Thanksgiving Feast Recipes Food Cooking International Guide
Thanksgiving Feast And Creating A Timeline
By Imogen T Stubbs
When most people think of a Thanksgiving feast, images of a juicy
turkey, piles of mashed potatoes drowned in gravy and succulent,
piping-hot stuffing come to mind. Some dream of mom’s pumpkin
pie, while others imagine gelatinous cranberry molds. In addition
to traditional Thanksgiving meal items, today’s households have
very diverse needs: some families need to work on a budget, while
others need to find vegan/vegetarian selections.
Perhaps you need that formula for a 60-minute turkey dinner or
you are looking for healthier Thanksgiving recipes to accommodate
dieters, diabetics and seniors on heart medication. They say "variety
is the spice of life," so why not try something different
this Thanksgiving holiday?
Most Popular Menu Items On A Thanksgiving Dinner
If you make the Thanksgiving meal every year, then it can be
easy to lose sight. Some families have a suggestion box and ask
if there’s anything they would like to see on the menu for the
following year. Usually, through trial and error, you’ll see what
your family does or doesn’t like, depending on the number of leftovers
and the ferocity with which they are gobbled up.
Every menu will differ, but most Thanksgiving dinner menus include:
turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, carrots, sweet potato
pie, cranberry sauce, biscuits and pumpkin pie. Some families
have one or two busybody cooks, while other families do the "bring
a dish" scenario. To lessen your stress, you may want to
enforce the "cook doesn’t do the dishes" rule.
Have A Timeline To Have Everything Ready For The Big Day
As Thanksgiving weekend rolls around, many people are asking,
"What can I do to make this year less stressful?" Whether
you recall running back to the store five or six times for that
"one missing ingredient," an alarming shortage of mashed
potatoes, a burnt green bean casserole or the year your Thanksgiving
feast was served at 8 pm, the good news is that having a timeline
will make your life much easier.
A month in advance, you should be inviting your guests, planning
your menu, constructing your shopping list, ordering your turkey
(1.5 pounds per person) and purchasing any additional tables or
linens you’ll need. A week ahead, buy your non-perishables; freeze
your rolled pie crust and home-baked breads. On Monday, buy your
perishables, make your cranberry sauce and prepare your silverware/table
linens.
Plan For Thanksgiving Day To Be A Breeze
Tuesday, prepare your stuffing veggies and put your turkey in
the fridge to thaw. Wednesday, defrost your pie crust, bake your
pies, prepare side dishes that only require reheating, clean salad
greens and store in a plastic bag, set the table and decorate
and prep your turkey. Thanksgiving Day will be a breeze, then,
as you stuff and roast the turkey, assemble your stuffing, reheat
sides, make the gravy and serve up coffee with the desserts.
GERD, Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disorder, is not how most people
plan on spending their Thanksgiving holiday, and yet so many of
us succumb to the dreaded "food coma," characterized
by glazed over stares, busting buttons, protruding waist lines,
dull chest pains, that unpleasant acidic taste in our mouths and
the feeling of food hovering in our throats.
Looking For Healthier Ingredients
Since the average American consumes 2,400-4,000 calories during
their Thanksgiving feast, it is no wonder many people are looking
for healthier options this year. As the cook, try to buy quality
ingredients from farmers’ markets if you can. Try low-fat cream
cheese, nonfat yogurt, reduced-fat sour cream and evaporated skim
milk instead of cream. To maximize flavor, use fresh herbs rather
than more butter or cream.
Steam your veggies, garnishing with a little olive oil and garlic
if necessary. You can roast your bird outside in a galvanized
garbage can, without butter and without basting, for the juiciest
Thanksgiving turkey you’ve ever eaten! Inside, fresh lemon juice
can tenderize a bird. Lastly, ease up on the carbs and look for
low-fat dessert recipes in advance.
About the Author:
Imogen T Stubbs has written a number of articles on kitchen, food
and cooking including First
Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving
Day, Hot
Water, Refrigerator
Water Filter, Water
Filtering System, Whole
House Water.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles on this website.
Did You Know?
The month of November always comes in with a strong impression.
You have conquered the first of the steps toward Christmas by
getting past Halloween. The air turns chilly and the leaves fall
to the ground. November also brings with it a honored celebration,
Thanksgiving. This holiday filled with turkey, ham and lots of
family gatherings has been honored since the pilgrims first came
to the New World. The United States celebrates this holiday on
the fourth Thursday of the month of November but other countries
have their own days of celebration.
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