutes to brown the skin and create some flavor. I expected to cook the bird for 2 to 2.5 hours (per the weight). It would be done at 12:30 and sit for 30 minutes out of the oven resting.
10:30 The turkey was removed, heat reduced to 350F, and the cooking liquid made up of broth, butter and drippings were used for basting the bird. Then back into the oven to cook.
11:00 The turkey was removed again from the oven, basted, then back into the oven.
11:30 The turkey was removed from the oven one final time for basting, then back into the oven for its final bake.
12:15 The stuffing, in the baking dish, was added to the oven for removal at 1pm.
12:30 The turkey was removed from the oven, temperature checked (165F) and it was done. So it was removed from the baking pan and set on the serving plate, covered to keep it warm.
Meanwhile, the veggies were removed from the turkey pan, and while I threw away the leeks, I combined the rest of the baked veggies into a bowl and covered to retain heat until it was served. I also kept it near the stove which was radiating heat.
Photo by PattyCooks.
Removed the once-baked sweet potatoes from the fridge. Chopped pecans and, after drizzling some maple syrup on top, the nuts were added. Then the baking sheet went into the oven, to be removed at 1pm.
Cranberries were removed from the fridge, as I wanted them closer to room temperature than fridge temp. Too cold and I cannot taste the tart-sweetness.
12:40 The biscuits were placed in the oven, to be monitored but removed by 1p. Meanwhile the table was set and serving dishes were placed on the kitchen counter all ready for the food.
Next, I made gravy by adding broth, cornstarch, and a bit of white wine into the baking pan and whisked well over a medium heat, allowing it to thicken.
1:00 And we are ready to eat, right on time.
- The veggies and cranberries are ready to eat.
- The turkey gets carved.
- The twice cooked sweet potatoes were removed from the oven and placed on a serving bowl.
- The biscuits were removed from the oven (the extra stuffing being slow cooked is turned off).
- The baked stuffing is moved into a bowl.
- The gravy is added to a gravy boat and served.
Friday 27 Nov
Just so you do not think I am perfect. In the schedule, I forgot to add one thing. We did not set out the trash Thursday night and it was full! So we had to wait until next week.
Equitable Dinner Jobs
We split up tasks for special dinners. I cook and my spouse does the dishes, although I keep the dishwasher open while I cook so I can rinse and place dirty dishes away as they are messed up. It is hard for me to cook in a dirty or cluttered space, but as anyone will tell you, I am a mad woman in the kitchen and make messes everywhere I go.
I set up the serving plates and utensils, and my spouse sets the table, and drinks. While cooking, I try to keep the kitchen overall clean, while my spouse looks at the environment and straightens up or cleans the house.
After eating, I have to put the food into containers, which includes taking the meat off the bones and placing all the bones into a freezer bag to make additional turkey broth later on. While bringing everything from the table to the kitchen falls on my spouse. Then I get to relax, while all the final dishes and clean up is up to my ”better half”.
Over all, it feels like we both work equally hard to make the event pleasurable and not too onerous on one person.
—Patty
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NPR reports that more small turkeys were sold this year than large ones due to the pandemic, and the smaller numbers of people gathering for Thanksgiving dinners. One of the many impacts of pandemic life.
Research is showing problems ahead for New England cranberries due to climate change. Because the change is happening now, some are estimating that growing cranberries is a crop that will be steadily heading north.
AKC writes that yes, dogs can eat turkey. It is all the stuff in everything else they shouldn’t eat, such as: onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, turkey bones, etc. So I strip off the skin and bones, serving them only the meat parts and nothing else from our plates. I also try to serve small portions to augment their dried food, so smaller Maggie may get 1T of meat while larger Charlie may get 3T of meat. (I use the same guidelines for cats, no skin or bones or any other food, just small additional portions of the meat.)