Weekly Menu Planning November 2024

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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Greetings, People. One week to go before the big gobble-gobble. :turkey:

Thanksgiving prep will be easy for me this year, as it’s just the two of us. We’ll be foregoing the traditional whole-roasted turkey, instead incorporating most of the elements of the formal dinner in a more casual format. We find this works for us quite well, and TBH, we probably look forward to this meal more than the Norman Rockwell one. Not that I don’t love having a tiny house full of family at the holidays, but spending 5 days prepping dinner for 12 from scratch in an 85-square-foot kitchen can take its toll on a couple of busy, aging boomers.

Holiday aside, for which I’m well prepared, I’m planning on making this a “no shop” week other than picking up some salad greens today. The stores will be crowded enough, I imagine, without me adding my presence to the fray.

Cooking for two adults in the PNW:

FRI: Bakesale Betty’s Fried Chicken Sandwiches on toasted buns, with the slaw. I have some tenders in the freezer to use up, and this is an awesome sandwich.

SAT: Sausage and orzo soup, as previously posted by @MidwesternerTT. Looks promising!

SUN: Steak and Caesar salad.

MON: Shrimp and grits. Green salad.

TUE: NYT’s paprika chicken and potatoes (gift link here). More salad.

WED: Marcellina’s garlic pizza. Caesar salad.

THUR: Hot roast turkey breast sandwiches on toasted, cranberry-pecan bread. Convection-oven fries. Gravy for dunking. Carrot salad. Pickled green beans. Currant jelly. Blueberry shrubs. Dessert TBD.

Happy USA Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga, where it’s kind of weird not to be in full Thanksgiving planning mode…
Friday, November 22: Pasta with zucchini and shrimp from Simple before an event with Cook’s Country’s Morgan Bolling to promote their book When Southern Women Cook.
Breakfast: Cherry-chocolate chip granola from Cook’s Country. I discovered that Trader Joe’s makes an oat blend with all kinds of healthy seeds in it, so am curious to see how that works in granola!
Saturday: Chicken and bean tostadas, napa cabbage salad
Sunday: Shrimp with spinach, rice, roasted pepper salad, Mexican wedding cookies
Monday/Tuesday: Leftovers/takeout
Wednesday: One of the teachers at our kids’ school in the Paris suburbs will be in town (!), so we’ll have them over for lamb tagine, couscous, and a roasted vegetable platter inspired by the one on NYT Cooking. Probably ice cream and cookies for dessert.
Thursday: We’re invited to a neighbor’s for Thanksgiving and will bring a sweet potato pie.
Friday: TBD. Hopefully there will be some leftover pie!
Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating, and good luck with the cooking marathon for those making a big meal! Happy cooking to everyone!

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It is a dull, dreary day in Ottawa today and looks decidedly like November. I think it’s safe to say summer is officially over. :frowning: Last night I went to a screening with a film society I’m in and it was raining cats and dogs when I left the theatre so my parka was soaked by the time I got home. Yuk.

Meals this week will be focused on finishing up bits and bobs in the fridge then going forward I will be making a concerted effort to eat up whatever is in the fridge, freezer, and pantry in that order. My goal is to put a serious dent in everything by the time the CSA season starts next May.

Today: My take-out lunch was Korean fried chicken so I will have a salad for supper.

Tomorrow: Fridge and freezer cleanout day. I am still baking the motherlode of squashes I got at the end of the CSA season so I need to make more room for the few I have left to bake. It also looks like the carton of milk I bought earlier this week was leaking a bit so I will be cleaning up the fossilized milk rings from that shelf in the fridge. As far as dinner is concerned, I bought some basil for last night’s salad and don’t need the rest for any of my dishes this week so I will make pesto sauce. I will save some for dinner tonight for fettucine al pesto and the rest will go in the freezer.

Sunday: Off to see an art exhibition at a gallery at City Hall. Today is the last day it’s on and the art looks interesting. The theme of the exhibition is how time has changed during the last few decades and the artist uses weaving techniques to illustrate her point. She uses natural fibers and synthetic material in her tapestries and apparently vinyl records, cassette tapes and video tapes are involved. I’m not sure what I am getting myself into but it should be interesting. I will have coconut poached fish with bok choy for dinner.

Monday: Pork and green bean stirfry using the last of the ground pork in the freezer and the last of the green beans in the fridge.

Tuesday: Shrimp and bok choy using the last of the shrimp in the freezer and the last of the red pepper and bok choy in the fridge.

Wednesday: Chicken tikka.

Thursday: Fettucine al pesto again, salad on the side.

Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday to those who are celebrating.

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I’m procrastinating by menu planning because I won’t be eating at home most of next week.

Most of my planning right now is around food to be made and given or carried elsewhere.

This weekend onwards, several friends will be in town with their families for Thanksgiving (NY expats coming back to visit; the new yorkers are all leaving town).

– Sat – One of my closest friends is driving up from NC with her whole posse. I haven’t seen the kids in a long time, so I’m thinking about making dinner to take over and hang with them for the evening. Pan-Asian should work for all: Soy sauce chicken (sous vide experiment) plus some tofu for the vegetarian kid, Umami noodles, Dumplings, Scallion pancakes or Pajeon, tbd veggies (maybe garlic green beans & Sichuan potato shreds or cauliflower), rice,

– Sun – Another friend is in town for her daughter’s Quinceañera (well, in lieu of it – daughter chose to bring a small group of friends to nyc for the weekend instead of a big party): Pizza & The Rockettes are on the menu.

– Mon – Cooking & baking for travel. Will keep back some food from Sat’s cooking for myself.

– Tues – Travel day. Dinner either with a friend at the other end, or I’ll pick up Banh mis, Cha gio, and assorted Dim sum for my aunt and me on our way home from the train.

– Wed – Dinner with the friend if it didn’t happen on Tues, and if it did, then my aunt & I will eat the things I mentioned while we prep the sides for Thursday.

– Thurs – Turkey Day.

– Fri – Home in time for adults-only dinner with the NC folks, the 3rd in our trio, and their spouses.

– Sat – Girls dinner to conclude a day spent together after several years .(pre-pandemic was the last time). I’ve booked a new sushi place that looks interesting, but if we are too tired / lazy from the day we may just order in from one of the visitor’s old neighborhood faves.

– Sun – Back to normal. I told someone I would do something with them but I can’t rememeber who or what, so if they don’t remind me I’ll have a quiet day as an antidote to too much social time over the week.

For Thanksgiving prep, I have made chicken liver pate already, but have to wait on salmon rillettes until the day before I leave. Not sure if I am doing anything with puff pastry, I’m feeling a bit lazy about it. Maybe I’ll get my mojo back, there are still a few days to go.

Going to bake a couple of chocolate loaves for my nephews, though they also love the orange olive oil cake, so maybe I’ll turn that into a loaf (for some reason I am stuck on a loaf shape this year).

I was going to make chocolate date & nut energy balls for the 2 older boys because they love them so much, but dates have been out of stock every time I’ve gone to the store. If I see them today / tomorrow, they’ll be back on the agenda. If not, I’ll ask my SIL to see if they’re available at a store near them & we can make them when I’m there.

Wish you all a great weekend and a good week ahead.

For those in the US, an early Happy Thanksiving to all! Always thankful for the folks here, for the community, banter, and support.

The 2024 Thanksgiving thread is here for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet:

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I feel this.

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It’s a regular buy for us – hope you like.

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I have the whole week off for Thanksgiving Break. And yes, I shall spend half of it catching up on work, but hopefully the other half will be spent napping.

For two adults in San Diego:

Breakfasts: After a few days of pastries from a local bakery, I’ll bake pumpkin bread.

S: (tonight) Takeout - pizza, with plenty of leftovers for lunches to start the week

Su: Cheater jambalaya - chicken sausage, veggies, yellow rice

M: Crab cakes, caesar salad, garlic bread - seafood/salad

T: Leftover chicken sausage, veggies, and rice in chicken stock - soup

W: Cheese and veggie enchiladas - vegetarian

R: A pared down Thanksgiving this year, just for the two of us. Ham, dressing, gravy, creamed peas, rolls, cranberry sauce. For dessert, we’ll have some pumpkin bread topped with whipped cream and pecans.

F: Thanksgiving leftovers

Have a good week! And if you are celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope your cooking adventures go smoothly!

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Actuals for Nov 18 week, cooking for 2 in MN and now looking forward to a week of T-Day meal prep for us and one Thursday guest. I found my notes from last year’s day-by-day schedule that included a reminder to start thawing the turkey in the fridge today ( :heavy_check_mark: ) and be sure to actually stir-in the sliced almonds to the almond and bread stuffing. :wink: Continuing to focus on clearing out bulky items/packaged items from the freezer so I’ll have room for early-December cookie baking.

Mon: Eggbake w sausage, mushrooms, spinach, bagged onions & peppers, etc… Sliced apples. Pineapple. On a whim, I’d picked up on-sale Birdseye frozen Tri-Color Medley sliced bell peppers and onion. PERFECT for use in the egg bake; a big time-saver and (at the sale price) lower cost than the fresh bell peppers.
Tues: Pizza with extra dough ball from last Saturday – Hawaiian – white sauce, caramelized onion, diced ham (8 oz packet), diced fresh pineapple. Salad
Wed: chili using my niece’s recipe that features all pinto beans, no kidney beans. Cornbread muffins. Big enough batch for several meals/lunches.
Thurs: (commercial) Breaded fish, sweet potato puffs, salad, red grapes.
Fri: Chili w breadsticks, spinach salad
Sat: Tortellini & deli pulled smoked pork w jar of TJ’s Autumnal Harvest pasta sauce (pumpkin, butternut squash, and tomato), spinach salad, red grapes
Sun: Salmon, veggie fried rice

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Mmmm, Hawaiian pizza. One of the few good things about having to go gluten-free is that I get to order my own pizza (no more sharing), so I can get a Hawaiian!

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Hi, all. Cooking for three in the windy Boston burbs. I can’t believe it is Thanksgiving week already! I dragged myself out of bed early today (early for a Sunday, regular weekday time) and was at Wegmans by 7:15, out of there shortly after 8. Yawn.

Sun: not-Guinness beef stew (adapted from an Epicurious recipe), rolls (freezer)/pao de queijo

Mon: chicken tostadas with refried beans. I’m grumpy because I will have to fry the tortillas myself, and I hate frying.

Tues: pasta with ricotta, broccoli, and meatballs

Weds: chicken tortilla soup (SK), cookathon begins…

Thurs: guys are running the turkey trot in the morning; I’ll be sadly cheering from the sidelines. Lunch is heavy appetizers - spinach/artichoke dip, pigs in blankets, mozzarella sticks, and of course Chex Mix (the old recipe!). Dinner: Turkey breast, gravy, mashed potatoes (store-bought), cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, Brussels sprouts and apple slaw. Dessert: pumpkin pie (using SK’s filling but the crust recipe from Baked to Perfection), Toll House pie (in purchased boxed crust, so none for me).

Fri: leftovers. Probably some stuffing waffles too - I impulse-bought a mini waffle maker recently and so I’m curious to try it out!

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I hate frying too. And I’m sorry you won’t be able to join the guys running. But excited for you about the waffled stuffing.

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Hi everyone, I hope thanksgiving planning is as fun and easy as you want it to be. Mine definitely is easy - we’re going out to eat. We have spent most Thanksgivings out of the country, but Lulu’s last final is the day before, so I came up with the idea of meeting in DC and going to our favorite restaurants there for the long weekend. It’s been a busy, crazy, difficult fall, and it will be nice to just relax together for a few days. And LLD has even agreed to go to the movies with me (weirdly hard to talk him into this) while we’re up there, so I hope to see Gladiator 2. Here is what we ate this week:

Mon: tuna and avocado over sushi rice from Skinnytaste. I loved this recipe when I made it for myself and took a chance, and he loved it too.

Tues: I got very sick for a few hours; he ordered in, I had two crackers.

Wed: dental trip up to DC for me, then took myself out for a wonderful dinner at Le Diplomate. It helped take the edge off those two days.

Thurs: a skillet based on a recipe in I Dream of Dinner: ground chicken, sauteed poblanos and serranos, potatoes, and spinach with cumin and lime. Served with cilantro, avocado, and sour cream. Surprisingly delicious.

Fri: date! Really nice meal.

Sat: LLD made swordfish with chimichurri, roasted pot, salad. Tender and wonderful.

Sun: carryout of some kind.

Thankful for your camaraderie over the years, and all the delicious and helpful dinner ideas you’ve shared. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Great idea to meet LL in DC for Thanksgiving! Lady Berkeley can reunite with LL at Christmas. I have always envied you keeping your DC dentist when you moved to NC. I wish I had kept my SF bay area dentist when I moved to Boston!

I’m glad your sickness passed quickly and your meals sound delicious. Bonus movies in DC!

Really hard fall for us…two of my younger brothers died suddenly and unexpectedly within 11 days in Sept/Oct., one in NM and one in NC. The stress continues b/c 64 year old attorney brother in NM did not leave a will and did leave a house and a law firm, and 62 year old brother in Raleigh was living with and caring for 92 year old mom, who will now need to move to western NC to live at my older sister’s retirement community there. Really affecting my son, too, who keeps saying, “I am an uncle, I have two nieces and a nephew, and I lost 2 uncles.”

Oh, and then there was the election…

We are going out for Thanksgiving and I have only gradually been able to resume cooking. I do want to make cloverleaf rolls and a stuffing and gravy with some rich homemade turkey stock, and a mole sauce for the freezer with the rest of the homemade turkey stock. Over the weekend, if I can summon the energy. And the Melissa Clark pumpkin pie with honey nut squash that my son loved last year. I’ll report on the Thanksgiving and NYT threads if it happens!

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Madrid, I am so very sorry to hear about all these sad things happening in your family! I send my condolences and so many tight hugs. I can only imagine how hard this situation is, especially given that it includes these big changes for your mother. I really feel for you, and your son.

I hope you’re able to find some quiet time for yourself over this week. :heart:

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That’s an understatement. Oh my. I’m so sorry for all the sad and difficult circumstances.

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So sorry for your difficult fall, Madrid! Sending love and hoping that you give yourself the grace to do the things you have the energy for and give you energy.

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Very hard fall indeed!! Condolences. Be good to yourself. Glad you are still here with us!

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Thanks so much for the heartfelt condolences. Much appreciated.

And I’ll echo what LLM said: this is a wonderful community. Happy Thanksgiving and I’m giving thanks for the camaraderie and feeling like I know so many of you and your families and pets!

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Sending hugs and support from afar.

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I managed to make several on my list! I am rolling these ones forward:

And adding:

Peruvian quinoa and corn chowder with sweet potatoes and aji amarillo (Milk Street Tuesday Nights) and charro bean tostadas (hurricane beans from freezer)

Mojo chicken and sweet potato tray bake (Milk Street Simple)

ATK [chicken] meatballs with lemony rice, garlic spinach

Balinese braised pork belly in sweet soy with steamed rice and Cantonese oil-flashed greens

Chicken Parmesan spinach-artichoke burgers [adding marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, and Mozz) on ciabatta buns, tater tots

Chicken meatball and orzo soup [using garden chard]

Fire-roasted tomato bisque [but I think I’ll puree all of it] with some clever spin on grilled cheese still TBD

Broiled ginger and yogurt shrimp (Simple)

Azin Nsnou (peanut chicken and okra) with steamed sorghum

And for Thanksgiving: sparkling pear + ginger cocktail, relish tray w/ Speck, Salami, no-knead Focaccia, Burrata; wine-braised short ribs; soft corn spoon bread; jellied cranberry sauce w/pears and apples; garden chard w/balsamic glaze + toasted pumpkin seeds [might axe this]; winter salad [using red grapes, green cabbage, and underripe pear]; Milk Street dark chocolate tart w/homemade whipped cream; Claire Saffitz’s pumpkin creme brulee
Red wine. Pass out.

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