I’ve done holidays on my own for many years and for many reasons enjoy! So, this year, as many (hopefully most) are celebrating with the people they live with and thus are safe with, there are lots of articles, blog posts, videos with ideas for a small scale dinner without giving up the things we love … and we all have our must haves :) .

A bit of a caveat … I have had years of non-turkey dinners: Atypical Thanksgivings

But this year, I’m going turkey, albeit, I bought a bone-in turkey breast vs a whole turkey. It is now thawing in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, I saw this video by a favorite New York Times person: Melissa Clark: One-Pot, One Pan in under 3 hours!

There are a number of genius ideas in this video: boneless turkey breast wrapped in bacon so you get “crispy skin” with a boneless breast. I already had my bone in turkey breast, but will not forget this!!

Then she made dressing and it looked so good! I normally do not make dressing as I usually make a good roll or bread and dressing is a bit overkill. But it looked so good!!

So…

I made bread in order to dry it out and make dressing…

This is drying out to be stuffing :)

THEN … I saw this:

Kristen Miglore makes a recipe from Nik Sharma’s book: The Flavor Equation .

Sweet potatoes are kind of steamed, then roasted. I tried it along with a russet potato as well as with some brussels sprouts. WOW. I am sold on the technique. And although I will mash the russet and sweet potato, the method produces more flavor and better texture than boiling.

I mashed a bit of each as a test. The other bonus is that I can do the potatoes and some sprouts in 1 pan in the oven vs several stovetop. So, kind of a mash of Melissa Clark’s 1 pan/1 pot idea and Kristen’s technique and I am excited about getting all of the things I want for my dinner without getting every pot and pan that I own dirty!!

And about the videos … because of Covid-19, both Melissa and Kristen, are doing these videos in their home kitchens (as are many) … with husbands manning cameras and in Kristen’s case … her adorable daughter helping.

In addition to turkey, stuffing (that will go on the pan with sprouts to crisp up) potatoes, sprouts … there will be cranberry sauce (easy do ahead), gravy and … PIE!

I pre-ordered Erin Jeanne McDowell’s “The Book on Pie” some time ago. It was released November 10.

It is gorgeous! I have learned so much from Erin and I thought I baked a good pie. Erin explains the why of pie: why certain things work, why certain things do not work, the good/bad/ugly and how to fix mistakes.

There are a variety of crust options, filling options, decorating options. Erin encourages mixing and matching depending on what you have, what you want and just for the sake of being creative.

Anyway, my Thanksgiving pie is going to be …

Black bottom pecan pie. ( I blurred the recipe for copyright reasons … the recipe is not mine to share)

I made one right after I got the book. YUM and easy and I decided it was what I wanted for Thanksgiving.

So, despite Covid-19 and the many goings on in the world that I will not mention … I am very much looking forward to my Thanksgiving Dinner!

There are so many things to be thankful for and gosh … in this time of the ability of virtual everything … we are so fortunate that we have the ability to connect with each other safely, to see and share experiences, to get ideas, to not be alone.

I feel so fortunate that I am able to work, to be outside with Emmett and Auggie in a beautiful place, to have the means to gather supplies via online stores or “click and collect” … And this year, it might not be “over the river and through the woods” to grandmother’s house, but instead … fire up the iPad or computer or phone and Zoom with everyone while enjoying pie and coffee :)

I am continuing to follow the Vendee Globe 2020: solo, around the world, no assistance, sailing race. For me, it is a wonderful respite from the “things that I will not mention”. I am following all of the skippers: videos, photos, news articles. Much is in French, but I am picking up some French, using some of the translator software available and some of the videos have English subtitles, so day by day, I feel like I “know” each skipper and their boat a bit more.

There have been some heartbreaking boat “breakages”. Heartbreaking because the skippers and their teams and sponsors have spent 4 years preparing … and then … some of the difficulties were from UFO’s!!! Unidentified Floating Objects. Who knew there was so much CRAP floating around the ocean … as in objects that would seriously damage a 60 foot boat. Most of the boats have infrared cameras at the top of the masts to try and detect things, but with the speed of the boats … it is a challenge.

One of the most interesting things is that with the videos and instagram posts, the skippers are posting downs as well as ups … how they are feeling, the challenges of being alone at sea for so long (we are 15 days into a 60-70-90-100 day race): time to rest, to eat, to relax, to shower … the boats are racing machines so they have bare minimum as far as comforts.

Another benefit of technology for the race, similar to us as we prepare for a holiday: the ability to share what is going on, to connect, to hear from all who are watching and cheering them on. They ALL have said how much comments and likes mean to them as they race.

The 2nd week recap video. Even if you do not sail, I think you might find this video captivating. It is a great compilation of some of the skipper’s videos and excellent narration as well as beautiful music.

Yes, so. It is Monday evening of Thanksgiving week and the prep … in all ways is full of JOY!