How to Serve Your Entire Thanksgiving Meal As a Casserole
Hello and welcome to Will It Casserole? , a column in which I take your delightful concepts and re-imagine them as delightful layered creations. We’re serving our entire Thanksgiving meal in one platter this week, and it’s delicious, my friends.
As we all know, the best way to eat Thanksgiving lunch is to stack everything, like “many casseroles,” on a plate, and then stir it all up so that all the flavors get to know each other, creating a kind of mega casserole. in place . This dish streamlines the process and serves up all of Thanksgiving’s biggest hits in one bite.
The great thing about a Thanksgiving casserole is that it can serve as a scavenger for leftover food, or you can make one from scratch and enjoy Thanksgiving flavors all year round. I’ve stuck with the classics here, but feel free to play with the layers and add any of your fall favorites that I might have missed. To make this holiday-themed layered behemoth you will need:
- 2 cups filling or dressing (I used miso mushroom filling )
- 1/2 pound cooked turkey meat
- 3/4 cup gravy
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 lb green beans
- 1 can of condensed mushroom soup
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- Drizzle of maple syrup
- French crispy fried onions
- Jellied cranberry sauce
Sprinkle the filling or dressing into a baking dish to make the first layer. Top with the cooked turkey and pour the gravy over the pile of meat and bread.
Combine cooked sweet potatoes with ghee, season with salt and pepper to taste, and place on top of the turkey. Rinse the green beans and remove the stems, then simmer them in boiling water for a few minutes until they are tender and crispy. Dip them in an ice bath to stop cooking, then place them on top of the sweet potatoes.
In a bowl, combine the condensed soup, milk and Worcestershire sauce and season with freshly ground pepper. Whisk well, then pour the soup mixture over the green beans. Place the whole thing in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes or so, until the edges start to bubble. Meanwhile, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a skillet and cook the pecans until they are flavorful. Drizzle with a little maple syrup, stir in the nuts and season with a pinch of salt. After 25 minutes, sprinkle with pecans and crispy onions on top, then re-place in the oven for another seven minutes.
Cut the cranberry sauce into half circles and line the edge of the baking dish with them for a very nice pattern. Serve immediately.
I’m a big fan of food piles and this was one of the tastiest food piles I’ve ever eaten. Like any good Thanksgiving meal, it was a true bouquet of flavors with the right balance of fat, salt, and sweetness. While making a casserole with multiple casseroles was a risky undertaking in terms of texture, fresh green beans, pecans, and crispy onions provided crunchiness and prevented the entire dish from drying out.
While each layer played an important role, the cranberry petals were the real star of this dish. Not only did they provide the sweet and fruity flavor needed for a successful turkey dinner, but they also made the whole thing look really cool, which is impressive because the casseroles aren’t exactly known for their looks.