We’ve done thanksgiving brunch when our kids needed to be at in-laws for the big meal & honestly everyone loved it! (And I preferred it!) We had turkey bacon, breakfast casserole with turkey sausage, pumpkin muffins, roasted potatoes, fresh fruit, cranberry mimosas. Just about any traditional thanksgiving food can be adjusted to fit brunch. Then I had the most relaxing remaining day to take a walk & snuggle with my husband!
For many decades, I was the one cooking hostingThanksgiving dinner.
Then the out-of-towners would arrive and it would get more and more crowded and noisy and of course people having drinks and then someone would come into the kitchen and say OK I’ll make the gravy and boy did she make good gravy but that’s when everything fell apart. That’s when all the stress hit everyone’s hungry everyone’s ready and everything’s coming together at the same time and there’s one big butt in the kitchen making gravy… Finally, I decided that’s when I will go to the boutique grocery store and buy two bags of gourmet gravy.
That’s what I’ve done every year and I’m telling you what ….it saves Thanksgiving
When she hosted Thanksgiving my mom would always buy some turkey legs the week before to cook and get the drippings from to make the gravy totally ahead of time! It was always the part that stressed her out so she too found a workaround ha!
Honestly Trader Joe’s turkey gravy they sell this time of year is awesome and I heat up a bunch and add my drippings. I used to make a homemade one and have TJ’s for backup but no one could tell the difference.
We have almost no meat eaters in my family, so my MIL is skipping the turkey and now I'm like... what if we did Thanksgiving brunch instead? Anyone have ideas?
I fondly recall getting motivated by your Thanksgiving pep talk last year and it really helped! How can it be that time again already?!? Thanks for being my Turkey Day Hype Woman again, I’m grateful for you♥️
Can you dry brine for less than 24hrs? Long story short, my MIL is bringing the turkey to my house Wednesday night. I feel like asking her to dry brine it before she comes and drives it 5.5 hr won’t work. She is afraid of salt and I think she won’t want to do it.
OK so I think a wet brine would actually work better in this case - It's more concentrated so takes less time! Gaby has a great how to for wet brining here and the suggested time range starts at 8 hours, so that would be perfect for you! https://whatsgabycooking.com/easy-turkey-brine/
I’m handing the cocktail responsibility off to my 22 year old brother. My liver may live to regret this decision. I also need to explain to him what a “pitcher cocktail” is 🙃
This is incredibly helpful as I am hosting for my first time! I need turkey buying tips too: where do y’all like to buy your turkeys from? And do you get the frozen ones or the refrigerated ones?
Hot take: I have Whole Foods COOK the turkey. I pick it up Wednesday morning, and day-of we reheat it with a little homemade stock to keep it moist. This relieves me of any panic about salmonella and browning aesthetics, plus frees me up to focus on the most delicious sides which is all anyone cares about at the end of the day.
for Ina's recipe - after you pre carve and put in an oven proof pan - how long can you let it sit, prior to a reheat and serve at meal time? Working on my timing plan.
Just want to throw out there that I thaw and dry brine *at the same time*, literally salt it frozen and stick in the fridge for 3/4 days, uncover the last day, and it turns out awesome every year.
If you cook the squishy things the day before, then reheat them the day of, can guests take home leftovers to be reheated again? Put another way, where do yall fall in the cook>fridge> reheat>fridge>reheat again camp? Husband and I disagree 🙃
We’ve done thanksgiving brunch when our kids needed to be at in-laws for the big meal & honestly everyone loved it! (And I preferred it!) We had turkey bacon, breakfast casserole with turkey sausage, pumpkin muffins, roasted potatoes, fresh fruit, cranberry mimosas. Just about any traditional thanksgiving food can be adjusted to fit brunch. Then I had the most relaxing remaining day to take a walk & snuggle with my husband!
Wait this sounds amazing!!!
For many decades, I was the one cooking hostingThanksgiving dinner.
Then the out-of-towners would arrive and it would get more and more crowded and noisy and of course people having drinks and then someone would come into the kitchen and say OK I’ll make the gravy and boy did she make good gravy but that’s when everything fell apart. That’s when all the stress hit everyone’s hungry everyone’s ready and everything’s coming together at the same time and there’s one big butt in the kitchen making gravy… Finally, I decided that’s when I will go to the boutique grocery store and buy two bags of gourmet gravy.
That’s what I’ve done every year and I’m telling you what ….it saves Thanksgiving
When she hosted Thanksgiving my mom would always buy some turkey legs the week before to cook and get the drippings from to make the gravy totally ahead of time! It was always the part that stressed her out so she too found a workaround ha!
Honestly Trader Joe’s turkey gravy they sell this time of year is awesome and I heat up a bunch and add my drippings. I used to make a homemade one and have TJ’s for backup but no one could tell the difference.
Perfectly timed! This is my MVP cranberry sauce recommendation - so easy and the red wine and ginger make it special. Halve the recipe unless you have more than 10 guests! https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015626-red-wine-cranberry-sauce-with-honey?unlocked_article_code=1.0U8.n-Xx.DdWNkGZhDbwy&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Yum this looks so so good - and thanks for the portion tip!
We have almost no meat eaters in my family, so my MIL is skipping the turkey and now I'm like... what if we did Thanksgiving brunch instead? Anyone have ideas?
What if you just did Sidesgiving???? Any time of day!! Would be so fun.
These Cranberry Orange buns have become my family’s thanksgiving breakfast tradition and would be fun for brunch! https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/11/cranberry-orange-breakfast-buns/
Omg yum thank you!
Quiches are easy to transport & you would have tons of non-meat options. 🤷♀️ Lots of Caro's sides would still be perfect for brunch!
You should still do Ina's mushroom and leek bread pudding. So good!!
I fondly recall getting motivated by your Thanksgiving pep talk last year and it really helped! How can it be that time again already?!? Thanks for being my Turkey Day Hype Woman again, I’m grateful for you♥️
Can you dry brine for less than 24hrs? Long story short, my MIL is bringing the turkey to my house Wednesday night. I feel like asking her to dry brine it before she comes and drives it 5.5 hr won’t work. She is afraid of salt and I think she won’t want to do it.
OK so I think a wet brine would actually work better in this case - It's more concentrated so takes less time! Gaby has a great how to for wet brining here and the suggested time range starts at 8 hours, so that would be perfect for you! https://whatsgabycooking.com/easy-turkey-brine/
This gave me the push I needed to start making my menu. Thank you for this!!
Woohoo! Report back with your menu, we'd love to know what you're making!
Any seasonal pitcher cocktail recommendations?
I’m handing the cocktail responsibility off to my 22 year old brother. My liver may live to regret this decision. I also need to explain to him what a “pitcher cocktail” is 🙃
This is incredibly helpful as I am hosting for my first time! I need turkey buying tips too: where do y’all like to buy your turkeys from? And do you get the frozen ones or the refrigerated ones?
I've done frozen turkeys via Whole Foods the last few years and they've turned out great using Ina's recipe!
Hot take: I have Whole Foods COOK the turkey. I pick it up Wednesday morning, and day-of we reheat it with a little homemade stock to keep it moist. This relieves me of any panic about salmonella and browning aesthetics, plus frees me up to focus on the most delicious sides which is all anyone cares about at the end of the day.
Nice!
Thanks!
Our Whole Foods lets you order a turkey in advance, and I'll pick it up on Tuesday or Wednesday morning!
Brilliant!
what are we serving houseguests the night before thanksgiving? 🤪
Is there a recipe for the dry brine mixture?
We link to Caro's favorite one from Ina and a great new one from Gaby in the post!!
Thank you, Molly!
Of course!! I've also done Ina's the last two years and it turned out great both times!
for Ina's recipe - after you pre carve and put in an oven proof pan - how long can you let it sit, prior to a reheat and serve at meal time? Working on my timing plan.
Up to 2 hours! Here are more instructions - idk why they aren’t showing up in that version of the recipe
I’ll dm you with it
Is there any brand of store bought gravy you would recommend? I’m bringing mashed potatoes to Friendsgiving, but not making the turkey.
Hosting my first Friendsgiving and this guide was so awesome!!
Just want to throw out there that I thaw and dry brine *at the same time*, literally salt it frozen and stick in the fridge for 3/4 days, uncover the last day, and it turns out awesome every year.
Crowd sourcing a question about leftovers:
If you cook the squishy things the day before, then reheat them the day of, can guests take home leftovers to be reheated again? Put another way, where do yall fall in the cook>fridge> reheat>fridge>reheat again camp? Husband and I disagree 🙃
I cook, fridge, reheat, fridge, reheat and repeat as long as it gets gone in 2-3 days. 68 years old and still kicking:)