Journal

2024 - Thanksgiving Menu Plan

Task List Done, Equipment list done.

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Prep Tuesday

  • Cheese and Meat Board (Cheese Shop) pickup Wednesday

  • Gus Soda (already have)

  • Crackers, variety

Bread

  • Rolls from La Mie (Wednesday Early)

Mains

Desserts

  • Brown Butter Apple Crumble - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Hand Pies - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Cinnamon Ice Cream - Pickup Sunday (Pints by Beth)

  • Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Pickup Sunday (Pints by Beth)

2023 - Week 47 Cooking Results

Sausage

Good things.

Noodles with egg

Simple and good. made for quick work.

Egg Sandwiches

So I tried that waffle thing with dressing/stuffing and put eggs on it. It didn’t work that well. The idea of frying the stuffing to get a crispy edge is not a bad one and would probably work better in a pan, at least not be as messy. I put eggs on it.

Grilled Cheese

Added some ham, used some bread I bought at the Coop.

Thanksgiving

Every year we’re getting better at doing this. This year, however a few setbacks ended up annoying me. First, I was preparing the miso butter for the sweet potatoes and due to some various work related things, I lost track of the cooking time and my first batch got a bit overdone. Because of that I had to buy more white miso paste, but because the store didn’t have that, I ended up using yellow. It still turned out ok, but now I have a container of Miso Paste to use as opposed to finishing up the last one.

Second, the vacuum sealer didn’t actually find the pressure to take out the air, and apparently I can’t get next day when I actually needed it. I thought vaguely about going out to buy one, which I’m sure I could’ve, but chose not to. This lead to a cascade of failures. Since I ended up with a whole pork loin (8-9 pounds or so), it was a bit wider and thicker. Because I only had my practice to go on (3.5 or so pounds) and that was on sous-vide, ti was a bit challenging to get the timing right, to get the things done at the temperatures needed and to deliver at the right time. I was way off. I expected a bit of extra time from the recipe, but not so much more. Since that was the case, I had to make guesses on keeping the sweet potatoes warm, and the dressing warm. So I had things ready to go at 1, but the pork stopped cooperating. So an hour or so later, I was able to call it done, then finish the last steps. Generally, a success.

Highlights for me. Pork and leftover pork were quite nice, I could do other things, I suspect, but it’s a lot to do just for us. The Cinnamon Ice Cream from Pints by Beth, is simple, warming and clean and something quite special (this got a shared look at the table between Shannon and I). It paired well with the Pie Bird Pies. I’ve have been getting better at the general sizing estimates so things were not as crowded in the fridge. I’m generally happy but did feel the guilt of a late delivery. I used 5 pounds of Crooked Gap green onion sausage. I also used Ethan’s daughter’s honey wheat bread for both he stuffing for pork and on the table. Most of the vegetables came from Grade A Gardens.

2023 - Thanksgiving Menu Plan

Shannon reminds me that I need to go on peoples behavior and I can’t just make a cheese ball cause I want leftover cheese ball. It’s a fair point. Task List Done, Equipment list done. Make a grocery list for the normal week eating, then a run down to Winter market cause I can’t remember some stuff (as in what I pickup on Tuesday), and having the green onions sausage early won’t hurt.

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Prep Tuesday

  • Cheese and Meat Board (Cheese Shop) pickup Wednesday

  • Gus Soda (Cheese Bar) pickup Wednesday

  • Crackers, variety

Bread

  • Sourdough - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

  • Rosemary and Sea Salt Sourdough Focaccia - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

Mains

Desserts

  • Apple Pear Cranberry Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Whiskey Apple Crumble Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Whipped Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Cinnamon Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

  • Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

2023 - Thanksgiving Menu Plan - draft

Appetizers

Bread

  • Sourdough - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

  • Rosemary and Sea Salt Sourdough Focaccia - Pickup Wednesday (Bread by Chelsa)

Mains

Desserts

  • Apple Pear Cranberry Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Whiskey Apple Crumble Pie - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Whipped Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pie Bird Pies)

  • Cinnamon Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

  • Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Pickup Wednesday (Pints by Beth)

2022 - Thanksgiving Menu Plan

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Tuesday

    • Carrots bought at Iowa Food Coop Tuesday, Prepped Tuesday Night??

    • Celery bought Sunday, prepped Tuesday Morning'

    • Cornichons w/ Cheese and Meat Board, Wednesday

    • Plastic Containers

  • Cheese and Meat Board (Cheese Shop) pickup Wednesday

    • Fridge Space

  • Crackers, variety - Sunday

Bread

  • Whipped Honey Butter

    • Buy butter on Sunday, Can do this Sunday

    • Plastic Container needed

  • Lefse - Bought

    • Buy Sunday

  • Rolls

    • La Mie Wednesday

    • Was going to make my own, will experiment over the year

Mains

  • Fresh Greens Salad

    • Thursday

    • Fridge Space

  • Confit Turkey Theighs (Delayed), timing with turkey doesn’t work out

  • Sous Vide Turkey Brest with Crispy Skin

    • Pick up Turkey / Grade A at Noon

    • Break down Turkey on Tuesday Afternoon / evening

      • save giblets, etc for Gravey, store thighs drumsticks for Confit for later

    • Bind Turkey Breasts Tuesday

    • Rest in Fridge in sealed bag Tuesday

    • Sous Vide Day off

    • Skin: Wednesday

  • Turkey Gravy

    • Wednesday

    • Roasting Pan

    • re-warm day of, req: 3 qt sauce pan

  • Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes (the Classic)

    • Peel Potatoes on Tuesday Morning

    • Prep Other Parts Tuesday Morning (cheese garlic, etc)

    • Requires: Large Pot, Small sauce pan 1.5 qt

  • Spicy Sweet Potato and Bacon Casserole

    • Do steps 1 & 2 (Monday)

    • Finish Day of

    • requries 13x9 Baking Dish

  • Spicy Cornbread Stuffing with Red Peppers, Chipotle Chiles, and Andouille Sausage

    • Seems out of context to current Menu, still want to make

  • Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing (Classic)

    • Green Onion Sausage acquired today (Crooked Gap)

    • Use Lasagna pan (thanks Linda!)

    • Corn Bread Monday

    • 35-40m at 400F

Desserts

  • Double Apple Bread Pudding

    • Acquired and weighed Friday

    • Challah Cut on Saturday

    • Bake Bread cubes Saturday

    • Make Sugar Cube Covering

    • Use soon to be aquired 13x9 glass baking dish that I could’ve sworn Shannon had (arrives 11/16)

    • Final Prep day off

    • Bake when stuffing comes out of oven

    • Pull out to cool during dinner

  • Skillet Apple Crisp (not enough pans)

  • Pumpkin Cheese Cake (Picked up Wednesday)

Thanksgiving 2021 Planning and checklist

Monday 11/22

Tuesday 11/23

  • 12:PM Pick up Turkey at Grade A

  • Break Down Turkey

  • Sous vide turkey

  • Separate Turkey from bones

Wednesday 11/24

Thursday 11/25

Thanksgiving 2021

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons

  • Cheese and Meat board (Cheese Shop)

  • Crackers, variety

Bread

Mains

Desserts

  • Pumpkin Cheese Cake Tarts (Personal Sized, Tami’s Tarts)

  • Chocolate Caramel Tarts (Personal Sized, Tami’s Tarts)

  • Rhubarb Custard Tarts (Personal Sized, Tami’s Tarts)

  • Pumpkin Brioche Pudding w/ Dark Rum Caramel (Tami’s Tarts)

  • Ice Cream (Black Cat)

Thanksgiving 2018 - Updates and notes

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Tuesday

    • Carrots bought at Iowa Food Coop Tuesday, Prepped Tuesday Night

    • Celery bought Sunday, prepped Tuesday

    • Bought Sunday or Tuesday (depending on availability and quality, last type purchased, not great (inexpensive))

  • (Classic Cheddar Cheese Ball removed) Spicy Cheese Spread - Tuesday

    • Still thinking about this or just the cheese dip that goes over well, consult with Shannon

  • Underground Meats Summer Sausage? (if available) - Thursday

    • Buy Tuesday, Cut up Thursday

  • Cheese

  • Crackers

    • Buy Sunday

Bread

  • Whipped Honey Butter

    • Buy butter on Sunday, Can do this Monday

  • Lefse - Bought (unless someone wants to send me some)

    • Buy Sunday

  • Rolls (La Mie?)

    • Investigate La Mie on Monday, or find other alternatives

Mains

  • Pulled Pork (Wednesday)

    • Need to find about how much I should make per person. Have Pork shoulders from Lucky George (bought today) defrosting)

    • Maybe 10 pounds? ((5 oz /16)*2 (weight loss) * 15 Guests

    • Check freezer for more meet, just in case

  • Smoked Potato Salad (Tuesday, Wednesday)

    • Examine recipe Sunday,

    • Extra potatoes picked up from Grade A, technically yesterday

    • Ordered potatoes from Iowa Food Coop for Tuesday Pick up, smoke Tuesday night?

  • Baked Beans (Wednesday, Thursday)

    • Decide on recipe Sunday

  • Mac & Cheese (Thursday)

    • Decide on recipe Sunday, probably Cooks Illustrated baked mac and cheese? maybe something else

  • Cornbread (Thursday)

    • Go for a good old standby, (cooks Illustrated)

  • Hard Cider Gravy - Thursday (1 Burner) - replace chicken fat / butter, with pork fat

    • done before, should be easy. Maybe buy some cider to pair with this?…or just drink

  • Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes - Thursday, stove top (at times 2 burners)

    • Maybe go to Costco for potatoes, Hy-vee probably fine.

  • Fruit Salad - Mom

  • Macaroni Salad - Nancy

Desserts

  • Apple Pie (Slow Food Central Iowa)

    • Pick up Wednesday? I think

  • Pumpkin Pie (Slow Food Central Iowa)

    • Pick up Wednesday? I think

  • Ice Cream - bought

    • Gotta decide what, maybe I’ll get lucky and Black Cat will have some, if not, purchase something of quality (vanilla)

  • Cookies - Isaac Bringing

  • Pie? - Maybe Mom, not sure per discussion

  • Chocolate Pie - Kim

Thanksgiving 2018

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Tuesday

  • Classic Cheddar Cheese Ball - Tuesday

  • Underground Meats Summer Sausage? (if available) - Thursday

  • Crackers

Bread

Mains

  • Pulled Pork (Wednesday)

  • Smoked Potato Salad (Tuesday, Wednesday)

  • Baked Beans (Wednesday, Thursday)

  • Mac & Cheese (Thursday)

  • Cornbread (Thursday)

  • Hard Cider Gravy - Thursday (1 Burner) - replace chicken fat / butter, with pork fat

  • Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes - Thursday, stove top (at times 2 burners)

Desserts

Thanksgiving 2017

Appetizers

  • Carrots, Celery, Cornichons - Tuesday

  • Classic Cheddar Cheese Ball - Tuesday

  • Underground Meats Summer Sausage? (if available) - Thursday

  • Crackers

Bread

Mains

Desserts

  • Pumpkin Swirl Brownies - Wednesday

  • Pumpkin Creme Brûlée - Start Wednesday, Finish as needed

  • Ice Cream - bought