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I'm gonna mention Wegmans again, I seem to do that a lot, but they really do have something for everyone... in this case it's a honey brined turkey breast. It's perfect for two people and even for a little leftover!

I haven't cooked one myself, but I've bought quite a few of the ones they rotisserie in the store. I think it only takes about an hour or so to cook, so it's quicker than a whole turkey too.

What a flavor it has though, it's fantastic!

I just saw Southern_bella's comment about Wegman's honey brined breast. I have made it many times and it always turns out moist and flavorful. It comes in a half breast size and I bought two for our family of four and had plenty leftover for hot turkey sandwiches(my husband's favorite) the next day.

Make whipped sweet potatoes, but instead of that creepy marshmallow thing (sorry, they just gross me out, always have), chop some apples and cook them up in some butter, maple syrup and cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Top the potatoes with that, and you're good to go. (If you want to get crazy, add some cardamom to the spice mixture.)

Oh, I'm an expert at the small Thanksgiving day feast. I agree with dbcurrie -- keep it simple and sane. I do a turkey breast half, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, green beans or broccoli, cranberry sauce and a dessert.

There are other dishes that we like for Thanksgiving, but it makes no sense to make them all for one meal. So, maybe I'll make some of them on the Sunday following Thanksgiving or make them throughout the holiday season. We get them all, just not all at the same time.

I make the dessert, cranberry sauce, dressing and prep the vegetables prior to Thanksgiving. You can peel and cut potatoes a day or so before and keep them covered in water in the refrigerator. On Thanksgiving day, I roast the turkey, make the mashed potatoes and gravy and pop the dressing in the oven and cook the vegetables while the turkey stands after roasting. I might also put some sweet potatoes in the oven and roast them with the turkey and dressing. They can be seasoned at the table (butter, salt, pepper, maple syrup or brown sugar or honey and some cinnamon or chai spice mix).

Pumpkin pie is a dead-easy dessert - mixed in a jiff and tasty with whipped cream. And something you can get out of the way in the morning before roasting/baking your meat and veg.

Gee, I'd rather do a small whole turkey for presentation. It's important to have a few cans of low sodium chicken stock around for augmenting the gravy and making the stuffing. I'd cook up a couple of Italian or Jones sausage, set them aside and after the the Pepperidge Farm herb stuffing (in cubes) is made (or the Cornbread variety if you like it sweeter) I'd toss in with a leaf or two of fresh sage, julienned. Mashed potatoes are easy, two hints: mash them over low heat to dry them out a bit and when you pour in the milk or cream, make sure it's heated first. Pick an easy veg, roasted Brussles Sprouts (cut in half, tossed with some olive oil, sliced bacon, Kosher salt and pepper and roasted at 425 until they start to caramelize) and Maureen is right about pumpkin pie. Don't stress if you don't want to make the crust this year. Just buy a Pillsbury. Buy the Libby's canned pumpkin (not the pie mix) and follow the recipe. If you want to change that a little, I like to roast a sweet potato, mash it up and add it. The flavor is so much better and I came to this after years of roasting whole pumpkin to make pie. But another easy pie, which you might like even better, is pecan. This Martha Stewart recipe seems really easy and it is thisclose to the one my mom made for 40 years:http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=91e7d3deb6a0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=true
And remember, if NOTHING goes wrong, you won't have anything funny to tell your grandchildren in 50 years..okay?!

If you aren't that keen on turkey/the idea of masses of left-over turkey is unattractive, I'd go with venison filets instead.

Venison has nice, traditional associations with Thanksgiving day, and although it can be expensive, just two filets shouldn't break the bank.
Get thicker ones, which will give you a bit of wiggle-room with the cooking time, which is fairly brief (minutes, not hours). Simply deglazing the pan with wine/broth will give you your gravy.

As sides, I'd go with corn bread ('Cook's illustrated' has a great recipe), a salad of baby greens, and a chunky cranberry sauce (add a pinch of salt to the recipe on the bag, and the results are gorgeous).

I'm a fiend for chestnuts, so I'd incorporate them too, either in a soup, or in the dessert.

I think that if you're cooking for two, this is a great opportunity to try something a bit special in terms of ingredients, and you might also want to go for something not too time-consuming, so you can spend more of the day relaxing together.

If I were doing Thanksgiving for 2 (I'd really wonder what happened to the rest of the family), I would go for the game hens, and to a complete minature Thanksgiving dinner:

2 Cornish game hens
gravy
sauteed baby vegetables
maybe roasted fingerling potatoes, or a small batch of mashed
a modest amount of stuffing
single serving apple pie, pumpkin pie

Do a small but elegant themed meal.

Alan

@Alan -- I second the fingerling potatoes idea...I love those little things. It's like eating Barbie food. Anything miniature makes me happy. I love baby zucchini too. and pattypan squashes.

The most important thing to remember is not to stress out. Spend the day enjoying your loved one...not slaving over difficult food in the kitchen.

You mentioned you are "short" on skills so nix any small game birds because they do take some experience. You also don't say how traditional you want it but it sounds like you want traditional. If not, the fingerlings sound good but you could also do a gratin, which is very easy and always impressive, especially if you have a pretty baking dish.

Take a clove of garlic, cut it in half and rub the entire inside of the dish with it Then coat the dish heavily (3 TBLS) with softened butter. Grate 1 cup of Swiss or Gruyere cheese. Next slice 2-3 medium to large Yukon Gold potatoes in 1/8" slices. Heat 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream to just under boiling. Then just make a pretty layer of potatoes, cover with half of cream/milk mixture, half of cheese, then another layer of potatoes, milk, cheese and bake at 375 until golden on top and the potatoes are tender. You can put a little fresh thyme in the milk and then garnish the top with fresh springs. Of course, you can garnish it that way without using it in the milk.

I think this and those delicious-sounding greenbeans (may do those myself) are the kind of deceptively elegant dishes for which you were looking.

I'm with all the rest who said keep it simple.

Make a small, but whole turkey. It's a must! Take Pics of your first T-Day feast. Have some sweet and/or white baked potatoes and a green veg and some rolls and butter.

Buy a nice pie if you don't want to make it or buy a frozen one and bake it yourself. Pumpkin Custard would be great, but cook that the day before because it will take hours to cool before you can eat it. (Maybe some whipped cream).

Lastly, don't forget the homemade cranberry sauce. This will put the "deceptively impressive" finish on your meal.

Here's how: 1 bag fresh cranberries, 3/4 box light brown sugar, 1/2 cup water (optional, 3 or 4 tablespoons of brandy or gran marnier or even rum, your choice. Decrease water accordingly).

Put all ingrediants in a LARGE glass microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 15 minutes or until almost all the berries burst. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate overnight. (Stir once or twice throughout cooking.)

This recipe will garner many responses because there are a million versions out there and everyone makes it a little different.

Oh, if you don't want to use Lipton's - just plain olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little cumin will do a great job of carmelizing the veggies.

Koren Grieveson of Avec in Chicago had a recipe in one of the food mags last year for a side dish that's so easy it hardly qualifies as a recipe. What's nice is, it gets a green on the table, as well as a hint of culinary sophistication, with next to no extra work. Basically you shred brussel sprouts in the food processor, toss them with olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper, and then put them in a baking dish which you slide into the oven along with anything else that's baking for the last 45 minutes or so. They get a little sweet, the parmesan adds some variety of flavor to a T-day dinner, and they're both better and less work than making some green bean casserole thing.

We did this last year and it was so much fun! We pulled out all our new china and crystal, got dressed up, and had some yummy wine! We split the meal into parts, so that I was making half and he was making half, too. We did a Cornish game hen - it's the perfect size for two people, looks beautiful, and it's like your own personal tiny turkey! We did rice with black truffle gravy - amazingly simply, but seems fancy. We did a cranberry sauce, frozen Pillsbury rolls, one simple green (I think we did green beans - the garlic ones up there look great!), and then I did a bourbon pecan tart (I took home the remainder that weekend for the family to eat). You're going to have a wonderful time whatever you do :) Simple and plate it nicely - it will be great!

I would go with turkey breast so u still have a thanks giving feel. I love sweet potatoes unfortunatly i am only 1 . So I bake 2 or 3 just incase and top with butter and cinnamon sugar. I also make or buy the little single serve pies it makes it fun. It`s not too hard good luck

@TEXAS ~ go to the bottom of this page to HTML Hints. I'm too lazy and tech challenged, but the instructions to make a neat link and bold your text are there. I guess I should practice? Maybe next year. ;)

@KatandMando ~ I hope you really enjoy making your first Thanksgiving dinner! The only additional caution I'd add is that I never trust the pop-up thermometer. I've had them never pop. I have a Polder thermometer that let's me know the exact temp at every moment and a loud alarm to let me know to take it out when my pre-set temp has been reached., Use your own thermometer! Either one that stays in the turkey or an instant read.

When I've cooked for two, I do a turkey breast because we prefer white meat, but I've also had free turkeys for spending $X at the store and I'm not about to waste that. Plus, you get more and better gravy and lots more leftovers.

if you're into the semi-homemade thing... I tried this ">pumpkin risotto, the other day and was amazing!!! Simple, delicious and perfect for a smaller meal.

Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking

Good luck with your first Thanksgiving dinner! I agree with everyone that suggested a small turkey. It's not that much different from roasting a chicken, in my opinion. I usually put butter and herbs under the skin, stuff the inside with a quarter onion, half an orange, garlic, bay leaf, celery and carrot, then cook breast side down in a roasting pan.

@carolrsfMISSESTEXAS - that really made me laugh! More like a hobbit than an elf, maybe ;) (now I'm showing all my nerdyness!). We have done two in the past and just can not eat it all. Half of a game hen each works great for the two of us!