"thanksgivingdinner" news and stories

Thanksgiving is about turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes (or yams, depending on who you ask). But it's also about finding an affordable wine to go along with such a feast -- especially if the host is calculating a pound of turkey and a bottle of wine per person (as any good Turkey Day host or hostess should).

This beautiful bottle of 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, captured by Flickr user stevesteve8383, would certainly do the trick ... though we might have to do a little taste test just to make sure.

A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:

Learn some new holiday cooking and baking skills with this roundup of Thanksgiving cooking classes across the nation.

Not surprisingly, an Aloha, Ore., man was fined $300 for calling 911 to complain about his botched McDonald's drive-through order.

Design icon Isaac Mizrahi will sell tartan-topped cheesecakes from Junior's on QVC in early December.

Los Angeles' popular Kogi Korean Taco Truck gets a tricked out Toyota Scion Kogi xD Mobile Kitchen that's fully loaded with a grill, a sink and an Alpine Sound System.

Restaurant consulting firm Baum + Whiteman released its 2010 food and dining trend forecast, which claims "fried chicken is the new pork belly."

Former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni sold the TV rights to his memoir, "Born Round."

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Turning fresh bread into day-old bread (that's perfect for stuffing) only takes 15 minutes.

Start planning your turkey day -- from decor to dessert -- now.

Whet your appetite with 10 exciting dishes for Thanksgiving.

Will you make room for soup at the Thanksgiving table?

Does Masterchef, another televised cooking-show competition, mean too many chefs in the kitchen?

Bacon makes everything better -- even candles!

Leftovers can cure the take-out temptation -- Thai Beef with Coconut Rice.

A few days ago, I documented my first visit to a Pollo Vivero, or live-kill poultry place. Well, having now had the joy of dressing and eating a freshly-killed turkey, I can absolutely state the following points:

Cutting off Heads Isn't That Hard: I thought that removing the bird's feet and head would be really difficult, but it was actually easy. I used a sturdy, German-style chef's knife, located the respective joints, and sliced away. While the legs came off in one piece (each), I had to take the neck off in two pieces. I used a paring knife and reached inside the carcass to cut it closer to the torso.

Live Turkeys Don't Look Quite the Same: My turkey's torso was longer and slightly sleeker than the Butterballs that I was used to. That having been said, it was still quite meaty, and the actual process of cooking it was very much the same (minus the pop-up timer, of course).

Live Turkeys Are Yummy: The turkey tasted more or less the same as a grocery store turkey. It was slightly more succulent, but I also chalk that up to the fact that I brined it.

Live Turkeys Dry Out Easily: Unlike store-bought turkeys, which soak in a broth solution until you unwrap them, live turkeys need to be protected from drying out. I wrapped mine in moist paper towels before brining it.

Turkey Heads Are Fun: Being somewhat perverse, I held on to the turkey head and feet so I could show them to select people. Two of my sisters got in a little bit of a tiff over who got to keep them (I'm not the only weirdo in my family), until my youngest sister claimed the artist card, stating that she wanted to draw the various parts.

I have decided that I'm definitely going to go with live poultry for Christmas. Does anybody have a good recipe for pheasant?

While turkey may be the centerpiece of many people's Thanksgiving dinners, the meal would not be the same without its pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, winter squash, parsnips, pears, Brussels sprouts, and much more. In fact, the Thanksgiving turkey seems like the only meat associated with the meal. Falling at the end of the season, this holiday provides a great opportunity to make use of the fresh fall produce.

So, if you're a vegetarian or serving vegetarians this season, there are plenty of dishes that you can make to celebrate the end-of-fall harvest.
Below are 8 vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes:

1. Maple glazed parsnips and carrots
2. Chantilly potatoes with a parmesan crust
3. Vanilla bean-whipped sweet potatoes
4. Parmesan-roasted butternut squash
5. Smashed rutabagas with ginger-roasted pears
6. Apple Pie
7. Sweet potato pie with pecan topping
8. Roasted winter squash and parsnips with maple syrup glaze and marcona almonds