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!
This menu looks great, Amy! I love the combination of American and Korean flavors. My Thanksgiving was also relocated (except at what I consider the last minute, just this week) this year. I’m rolling with it, and just prepping as much as I possibly can before the big day!
Hey Ames, what time should I be there? You’re already hosting five families, what’s another mouth to feed? Although I should warn you, I can pack a lot in. I love this menu! The sangria is a nice touch (I’ll be lingering over the punch bowl fo’ sho’). I love the East meets West aspect of your Thanksgiving menu. It’s the same with all my family holiday meals – there’s always half Western dishes and half Chinese. It’s the best!
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving week. Lol I don’t think I’ve ever had a Thanksgiving meal without Korean food at the table. Did you have anything left over? If so, what kind of T-giving leftovers did you make? It’s always fun experimenting with leftovers (not just for Thanksgiving).
Not much leftover this year! I had 22 people (10 kids) in the house for Thanksgiving! But during years where I do have substantial leftovers, I just eat turkey bibimbap for almost every meal. 🙂