I made it through Thanksgiving this year with nary a scrape. Quite an accomplishment considering the near-disastrous mishap with my knee back in October. I limped my way back to bake again!

Not only did I manage to crank out two pies for dessert–delightfully airy pumpkin chiffon and a zippy riff on the classic lemon meringue with passion fruit and calamansi (what can I say, I was inspired by the contents of my freezer)–I somehow got roped into roasting the turkey. Now we all know you can’t just roast a turkey without also making the gravy, stuffing (a.k.a. dressing), and cranberry relish. Luckily for me, we had a small gathering this year (again). A 10-pound bird was more than enough to feed the six of us, with plenty leftover for post-Thanksgiving noshing…and a couple of batches of turkey congee (more on that later).

I took a page out of the Serious Eats guide to holiday cooking (I mean literally since I’ve been editing countless turkey day-themed recipes for the last month) and went for the streamlined, no-fuss approach. None of this “playing refrigerator Tetris to make room for wet-brining turkey” or fancy stuffing. Heck, I didn’t care how the finished bird presented because I wasn’t planning on carving it at the table. All that mattered was how it tasted. How I achieved the juicy, tender meat and crispy skin was of no consequence. I opted for the tried and true spatchcock/dry brine method–24 hours of air-drying in the fridge, followed by about 75 mins. in a 450F degree oven. Easy-peasy.

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As for the turkey stock, I chucked the backbone, neck, and giblets along with some aromatics into my Ninja Foodi, set it to roast for about 30 mins. until nicely browned, topped off with some water and low sodium chicken stock, and pressure-cooked everything on high for about 35 mins. This was done on Wednesday while the cranberry relish was quietly simmering away on the stove. For having made two-thirds of Thanksgiving dinner from scratch, I was probably the most chill I’d ever been. When was the last time I actually watched the entire Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade…while sipping coffee and eating fresh apple cinnamon rolls? I could get used to this.

Alas, my zen state of mind was short-lived. As soon as Monday rolled around, I was back to work mode, editing recipes…and thinking about what I was going to make for my holiday-themed December bake sale. Time was ticking. If I wanted to give myself enough time to post the menu and start prepping components I would have to come to some decisions pretty darn quick. No more procrastination! Admittedly, I went a little overboard last year with my offerings, which completely stressed me out and pushed me to the brink of exhaustion. I knew I couldn’t do that again–certainly not while holding down a “day job.”

The problem is, I always have way too many ideas that seem ostensibly doable…until I realize that, in totality, they are not. In my mind, I’ve edited out all the crazy, back-wrenching, carpal tunnel-inducing parts of the narrative so that the story skips along like a Hallmark Christmas movie to a happy ending where no one breaks a sweat. But then, why would they when every home kitchen is fully equipped with miles of clutter-free counter space (I mean who has that in Manhattan??). Miraculously (they don’t call it “Miracles of Christmas” for nothing!) every quaint small town bakery is a Tardis with a back kitchen the size of a warehouse.

And, why do people constantly plate cookies straight from the oven? Or dust powdered sugar on hot pies? Has no one ever heard of cooling racks?! Sorry, I digress.

The point is that I had to force myself to edit my ideas to come up with a deliciously tempting but manageable menu that wouldn’t kill me to produce. Sadly, there will no Buche de Noels (except perhaps one for Christmas Eve), or loaves of sticky toffee pudding and babka. I simply don’t possess the bandwidth to juggle that much production in my tiny kitchen this year. There will, however, be plenty of cookies, desserts, savory bickies, and caramel corn–treats for everyone (or maybe one person with a ginormous appetite) to share. You can check out the full menu on the bake sale page.

How did I whittle down my ridiculously long list of treats, you may wonder? Aside from my friends Amy and Maria telling me to rein it in, I’m not ashamed to say I selfishly picked what I wanted, what I’d hate to not be able to eat…or in other words when in doubt, go with your stomach. First and foremost, you gotta have the classics:

• Ginger Molasses Cookies – At the top of everyone’s list, will cause pandemonium if left off.
• Snowballs (a.k.a. Russian Teacakes, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Butterballs) – The type of nut used doesn’t really matter so much as long as the cookies are tender and buttery and covered with a generous coating of powdered sugar. I prefer either pistachio or cashew.
• Melting Moments – They live up to their name, delicate buttery, melt-in-your-mouth. This year I decided to swirl the dough with red velvet and dip them in white chocolate.
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Honeycomb (a.k.a. Butterfinger) – Introduced last Christmas to rabidly enthusiastic response. My friend Bernie has taken to hiding them from his family.

Hard to believe, I know, but not everyone has a sweet tooth. I had to include some savory elements since I wasn’t offering meat pies, savory galette, or stuffed cheesy breads this time around. The Savory Fruit & Cheese Bickies has been a real crowd-pleaser at previous bake sales so offering a collection of three flavors was a no-brainer. They’re in the category of “snackable” along with caramel corn. For me the best kind of caramel corn balances the sweet of the buttery caramel with a savory component, whether it’s sea salt sprinkled on to spiced chocolate, smokey maple bacon, or umami-rich miso paste and furikake (toasted seasoned seaweed sprinkles).

As for the cakes and pastries…now that was tough to decide because they speak to the pastry chef in me who misses creating elaborate dessert buffets. In the end I settled on a sampler of four holiday desserts that gave me the same vibes…on a more modest scale of course:

• Apple Miso Caramel Hand Pies – Not gonna lie, I loved McDonald’s hot apple pie when I was a kid. This is my fancified, grown-up petite version that ticks off the “fruit” box.
• Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Cakelet – A cute smaller-scaled model of the chocolate cake I made for Caroline and Roger’s wedding, consisting of midnight chocolate cake layered with bittersweet chocolate mousse, hazelnut crunch, and ganache.
• Holiday Battenberg Slices – The anglophile in me can’t help but love this dessert. They’re colorful, undeniably cheery, and make me think of teatime and Christmas in England.
• Gingerbread Cakelet with Cream Cheese Frosting – What can be more holiday than iced gingerbread cake? Spice box, checked!

Like I said there are several more items on the menu, and many more I left off. The key to holiday baking is to enjoy the process, so choose things that make you happy. Don’t worry so much about “wowing” people with elaborate, intricate decorations (unless that’s your jam) because, at the end of the day, tastebuds remember far longer than the eyes. The visceral sensation of savory a holiday treat is what makes them a treasured classic…like the Ginger Molasses Cookie!

Speaking of classics, Turkey Congee is one of those quintessentially Chinese-American post-Thanksgiving comfort foods I crave after scarfing down roast turkey, gravy, stuffing, and pie, when the thought of eating leftovers has lost its appeal. This year I was fortunate enough to snag the carcass to make congee, which my mom traditionally made by simmering the carcass for turkey stock, which was then used to cook the congee. I streamlined the process by throwing the carcass in the pressure cooker with about 2 cups of rinse white rice, 9 1/2 cups water, and 5 slices of peeled fresh ginger. Everything cooked on low pressure for about 1 hour, then I discarded the bones and ginger, seasoned the luxuriously thick congee with salt, white pepper, a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, and a couple chopped cooked salted duck eggs. To serve, I topped off my bowl with a drizzle of soy sauce, some chopped baby leeks (ran out of scallions), pickled radish greens, fried shallots, and pieces of century duck egg. Best use of leftover turkey ever!

Once you make congee in a pressure cooker (or in my case a multicooker), you’ll never go back to the stove top method. The congee will thicken even more as it cools so I suggest adding either more water or chicken broth to thin out any leftovers. My first batch was gone in last than two days. Mom was clearly a big fan and scarfed up the remaining 3 cups…which precipitated a second batch made with what was left of a turkey leg and thigh bone (I just couldn’t eat any more turkey meat). Violet was quite happy to finish off the scraps.