I can’t stress this enough. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and you can probably guess why. Because it is all about friends, family and of course, food. We always get invited to our Thai friends, P’Am and P’Tui (P’s in Thai means older brother or sister, you put that in front of their name for respect). They are amazing cooks and Thanksgiving at their house is like a giant feast. They’re like the Yoda of home cooks. I remember one time they made 3 turkeys and they were amazing. However, last year was a totally disaster. Not because the party wasn’t good, but they were out of town! Not their fault that we were left stranded on Thanksgiving. ha ha And because we were adults, we figured we could make a little Thanksgiving meal, invite a friend, P’Pete, to join us. It was a success! We had so much fun, no stress and the food was awesome.
Since it was just the 4 of us (hubby, P’Pete, our little doggy Maggie and me), I decided that instead of baking a whole turkey, I wanted to make individual stuffed turkey breasts. I can see having a whole turkey is the best for a big party, as you don’t want to stand in front of the stove and make individual meals for everyone all day long. But since our party was super small, I made Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Cream Cheese Stuffed Turkey, it’s adapted from one of my favorite recipes, Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken. Basically, instead of using chicken breasts, I just used turkey breasts and they were uber delicious. For the side dish, I went with Green Beans with Bacon Cranberries and Almonds.
I was also lucky that my friend/co-worker, Gina, gave me a jar of homemade Cranberry Orange Relish. It was a little tart and sweet and so fresh. You can make cranberry sauce, too. It’s not complicated. But if you want to try something different, try making the Cranberry Orange Relish this year.
Now for dessert, instead of baking (or buying) the traditional pumpkin pie. I went with Pumpkin Panna Cotta. It’s super simple, easy and perfect for our mini party.
Let me show you how to plan a mini Thanksgiving party.
Here’s the game plan!
I’m listing the following items for my grocery shopping for the 4 things I wanted to make from scratch.
Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Cream Cheese Stuffed Turkey
Green Beans with Bacon Cranberries and Almonds
Grocery list (for 3-4 people):
- 16 oz. of fresh cranberries (relish)
- 2 thin-skinned, seedless orange (relish)
- 2 lbs. green beans (green beans)
- 2 slices bacon (green beans)
- 1 garlic (green beans)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries (green beans)
- ¼ cup sliced toasted almonds (green beans)
- 4 turkey breasts (stuffed turkey)
- 8 oz. cream cheese (stuffed turkey)
- 12-16 fresh basil leaves (stuffed turkey)
- a small jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (stuffed turkey)
- parsley for garnish (optional) (stuffed turkey)
- 1 bottle of white wine (stuffed turkey)
- 8 oz. of milk (panna cotta)
- 24 oz. of heavy whipping cream (panna cotta)
- a small bottle of honey (panna cotta/relish)
- gelatin (you only need 1 pack but they usually sell multiple packs in one box) (panna cotta)
- 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (panna cotta)
- pumpkin spice (panna cotta)
- a small handful of pumpkin seeds (optional) (panna cotta)
- 1 cup of walnuts (relish)
- variety of small pumpkins and squashes (table decor)
- some fall flowers (like mums)
Stuff you already have in your pantry (hopefully…if not, add them to your shopping list):
- salt
- pepper
- sugar
- regular olive oil
- butter
Stuff you would want to ask guests to bring:
- some wine or other beverages
2 days before the party:
- Print out all the recipes. I mean looking on-line is great, but it’s so much easier to have the paper version in front of you because it is going to make it so much quicker. FYI: Use to the links from this page, go to each recipe from my blog, you can print it the recipe card from the bottom of each recipe.
- Grocery shopping. Wash/store your veggies and herb in the fridge.
- Make Cranberry Orange Relish and put in an airtight container(s)or mason jars. Let the relish stand at room temperature for about 24 hours to develop flavor. Don’t add the walnuts yet, wait until the day of the party.
- Arrange flowers in a vase and put it in the middle of the dining table.
1 day before the party:
- Cut the green beans. Blanch (cook for a few mins in water) them. Drain and shock them in a large bowl of ice water. Drain them again and pat dry. Store them in a salad spinner, cover with the lid. Put them in the fridge.
- Prepare the turkey: butterfly them, stuffed with cream cheese/sun-dried tomato, basil. Tie them with kitchen twine. Store in the fridge on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap.
- Make Pumpkin Panna Cotta.
- Put the relish in the fridge.
- Run the dish washer.
- Set up the dining table, bring out the plates, utensils, napkins, wine/water glasses, etc.
- Spread the small pumpkins and squashed on the table or group them in one spot.
1.5 hours before the party:
- Take out stuffed turkey and green beans from the fridge.
- Heat the oven to the lowest temp. We’re going to put green beans in there to keep them warm while making stuffed turkey.
- Finish cooking green beans with bacon and cranberries. Put them on a serving dish. Keep warm in the oven.
- Finish making stuffed turkey. Since you already roll them up, from this point, it should only take 15-20 minutes to finish.
- Transfer the relish into a serving bowl. Add chopped walnuts and mix everything together.
Tips:
- Meat is cooked best at room temp, so make sure you allow stuffed turkey to get to a room temp before cooking them.
- If you’re done with the stuffed turkey, but your guests have not arrived, put the turkey back into the pan, cover with foil and put the pan in the oven to keep warm. Make sure your oven temp is super low, you don’t want to keep cooking the turkey (or green beans that’s already in there). If too hot, you can crack the door open a little bit to let the heat out.
- You can also put the crispy bacon in a small bowl and keep them warm in the oven as well.
When guests arrive:
- Serve them some wine and pour a glass for yourself (you deserve it!).
- When everyone is ready to eat, take the green beans out of the oven. Sprinkle crispy bacon and top with sliced almonds.
- Take the stuffed turkey out and put them on serving plates. Garnish with some parsley (optional).
Tips:
- Ask your guests to help you put food on the table. It’s good to have them involved in the process. You don’t want food to get cold after all.
Party time!
- Enjoy all the food and dessert in front of you and don’t forget about your friends/family! ha ha
- Tell them how thankful you are to have them in your life and enjoying this wonderful time together.
I hope you have a fun and stress-free Thanksgiving, no matter where you are, hosting or as a guest. Hope these tips and the menu help you plan for a small get together. Happy Thanksgiving!!! XO
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