Welcome to The Weekly Recap! A lite Sunday read about my life and food. This email is free and if you are not currently receiving them in your inbox, click that subscribe button below.
The Kitchen Club recipes are available to paying subscribers. Join the club to start receiving recipes in your inbox every Wednesday! If you are looking for last-minute Thanksgiving recipes, here is my Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup to help.
Hello, happy Sunday! Let’s have a quick Thanksgiving check-in….how are we doing? Do we have our recipes planned? Don’t forget to make a grocery list and a detailed timeline for the day. Do a sweep through the house this weekend and mark each serving dish with a post-it so you know you have enough and a clear plan for plating the day of. Stock up on extra toilet paper and paper towels. And get excited! Thanksgiving is the best.
I have a confession to make, I’m not going to make any of my recipes on Thanksgiving. Like last year, this year looks a little different for Marco and me. We decided to stay in KC and it’s just the two of us (plus our zoo of animals of course). Thanks to two months of recipe testing I’m burnt out on traditional dishes and I have decided to go rogue! I won’t have guests to feed so I figure why not experiment. Another thing I have to confess is that I have zero actual plans in place. As of now, I am full-on winging it.
I’m thinking of smoking a turkey in my Big Green Egg. I have done breasts before but never a whole turkey. I’ll have to research how long it will take and will most likely use my Thanksgiving Chicken spice blend. There will be an easy gravy of sorts, cranberry relish (inspired from the article below), a potato dish, and cornbread stuffing WAFFLES! My vision is a Thanksgiving play on chicken and waffles. Who knows if it will work out well but who cares! It will be a fun experiment.
Marco needs pecan pie for dessert but I want to switch that up too. Hear me out, pecan pie…brownie…bars. Brownies on the bottom with sticky gooey pecan pie on the top. Sounds like heaven to me. Stay tuned to see how things go, as always, I’ll share the process on my Instagram.
Reminder that just three days after Thanksgiving is the first night of Hanukkah!
Today I am sending out six of my recipes for Hanukkah to help you guys start planning. We have some neighbors, who have turned into great friends, that are interested in learning about and celebrating Hanukkah with us. Marco and I don’t usually do much but I am going all out for our friends.
Marco will be making his famous latkes. You may remember them from last year. They are gluten-free, extra crispy, and loaded with flavor from sweet potato and schmaltz. This year I am going to set up a latke station on our gas grill outside. The pot of oil will go on the burner and we will hold the cooked latkes on a sheet tray inside the warm grill. Sounds flawless to me and no oily kitchen is a total win.
We will be hosting on a Friday and we will break bread with my Honey Challah. Braised Brisket is a must but I haven’t decided if I will make Kugel Cups or Matzo Ball Soup yet.
All these recipes can be found below, happy planning!
Hanukkah Recipes
Brussels Sprouts Salad *Not Hanukkah specific but I’m thinking of making this salad with our meal.
Stuff to Read
DEAR SUGAR, THE RUMPUS ADVICE COLUMN #78: THE OBLITERATED PLACE A read on grief that resonated with me. Coincidentally from 2011.
Why Corn Syrup Makes Better Chocolate Glazes, Ice Cream, and Pies
These are the Thanksgiving foods you can bring on an airplane
Recipe Inspo
Listen To This
If you love a Jewish deli (I DO) give this a listen…😢
Places I ate
When we first moved to KC we lived in a rental 5 minutes from French Market but never went in. I regret that biiiiiiig time. It’s adorable, loaded with all my favorite pantry staples, they have grab-and-go options, and their dine-in options are banging. I had a Reuben sandwich that hit the spot!
Thing Everybody Needs
I shared a photo of my freshly cleaned oven looking sparkly and new. I, like everyone else, neglect cleaning it regularly. Once a quarter or so I give it a deep clean and the secret is Easy Off. I spray the door, sides, racks, and bottom (carefully around the heating coil) and close the door. Let it sit overnight and in the morning everything wipes right off.
Animal Cuteness
Have a wonderful week with lots of friends, family, time in the kitchen, and really good food! I can’t wait to hear how your meals turned out and see all the pictures. Love you, mean it!!
See you next week, M.