Thanksgiving Checklist & Enjoyment

The changing colors following another bountiful harvest have us thinking about the coming holiday season and sharing good food and wine with friends and family. Simplify your holiday preparations while enhancing what’s on the table with recipes and tips for a joyful season ahead.

Our Thanksgiving meal will begin with guests enjoying a glass of Dollarhide Estate Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley Estate Rosé or Dollarhide Estate Vineyard Muscat Canelli with light appetizers to include Blue Cheese Brioche, Deviled Eggs and Hummus with Green Olive Tapenade. Family and friends will fill their glasses with Napa Valley Estate Virtú, Napa Valley Estate Élu, and Rutherford Estate Vineyard Merlot as they take a seat at the table to enjoy a Roast Turkey and sides, including Green Beans with Almonds, Koji Roasted Carrots, Potato Pave, Potato Purée, Cranberry-Blood Orange Relish, and Holiday Stuffing Muffin Cups. For dessert, we like to serve Dollarhide Estate Vineyard Muscat Canelli paired with a rich cheesecake. For additional recommendations and recipes, visit our popular 7 Ways to Win at Thanksgiving blog post.

What You Can Prepare Ahead of Time

We are always in favor of preparing as much as possible ahead of Thanksgiving Day. To keep the host out of the kitchen and enjoying good food and wine with family and friends, here are a few tips to stay organized in the days leading up to your gathering:

Ten Days Out: Don’t shy away from your freezer. Prepare gravy and any soups you plan to serve now and freeze. Making pies? The dough can be made now and frozen.

Up to Seven Days Out: Prepare Cranberry-Orange Relish now and refrigerate.

Sunday & Monday: Prepare pie fillings and refrigerate. Clean your turkey and brine for 24 hours, then let dry for 48 hours. See notes below from Chef Vince around cooking your turkey.

Two Days Before: Clean green beans or any vegetables on your menu, peel potatoes and leave in water, or prepare your potato pavé. Also, this is the time to start thawing everything you prepared and froze last week.

The Day Before: Wash salad greens, make salad dressing, make pies and cakes. If having dips with chips or vegetables as an appetizer, now is great time to make them for added flavor overnight in the refrigerator.

Thanksgiving Day: By the BIG day, you should be well on your way to having appetizers, sides, and desserts handled. Blanch beans,  fry potato pavé and/or boil your potatoes for purée, make stuffing, and cook the turkey. We wish you and your loved ones health and happiness as you share the joy of the season.

Preparing Your Turkey with Estate Chef Vince Sanchez

I like to brine my turkey. I don’t feel it needs basting as long as I’ve done my job with a good brine. I combine salt, water, chili flakes, garlic, lemon, honey, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, rosemary and black pepper. I brine the bird for 24 hours, rinse and then air dry for 48 hours before cooking.

I also sometimes separate white and dark meat so that I don’t overcook them. I brine and roast the turkey breast in an oven cage and confit the legs. You will not have the ‘whole bird’ presentation for your table, but the result is just as delicious.

Most years, my family requests a deep-fried turkey. For this method, brine and then be sure to dry the bird out thoroughly. Deep fry it for 45 minutes to achieve that fried perfection on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside.

How ever you choose to prepare your Thanksgiving turkey, be sure to give yourself a little extra prep time to alleviant stress and remember to get out of the kitchen and enjoy the day with family and friends – glass in hand filled with your favorite St. Supery wine. Cheers!