Friends, hello!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent it at my parents' house in Connecticut with my sister's family and my brother and sister-in-law. It was a treat to all be together, and, as always, the time passed too quickly. By Friday afternoon, we had all scattered in different directions, and the weekend madness had begun.

Yesterday, before leaving, I made turkey tetrazzini, a variation of a recipe for chicken tetrazzini one of you had emailed me a few months ago. I had never made or eaten turkey or chicken tetrazzini before yesterday, but as I've now learned, there are many, many ways to make it. This one calls for sautéeing mushrooms and making a sort of bechamel/gravy, which you toss with pasta (typically spaghettini), leftover chicken or turkey, and parmesan, and then bake until bubbly.

I used maitake mushrooms, which I love for their easy prep: you can essentially break them into pieces — no cleaning or chopping required. And they brown up beautifully:

The assembly is simple: toss together the parcooked pasta (I used penne), sautéed mushrooms, leftover turkey, and bechamel/gravy:

Top with parmesan:

Bake till bubbly:

I'm sharing this recipe in a Google Doc as opposed to on the blog, as I've only made it once. It is such a great way to use up leftovers — leftover turkey, leftover turkey stock — and it is so, so delicious. If you give it a go, I'd love to hear how you like it.

Turkey Tetrazzini

A few Thanksgiving highlights:

The kids' table:

A (minimally cracked 🎉) butternut squash pie:

Salted Maple Pie:

Rolls + pies:

The Prettiest Applesauce

A few weeks ago I asked my friend Jake Samascott (of Samascott Orchards), which apple he would suggest using if I wanted to make a brilliantly hued sauce, and he said without hesitation: Jonathan. He was not wrong. Look at that hue! The sauce is made with nothing more than apples and water, and it is so, so tasty. I made a double batch before heading to CT on Wednesday morning, and we served it at Thanksgiving. It, along with the cranberry sauce, was such a nice complement to everything on the plate.

Homemade Applesauce

Review of the Week

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Simple Classic Shortbread

"I may have already rated this recipe, but I’ll do it again! This is delicious and absolutely foolproof. It is a perfect anytime kind of treat. I’ve made it three times in the last month! Thank you!"

— Jessica

5 More Recipes to Make This Weekend

Perhaps another batch of buttermilk pull-apart rolls to satisfy your leftover turkey sandwich needs? You might need to make another batch of cranberry sauce, too.

A freezer meal, but with turkey subbed in for the chicken:

A 9x13-inch pan filled with pasta, chicken, herbs, lemon, and white wine.

Addictive Black Lentils with Spinach ... only when you've polished off all of your leftovers.

A bowl of black lentils with spinach and labneh.

Vermont Cheddar Cheese Soup... my mother had a vat of this in her fridge when we were visiting, and we all feasted on it for lunch during our few days in CT... soooo good.