Outdoor thanksgiving menu - updated

[basil]

I've decided to hold Thanksgiving outside this year. It's going to be pretty nontraditional. I'm getting a fire pit thingy for heat and everyone will bring their own chairs/blankets. I have a big insulated beverage dispenser for hot coffee. We'll mask up and wrap my 99 year old grandmother up in a electric blanket.

I have a giant stone wood-fired pizza oven in my yard. It came with the house and we don't use it much. It takes a long time to get heated up. But I think if I try I can heat it up adequately to rewarm hot finger foods.

So far I thought of shrimp cocktail in individual plastic cups. Individual servings of cheese/crackers in plastic cups.

I think things baked in muffin cups would be ideal. I could bake them ahead inside, then bring them out and reheat in the pizza oven. I thought of stuffing baked in muffin cups for a little tradition. Something cranberry would be fun. I can't really think of a way to do the turkey and I'm not a big fan of that anyway. I suppose I could grill something too.

Any ideas of other things to serve? Anything else to do to make people more comfortable?

I really need a distraction and something to look forward to, and party planning does that for me apparently.

[gamma]

You could make a turkey london broil on the grill. You may have to go to the butcher to find one.

[Tenasparkl]

Mac & cheese in muffin cups is pretty delicious.

[Kindra178]

Slow cooker soup. I'm doing this one. https://paleoleap.com/slow-cooker-sweet-potato-soup/

Other than a hand blender at the end, absolutely no work. Turkey chili would be another easy one, with zero work at the end. Serve with cornbread muffins. It's a nice nod to the season and will be warm, hearty and comforting food.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Mac & cheese in muffin cups is pretty delicious.

I made a yummy butternut squash Mac and cheese last night if OP wants to make it extra seasonal too.


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[ArizonaGirl]

I made a yummy butternut squash Mac and cheese last night if OP wants to make it extra seasonal too.


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Can you plz post the recipe!

[Liziz]

You could do something like turkey empanadas - they'd be work to make ahead of time, but would probably freeze and re-heat well so you'd have flexibility, and they'd be perfect to warm up outside and can easily handle the social distancing type food you're going for. If you google "thanksgiving turkey empanadas" you'll find several recipes. Most are for leftover turkey, but I think could easily adapt and would definitely give you the Thanksgiving "taste" in a non-traditional way.

Love the idea of stuffing and macaroni and cheese in muffin cups!

To incorporate the cranberries maybe do cranberry scones or muffins? Or a cranberry dessert -- this cranberry cake is really good, you could cut it into individually portioned pieces before serving if you're trying to avoid everyone touching the same utensils.

If you have a fire pit, kids and adults too will love it if you have s'mores fixings!

ETA: Whoops, I forgot the cranberry cake link! Here's the recipe: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/cra...hristmas-cake/

[Percycat]

We have made orange stuffed sweet potatoes if you would like a way to have individual servings of sweet potato. We use the recipe from the December 2006 Holiday Issue of Cuisine at Home -- which I haven't been able to find online, but could look for it at home if you want..... but, there are lots of other orange stuffed potato recipes you can find online if you want to try this.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Can you plz post the recipe!

Ds2 didn't like it but I think it is super yummy! I wish I hadn't used as much garlic but if you like garlic, rock on with the 3 cloves (mine were on the big side). I added some red pepper flakes to my bowl when eating and that was really good! https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/butter...sh-mac-cheese/
Also, I didn't feel like getting out the blender so I used my immersion blender. If I do it again, I will use the real blender to get the squash super smooth.

[boilermakermom]

Could you bake a turkey the day before and keep it and gravy warm in a crock pot?

One of our favorite Thanksgiving leftovers are turkey cranberry swiss sliders on Hawaiian rolls. You could prep them the day before, wrap each sandwich in foil, and reheat in your pizza oven. Its not fancy, but makes it easy to serve individually.