Chef Lala's First Thanksgiving

Making a traditional Thanksgiving meal from scratch had been on my mind for a few years, ever since I really fell in love with cooking. Born and raised in Brazil, I didn't really celebrate Thanksgiving, so I don't smell stuffing and cranberry sauce and go, "Oh that takes me back to the time my mother lost the carving knife in the turkey and Uncle Maurice dropped sweet potatoes on the baby's head..." But, I did grow up with a very tight, supportive, and loving family, and celebrating holidays has been a huge part of my upbringing. Having lived in the U.S. for eight and a half years, I have experienced Thanksgiving in many different ways, but never taken part in the planning, cooking, and hosting of it.

This year, I wanted to take it on. My parents would be in town, my brother and I live together, and I was ready. Even though my kitchen is tiny (tiny!) and my apartment was upside down because of recent problems we've had in the building, I was determined to make a delicious meal.

I planned it for a month. I read hundreds of recipes, watched videos on turkey mastering, drafted a budget and a grocery list, practiced certain dishes (like the stuffing, sweet potatoes- which were a disaster the first time- and cranberry sauce), figured out a way to do the recipes with the materials I had in my kitchen, and created a daily plan for the week-of. Here's how it went down:

Saturday, November 19th: Cleaned out my refrigerator and all the pots and pans I'd need. (approx. 1 hour.) Made my grocery list, complete with researched prices. (timeless.)

Trader Joe's 9:00am

Sunday, November 20th through Tuesday, November 22nd: Got my groceries! I went to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and the Union Square Farmer's Market. Spent a total of $85.00 for the whole shabang, not including wine. I even went to TJ's at 9:00am, to avoid the madness. I had a plan, kids. (many hours.)

Bobby Flay's recipe

Monday, November 21st: Made my cranberry-blackberry sauce. (approx. 1 hour.)

Tuesday, November 22nd: Made my butternut squash and apple stuffing. (approx. 1 hour and 45 minutes.) Made a brine for my Turkey parts, dunked it in there, stuck it in the fridge. (I actually didn't do a whole turkey, but separated the parts, breast from legs and wings. I didn't have the space or equipment for a whole turkey, but maybe next year.... approx. 20 minutes.)

stuffing is actually my favorite part

Wednesday, November 23rd: Made my maple bourbon sweet potato souffle with candied pecans. (approx. 1 hour and 45 minutes.) Took my turkey out of brine, buttered it up, placed it on a bed of vegetables. (approx. 1 hour.) Assembled my pear and apple crisp. (approx. 1 hour.) Macerated berries to top the crisp with. (approx. 10 minutes.)

Thursday, November 24th: Got my turkey roasting! (3 hours.) Made my green bean casserole with homemade mushroom soup and fried onions. (approx. 3 hours.) Made my mashed potatoes with sour cream, chives, garlic, and cream. (approx. 1 hour.) Set the table. (I kept it simple. approx. 10 minutes.) Made hot apple cider and rum cocktails (approx. 15 minutes). Got a little crazy in the last two hours, having to warm everything up and make the gravy after the turkey had roasted (approx. 15 minutes), placed my crisp in the oven (approx. 1 hour) and the ice-cream in the fridge, so it would get ready while we ate, and VOILA! Thanksgiving was on the table.

carving my turkey breast. also in the picture: my brother, and my parents' wine glasses

Luckily, it was just for my parents and my brother, so I didn't have to get my hair done or dress up, because I don't think I would've been able to- but my food was delicious. Everything turned out perfectly, everyone was super happy, and we had leftovers for the next three days, including a delicious left-over harvest soup I made on day 3 and a blueberry-blackberry-cranberry jam. 

What I would do differently in the future:
- Make the gravy separately, just serve the turkey over its bed of veggies, and avoid all the straining and reducing that make a mess in the kitchen in the last 15 minutes.
- Make the green bean casserole and mashed potatoes ahead of time too. I thought that because they both have cream in them, I couldn't do them the day before, but as leftovers, they tasted even better the next day, and actually lasted for three days in the fridge, so I'd just go ahead and do those ahead of time too. Get as much out of the way before the day! That way, I could've showered and gotten dressed up for the actual meal.
- I think I could attempt a whole turkey next time. I could use a bucket to brine it and keep it outside on my balcony. But, I must say, everyone was a fan of the separate parts, no carving, and no unused meat.
- Have someone else in charge of taking pictures! Very important in the era of social media. =) 

What worked really well: 

pear and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream

- Making a grocery list, drafting a budget, and researching prices. Made a huge difference. People have told me they spend up to $400 on their thanksgiving meals, and I was determined to do it for under $100. Trader Joe's and the Farmer's Market were key in this part. Two tips: don't buy anything pre-chopped, it costs twice as much, and if you want organic, get it from the Farmer's Market, otherwise, go for conventional at the grocery store.
- A crisp is the perfect dessert, it's easy, can be assembled ahead of time, and heats up while you're eating your meal.
- Easy appetizers. I just served some of the candied pecans that were going to be in my sweet potato souffle, and some of the extra green beans sauteed in olive oil.
- Hot apple cider and rum cocktails were a hit. And super easy. Just dice some apples and pears, put it in a pot with store-bought apple cider (or make your own ahead of time) and a cinnamon stick, warm it up, and serve it in mugs with a shot of rum, some of the fruit, cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on top.
- Using my sink and dishwasher and fruit basket to store food while I waited for other things to warm up. Having aluminum foil pre-cut in large rectangles.
- Let someone else think of the wine.
- Simple table. The food is beautiful, there's no need to decorate.

And that's it, my friends. I made my first Thanksgiving, all on my own, all from from scratch, in my tiny kitchen, and it was a success. It took five days, but it was a lot of fun, and I was very proud of it. I think I can say that all my husbands will be very lucky men.