weekend agenda

Gonna be a busy weekend because American Thanksgiving is next week! Saturday, I'll be doing my long walk, probably along the new Tan Creek route I explored last week and this past Thursday night. Then for the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday, I'll be engaged in food prep, which will continue over Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because some things ought to be made only at the last minute.

Thanksgiving is a cheat day for me, diet-wise, but to be honest, I may be cheating during the days leading up to the big day because a cook needs to taste as he goes while making food. Not that I plan to stuff myself before Thursday, but it's likely that I'll be ingesting a few carbs here and there. Not the best thing to do with only three or so weeks before my doctor's appointment, but oh well.

On the menu:

Turkey with Gravy
Ham with Maple Glaze
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Creamed Corn
Peas & Carrots
Cranberry Sauce
Apple Pie

For some, it might be heresy to hear this, but even though turkey is often the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table, I think it's rarely the star of the show.* That honor more likely goes to the sides, like the stuffing. That being said, I'm going to make what I hope will be an awesome gravy to give life to the turkey—a gravy loaded with mushrooms and bacon to add texture and flavor. The ham will be glazed in a maple coating; the stuffing will be made with regular white bread but will also be nice and sage-y; the mashed potatoes will have butter, heavy cream, garlic powder, onion powder, maybe some cream cheese, and some light herbs; the sweet potatoes will have a marshmallow topping (haven't done that in years); the cranberry sauce will contain some other frozen fruits from my freezer (strawberries and blueberries, but not enough to dominate the cranberries); apple pie was chosen at the request of my boss, based on my performance last year: my pumpkin pie failed, but everyone loved the apple pie.

Most of the above dishes can be made in advance and stored until Thursday, so I'll spend this weekend prepping, prepping, and prepping. Come Wednesday night or Thursday morning, I'll do the peas and carrots (peas often get wrinkly after you take them out of the boiling water, so they're best done at the last minute). Arguably, the ham should wait until the last day to be prepped as well; I don't want it to dry out. Same goes for the turkey, which is also in danger of drying out if prepped wrong. Everything else can be made in advance and wrapped up or containerized, then reheated Thursday morning and served sur place.

Been a while since I've done this sort of large-scale meal prep. I think this year's Thanksgiving menu, which is a rendition of greatest hits rather than an attempt at anything novel, will be a winner with the troops. I'd love to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and not just coworkers, but you know, pandemic. And limited cheat days. Sucks, but that's the reality of my life. Perhaps some years hence, I'll be able to host a real celebration. Just not yet.

So that's this weekend. Things are gonna be busy. How about you?

ADDENDUM: the schedule—

Saturday & Sunday: prep gravy, maple glaze, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cream corn, and cranberry sauce.

Monday: prep stuffing.

Tuesday: prep apple pie.

Wednesday: prep proteins (cut up, fry up, store so as not to lose moisture).

Thursday morning: prep peas and carrots; glaze the ham. Bring gravy along for the turkey.

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*In my case, I don't have an oven large enough to contemplate cooking a whole turkey, even a small one. I purchased 2 kg of turkey breast from the local John Cook deli, along with some slabs of ham steak, so that's what I'm working with. Turkey breast is nice but bland, which is why I'm jazzing up the gravy. By itself, the breast is certainly not the star of any show.