Incredibly, it existed. Truly a Thanksgiving miracle. I’ve included the notes below, and also a recipe for a make-ahead gravy, which I made earlier this week based on this one sentence from my notes: “Made the gravy: 4 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup Sherry, 5-6 cups stock (turkey stock frozen from last year), salt, pepper, simmer.” It was so tasty! That’s truly all the instruction you need to make a simple gravy, but I’ve included a recipe below. What is especially nice about having a gravy on hand before the bird is even roasted is the mental assurance that as soon as the bird is done, you can (after it rests) serve it without too much of a last-minute scramble. My after action report did not include this detail, but as I remember, I kept the gravy gently simmering stovetop and added drippings from the turkey roasting pan, fortification from the current year’s bird, and called it done.
Thanksgiving 2018 After Action Report
Monday:
Double-batch peasant bread (4 loaves, 2 of which went into a double batch of stuffing)
Tuesday:
Brined the turkey, Sally Schneider recipeDouble-batch pie dough, rolled each out, covered with parchment, folded into quarters, ziplock in the fridge*Made double batch of stuffing; froze eachFroze the ice ring (for the punch)Juiced the lemons (for the punch)Made the simple syrup (for the punch)
Wednesday:
Made the dough for the thyme dinner rolls, stuck it in the fridge to rise overnightMade the gravy: 4 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup Sherry, 5-6 cups stock (turkey stock frozen from last year), salt, pepper, simmerRoasted the squash for the butternut squash pieMeasured and mixed fillings for each of the pies (pecan, butternut, salted maple, apple)Made the potatoes halfway
Thursday morning:
Early rise: baked off the 4 piesBrought the turkey to room temperature, dried it off, brushed a stick of melted butter over it, cooked it at 425ºF for 30 minutes, then 350ºF till done. It was done in 2 hours.Made the Brussels sproutsFinished baking the potatoesAssembled the punchBaked off the thyme rollsBaked the stuffingMade whipped cream
- After the recent discovery about no-shrink pie crust, this year I’ll roll out the pie dough on the Tuesday prior to thanksgiving, fit it into the pans, then freeze until Thursday morning.
Make Ahead Gravy How-To
Gather your ingredients: Homemade chicken (or other) stock is best. If you have turkey stock made from last year’s (or other) bird on hand, use that. Melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add 1/4 cup flour and whisk to combine. Love this sauce whisk. Whisk until it begins to turn light brown, 2 – 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup Sherry, and whisk to combine… it will seize up… Add 5 cups of stock, a teaspoon of kosher salt, pepper to taste, a few sprigs sage or thyme, and … … bring to a simmer: Reduce heat, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Taste. It should taste nicely seasoned. Keep it on the thin side: it thickens up as it rests, and furthermore you’ll be simmering it again on Thanksgiving morning, which will reduce it further. Store in the fridge (or freeze) until Thanksgiving. Warm gently stovetop before serving. 5 from 9 reviews
