Celebrity chefs -- they're just like us. Only with mega book deals, product lines, contracts with mayonnaise companies, a slew of sous chefs and a staff to clean up after them. Still, when it comes to food, most of 'em have a down-home and humble favorite that defines the holiday. Over the next few weeks, we'll share must-have festive fare from Rachael Ray, John Besh, Michael Symon and many more.
In this Slashfood exclusive, Chef Bobby Flay disses his mother's stuffing, goofs on his canned-cranberry-loving cousin and plays with a whole lotta mayo.
Buy Bobby Flay's books and read more about Bobby Flay on Slashfood.
Previously -- Marcus Samuelsson's must-have holiday dish -- which also involves vodka and red wine. Sensing a trend here...
The guests have finished gobbling and you've waved off all offers of help. Now you're stuck with the mess. The pros share their post-holiday triage tips.
Nothing quite kills the glow you get from preparing a big feast for family and friends during the holidays like finding yourself alone in a trashed kitchen, trying to deal with the ruins while your guests slip away into the night or pass out before the television set.
"It can really sour a meal, especially if you like football and don't want to be stuck with your bitter head in the dishwasher," says New York caterer Serena Bass.
While grimacing through the holidays and hating everyone while pretending to have a heart full of good cheer may make sense to some WASPs, it's best to avoid the resentment by allocating some of the clean-up duties ahead of time. First, says Bass, know your players.
"Don't give a stranger putting-away duties, as you'll never find things again. That's your job. Get a Virgo at the dishwasher, putting things in, and someone else at the sink rinsing and scrubbing the crusty stuff.
"You'll need one or two to clear the tables -- and tell them where the dirty linens go; one or two to put the tables and chairs back where they belong; and one person to put away leftovers. Be sure to have plenty of plastic containers and Ziploc bags -- and make space in the fridge beforehand!"
On Thanksgiving, it's easy to overlook the main event for all the delicious sides. But with a turkey like this one, it's hard to deny the glory of such a proud bird.
Though many lust after a particular side dish, a turkey this juicy and golden reigns over any Thanksgiving table. As first-time Thanksgiving hosts know, it can be both the centerpiece and the biggest concern. (Ever see the deflated bird in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? If only the Griswolds had tried our brine recipe.) Nonetheless, Flickr user Coconut Recipe's perfectly roasted example is an inspiration.
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We've called in chef and author Elizabeth Karmel to answer these frequently asked turkey questions for Thanksgiving. "Even if you make the turkey every year, you need a refresher before Turkey Day," Karmel says. "I supervised the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line early in my career and we found that since most people only cook a turkey once a year, they need help remembering how to cook it. "
1. What if you don't have enough drippings for the gravy?
I have a great gravy trick I learned from my mother, and I use it every single year:
a. Take all of the giblets and the neck (you'll find them packed inside the turkey), toss them with olive oil and salt, chop up some onions, celery, and carrots and roast them at high heat (400 degrees F), to caramelize and intensify their flavors.
b. Put everything into a sauce pan with a couple cups of chicken broth and then, while you're working through the rest of the menu, simmer it for several hours until it reduces.
c. Add white wine for depth of flavor, and whisk in to create a light turkey gravy. If you prefer your gravy on the chunky side, strip the meat off the neck, chop up the giblets and add this to the gravy.
Cranberry sauce is the most ubiquitous Thanksgiving condiment -- perhaps even more so than gravy. Whether it's conditioning or tradition (or force feeding from our parents at a young age), it seems to go perfectly with everything on a late November plate. And though a glob of it straight out of a can is hilarious to look at, it pales in comparison to homemade cranberry sauce, which happens to be ridiculously easy to make.
The joys of a holiday meal with family and friends can be less than abundant if you're the one putting the meal on the table. But don't worry -- your loved ones are forgiving, and most any culinary crisis can be patched over. Here's our quick fix guide to the most common emergencies. The Pilgrims had the Wampanoag to help them through the first Thanksgiving; you have us.
The Turkey Is Still Frozen
Give it a bath. You can safely speed up thawing by soaking the wrapped turkey in a sink full of cold water. Change the water every half hour or so. If you're starting with a rock-hard bird, you'll need thirty minutes per pound, so give yourself some time.
I Don't Know If the Turkey Is Done
If you don't own an instant-read thermometer, now is a good time to pick one up. It's really the only foolproof method for checking doneness. The thickest part of the thigh should be at least 170 degrees F, the breast 160. If you have to improvise, try slipping a knife deep into the thigh; the juices should run clear.
The Turkey Is Unevenly Cooked
If the breast is ready but the dark meat still undercooked (it happens to the best of us), slice the legs off and give them some extra time in the oven, preferably in a small roasting pan.
The Slashfood team is heading out for our own Thanksgiving celebrations. There's still time to get your feast prepared. Read on for a host of last-minute turkey day ideas.
Have you brined that bird yet? There's still time to ensure it's juicy and delicious, just follow our brining guide and follow this easy turkey brine recipe. Whether you've been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 20 years or this is your first time, sometimes things can go wrong. For quick solutions to common turkey blunders, Turkey Help to the rescue.
Need some conversation starters for the table? Take our Thanksgiving Trivia quiz and find out when the first Thanksgiving dinner was celebrated
Thanksgiving leftovers might arguably be the best part of the holiday, check out these delicious recipes for the turkey, cranberries, bread, and mashed potatoes. Last but not least, don't forget to help those who are less fortunate -- find your nearest Food Bank and give back this holiday.
Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label, called Red Hook Rye, and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
I've been a bit in my own isolated world lately trying to unpack into a new home in a foreign land. When a friend in New York told me on the phone that he's busy making plans to serve 18 people for Thanksgiving this week, I gasped. How could I forget that this week is Thanksgiving?
Casa Cóctel's kitchen is still a work in progress, so we won't have a full-on Thanksgiving dinner in Mexico this year. We are still waiting for the arrival of the wine and spirit collection and the newly restored vintage Faema espresso machine. With all that in my mind, I decided to just make it all easier with a Kentucky Joe, a tasty dessert drink made with bourbon and coffee liqueur.
We're now in the last push before Thanksgiving. There's no time to carefully make marzipan treats or tasty maple concoctions. But there is still the possibility of sweetness without resorting to the old-school pie baking. Simply put down the pie shell, find a pumpkin-shaped pan and whip up a delicious, show-stopping cake.
The orange squash is one of the most undervalued delicacies in the world of food. By adding it to a cake, you get all the rich and spicy flavor contrasted with vanilla or chocolate. Since this is a cake, it can be made ahead of time -- freeing up the oven for the last-minute fare -- and adds some three-dimensional whimsy to your holiday table.
Mark Bittman's advice for Thanksgiving: "Just chill."
Since 1999, residents of Jamestown, R.I., have held a Thanksgiving leftovers potluck deemed the "Save the Best for Last" dinner the Saturday after Turkey Day.
Taking a clue from the Butterball Turkey talk-line, Sam Sifton will be answering reader questions until 3 p.m. Thursday.
Hold the jokes about foil-wrapped potatoes and GORP-topped pie: Kentucky's state parks last year hosted more than 11,000 celebrants for Thanksgiving dinner.
"It's a longtime tradition, and a very convenient option," parks spokesman Gil Lawson says.
Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas will all keep at least one of their state park restaurants open this Thanksgiving for a holiday buffet. Insiders say the low price of in-park dining will likely enhance the appeal of an already popular program this year.
Kentucky, which operates all 17 of its park restaurants on Thanksgiving Day, charges $16.95 for a meal including turkey and dressing, baked ham, candied yams, green beans, mashed potatoes with giblet gravy and pumpkin pie.
"Not everyone wants to cook," explains Tennessee State Parks' Meg Lockhart. "This is a really simple thing to do in a beautiful setting."
Whether your Thanksgiving celebration errs on the Puritanical side, with extended family and tykes on the loose, or functions as more of a boozy bacchanal, this "Southern Comfort Barn Burner" cocktail should provide ample comfort to imbibers of all sorts.
If our Thanksgiving wine pairings didn't quite satisfy your thirst, Ezra Pound Cake's simple Southern Comfort and cider concoction will certainly fit the bill. In what she dubs "the official drink of Thanksgiving 2009," Ezra spikes some classic apple cider with some Southern Comfort, seasons it with cinnamon and brightens it with fresh lemon. She summarized the elegant drink best in her blog: "The combination works because the flavors in Southern Comfort -- especially the peach, orange and cinnamon -- dance with the apple in the cider, giving you a drink that's sweet and fruity, with an undercurrent of trouble. Just like Thanksgiving." We'll drink to that!
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The turkey turned out perfectly, but the gravy's a different story. Avoid botching the one recipe that guests pour over their entire Thanksgiving plates with these quick fixes.
and read more about Bobby Flay on Slashfood.
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