Thanksgiving was supposed to happen at my parent’s place this year, but due to logistical issues, I am hosting this year with 5 families breaking bread together. My menu has been set since last month and it doesn’t vary too much from year to year, but this year I’m being a bit adventurous and adding a few new things. I also grew up with a Thanksgiving meal where most of the table space was taken up by Korean dishes with the big obligatory Butterball on the side. Thanksgiving with the family just wouldn’t be the same without Korean food!
So without further ado, here is my menu for Thanksgiving 2013!
- White wine sangria or this Cranberry Sangria by What’s Gaby Cooking. Anything to christen the punch bowl my mom has handed down to me.
- Roasted turkey following the new-to-me dry brining method by Noshon.it.
- Basic Mashed potatoes to which I’m not even adding garlic! Oh mon dieu!
- Cook’s Illustrated “Best” Turkey Gravy
- Martha Stewart’s Mushroom stuffing
- Foodie Crush’s Creamed Corn (new)
- Simply Recipes’s Homemade Cranberry Sauce (new). I am breaking the tradition of including a dish of jiggly Ocean Spray cranberry sauce. Maybe my sister will buy a can…
Now for the Korean dishes…
Japchae (beef and vegetable noodles)
Saeng sun jun (pan-fried fish)
Moo saeng chae (seasoned radish salad)
Shigumchi namul (seasoned spinach)
And of course a meal wouldn’t be complete without kimchi and rice.
If there is one planning/cooking tip to share with you, it is to make what you can ahead of time! I am planning to make the saeng sun jun this weekend and freezing it so all I have to do is warm it up on Thanksgiving. On Monday, I’ll go shopping and will prep most of the vegetables which includes bagging and labeling them. Tuesday I will start dry brining the turkey. The stuffing will be prepped and assembled the day before. The japchae, shigumchi namul, moo saeng chae, and cranberry sauce will also be made the day before. All that is left for the big day is the turkey, potatoes, gravy, and corn which will be cooking away on its on in the slow cooker.
So that’s it! Can’t wait to get started! Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, I hope you get to enjoy a few days off!
