Thanksgiving 2023 - K & A's Kitchen

Thanksgiving has been in the works since we picked out our (extra-large) dining table this summer. I’m not quite sure how I had the mental bandwidth to think that far ahead, but I did.

Some parts of this Thanksgiving went really well, and other things we’ll do differently next year. The best thing by far was having our new kitchen ready to roll! We still have finishing touches to do (like the backsplash), but it is one hundred times better than what we were working with before.

On to Thanksgiving 2023…

The Food

There was no shortage of food this Thanksgiving, as it should be. Below are the dishes we had this year:

Kevin’s Salisbury steak About 4-5 years ago we started making Salisbury steak instead of turkey for Thanksgiving. If you think Salisbury steak just belongs in subpar frozen dinners, give it a try – from scratch.
Mushroom Wellington I tried a variation of this recipe last year for Thanksgiving and I liked it so much we made it for Christmas too. It’s fun that it’s a little on the fancy side, and it’s more substantial than a stuffed squash or “usual” vegan alternative to the Thanksgiving main.
Pecan crumble topped-sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes have always been a favorite part of Thanksgiving for me. Sometime in the last few years I branched out from the marshmallow topping my grandma always made and discovered this lovely little number.
Marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes This year we had two kinds of sweet potatoes, including those marshmallow ones from my childhood. The ones above are vegan, and I tried to make as many things as possible vegan. Grandma made the marshmallow variety, and they still hit that Thanksgiving spot.
Cheesy scalloped potatoes We don’t make a ton of scalloped potatoes, and while these were delicious (Tillamook sharp cheddar helped), they were a little underbaked and soupy. We should have taken into account how much we packed into the oven when we were calculating cooking times.
Vegan scalloped potatoes These made for good work lunch leftovers, but I won’t be claiming I have “the best vegan scalloped potatoes” just yet. They were underbaked too, but I popped them back in the oven the next day for half an hour and it did the trick.
Theee best stuffing I need to get this recipe on paper before I forget, because it was soooo good. It starts with lots of onion, celery, and apple – so much flavor and moisture. The Impossible vegan sausage added great taste and texture. Then herbs, homemade cornbread, whole wheat bread (save those heels!) and some veggie broth. Mmmm.
Green bean casserole This was a staple in Kevin’s family for Thanksgiving, but we never made it for ours. His family never bothered with sweet potatoes. Together, we make a beautiful Thanksgiving. Green bean casserole reaches a whole new level when the mushroom gravy is made from scratch. We stick with the traditional French’s onions on top – they just can’t be beat.
Citrus kale salad I almost didn’t make this, but it was so good. It even held up well for a couple of days – with the dressing on it. Part of me wants to make it every Thanksgiving. Part of me wants to make a new salad at this level every year. We’ll see what next November brings.
Cranberry sauce No turkey, but we have cranberry sauce? Yes – this is special cranberry sauce. It smells absolutely wonderful when it’s cooking.
Dinner rolls Mom brought these – we told her frozen rolls were fine. Some things on Thanksgiving should be easy 🙂
Deviled eggs This wasn’t a planned addition – my cousin brought them from a Thanksgiving dinner earlier in the day. I didn’t have one, but I heard good things!
Cranberry orange ice water The orange and cranberries don’t add lots of flavor, but they do make it really pretty. We have several beverage dispensers, which we like for gatherings like this.
Pecan pie bars I couldn’t find my usual recipe, so I tried a new one this year. It was good, but not quite the same as my usual.
Pecan pie My brother brought this. I was honestly too full for any!
Apple pie Even though we were all stuffed, this pie brought home all the accolades. I think that means even more given that hunger makes a good cook. I didn’t want to make two apple pies, so I made it in a 9×13-inch pan with my favorite pie crust and a crumble topping. I accidentally added somewhere around 1/4 cup cinnamon (opened the wrong side of the shaker…) and it turned out perfect. Fresh nutmeg didn’t hurt any either.
Coconut cream pie My brother brought this too. I started to eat a small slice, but then it got swiped by a little munchkin.

The Fun

Thanksgiving morning We had my parents over Thanksgiving morning for hot drinks, breakfast burritos, and the Macy’s parade. We like making foo foo lattes with our espresso machine (worth every penny we paid for it), and we found the Impossible spicy sausage makes tasty breakfast burritos. Kevin found we could stream the parade on Peacock. I’d say the parade was worth the $1.99 we paid for the one-month subscription.
Food we didn’t make The night before Thanksgiving we ordered Chinese takeout, and we may have started a new tradition. It was so nice to have some delicious food we didn’t have to make, and it diversified our portfolio of leftovers for the weekend. We also loved having something to munch at lunch time since our Thanksgiving dinner was later in the afternoon. The kids almost singlehandedly polished off the order of veggie pan fried noodles. Two orders next year.
Table decor Normally the decorations are not something on my radar for holiday meals. This year we had our new dining room table and chairs, so instead of slapping on a tablecloth (which I don’t currently have anyway), I went all out on the decor. I went with an olive green table runner, some pumpkins (which have since been butchered), glittery leaf garlands, acorns, and fairy lights. For the table settings, I bought some deep raspberry place mats and yellow napkins folded to hold the silverware. A guest brought a Thanksgiving bouquet, which was the perfect addition.

Tips for planning and hosting holidays

Marry well Kevin is actively involved in the menu planning, the cooking, the cleanup, all of it. I don’t have to ask him to vacuum before guests arrive; he is on top of it. This makes all the difference.
Ask for help If you don’t have someone to be your right-hand man (or woman) on holidays, ask for help.
Make ahead as much as possible We’re probably a little crazy when it comes to planning holiday meals, but it pays off with way less stress. We make everything possible ahead of time so we can relax more the day of. This also means we can have more “fun” food because we aren’t trying to make it all in one day.
Make a list so you don’t forget items And I don’t mean just forgetting to make items. More than once I’ve forgotten to pull out the cranberry sauce or some other side until the leftovers are all put away. Make a list and hang it on the fridge to reference before the big meal.
Make a schedule We typically plan out when we are making things (starting about two weeks ahead) as welll as the day of. When does this need to start baking? Are we broiling things at the last minute? When do we start the sweet potatoes so we can start over after the first pan with marshmallows catches on fire? It doesn’t have to be super complicated; it just needs to be a general timeline for when things need to be done. Don’t forget to factor in dish washer cycles. No one can hurry that blessed appliance, so we best be on its schedule.
Write baking times on top of foil I loved myself for this one. Since we prepped the majority of dishes ahead of time, I wrote what it was (key), and the time and temperature it needed to bake. No recipe referencing while we play oven Tetris. Beautiful.
Make sure oven is closed… Kevin noticed the fan in the oven wasn’t running and it wasn’t getting up to temp. We realized that one of the pans was sticking out too far and wouldn’t let the oven close. It was fixed with a bit of rearranging, but if he hadn’t caught it our whole dinner would have been cold and undercooked.
Buffet style service I’ve never been a fan of the endless passing of plates and dishes. We serve everything buffet style for most of our family gatherings so everyone can just sit down and enjoy. It also takes a lot of pressure off of guests to take some of something if they aren’t sure about it.
Have guests bring containers for leftovers Unless you don’t want them to take any. I personally love our food storage containers, so I’m careful who they go home with. If you don’t have a stash of Cool Whip containers that you never need to see again, ask guests to bring containers so they can build their own leftover feast to take home.
Consider allergies and preferences You don’t have to make two versions of everything, just maybe leave nuts and cheese off of salads and serve them on the side. Have some good vegetable options for those who have diabetes and can’t handle all the carbiness of Thanksgiving. Ask guests what kind of diet they are working with and make sure there is something they can enjoy. If that particular diet is not in your wheelhouse, ask if they can share a special dish of their choice.
Stick with water to drink As much as I love pulling out all the stops for holiday meals, I knew a sparkly, fizzy, sherbet-topped beverage would just be too much. I used orange slices and fresh cranberries to make a pretty dispenser full of ice water, and it was perfect.
Buy ice We moved up in the world and have a nice fridge with an ice dispenser. But it just can’t keep up with our ice water-drinking family and provide for a 2-gallon beverage dispenser. We now add ice to our list for holiday groceries, and it’s so worth it.
Chill Things catch on fire, you forget an ingredient, whatever. Things happen. Years down the road, even next year, it’s a funny story – not a crisis. It doesn’t have to be a crisis now either.

Next Year

Overall it was a great Thanksgiving, but like Monica competing with her “last year me,” we still have plans to make it better:

Try new recipes for vegan option and potatoes I love the mushroom Wellington, but we’ve had it a couple of years in a row and I’m feeling ready for something new. The scalloped potatoes were good (al denteness aside), but I’d love to see about twice baked potatoes or some other potato dish.
No wine in Salisbury steak Kevin tried putting wine in the Salisbury steak since we happened to have some left from making beef stew. He wasn’t a big fan of the flavor, so next year we won’t be doing that.
Stemless wine glasses All this talk of wine and wine glasses… and we don’t even drink! Like at all. I do love the look of stemless wine glasses as a nice beverage receptacle. This year we used some plastic tumblers, but they didn’t quite fit with the rest of the look.
Plan dinner earlier to make time for dessert (and a walk) As the family grows, we have more schedules to work around, so this might be a challenge. This year we had dinner just after 4:00 PM, which didn’t leave us much time to let things settle before dessert. And on Thanksgiving, a post-meal walk is a must. Maybe next year we can eat in more of the 1:00 PM range.
Make more of a day of it Again, it’s hard to maneuver around all the schedules and things as the family grows, but we’d like to feel like there is more “hang out time” where family can just be together. That said, I did get to enjoy two or so hours or being nap trapped. Maybe next year we can set up a puzzle and turn on some warm fuzzy Hallmark Christmas movies.

Are we all ready for Christmas yet?