Thanksgiving 2020 was not anything like we’d imagined. His family is stuck on different parts of the globe and since we both work with the public daily each of us is a potential carrier for the virus that’s making its rounds across the US, which meant seeing my aging relatives was out. So with just the two of us we really didn’t need a large turkey this year, but the question became how to make sure we had a note worthy meal for two?
Enter Hulu and Bobby Flay. When we moved in together we had decided to give up cable and I can’t tell you how much I have missed food network. When I turned on Hulu and saw “Bobby Flay’s Thanksgiving” two days before the big event it was a sign. It said watch and see how to still have a memorable thanksgiving. This holiday is all about the food right? As they said in the show if people are leaving and complimenting your decor you are in trouble.
Now you all know I’m frugal (cause who can afford or wants to spend a ton right now?) but I watched this episode in its entirety and here are the variations and tips that gave us a great mini thanksgiving dinner.
First variation was I bought turkey parts. This year I bought two thighs and three turkey legs. I also purchased two containers of chicken broth, two fresh onions, a bag of carrots, a bag of celery, a bag of steam fresh green beans, three large potatoes, and chives. Along with those purchases I also bought Pepperidge Farm stuffing, a container of turkey gravy, and a box of Krusteaz gluten free cornbread.
Two nights before thanksgiving I made the cornbread mix. After cooling I wrapped it in plastic wrap and left it to stale. On the second night I made an herb butter courtesy of Katie Lee and remembered to take the turkey out of the freezer at 10 PM!
The next morning was the big day. I sliced up the vegetable to put in the bottom of the pan and warmed my broth just like Bobby. First thing that went wrong was that the pan I purchased was not large enough to fit my roaster insert. No problem I used the vegetables to hold the turkey.
Second problem, my turkey was still frozen, well, I wiped it down, melted my herb butter to baste it, and stuck it in the oven any way. 450 for 15 minutes and then 350 for and hour and 5 minutes. They were perfect. The skin was crispy, the turkey was juicy, and herbs made the dish. Gotta thank Bobby.
While all that was happening I took 15 minutes to chop up a few more vegetables and heat more broth to make Katie Lee’s cornbread stuffing with herb butter. She made it look so easy and guys, it was just as easy as she made it look. It’s not pictured here but at the end it was crumbly and beautifully browned. I have missed stuffing so much since going gluten free I can’t thank Katie enough for the idea. My whole dinner this year was the stuffing.
The next dish I wanted to bring to life from the show was Bobby Flay’s mashed potatoes. This is another dish that was really tasty and just as easy as he made it look. I cooked my potatoes, mashed them, put in a little milk, butter, pepper, and chives and backed away like I was on chopped and they had called time.
This whole process took about three hours and that included doing dishes as I went. Despite that an hour and a half of that time was me sitting down and watching the parade with my boyfriend while things heated in the oven sipping on Sangria. I didn’t do everything the way they did, but it was definitely perfect. I listed how I made it below, but you can of course always find the originals on food network. This was me working with what I had in my home to try to make some memorable food.
Herb Butter-
1 ½ teaspoons of powdered sage
½ teaspoons of pepper
1 stem of fresh rosemary leaves torn from stem
1 stick of softened salted butter
1 teaspoon of thyme
The stuffing I basically followed her instructions from the show.
Saute onions and celery in herb butter. About 1/3 of what we made
Cut corn bread into cubes
1/3 cup of Milk
Two soup ladles of chicken broth
1 egg
A shake more salt and pepper.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl away from heat and put into a baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Once it cools take a fork and fluff it like regular stuffing. (Okay looking at her recipe, I did not follow it correctly, but it still came out amazing.)
Chive Mashed Potatoes
Three Large Potatoes Peeled and Boiled
¼ cup of milk
2 table spoons of butter
1 Chive stem chopped
Pepper to taste
Learning these tips and these three great recipes is an awesome start of what I hope will someday be my famous turkey dinner. They allow for a lot of prep before the big day. Hopefully that means when I’m a mom someday I’ll still be able to make the turkey and watch the parade. It was truly a memorable day and I will be thinking about it until next year when I once again become inspired. I hope you and your families also had an inspirational jump into the holidays. Stay Safe! Happy Holidays.
