- 8 minutes ago
Hosting Thanksgiving for two? Get ready to make a complete holiday feast from start to finish! In this Thanksgiving dinner guide, Nicole shows you how to put together a special menu for a smaller celebration—from turkey roulade and roasted vegetables to butter pecan ice cream pies and a maple bourbon sour.
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00:00A tiny Thanksgiving can still be a feast.
00:02I'm making a full dinner for two
00:03that has all the holiday spirit
00:05without a fridge full of leftovers.
00:07And you know what?
00:08I could buy the whole feast
00:10and it fits in one bag of groceries.
00:12For the main attraction, I'm giving you turkey roulade.
00:15We are using turkey tenderloin
00:17because this is just the right size for a couple people.
00:21Even if you've got four people,
00:22this whole meal will work just for you.
00:24In the turkey roulade, it's also going to include
00:27our stuffing, our gravy, and our cranberry.
00:30All in one dish.
00:32So roulade means it's going to be stuffed and rolled.
00:36That's what we're going to do
00:36with these little turkey tenderloins.
00:38You're just going to kind of butterfly it,
00:40meaning just kind of cut it in half,
00:41just to where you can open it up like a book
00:44until it opens flat, just like that.
00:46I like to kind of peel it back and cut gradually
00:49just so you don't slice through the whole thing.
00:51Now at this point, you want to put it
00:52between a couple pieces of plastic.
00:54A little hack I learned makes this process easier
00:57is to get a Ziploc bag, gallon size, and just cut the sides down.
01:02This is one of my favorite hooks.
01:03And you're not fighting with pieces of plastic wrap.
01:06One down, one on top, pound away.
01:08Just want to try to keep it in one piece,
01:11unlike what I just did.
01:13That's what you want.
01:14Now you can put your stuffing right in the middle
01:16and roll it up.
01:17See, this is a recipe where you can actually get your stuffing
01:20in your turkey.
01:21Turkey's prepped and now we make the stuffing to go inside.
01:24One onion is all you had to buy for this whole feast.
01:27Normally I'm buying a whole bag when I create our Thanksgiving.
01:30I'm going to use some of this onion in the stuffing
01:31and some for the green beans.
01:33Then it only needs a half of this pack of sausage
01:35so you can save the other half for breakfast.
01:37So we're going to have that kind of savory fatty element
01:40in the lean turkey.
01:42All right, let's make our stuffing.
01:44I'm going to start in the skillet, melt a little butter,
01:46and then I'm going to go in with my onion and garlic.
01:48This recipe just sounds so good, even if you want to double it
01:52and serve it for your big crowd, you could.
01:54There's the onion, then the garlic.
01:57Give this a head start and then we'll go in with the sausage.
01:59Nothing like the smell of onion cooking in butter.
02:02I'm going to cook this until that sausage is really good
02:05and browned and crumbled.
02:07Now I'm just going to mix everything into this off the heat.
02:10You could drain the fat from the sausage.
02:12I'm going to leave it in there so that the bread has something
02:15to soak up.
02:16So I've toasted my bread a little bit
02:18and I'm just tearing it up into like little pieces.
02:20You could also put it in the food processor
02:22and make more like crumb size.
02:24So I'm just going to add this to the sausage.
02:26Get all that bread moistened with that fat
02:29that's rendered from the sausage.
02:31Then I'm going to go in with some fresh thyme
02:33and fresh parsley.
02:34If you want to do dried, you do you.
02:37It's all easier because it's in a smaller batch,
02:40but we're not really taking any shortcuts.
02:42And then I'm using dried sage.
02:44This is the iconic smell of the season.
02:48Also what goes in here, this is where our cranberry comes in.
02:51Now you can also buy the can of cranberry,
02:54which I would probably do in real life because I love that.
03:00But I think this is a nice touch because you're getting a little bit
03:02of everything in every bite, which is how you eat your Thanksgiving feast anyway.
03:06And then one egg, I'm just going to kind of beat it on the side here.
03:10The egg is going to bind it so that it holds together inside the turkey.
03:14I'm going to do one at a time.
03:16The recipe says you could put these both together and make one big tenderloin,
03:21but we'll keep it easy.
03:23Also going to go ahead and cut some pieces of kitchen twine, hold it together.
03:29Tenderloins are also really affordable.
03:31A lot more affordable than buying a turkey or a turkey breast.
03:34Rule it and tie it up.
03:36Maybe do a couple on the sides and you can do one the long way.
03:39Get these all tied up and we're going to get them cooking on the stove.
03:42And in that same pan, the gravy will also form.
03:45If you don't want to be cooking on Thanksgiving the whole day,
03:48you could totally do this part ahead of time.
03:50You could do this the day before and just keep it in the fridge
03:52and then just cook it off when you're ready to eat.
03:54I'm just adding a little more salt and pepper to the outside.
03:57You want to get an oven-proof skillet that has a cover or you can cover with foil.
04:02So we're going to start it on the stove and finish it in the oven.
04:05We're going in with a little oil and butter.
04:07And once that's good and hot, we're going in with our little turkey roulettes.
04:11At this stage, we just want to get them browned on all sides.
04:14We've got that good color and we've created some flavor on the bottom.
04:17We're going to finish this in the oven, but first I'm going to deglaze it.
04:19A little white wine and then go in with a little chicken stock.
04:23At this point, I'm going to cover it.
04:24If you don't have a pan with a lid, you can just put some foil over it and we're going
04:27to move this to the oven.
04:29It's going to go in at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or so.
04:33You want the internal temperature to be 165.
04:3630, 35 minutes later, our turkey is done.
04:39Check this out.
04:41Of course, this has to rest.
04:42So I'm going to pull these out.
04:44We've got to turn this liquid gold into gravy.
04:46Loosely cover it with foil just to keep it warm.
04:50I'm going to take a little Dijon mustard and whisk that a little more of our chicken stock.
04:56You don't just want to stir it directly into the hot liquid.
04:58You want to start with cooler liquid because we're going to add some cornstarch and cornstarch dissolves better in cold
05:04liquid rather than hot liquid.
05:06And then we're going to whisk this into the hot liquid and then I'm going to pop this back on
05:10the stove for just a couple minutes to thicken up.
05:13Don't want it too thick.
05:14This is perfect.
05:15It's velvety.
05:16It's going to be good.
05:17We're going to platter up our little showstopper here, cut off our twine, slice.
05:22Oh my gosh, look how pretty that is.
05:24Your turkey and your stuffing.
05:31I will be doing that again, even if I'm beating 20 people.
05:34I'm just going to lay this out on a platter and pour that delicious gravy over the top.
05:38Fancy for two people.
05:39Indeed, our turkey, our dressing, our cranberry, and our gravy in one showstopping dish.
05:45I'm here for this.
05:47Got to have sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, so I'm cooking my sweet potato.
05:49Pretty much the only way I eat sweet potatoes now.
05:51We're going to do the viral roasted sweet potato, but then we're going to top it.
05:56The Thanksgiving way.
05:57So you just take your potato.
05:59I got one big one, which is enough for two people.
06:01You're just going to cut it in half.
06:02Then you're going to rub the cut sides with a little oil, and then I'm just going to sprinkle
06:06with just a little bit of salt.
06:08And then you just place it cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.
06:11And then you pop this into the oven at 375 degrees for about 40, 45 minutes.
06:15It'll get good and caramelized.
06:18The best sweet potatoes are ready, but you can't have the reveal right away.
06:22You have to let them stand on the baking sheet face down for at least like 10 minutes.
06:28It just helps those sugars kind of caramelize and come together.
06:31While that happens, we're going to make a little topping.
06:33And I want the flavors to be that of the sweet potato casserole that I grew up with.
06:39I'm going to take a little softened butter.
06:41I'm going to mix it with a little bit of cinnamon and a little brown sugar.
06:44And just mix that together, form like a little paste.
06:47We already have a little salt on the sweet potato, so this is going to be the perfect
06:51sweet to the salty.
06:53And after your potatoes have been sitting, then you flip them over and you get that little
06:58caramelized top.
06:59We're going to spread this.
07:00It's almost like a twice baked potato.
07:02And then you could also sprinkle on some pecans here, but I'm adding pecans to my dessert.
07:08So I'm going to leave them off here and kind of work it down into the potato a little bit.
07:12When I make these kind of sweet potatoes, I usually just eat them with my hands like this.
07:17So when the time comes, you can do that if you want to.
07:20But I'm doing a little, putting a little Southern twist on here just for nostalgia purposes.
07:26We're going to also add a little marshmallow on there.
07:30And then I'm going to pop these under the broiler for just about a minute and brown this marshmallow
07:35top.
07:35It's just fine.
07:36It's just a fun little sweet potato.
07:38It's like sweet potato casserole for two.
07:41I mean, come on, those are cute.
07:46That's going to be the perfect addition to our plate.
07:48For the green beans, all you need one bag of fresh green beans.
07:52This might be a little more than you need for two people, but they cook down a lot.
07:56Or you can go somewhere where they sell them in bulk and you can get just what you need.
08:00I'm going to take off the stem end and then give them a little rinse and I'm going to cut
08:05them up.
08:06We're doing more of a smothered green bean here with bacon and onion.
08:10So this is not a green bean casserole.
08:12I feel like you've seen that a million times.
08:14This is just a little different way to enjoy your green beans this year.
08:17I did purchase some bacon for this recipe.
08:20You're obviously not going to use the whole pack, but you've got some for breakfast and for other
08:23recipes throughout the week.
08:25So I've got that cooking in the back.
08:27And then we're going to cook our green beans in that bacon fat.
08:30You can leave them whole.
08:31I like to cut them in half just to make them a little easier to eat.
08:35It's a pretty affordable meal when you think about it.
08:39One sweet potato, that's probably a dollar.
08:42These green beans, about three dollars.
08:44And then your turkey tenderloins that are a lot cheaper than a turkey breast.
08:48I mean, when there's just two people, sometimes you're inclined to just do takeout.
08:52But I just love cooking the meal that day.
08:56I love the way it makes the house smell.
08:58So you don't have to do takeout and you don't have to be overwhelmed with a full feast.
09:03That's that.
09:03And then just chop up the rest of that onion that we had earlier.
09:06And then we're cooking this southern style.
09:08So we're basically cooking the green beans to death.
09:11That's how we like them sometimes.
09:13Bacon's crispy.
09:14We're going to add butter to that.
09:16Then I'm going to add my onion in here first.
09:18I'm going to get good and soft.
09:20Once you get those onions good and coated in that butter,
09:24that will really coat the green beans better and smother them.
09:27The onion also helps lift that bacon.
09:30It might have stuck to the pan a little bit.
09:32Add in a little garlic.
09:33If you wanted to make a creamy sauce for your green beans at this stage,
09:38you could add in a little flour before you add everything else in.
09:41And then you'll get that.
09:42All right.
09:42Those are looking good.
09:43I'm going to go in with the green beans.
09:45I'm going to smother these with that flavor.
09:47A little salt and pepper.
09:48And then chicken broth or stock.
09:51Not too much.
09:52We're not trying to really boil them.
09:53That's going to reduce.
09:55And all this flavor that you're seeing is going to kind of soak into the green beans.
09:59And then you're going to cover them and just let them simmer.
10:02Just let them go.
10:03And look at those smothered green beans.
10:06Tender, beautiful, and smothered in flavor.
10:09Even though there's just two of us,
10:10it doesn't mean we can't plate it up and make it look special.
10:14Smell divine.
10:14I might sneak me just a little taste to this first.
10:19Mmm.
10:22Amazing.
10:22The meal is pretty much complete,
10:24but I feel like since it's a holiday,
10:26we have to have one more little thing on there.
10:28Some deviled eggs.
10:29We want it to still feel like a feast.
10:31And the great thing about deviled eggs is you can make as few or as many as you want.
10:35So I've just boiled four eggs.
10:38We probably only need two or three.
10:39And we're just going to make a classic deviled egg.
10:41It's kind of like the icing on the cake.
10:42It's what makes the meal really feel like a holiday.
10:46Deviled eggs are a year-round sport.
10:48I also think you don't think to make deviled eggs in small batches.
10:51So I'm just going to cut these in half.
10:53Add the yolks to a bowl.
10:54And then you can go in with your favorite deviled egg ingredients.
10:57I'm going to keep it classic with a little mayonnaise, a little mustard, celery.
11:01You want everything really finely chopped.
11:03Chives.
11:04I like a little sweet relish in mine because that's the way my mom does it.
11:07And with salt and pepper.
11:08Doesn't have to be complicated to feel special.
11:11It's just a couple of us.
11:12I'm going to spoon it in.
11:13We're not trying to be too fancy.
11:14I've got pretty much the meal complete, but I did not forget about the sweet finish.
11:20Dessert, because you have to have dessert at Thanksgiving.
11:22It's like a requirement.
11:24I've come up with a little small batch sweet treat, butter pecan ice cream pies.
11:30This is instead of our normal pecan pie, which is always on our Thanksgiving table.
11:35And I found these perfect little small graham cracker pie crust.
11:40Perfect for one.
11:41And then just a small little pint or so of butter pecan ice cream.
11:46You want to soften it slightly and then just spoon it right into the pie shell.
11:50You can under fill them a little bit so they don't overflow.
11:53Top it with caramel.
11:55Caramel is going to act as a glue.
11:58Toasted some pecans and these are going to stick to the top.
12:01And then you want to put them back in the freezer just so everything comes together.
12:04Dessert is done.
12:05Time to set the table.
12:07And I'm going to even treat you to a little cocktail.
12:10I mean, look at this feast and we did not even break a sweat.
12:13But as promised, before we really celebrate, let's get a little festive with a cocktail.
12:18How does a maple bourbon sour sound?
12:21I mean, we got to tie it all together.
12:23Your favorite bourbon or whiskey.
12:25And then a big squeeze of lemon.
12:27These kind of drinks are great because you can make one or two at a time.
12:30No big batch required.
12:32And then instead of simple syrup, a little maple syrup.
12:36And then shake it till it's frothy.
12:38Give your cup a little cinnamon sugar rim.
12:41Cheers to a quaint little Thanksgiving day.
12:49That is a 15 out of 10.
12:52And the perfect way to begin this feast for two.
12:54And now time to build the perfect plate.
12:58They sell the little four packs of rolls, which happens to be perfect.
13:01Just because we only had a couple people to prepare for doesn't mean we skimped in any way.
13:07This is the perfect plate.
13:08The perfect feast.
13:09Still feels special.
13:11Still feels festive.
13:12But how does it taste?
13:14I feel like this is appetizer.
13:19Who don't love a deviled egg?
13:20The green beans.
13:22These are like the best green beans you've ever had.
13:25Taste the sweet potato.
13:31Even if I'm cooking for our crew of 30 to 40, I might do the sweet potatoes like this this
13:36year.
13:37That is divine.
13:40But what I'm most excited about is this right here.
13:43Turkey is juicy.
13:44The stuffing is not dry.
13:47It's mind blowing.
13:52That's probably in my top three best bites of Thanksgiving turkey of all time.
13:57And I'm not exaggerating.
13:59An absolute home run with this Thanksgiving dinner.
14:02Don't forget about dessert.
14:03Is that not the cutest little pie for one you've ever seen?
14:12This might blow your mind too.
14:14It's like you took a little scoop of ice cream and put it on a piece of pecan pie.
14:18This is the perfect menu.
14:20You don't need to over complicate Thanksgiving.
14:22Even if you are cooking for more than two to four people, you could still whip up a simple
14:27dinner with just a few dishes.
14:28Especially when you have the turkey that combines like four dishes in one.
14:33Genius move.
14:34If you're not a fan of leftovers, this meal is for you because I promise
14:38everyone is going to lick their plates clean.
14:40And as you can see, this small batch Thanksgiving is just as special.
14:44Happy Thanksgiving.
14:45Happy Thanksgiving.
14:46Happy Thanksgiving.
14:46Happy Thanksgiving.
14:47Happy Thanksgiving.
14:47Happy Thanksgiving.
14:47Happy Thanksgiving.
14:47Happy Thanksgiving.
14:47Happy Thanksgiving.