HOW TO HOST THANKSGIVING IN A RENTED CABIN...

Thanksgiving, with a side of escapism. What to buy, bring or make-ahead, plus: three easy desserts, and 8 after-dinner games to get the good times rolling.

Hello!

It’s been a stunning fall in the Hudson Valley, keeping my usual feelings of wanderlust at bay. Still, as we approach the biting cold and dark evenings, my cabin fever kicks into high gear—in the form of fantasizing about living in an A-frame with a crackling fireplace front and center and a forest for long lazy hikes outside the back door.

These are the kinds of cabins I’ve found myself in a handful of Thanksgivings in the last decade—without the time off (schools) to make it home to the midwest, but the hope of making Thanksgiving feel more like a retreat and reset than just a lengthy meal. It’s the thing I’m craving most as we approach the holidays.

We’ve met dear friends at cabins in Central Pennsylvania, halfway between their home in Michigan and ours in New York. Once—during lockdown—we rented a cozy A-frame in the woods just 30 minutes from our own house for incubated family time with a different view.

There are many perks to hunkering in a rented space on the holidays. First, cabins are ripe for relaxing. The bar automatically lowers a bit in the best possible way. If it’s just you and your people, you’re more likely to pull out a puzzle or game board than fuss over a perfect place setting.

If you’re planning a larger family gathering or Friendsgiving, a magical grace card comes with hosting the holidays on neutral territory. No one person or family is expected to do all the planning, cooking, or cleaning. Everyone brings their can-do attitude and peacefulness towards concessions like cooking on mid-range pots and pans, that weird drafty bathroom, or a slightly slumpy but still delicious pie.

Trust me; these trade-offs come with precious gifts filling in the gaps: a thrilling hike on a frozen pond, morning yoga in Pajamas, piles of kids watching cartoons, and adults chatting uninterrupted well into the night while the fire roars on.

Some of the best rental cabins are in remote areas, without a local grocery store, bakery, or wine shop. It takes some planning, but it’s wholly doable without drama. Below, I’m sharing some tips (and pics!) from a favorite Thanksgiving at a rented Air BnB and some things I’ve learned about taking your Thanksgiving menu on the road.

Finally, if you’ve hosted a meal at a rented cabin or want to—leave us a comment about what you’ve learned, add anything I’ve missed, or share your fantasy about your perfect Thanksgiving getaway! In Wisconsin? Utah? Bolinas or Big Sur?

I’d love to hear from all of you.

I'll return later this week with recipes, a downloadable PDF, and a shopping list for the easiest Thanksgiving ever.

xx

Sarah

Welcome! This letter wouldn’t be possible without YOU! Thank you for being here + enormous thanks to all who choose to support my work with a paid subscription.

BRING: shop for and pack these items from your reliable home base

• One to two clench pins of fine dining: your favorite bottle of wine, a dozen oysters, your favorite table runner, or linen tablecloth —anything that will make you say we did this right at the end of the trip.

• An instant pressure cooker: This small and mighty tool will serve you well even if the rental oven fails or you run out of space. You can cook just about everything but the turkey in a single pot. Try steaming your sweet potatoes, making mashed potatoes, and simmering your gravy in this old faithful.

• Parchment paper or aluminum foil (or both): line sheet trays, tent the turkey, cover warm side dishes, and make clean up generally easier

• Prepared, pre-made, or good-quality boxed chicken stock for gravy and leftover turkey soup

• Cranberry relish: Whether you make the grated/raw kind (my favorite) or cook it, it is easy to make at home and take with you—relish almost always gets better with time, and you won’t need to bring extra tools to pull it off.

• Good Bagged stuffing mix or bread for drying/toasting.

• Four each onions, shallots, and carrots. You’ll need them to roast the turkey, make gravy, embellish stuffing, and slice or shave into salads. If you forget everything else, these will take you somewhere.

• A bag of fresh firm-tart apples: shave into salads and keep little mouths fed while they wait for the big event. (Bonus: if you can’t buy or make a pie, you can roast these with butter, cinnamon, and sugar as a quick and delicious dessert).

• Small box of good raisins (stuffing, snacking, sprinkling in oatmeal morning meals, or stuffing in baked apples)

• Container oatmeal for easy breakfasts, quick crumble toppings (marry with the apples above in a quick crisp), or oatmeal cookie baking

• Maldon salt, other “fancy” salts

• Fresh herbs: for turkey, sides, gravy, biscuits, and leftover turkey-noodle soup

• Smoked paprika or Pimentón: I’m partial to a smoked paprika butter-rubbed turkey breast, but even if you have other plans, smoked paprika can add flavor to squash, roasted potatoes, or gravy. A little goes a long way to add smoky flavor.

• Bay leaves: for gravy or stock or leftover turkey soup

• Cinnamon: for pies, cookies, and easy breakfasts (like cinnamon-sugar toast!)

• Irish or other European butter (for the table, you can buy basic butter for cooking when you get there; see below)

• Your favorite coffee beans (already ground!)

• Meat thermometer: Without one, it’s almost impossible to tell if a turkey is done.

• A meat baster and a basting brush—to ensure all those turkey roasting juices stay inside the bird. Also useful for brushing bread or pastry with egg wash or melted butter before baking (the quickest way to upgrade a dinner roll!).

• One good chef’s knife or carving knife (there’s no telling what you’ll find when you get there!)

• Candles! Taper candles and candlesticks if you want to be safe (though you can make them, if needed, from tiny pumpkins or gourds; see below!). These colors are fun, too.

• Little pumpkins, gourds, flowers, or garden sheers to clip branches (on a leaf-foraging hike!): anything that will help you make an impromptu centerpiece with whatever trays or vases you find in the cabin.

• “Fancy” paper plates, enough to cover at least one meal (if not the main meal), or in case you have more eaters than serveware.

• Paper, crayons, or paints to make place cards (a fun project for small, busy hands)

• A handful of your favorite family games (see, below!)

• 1 beautiful, 500+ piece puzzle

• A sound machine: Sleep is an essential ingredient for a fun weekend with friends. If you’re a light sleeper—or your kids are—bring this!

BUY: on the drive up/down/over or at the local grocery when you get to town

• Aluminum turkey-roasting pan

• A 4 to 6-pound turkey breast (faster/easier than roasting a whole bird, and far fewer bones + clean up!) or small turkey, large chicken, or capon, for smaller scale crowds

• Butter, whole or 2% milk, whipping cream, half and half, creme fraiche, sour cream, and other dairy to embellish your stuffings and sides

• Butter, unsalted (for cooking or baking)

• Celery stalks (for a relish tray, stuffing your turkey and stuffing)

• All your veggies for roasting, baking, slicing, and serving

• A bag of Irish potatoes + a bag of sweet potatoes

• Sparking water, sparkling grape juice (for the kids)

• lemons, clementines (or other citrus), and pomegranates for garnish, snacking, flavoring, dressing salads, sides, sauces, and sips

• Pears, fennel, kale, radicchio: anything fit for making salads and sprucing up sides

• Soft, hard, and creamy cheeses for staving off hunger while you cook, serving as snack courses, or shaving on top of salads

• Beer + wine (assuming you brought a couple of your favorite bottles from home for the main event, you can round out with local finds if you need more).

SOURCE: as fresh as possible in or near your final destination

• Pies(!): Call ahead to a local bakery or restaurant for a pie or pastry you can pick up (though even a grocery store or Costo/Sams's apple or pumpkin pie will do if you don’t feel like baking, as long as you have good vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream plus hot coffee for serving)

• Fresh bread, biscuits, or dinner rolls: Almost every little town has a bakery, even if it’s not fancy. Upgrade B-grade rolls by brushing them with egg wash or butter before baking/warming them; serve with European butter and Maldon salt.

• Firewood: fact—a live fire (indoors or out) making all evening activities more enjoyable.

SIX AFTER-DINNER GAMES to get you laughing:

• Who Knows You Best

• Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza

• Cards Against Humanity (warning: adult content)

• Telestrations

• Apples to Apples

• Trivial Pursuit, Family Edition

• Bonus: Head’s Up (on your phone) or Good old-fashioned Charades

PLUS, TWO CLASSICS to pack for the car and fireside:

• Uno

• Magnetic Chess (obvi!)

AN EASY MENU, like this one (above), coming to your inbox later this week! For now, here are THREE EASY DESSERTS to make ahead and bring for the big meal or afternoon treats with hot coffee or cocoa.

Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cake (make in a round or a loaf; see photo above)

Orange Olive Oil and Almond Torte (with leftover cranberry sauce + whipped cream)

Cranberry Snacking Loaves (slice and serve with tea, any time of day)

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*photos from my iPhone. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase items through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.