Thanksgiving 2020 - History, Meaning, Quotes, Message, Food: thanksgiving dinner

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Hello, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I thought it would be fun to share my foolproof Thanksgiving spread. This menu feeds between 8 and 10 guests. So you really do get your money's worth.

How To Cook Thanksgiving Turkey & Stuffing

I have a turkey here that is about 12 pounds. The general rule of thumb is between one and one and a half pounds of turkey per person that you're serving always one and a half pounds if you're hoping to have some leftovers.

I bought a frozen turkey instead of a fresh turkey. Frozen turkeys are traditionally a little more affordable if you're using a frozen turkey. It's really important to get it out of the freezer and into the refrigerator two to three days before Thanksgiving.

It really does take that long to thaw out. You never want to get to Thanksgiving Day and discover that you haven't thought your turkey and you have to cook it from frozen.

Season Up Your Turkey

I have simply bent the wings back behind its body to create sort of this position. And I've also trusted the legs just to hold them together. Of course, there are lots of different ways you can season up your turkey, but I'm keeping things really simple with this menu.

Just a little brush of salted butter with a pastry brush all over. And it's as simple as that.
Now that our turkey is completely buttered, the last step before we get it into the oven will be dispensing it with foil.
I've gone ahead and buttered the underside of my foil to prevent it from sticking to the skin of my turkey.
There's nothing worse than going to remove your foil during the cooking process and discovering that it's sticking to the skin and part of the skin comes off.

Now that my turkey is spoiled, I'm going to pop it into my preheated oven at three hundred and 25 degrees Fahrenheit for between one and a half and two hours. I'm going to remove my turkey from the oven and give it a quick baste with a little more salted butter and allow it to cook for the rest of the time uncovered so it gets a nice dark golden skin.

For a turkey of this size. You're typically looking at a cooking time of between three and a half to four hours. But the only safe way to know your turkey is completely cooked through is with a meat thermometer.

It should register one hundred and sixty-five degrees in the breast before it comes out of the oven. Then you'll just want to tender it and let it rest for another 15 minutes before carving it. You don't want to carve it immediately. You really need to give it that resting time to let all those juices incorporate.

Stuffing

Now that we're done with all that turkey talk, we can turn our attention to our stuffing, as far as I'm concerned, the best part of any Thanksgiving feast. If you've been eating a story about stuffing all of your life, you were in for a real treat because there is nothing quite like homemade.

Of course, I will admit it is a little more expensive than store-bought stuffing, but worth each and every penny. I have a nice big skillet on the stove and I'm just going to

heat it up over medium-high to that. I am going to add some butter.
Once it's melted, I'm going to go ahead and add some onion and some celery.

Now I'm going to let those cook away for between five and six minutes. You'll see the celery will turn nice and bright green. Things will start to smell amazing. And that means it is time to add the rest of your amazing flavor to this.

First up, of course, we've got some garlic headed in here. And then I've got some gorgeous fresh herbs. I've got some chopped fresh parsley, had it in here, some sage, which is very, very classic and stuffing. And finally some fresh thyme leaves, beautiful or beiges, flavor. Now, if you're new to cooking with fresh herbs, I always recommend them.

But if you're looking for a slightly more affordable alternative, you can also opt for some dried herbs. You want to cut all of your volumes in half, though, because dried herbs pack quite a bit more punch than a fresher will.

Let all this yumminess cook up, stirring it constantly for another one to two minutes. Then we're going to go ahead and add our broth to this. Now, I'm using chicken broth today, but if you have any vegetarian guests joining you for dinner.

This is the perfect place to swap in some vegetable broth. You will make some vegetarians very, very happy. It's also another great reason to not put your stuffing in your turkey.

Then the vegetarians can enjoy it, too. We'll season this up with some salt and pepper. And then once my broth mixture is boiling, I'm going to reduce my heat to medium and let it cook away.

And then after about 10 minutes of simmering, your nose will be rewarded because your whole kitchen is when you smell delicious.

We can turn our heat off completely and pile in our bread. Today I'm using just a loaf of white sandwich bread that I cut into cubes and left out overnight to allow it to dry out completely. It's super important that your bread be really dry when it goes into your pan so that it can absorb all of that tasty flavor.

If you use bread that's too moist, you'll end up with really soggy stuffing. Now, if you don't want to deal with this step, most bakeries actually sell dry bread cubes like this for use as croutons. It's a great option. And usually, you can buy an entire bag of those bread cubes for only about two dollars. Either way, you just want to make sure your stuffing as well.

And as soon as it's absorbed all of that tasty liquid, you can transfer it to a serving dish, cover it in some foil, and then we can reheat it in the oven for about 30 minutes right before serving. I feel like we've already won Thanksgiving.

How To Cook Thanksgiving Turkey & Stuffing In Home

So it's probably no surprise to most of you that Thanksgiving happens to be one of my very favorite holidays, thanks, of course, to all the delicious food involved.

But some of you might not know that I'm actually half American, a half Canadian, which means I get to enjoy two Thanksgiving dinners every year. How amazing is that? Today I whipping up three delicious side dishes worthy of your Thanksgiving table.

But that is easy enough to enjoy even on a busy weeknight. I'm kicking things off today with these amazing orange glazed carrots, I think you guys are going to love them now because this is a special occasion. I have given these carrots the royal treatment.

I've peeled them really nicely and I've left a little bit of the stem intact, which I think looks extra beautiful. This is a bit precious, but if you're ever going to get this fussy.

Make Ready Your Stove

So I'm starting with a nice big skillet on the stove. To that, I am going to add some butter because we all know how much I love the sight and smell of melted butter.

I'm going to add two cloves of garlic that I've just smashed. No need to mince your garlic in this recipe because all we're really trying to do is extract its delicious flavor.

Once you can start to smell that garlic, which is almost immediately, you can get your carrots into the pan, and then it is time to start adding even more flavor. In this case, I'm going to do that by adding a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. You have the option to use different herbs here.

Some time would work. Some sage would be really lovely. But I always think that Rosemary is beautifully complemented by our next ingredient, orange and lots of it.

So I'm going to start by zesting my orange into the pan. Then we are going to add orange juice into our pan.

So the idea here is that we're basically going to be steaming our carrots in some orange juice and they're going to get infused the flavor of that rosemary and that garlic sort of sweet, savory combination that you guys know I love so, so much.

And then I'm just going to top this off with a splash of water. I'm going to pop the lid on my skillet, reduce my heat to medium, and let those carrots steam away until they are tender. Now, based on the size of these carrots, that's going to take about eight to 10 minutes.

But if your carrots were in smaller pieces, it may happen a little sooner to finish these off. I'm just going to toss my carrots in a good drizzle of honey for a little bit of sweetness and some salt and pepper.

I'm going to let them cook for another two minutes or so just until that honey starts to caramelize. And that's it. These carrots are ready to serve. Guys, I promise you, once you've tasted these carrots, you'll never want to eat them any other way again.

They are really, really flavorful and of course, have those classic holiday flavors of orange and rosemary. This is a must-try, I must say.

Next, I'm going to be adding a twist on a classic Thanksgiving side dish, roasted Brussels sprouts.

Now, if you're not a Brussels Sprouts fan, this might actually be the recipe that changes your mind, mostly because it involves bacon and maple syrup. So, you know, it can't possibly be that I've got my Brussels sprouts trimmed and chopped and I'm just going to pour them into a small roasting pan.

But instead of adding a little drizzle of olive oil like I would normally do, I am going to top my Brussels sprouts with some finely chopped bacon. We're going to be roasting our Brussels sprouts with the bacon.

Which is going to impart a ton of beautiful, smoky, salty flavor into them. Veggies never tasted so good. Trust me, since my bacon is quite salty as it is, I'm not going to add any additional salt to this dish, but I am going to season these with just a little sprinkle of garlic powder.

I'm going to get these guys into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about twenty to twenty-five minutes. And then it will be time to top this with a few tablespoons of maple syrup, some freshly cracked black pepper, and then finish it off with some chopped pecans, which add a great crunch to this dish.

We're going to get these back into the oven for another 10 minutes or so or until everything is nice and browned and caramelized and you've got a nice crispy layer of pecans on top.

And there you have it, my dear. These beautiful Brussels will have all your guests just bacon for more.

And finally today, I'm sharing a slightly more surprising side dish that I think will become a family favorite. And no time there, my roasted pears and parsnips. And if you're not familiar with parsnips, you are in for a treat.

They are really, really tasty. They basically look a lot like white carrots and they are slightly sweet the way carrots are.

But they also have a nice peppery finish and a really beautiful earthiness that is wonderfully paired with pears.

We're just going to start by chopping our parsnips and placing them on a nonstick baking sheet. To that, I'm going to add some pear.

Now I'm using Bosc pears, but of course, any type of pear will do if you love pears. As much as I love Paris.

I'm just going to cut the core out of my pears and then chop them up in a similar size and shape so everything grows nice and evenly. We're just going to toss this all with a little bit of olive oil.

Then we'll hit it with some salt and pepper and some fresh time. We're going to get the pears and the parsnips into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and let them roast up until they start to get nice and soft and caramelize, let's say, between 25 and 30 minutes.

In the meantime, we are going to mix up a really tasty, sweet, and tangy dressing. I've got some Dijon mustard hanging out in a bowl here, too, that I'm adding a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. You always had the option to use Mosaddeq vinegar in this. That would be really good as well.

Then I am also going to add a little bit of honey, we're going to whisk that yumminess together. And just before that mixture is done roasting, we're going to pull it out of the oven, pour our sauce over top and then get it back into the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the flavors have a chance to develop and everything is nice and caramelized and golden. I think it is fairly apparent that this is one heck of a side dish. Guys, I really hope you will give this one a try for yourself.

3 Thanksgiving Side Dishes | Easy & Delicious

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Let's start off with breakfast, or at least the food most closely resembling breakfast, Thanksgiving leftover waffles. This is a little more than a fun way to reheat your Thanksgiving leftovers. But when

I say fun, I mean, really, it's as simple as lubing up your waffle iron with plenty of nonstick sprays and stuffing it with stuffing until golden and crisp for stuff like leftover mashed potatoes. You might want to add some binders.

Best Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes In 2020

I find that one egg and about three ounces of grated cheddar cheese is all you need to turn about two cups of leftover mashed potato into a cheesy crispy cheddar potato waffle. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the best sentences I've ever said. Same procedure. Spray it up, squish it down and waffle.

Something way better than any leftover mashed potatoes you've ever eaten. Sweet potatoes can get a little loose and goopy, so they need a little extra help. In addition to the single egg, these two cups of sweet potatoes receive two tablespoons of All-Purpose flour. It's going to help the waffle bind together and not become a mushy, disappointing mass.

When you retrieve it from your iron, make sure you don't overfill your waffle maker, squash it down and toasted up, and look at that. It's a sweet potato casserole waffle. There are a few ways I could better imagine you could honor your sweet potato's memory. But then the piece de resistance, the Thanksgiving leftover triple waffle tall stack garnished with cranberry sauce and turkey and drizzled with gravy.

Folks, I am no lover of Instagram bait food gimmicks, but I felt the need to share this with you because it genuinely rocks. If you've got kids, imagine their gaze of wonder this Sunday morning when you greet them with this mountain of Thanksgiving favorites.

I do not have kids myself, but the child, like squeals of my camera crew, was evidence enough that this is a good idea. Next up, we move on to lunch where I think the leftover Thanksgiving a sandwich is ripe for innovation.

First up, we're going to pull the skin off our leftover turkey breast and set it aside because we have big plans for it, that we're going to slice up the turkey breast as thin as we possibly can. And then we're taking the skin over to the stovetop where we're going to fry it up in a bit of vegetable oil.

This can be a bit of a messy, buttery process, and it might not cook very evenly, but just press it down and give it a flip and maybe weigh it down with a heavy saucepan, ensuring that every nook and cranny has become golden, brown and crisp.

And we're setting these guys aside a drain on paper towels while we prepared the other elements of our sandwich, maybe the most important of which is the bread, which we are going to toast up in butter. Only on one side, though, you will find out why shortly. First up, we're transporting our bread over to the assembly surface, but we're not just plopping it down on the countertop.

No, no. For you see, this is the leading cause of toast to sweat. So we're going to make sure that we assemble our sandwich on a wire rack. Then I have an extremely indecent proposal for you. I want you to assemble the sandwich with the bread inside out. That's right.

The beautiful, golden crispy side of the bread facing inward. We'll touch on that later because now it's time to employ one of the most useful tips I've ever picked up making this show, the infamous moist maker or a central slice of bread soaked in gravy.

I'm going to untoasted bread and hot gravy for superior gravy absorption. And while that soaks, I'm going to start assembling the sandwich. First up, a generous layer of our thinly sliced turkey, followed by a thin but generous patty of leftover stuffing.

The top that goes a thin smear of cranberry sauce is sufficiently soaked, moist mayger, another layer of turkey, another layer of stuffing, another layer of cranberry sauce. And then it's time for yet another one of our secret weapons, our salty, crispy fried turkey skin that I'm just going to smear a little sweet potato casserole in the top slice of bread, top-up, and marvel at what I have created.

Now I am opposed to sandwiches. They can't fit in your mouth. So I'm going to give this thing a little squish, taking care not to destroy our moist maker. And then I'm going to skewer it and slice it into Twain.

And that, my friends, is how you make a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. The real innovation here, however, lies in the inside out application of the toasted bread. It protects the bread from becoming mooched by condiments, protects the roof of your mouth from getting torn up by toast, and gives the whole sandwich an unexpected potato chip-like crunch. I think it's going to revolutionize the world of sandwiches as we know it.

And I'm very proud to announce here today that I have not patented it. And it is an open-source for your use and innovation. Enjoy next. Unless we move on to dinner and maybe my favorite application of Thanksgiving leftovers because it can be enjoyed year-round. I speak, of course, about the frizzle Thanksgiving pot pie.

You'll notice that in a large bowl I am combining some shredded leftover turkey breasts and roast potatoes chopped up into bite-sized pieces and some assorted vegetables. But you can, of course, mix and match based on what you have leftover from the giving of thanks. Next up, I have about three cups of gravy that I've thinned with probably a half cup of chicken stock into which I'm depositing our leftover solids and mixing to combine.

And our pot pie filling is finished as easy as that. Next up, I have some store-bought puff pastry that I'm going to defrost lightly flour and roll out. Just till it's about one and a half times its original size and no creases or folds remain, then from this sheet of puff pastry, we're going to cut rounds.

We need to cut them about half an inch wider than the diameter of their intended container. So find something in your kitchen that fits the bill and get to slice. And then once you've got a few puff pastry rounds for potpies, large and small alike, it's time to simply assemble and then either bake or freeze.

That's the beauty of this recipe. It can be enjoyed either now or later. I personally like to use small ramekins like this one or big ramekins like this one filled to about a half an inch shy of full to account for bubbles topped with our rounds of puff pastry that we're going to gently pat down around the edges to seal.

And if you don't want to eat them now, you can give them the old home freezer preparation, treatment, wrapping twice in plastic wrap, and once in foil for any time you want to experience Thanksgiving flavors over the next six months.

Meanwhile, our big boys are getting the same treatment, but with two layers of puff pastry. After all, there's nothing sadder in the world than a pot pie, that's all pot and no pie. Lastly, whenever you're ready to finally beat these guys, we're going to brush them down with one beaten egg. This will give our puff pastry a nice glossy sheen, and then we're going to sprinkle them liberally with some flaky sea salt, cut a few vents with a paring knife for good luck, and then into a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven.

They go for anywhere from 40 minutes to one hour, especially if they're frozen. Pull them out once they're nicely golden brown bubbling over the edges. And there you have it. The perfect way to enjoy Thanksgiving flavors year-round. Please excuse my excited hands and three to one.

But I am excited because let's face it, after day three or four of Thanksgiving leftovers, you're starting to get sick of this stuff. So it's great to be able to either shush it up or save it for another day. You might notice that I'm taking a long time to eat this bite here, and that's because it's extraordinarily hot. Always exercise caution with potpies. I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday surrounded by amazing food, people you love, and of course, the people you have to love because it's Thanksgiving in their family and just have another glass of wine.

Best Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes In 2020

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Cranberry Sauce

No self-respecting show-off is going to serve this thanksgiving cranberry sauce from a can. You're going to make it yourself, and it couldn't be easier to do. Once you see how easy it is, you will probably always make your own cranberries off in a large saucepan.

You're going to add a bag of fresh cranberries, the zest and juice of a navel orange, a cup of water, a half a cup of sugar, a cinnamon stick, and a little bit of salt.

Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes Cranberry Sauce

You're just going to let that come up to a boil until you start to hear The Cranberries pop. Then you're going to take it down to simmer and just stir it until the cranberries start to become kind of liquefied and release all of their juices.

And at this point, how far you take, it is up to you. For me, I like to have cranberry sauce that still has some chunky cranberries in it. So I don't take it too far. I usually just let it simmer for another two or three minutes and then pull it off. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools. So don't be concerned if you think it looks too soupy.

But if you don't like lots of big chunks in your cranberry sauce, then you just want to cook it a little bit longer, probably five to 10 minutes until those cranberries really break down. I love homemade cranberry sauce.

The combination of the tartness of the cranberries and the sweetness of the orange is just a great flavor combination. You'll see when you try this cranberry sauce with your turkey, you will never go back to the stuff in a camp.

Duchess Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes are standby at everybody Thanksgiving, but if you really want to be a show-off, then you're going to get fancy, and you're going to serve a Duchesse potato.

A Duchesse potato is a swirl of potato goodness that looks so impressive, but they're actually a lot easier to make than you may think. The first step that you're going to boil your potatoes.

The potato you want to use for this dish is a russet potato for the most common potato found at any grocery store. You want to use them because they're high and starch and very dry inside.

This will help your Duchesse potato hold its shape once it's back. Once your potatoes are done, then it's time to really be a show-off and use a ricer. A ricer is a gadget that my mother in law introduced to me one year when she spent Christmas with us.

And ever since then I have never looked back. And any time I want a really smooth mashed potato to break out the recipe.

What you do is you take the potato, put it in this contraption, and press really hard. You will see it'll turn out little bits of potato that almost look like rice.

What that's going to do is prevent any kind of lumps entering your potato. And for duchies potato, you want to have the smoothest mashed potato possible, then you're going to add some melted butter, sour cream, and some egg yolks.

Mix that all together just until it's combined. And then add salt, pepper, a little bit of white pepper, and some freshly chopped chops. You're going to transfer your potato mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.

Then on a cookie sheet that's been lined with parchment paper, you're going to pipe out your mounts. This is really the fun part and goes for it, a swirly or the better.

Then you're going to brush with a little bit of melted butter and dust with some paprika. At this stage, you can then pop these right in your fridge uncovered and wait until the day of Thanksgiving to bake them off.

I love this recipe because they are the most impressive thanksgiving side dishes. You bring these to the table, and people ruined all because they look so beautiful, but they also taste delicious.

It's the perfect way to kick your mashed potatoes up a notch and go fancy Schmalensee where the duchess.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are the best thanksgiving sides dish, but a lot of people sometimes will look at me and say, I hate Brussels sprouts, and those people are usually the ones that have had them boiled.

And there's no worse way to eat Brussels sprouts than boiled Brussels sprouts. The best way is really roasted or sauteed on.

One of my favorite recipes this time of year is a sauteed Brussels sprout with crispy prosciutto and a warm balsamic glaze in a pan. You're going to saute up some sliced prosciutto just until it turns golden brown and starts to turn crispy.

Then you're going to remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Then take your slice Brussels sprouts and put them in the pan, cut side down just until they start to caramelize and turn golden brown.

Once that happens, you want to put the lid on your pan and allow them to steam just until they turn bright green and become tender at that point.

Add your balsamic vinegar and cook just until the vinegar starts to evaporate. Then season with a little salt and pepper.

Then you're going to throw your prosciutto back in and add some chopped toasted hazelnuts, and that's it. That's all you have to do. Then just transfer it to serving bowl and bring it to the table.

I love this thanksgiving vegetable side dishes because it utilizes all the great flavors of the season. It also is a great way to make Brussel sprouts and kick them up a notch by making them a little bit more gourmet and fancy.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

I know that Thanksgiving dessert is usually reserved for pies, but when I do the same old pumpkin pie year after year when you can make a thanksgiving pumpkin creme brulee.

Now, this idea I can't take all the credit for it was actually suggested to me by one of our users. Oh, no, you didn't. 17, thank you so much for leaving me the comment. Wanting to know how to make a thanksgiving pumpkin crumble. I think it's the perfect recipe to end this meal. And I'm going to show you how to make it in a saucepan.

You're going to combine heavy cream, sugar, a vanilla bean you want to use the seeds and the pot itself, and two cinnamon sticks.

You're going to let that come to a boil and then simmer it for about five minutes. What you're doing is you want to get that cream all flavored and infused with the cinnamon and the vanilla and the sugar. Meanwhile, in a large heat-safe bowl, you're going to add your pumpkin puree, sugar, and some egg yolks.

Whisk that all together until combined.

And then you are going to go back to your cream mixture and strain it.

You're going to take that cream mixture is slowly added to the egg mixture, whisking all the while. You want to do it slowly because you've got hot cream going into raw eggs.

And if you dump the whole thing in there at once, you're going to start to cook those eggs, then you're going to strain it again.

I know there's a lot of training in this recipe, but that is what is going to give you the cleanest, most velvety creme brulee. So it's definitely worth doing. Then you're going to pour the mixture into a Pyrex pitcher.

Now, again, it's time to be a show-off, and you are going to create what is called a band, Marie, a band. Marie is just cooking custard in hot boiling water just to make sure that it doesn't crack, and it cooks evenly and that you end up with the creamy as custard possible.

Take your ramekins, line them in a roasting pan, pour in your cranberry mixture, take the roasting pan to the oven and place it on the rack.

Then you're going to take boiling hot water and pour that into your roasting pan just until the water reaches about half of your creme brulee ramekins.

Then you're going to bake at three hundred for about 30 minutes. You will know when they're done. When you look at the custard and shake it a little bit, it should be firm but still a little bit jiggly in the sack.

Then you're going to allow your cranberries to cool and then pop them in the fridge moments before serving.

You're going to dust each one with some brown sugar, and then you're going to pop them under the broiler just until that sugar starts to caramelize and turn golden brown.

Then you're going to top them with some homemade whipped cream, some candy pecans, and some chopped ginger snaps.

And you will see you will have the most beautiful dessert that is so delicious, your friends are going to go nuts when you bring this dessert to the table, and your friends and family take a bite of this thing, they'll look at you and say, oh, no, you didn't. And you'll look back at them and say, Oh, yes, I did.

I hope you guys will give this one a try and let me know what you think. It is a great menu to impress all of your friends and family that will take your Thanksgiving to the next level. And I'll see you back here next time when we're going to tackle Thanksgiving for vegetarians.

Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes - Easy To Make

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