Thanksgiving is the sort of meal that most people don't mess with.  Tradition calls for a turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (or dressing - depending on which you prefer), vegetables, maybe some bread, a pumpkin pie, and a good cup of coffee for dessert.  When you think of it  - it's no wonder that no one changes that menu up much: Thanksgiving really is about the food.

I'm here to suggest that you should change things up - and this is the year to do it.

Below are five things that I'm suggesting you try this Thanksgiving.  Three are new (Items #1, 2, and 3)  and trendy and two (Items #4 and 5) are food items that you should have been doing all along, anyway (but many people don't).

  • Cindy Ord
    Cindy Ord
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    Grains

    Grains are trendy these days and for good reason - they're delicious!  Open up any contemporary cookbook, glance at the menus of five-star restaurants, and look to food journals and you'll see plenty of suggestions for adding grains into your menus.

    I'm suggesting that you add a grain or two on this years Thanksgiving table.  Maybe it's a quinoa salad, a millet side dish, or even something with traditional oats.

  • aruba200
    aruba200
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    Barbacoa

    If barbacoa is a new term to you - it shouldn't be.  The cooking technique is as old as time and results in a main course that's tender, tasty, and delicious.  Essentially, barbacoa is a shredded meat entree that has Mexican origins.  It's served with soft corn tortillas.

    There are a few different ways of preparing barbacoa.  The most-traditional is performed by wrapping pork or lamb in maguey leaves and then burying it in the ground under or near a fire pit. A long, slow roast results in meat that falls apart and develops a smoky flavor.  Some home cooks try to simulate the food style by just shredding meat from a slow cooker or oven and calling it barbacoa.  Mexican chefs who are authentic about their cooking styles would advise that this is wrong.

    I'd suggest a compromise;  Wrap your pork or lamb in banana leaves, corn husks, or even cabbage leaves and then place it on the grill - on low.  You could also try an outdoor smoker if you have one.  To shred your meat, try my tip for using a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

    Is barbacoa turkey?  No.  But, if you paired it with tortillas, a rice dish, beans, and fresh salsa you'd be making new traditions!

  • Toru Uchida
    Toru Uchida
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    Kale

    It's unfortunate that the closest most people come to kale is the garnish leaf that they leave on their plate in the restaurant.  While I'll admit that it has a strong taste and a tough consistency, it is very delicious and it's one of the most-nutritious vegetables.

    To serve kale, I recommend three options:  roast it, make a gratin, or create a salad.

    • To roast it, toss the kale with olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper.  Spread it out on a half-sheet pan and roast at 400 until it's done.
    • To make a gratin, toss kale with sauteed onion and garlic.  Mix with heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and pour into a greased baking dish.  Bake at 350 until it's bubbly and cooked through.
    • To create a festive salad worthy of your Thanksgiving table, toss kale with a vinaigrette and leave it sit in a refrigerator for an hour.  The acid in the vinegar will help to soften the kale during this rest.  Right before you serve it, toss with tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, dried cranberries, and Parmesan cheese.

     

  • bhofack2
    bhofack2
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    Fresh Cranberry Sauce

    Shame on you if you're one of those people who open a can of cranberries and call it good.  Canned cranberries is the equivelant of boxed potatoes, Stove Top stuffing, boxed cake and brownie mix, and Suddenly Salad (don't get me started)!

    Life is too short to eat this sort of stuff.  And - you deserve better!

    This year, buy a bag of fresh cranberries.  Pour it into a sauce pan.  Add a cup of sugar.  Turn on the heat and stir as the berries macerate into a glorious sauce.  That's it!  Do it once and you'll never eat - or worse yet feed your guests - that canned slop.

  • YelenaYemchuk
    YelenaYemchuk
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    Turkey Soup

    If you're not making turkey soup with your leftover carcass, then you're missing out on the best part of the leftovers.

    Making turkey soup is easy but for some reason people think it's too difficult to make.  Here's how I make mine.

    On Thanksgiving - after you're done carving the bird - break the carcass up into a Ziploc bag or two and tuck it away into your fridge.  It's okay if you've left some meat on it - all the better!  The day after - while folks are out shopping, I kit the kitchen to make my soup.  Dig out your large stock pot (you have one, right?) and add the turkey carcass to the bottom.  Try to break it up so that it fills up the bottom in an even manner.  Add two or three carrots and two or three celery stalks.  Don't worry about peeling the carrots and you don't have to really cut them up;  I usually just run a knife through them to cut them into two or three pieces, so they fit a little better in the stock pot.  Then - using cold water - fill the stock pot until it just covers everything up.  Many people think that the more water they add the more soup they'll get.  Add too much water and you'll end up with flavorless soup.  Heed my advice - less is more.  Then - cover it and turn the burner element to high.  Just before it starts to boil - turn the heat down to low.  Don't leave the heat on high!  If you boil this, you'll end up with cloudy soup;  simmering it will result in tasty, clear stock for your soup.

    Let this simmer on low for an hour.  Turn the heat off, strain the stock off - reserving it for your soup.  If you don't want to make soup right away you can freeze this stock for later use.

    To make soup right away, here are the steps.  Pick any remaining meat off the carcass.  You can salvage the carrots and celery if you want - but it won't have any flavor.  You're better off to start with fresh celery and carrots;  cut them up in to bite-size pieces, add water and simmer them in a small stock pot.  Meanwhile - in a medium stock pot, boil your soup noodles in salted water. Many people make the mistake of boiling their noodles in the soup stock - don't;  boiling you noodles in your stock will result in cloudy soup and the starch from the pasta will also leech into your soup.

    When the vegetables are tender and the noodles are done, add them to your turkey stock to make turkey soup.  Enjoy!

     

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