The One-Pot Thanksgiving

Charlie's Table

Eight dishes for a table of eight, each made in one pot, with a plan that gets most of the work done before Thursday. Cook the whole menu or pick your favorites. Happy Thanksgiving. Charlie

Butternut Squash SoupCranberry Sauce with PortTurkey Breast with Pan GravySausage and Apple StuffingBrown Butter Mashed PotatoesGreen Beans with BaconMaple Carrots and ParsnipsApple Crisp

Make ahead

Weekend Shop. Cube the bread and leave it out to dry.
Monday Make the cranberry sauce.
Tuesday Make the soup (hold the cream). Mix the crisp topping. Buy beans and herbs.
Wednesday Assemble the stuffing. Cook the bacon. Prep the vegetables and peel the potatoes into cold water. Salt the turkey and refrigerate it uncovered.

Thursday · dinner at 4:00

1:00 Oven to 425°F. Turkey and stuffing out of the fridge.
1:15 Turkey in. At 1:35, drop the oven to 350°F.
2:30 Potatoes on to boil. Assemble the crisp.
3:00 Turkey out at 165°F. Rest it and make the gravy.
3:05 Oven to 375°F. Stuffing in, covered (uncover at 3:30).
3:15 Carrots and parsnips on. Mash the potatoes.
3:35 Green beans on. Reheat the soup with the cream.
3:50 Stuffing out, crisp in. Carve at 4:00 and sit down.

Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 8 · 1 hour · make ahead 3 days

Ingredients

  • 2 butternut squash (5 lb), peeled, cubed
  • 4 tbsp butter, divided
  • 1 onion and 2 carrots, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 6 cups stock
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 12 sage leaves

Method

  1. Soften the onion and carrots in 2 tbsp butter with the salt, 8 min. Add garlic for 1 min.
  2. Add squash, nutmeg and stock. Simmer until the squash falls apart, 25 to 30 min.
  3. Blend smooth, stir in the cream and season.
  4. Brown the rest of the butter, crisp the sage in it and spoon over each bowl.

Cranberry Sauce with Port

Serves 8 · 20 minutes · make ahead 5 days

Ingredients

  • 24 oz cranberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup ruby port
  • 1/2 cup orange juice + zest of 1 orange
  • 1 cinnamon stick, pinch of salt

Method

  1. Simmer the sugar, port, juice, cinnamon and salt until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Add the cranberries and cook until most burst, 10 to 12 min.
  3. Remove the cinnamon, stir in the zest and cool. It thickens as it sits.

Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy

Serves 8 · 2 hours plus resting · salt the night before

Ingredients

  • 1 bone-in turkey breast, 6 to 7 lb
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 4 tbsp soft butter + 1 tbsp each thyme and sage
  • 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, chunked
  • Gravy: 3 tbsp flour, 3 cups stock, splash of white wine

Method

  1. Night before: pat dry, salt all over, refrigerate uncovered.
  2. Rub with the herb butter and set on the vegetables in the Dutch oven. Roast at 425°F for 20 min, then 350°F until the thickest part reads 165°F, about 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours. Rest 30 min.
  3. Gravy: pour off all but 3 tbsp fat. Stir in the flour for 2 min, add the wine and stock, scrape up the bits and simmer 5 min. Strain and season.

Sausage and Apple Stuffing

Serves 8 · 1 1/4 hours · assemble the day before

Ingredients

  • 1 lb bread, cubed and dried
  • 1 lb Italian sausage
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 onion and 3 celery ribs, diced
  • 2 apples, diced
  • 2 tbsp sage, 1 tbsp thyme, 1/2 cup parsley
  • 2 1/2 cups stock + 2 eggs, whisked

Method

  1. Brown the sausage, 8 min. Add butter, onion and celery and soften, 8 min. Add apples and herbs for 2 min.
  2. Off the heat, fold in the bread, parsley and the stock and egg mix until evenly moist.
  3. Bake at 375°F covered for 25 min, then uncovered until crisp, 20 min. (Use a 9x13 if the turkey has your pot.)

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Serves 8 · 45 minutes · peel the day before

Ingredients

  • 5 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, chunked
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 1/2 cups warm whole milk
  • Salt, pepper, chives

Method

  1. Cover the potatoes with cold, well-salted water. Simmer until tender, 18 to 22 min.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the butter until golden brown and nutty, about 5 min.
  3. Drain, steam dry 1 min in the pot, mash, then beat in the brown butter and milk. Season and keep covered on low.

Green Beans with Bacon

Serves 8 · 25 minutes · cook the bacon the day before

Ingredients

  • 8 oz thick-cut bacon, chopped
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 2 lb green beans, trimmed
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp sherry vinegar

Method

  1. Crisp the bacon, lift it out and keep 2 tbsp fat in the pot. Soften the shallots, 3 min.
  2. Add the beans, water and salt. Cover and steam until just tender, 5 to 7 min.
  3. Uncover, cook off the water, then toss with the vinegar and bacon.

Maple Carrots and Parsnips

Serves 8 · 30 minutes · cut the day before

Ingredients

  • 2 lb carrots + 1 1/2 lb parsnips, cut the same size
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp salt, 4 thyme sprigs
  • 1 tsp cider vinegar

Method

  1. Put everything but the vinegar in the pot. Cover and simmer until just tender, 10 to 12 min.
  2. Uncover and cook, stirring, until glazed and caramelized at the edges, 6 to 8 min.
  3. Pull the thyme stems and stir in the vinegar.

Apple Crisp

Serves 8 · 1 hour · topping keeps 3 days

Ingredients

  • 3 lb apples, sliced
  • 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Topping: 1 cup flour, 1 cup oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 stick cold butter, cubed

Method

  1. Toss the apples with the sugar, flour, cinnamon and lemon. Spread in a buttered pot or 9x13.
  2. Rub the butter into the topping until clumpy and scatter it over.
  3. Bake at 375°F until deep golden and bubbling, 40 to 45 min. It bakes while you eat.

Shopping list

Produce

  • 2 butternut squash
  • 5 lb Yukon Golds
  • 2 lb green beans
  • About 3 lb carrots
  • 1 1/2 lb parsnips
  • 4 onions, 2 shallots, 1 head garlic
  • 5 celery ribs
  • 9 apples
  • 1 orange, 1 lemon
  • 24 oz cranberries
  • Sage, thyme, parsley, chives

Meat and dairy

  • 6 to 7 lb bone-in turkey breast
  • 1 lb Italian sausage
  • 8 oz thick-cut bacon
  • 6 sticks butter
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 2 eggs
  • Vanilla ice cream

Pantry

  • 12 cups chicken stock
  • 1 lb loaf bread
  • Flour, oats
  • Sugar, brown sugar
  • Maple syrup
  • Sherry and cider vinegar
  • Cinnamon, nutmeg
  • Ruby port

What to pour

Dry Riesling with the soup. Cru Beaujolais or a light Pinot Noir with dinner. Tawny port with the crisp.

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