Roast turkey with gravy, sauteed Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar, sage stuffing, green bean casserole

Butternut squash and apple soup

Roasted dry-brined turkey breast

Roaster turkey legs and wings

We cooked at home for Thanksgiving this year and stuck to pretty standard items. Roast turkey, stuffing, the inevitable green bean casserole, and such.

For the last couple of years, we were able to get a very small 8-pound turkey from Walden Meat, but this year they sent us a 13-pound bird. Way too much for three people. I broke the bird down and roasted the legs and wings on their own, then for Thanksgiving Day cry-brined and roasted the entire breasr. My wife and daughter only eat the white meat, so I saved the legs and wings for other uses. I used the back and the wing tips, along with the innards, to make turkey stock, which was glroiously gelatinous when it cooled. The cat got the cooked liver. Between the three of us, we only ate one half of the breast, so the vast majority of the turkey ended up as leftovers.

I dunno, it all just feels like more effort than it is worth. We liked our dinner well enough, but two days of cooking and trashing the kitchen for what ends up being a relatively boring meal feels like a disproportionate amount of work.