APÉRITIF:
Oh, Thanksgiving. What a wonderful excuse to cook with 300% more butter than you normally do. *cue sappy commercial music and voiceover guy from the Allstate commercials* This year is going to look a little different. While it will be an undeniably hard day for many people, there are a few silver linings to Thanksgiving 2020. Not having to answer questions from your family like, “Is doing Instagram really a job?” and, “Why don’t all lives matter?” is a big one. Being able to cook what you actually want to eat is an even bigger one. This Thanksgiving, there are no rules. Eat in your pajamas. At 4pm. Or 9pm! Pick up a peking duck instead of making a turkey. Bake a fun pie—no apple, pecan or pumpkin allowed. Eat it sliver by sliver with your fingers, straight out of the dish. Or, skip the pie altogether, and serve SWEET sweet potatoes. Read on for more reckless inspiration, from our Thanksgiving table to yours.
ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
DINNER PLANS
Lentil-Chicken Soup: In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I want to cook a little less but still feel full. My biggest mistake before big-cooking days is only shopping for those meals, thinking only of leftovers, and forgetting that (despite valiant efforts) I can’t subsist on snacks and dry cereal in the meantime. This chicken soup is filling yet light, comes together quickly, and relies heavily on things you probably already have in your pantry. Also, could anything topped with caramelized onions and a swirl of tart yogurt taste bad? Maybe a bowl of cereal, but that’s about it. Plus, you can make a double batch of jammy onions and level up everything else you eat this week, no extra effort required. -CK
Sesame Chicken Salad: You might recall from our last Sifted that I roasted an entire chicken (in anchovy butter!) this weekend despite having no roommates to share it with, lots of anchovy-hating friends and an everything-I-cook-hating sister. Sad, I know. But leftover chicken is a perfect thing to add to all of the salads I plan on eating in the next three days. I plan on making my favorite peanut and sesame dressing (no garlic, extra sesame oil), and tossing it with arugula, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, shredded chicken, and a little black pepper. I’ll likely repeat each night until the day of turkey, because I’m incredibly and impressively lazy. -GS
SO YOU GET TO CHOOSE THE THANKSGIVING MENU THIS YEAR
Apps: If I’m in control of the menu, you can be sure of one thing: there will be bread. I half heartedly joke my epitaph will read “She filled up on bread.” My ideal dinner bread is a pillowy, buttery Parker House Roll, and my go-to recipes are this pretzeled version from Deb Perelman (aka Smitten Kitchen) or this buttery version from Tieghan Gerard (aka Half Baked Harvest). This Thursday, I’ll be trying my hand at this pull-apart recipe from Claire Saffitz’s new book, Dessert Person. I will definitely be halving it, but even halved I’m quite certain an allotment of 3 rolls/person will still have us filling up on bread, just the way I like it.
Mains: Say it with us, No Turkey 2020. If we were politicians, we’d run on this platform. Focusing on one food for a national holiday puts enormous pressure on the food industry, and therefore the environment (looking at you, Super Bowl chicken wings), plus turkey’s not that good. Which is to say that contains the same potential to be good as any other protein, meat or plant-based. Plus, any dinner party size that would warrant getting one is probably not recommended by the CDC this year, so spare yourselves (and a turkey!) Roast a chicken, hasselback a squash, go wild and make Bo Ssäm, or say fuck it and just focus on what everyone always liked better: the sides.
Sides: Stuffing, sweet potatoes, one single slice of turkey, and gravy. That's my Thanksgiving plate.
I like stuffing two ways—a scoop of the soft, turkey-tasting one that gets stuffed inside the bird, and a slice of the crunchy, textured one that’s baked in foil on the side. Same recipe, just two preparations. My grandma’s stuffing (the perfect, only stuffing) has lots of celery and spices, and absolutely no apples, cranberries or sausage. This recipe is pretty similar to the one that lives in her brain, sans mushrooms or any of those freaky add-ins.
I've somehow become the Gravy Guru of my family, and am always handed the pan of drippings once the turkey is done. First, I melt equal parts butter and flour and start whisking that together until it starts to brown. Once it’s toasty-colored, I scrape the turkey pan with a spatula and spoon that mixture of fat and crispy little bits into the flour + butter pot and whisk more. I add a little salt and lots of black pepper, and once it’s thick and rich and almost-creamy, I turn the heat to low to keep it warm until I’m ready to cover my plate with it.
My Thanksgiving sweet potatoes are usually mashed, but I’ve had versions that are thinly sliced and layered, which feels very classy to me. I don’t really care about the potato part though, what matters is what’s covering them, and whether it’s toasted marshmallows or crunchy cinnamon streusel. Either one is fine by me, though one year I made a version with both toppings, (but subbed the oatmeal coconut topping for literal coffee cake crumbs) and was told to “stick to pie baking” and “leave the savory stuff to someone else”. How rude!
‘Zerts: ICYMI, we’ve introduced a new subscription option, the first edition of which goes out tomorrow in the form of the Sifted Guide to Pie. We’ll cover everything from pie-making tools to crust to filling, from traditional to wild card to a Sifted original recipe. Hoping to send a subtle message to whomever you’ll be spending Turkey Day with? You can also give the gift of Sifted! Like the ice-pop maker I once received from my popsicle-loving mom, along with the instructions “Please make this your new hobby”, sometimes the best gifts are given out of selfishness. <3
TAKEOUT:
Just one piece of takeout this week. We want to say, from the bottom of our hearts, and stomachs, thank you. Thank you for reading and cooking and (hopefully) enjoying Sifted. This project brings us both so much joy, and we sincerely hope it can do the same for you.
We hope you love us,
XOXO, Gab & Court.