Hungry? This is certainly the time of year to celebrate food. No matter what your race, creed or country of origin, if you have been in the United States for any length of time you should have at least heard of the traditional Thanksgiving feast. Now, granted, every family that does the whole turkey thing on the last Thursday of November prepares the meal their way.
Some people have the roasted stuffed bird, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, marshmallow topped sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Hrm, this sounds a lot like what goes on my family’s table. I don’t know how “traditional” this is, but with some additions and variations, I would say this is pretty typical. Some people like to deep-fry the turkey; others throw it on the grill. I’ve used all three of these methods, and they are all wonderfully delicious.
Stuffing comes in more varieties than can be named. You can make it from scratch or use a box mix (NOT on my table, but perfectly suitable for the culinary-challenged) and add any number and combination of fruits, vegetables, nuts or giblets. My personal favorite has roasted chestnuts and figs added.
Both mashed potatoes and green bean casserole are pretty much what they sound like; however, I like my mashed potatoes to have horseradish and sour cream whipped into them. Neither one of these side dishes is ever made from anything but the freshest ingredients, but you can use canned beans, mushrooms and boxed potatoes if you MUST.
Not everyone likes green beans, or mushrooms for that matter, and any number of other vegetables can be added/substituted at the banquet to make up for that. Cheese covered broccoli or cauliflower (or both) tend to make appearances often. Another favorite for my family is creamed spinach with baby onions and a cheesy toasted breadcrumb topping.
For some reason, marshmallow sweet potatoes still get made, even though not many of us like them. Marshmallows only belong in hot chocolate, over a campfire and on S’mores (although sometimes they should be blown up in the microwave just for fun!) For myself I do the sweet potatoes pureed with butter, salt, pepper, garlic and jalapeño. Brown sugar might be added to sweeten it up a little, if needed.
There are many different kinds of cranberry sauce available, from the plain can of generic to gourmet jars, both can be found in your favorite grocery store. Yes, you can make your own cranberry sauce, but unless you have a good source of fresh cranberries and the time and inclination to make it from scratch, there are tons of very good pre-made varieties to choose from.
The finishing touch to any great feast is of course dessert. Pumpkin pie is the absolute in tradition. I can’t stand pumpkin in any incarnation that I’ve tried so far, but will still make the homemade pie from scratch for all the other people who don’t have my discerning palate. For myself, and any others who still want their desserts, a chocolate concoction of some sorts will be created.
One of the problems with having such a huge feast is oftentimes you also end up with huge amounts of leftovers. Of course, this is also one of the best things about this! I love leftovers. There is nothing quite like a leftover turkey sandwich smothered with leftover cranberry sauce. However, depending on how much you actually have left over, you might get sick of them.
How to spice up the leftovers? There are of course, as many different ways as there are people and ingredients. It all depends on your own personal taste. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Make a casserole or stir-fry and add in something that you wouldn’t normally think of going with turkey. Turkey has such a mild flavor that it adapts well to many things. If you have a favorite sauce that you use with pork, or even beef, it might work well with turkey. Of course, anything that you make with chicken will work with turkey, but be creative!
A really great sauce that I use with both pork and beef, and that I love on turkey is similar to one I found in the Oct./Nov. 2008 issue of Cooking Pleasures. As usual, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, but used it as a guide. I’ll include my version below, but I urge you to change it to your tastes.
Cooking is one of my favorite ways to be diverted from things that I should be doing, but which might be causing me stress (like math homework or writing a term paper!) I do love to eat, but really would rather cook and feed other people. If you are interested in more detailed instructions on how to prepare something, ideas for a get together, or need someone to make a meal for a special occasion or party, please feel free to get in touch with me. I’m happy to help and love to talk food! My e-mail can be found at the top of the column, or I can often be found at the Independent office – E-049, Stage Center or walking the hallways between classes.
Pomegranate Port Wine Sauce
4 Tbl butter, divided1/2 cup shallot, minced2 cloves garlic, minced2 cups pomegranate juice (I use pomegranate cranberry, but other blends would work)2 cups port wine2 1/2 cups chicken brothsalt and fresh ground pepper to tastegreen onions/scallions, chopped for garnish
Melt 2 Tbl butter and sauté shallots and garlic until tender. Add juice and port, reduce by half (approx 15-20 min.) Add the broth and boil for 3-5 min. Combine the remaining 2 Tbl butter with the flour and whisk into liquid, reduce heat, boil gently until thickened, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, stir in green onions, serve. Makes about 4 cups sauce.