Thanksgiving 2025
We had a lovely Thanksgiving in Westport with my Grandma. Everything came out delicious. Here is our dinner menu:
- Spatchcock roast turkey
- Cornbread dressing (https://lemonhead.ink/cornbread-dressing)
- Mashed potatoes (Gordon Ramsay, Pomme Purée)
- Brussels sprout salad (https://lemonhead.ink/brussel-sprout-salad)
- Roast squash and sage (https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/roasted-butternut-squash-with-brown-butter-and-sage.html)
- Gravy
- Cranberry sauce
Notes for each menu item:
Spatchcock turkey: We picked out a humble 14 pound bird. We dry brined it 48 hours in advance, using one teaspoon of diamond crystal kosher salt per pound of meat. We used the spine, wing tips, and neck of the bird to make excellent turkey stock for the dressing and gravy. On Thanksgiving day, we roasted the turkey on a sheet pan at 425. We used our fancy new bluetooth meat thermometers to monitor the internal temperature of the breasts. We started pulling out the turkey and checking on it regularly once the bluetooth thermometers reached 150, which took around 90 minutes. The total cook time was right around 100 minutes. The bird came out delicious. The spatchcock method allows for all of the skin to get crispy, and it prevents the breasts from drying out. I highly recommend this method.
Cornbread dressing: see link above. All I'll say here is that it pays off to make a strong stock for the dressing.
Mashed potatoes: This was Jackson's contribution. I led him astray by encouraging him to use more potatoes than the recipe calls for. I did not realize that pomme purée is different than mashed potatoes, as it has a higher ratio of cream. Our mashed potatoes came out well, but this recipe is better if you stick with Ramsay's vision of a cream-forward potato puree.
Brussels sprout salad: No notes to add, other than the recipe link above. And that I really liked the sharp cheddar that my grandma bought for this.
Roast squash and sage: This was not my favorite, but my grandma quite enjoyed it, and that's what counts :). We used pre-cut squash for this. While convenient, I found that the squash slices were larger than is ideal, and also somewhat dried out. Consequently, they did not get as soft while roasting as usual. Although pre-cut vegetables are convenient, I typically find that the end result is better when you prep the veggies yourself right before roasting. I will say that I see my grandma's point, that sage and squash pair quite well together. If I make sage and squash again, I may add a touch of brown sugar to the squash, so that it darkens more while roasting.
Gravy: My grandma had a narrow all-clad saucepan that was the perfect vessel for making gravy. I made a roux out of 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup flour. I added the turkey stock incrementally to the roux, whisking vigorously all the while. I think I ended up adding around 2 cups of stick in total. This was the first Thanksgiving where I was pleased with how the stock came out. Woohoo!
Cranberry sauce: the classic cranberry sauce recipe is 1 bag of cranberries, 3/4 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. After reading a few variations online, I decided to spruce things up by also adding 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, and the zest of one orange. I initially worried that the zest made the sauce too bitter, but I came to like the cranberry sauce. I'm not sure the added spices and orange are needed, though; the plain-jane cranberry sauce recipe is pretty good. So basically, the cranberry sauce will be just fine regardless of if you go for the add-ins or not.