Thanksgiving 2020

Mood Board: 

Warm autumnal colors, with hints of metallics, grounded with white and wood serving dishes. Add mini pumpkins, eucalyptus garland and candles to complete the tablescape.

Playlists: Search 'turkey and wine time' & 'turkey and wine time 2' on Spotify. Ensure that you have music playing before your guests arrive, so you don't forget! No one likes a quiet party ;)

First things first... The wine:

Calculate how many bottles of wine you’ll need to buy... I would plan on 2 drinks per guest for the 1st hour, then one drink/ per guest/ per hour from the second hour on. A bottle of wine = ~ 4 glasses. Adjust according to your guests ;)

You can decide if you want all white or all red, or a mix of both. It’s a good idea to keep white wines chilled (refrigerate for 2 hours), and reds slightly chilled (30 minutes in the fridge).

If you plan to serve the Mulled Wine (recipe below), make sure to add one bottle of red wine to your tally.

If you don’t have, or don’t want to buy white wine glasses and red wine glasses, it is totally fine to use all-purpose wine glasses!

Have wine charms handy to make it easy for guests to keep track of their glass; Or use wine markers to write guests names on glasses. 

Guide to Creating a Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board:

I like to use wood boards, because they go with everything and really add warmth to the table. One tip for wood boards - Place a sheet of parchment paper on the board before putting cheese/ meat on it, this will really help with clean-up. Marble boards are also great and lean towards a more elegant look. For this occasion, you'll need to use a large board!

Key Ingredients: 1-2 varieties of cheese, sliced oven-baked turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, fruit, crackers/bread, 1 spread, nuts & cornichons
Cheese: (plan on ~3oz per guest)
Cheeses that pair well with white wine: Havarti, goat, brie, gruyere, parmesan, mozzarella
Cheeses that pair well with light-bodied red wine: brie, mozzarella, gruyere, goat, gouda
Cheeses that pair well with medium to full-bodied red wine: gruyere, manchego, gouda, parmesan and hard cheddar; Blue cheeses work well with full bodied reds
Meat: Instead of buying a giant turkey and dealing with that stress, keep it low-key and purchase a marinated turkey tenderloin that you can just pop in the oven. Bake and thinly slice. 
Fruit: Choose from several options… grapes, berries, figs, sliced apples or pears. 
Crackers/ Bread: Add crusty bread or festive dinner rolls plus hearty, mild flavored crackers
Spreads: Choose between sweet or savory (or both!)… tis the season for cranberry, so why not try a cranberry pepper jelly? It would pair wonderfully with a simple goat cheese or a creamy brie. For a savory option, try a grainy mustard.
Nuts: Marcona almonds are my go-to, but cashews, almonds & pistachios also work well
Cornichons: These tiny pickles are perfect for cutting the flavor of a bold cheese Stuffing & Mashed Potatoes: Use your favorite recipe or take the easy route and use store bought... You can't go wrong with Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

 

Assembly – Start with your cheeses: Cut hard cheeses into slices and arrange, place soft cheeses on the board and place a cheese knife nearby; Then add your sliced turkey, a bowl of mashed potatoes and a bowl of stuffing. Fill in the rest of the space with fruits, nuts and cornichons. Keep your spreads in a jar or ramekin, either on the board or next to it. (if your board is too small to accommodate all of this, feel free to use two or more boards next to each other!)

We love this inspiring take, pictured below!

Photo Credit: reluctantentertainer.com 

Dessert:

Mini Pumpkin Pies
Use your favorite recipe to make a pumpkin pie (or buy a premade one!), then, using a 2" biscuit cutter, cut out mini pies! Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin spice and serve. (You can get ~16 mini pies out of one standard sized pie - the closer you get to the edge, the bottoms will be slightly curved, fyi)

Photo credit: bakedinaz.com

Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crisp
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of store bought oat granola
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of sugar
5 apples - Peeled, cored and cut into 1/2" thick slices
Pinch of pumpkin spice
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet. Add the granola, 1 tbsp of flour and 1 tbsp of sugar. Toss to coat granola well. Transfer mixture to a bowl. 
Pour the apples into the skillet and toss with pumpkin spice, lemon juice and the remaining sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are softened (about 7 minutes). Stir in the remaining flour. Sprinkle the granola mixture evenly over the apples. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 35-40 min., until the crisp is bubbling and the apples are tender. Serve warm. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra tasty treat!

 

Festive Drink Ideas:

Mulled Wine (makes 4-5 servings)
3/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cinnamon stick (more for garnish if desired)
1 orange
10 whole cloves
1 (750ml) bottle of dry red wine

In a saucepan, combine water, sugar and cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. 

Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice into the simmering water. Push cloves into the outside of the orange peels and place peels in the water. Continue simmering for 20 minutes, until syrup-like.

Pour in the wine, heat briefly until just steaming. Remove the orange halves and serve in mugs or glasses. If using glasses, preheat them in warm water so they don't break. 

Bourbon Apple Cider (makes one cocktail)3 oz. apple cider 2 oz. bourbon
1/2 tsp of lemon juice
2 oz. ginger beer
Apple slice and cinnamon stick for garnish (optional)

Add apple cider, bourbon and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and pour over ice in a rocks glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with apple slice and cinnamon stick. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving! Stay well and enjoy :)

the shindig