Choosing a wine for the Thanksgiving table does not have to be as difficult as many make it seem. With the variety of competing flavors of Thanksgiving, it may seem difficult to find the perfect pairing. Finding a wine that goes with everything is key. And there are plenty of wines available in the market that accomplish the task. But you definitely don't want an overpowering wine or a lightweight wine that doesn't stand up to the many different dishes. Look for a fruity medium-bodied wine with good tartness or crispness. It has to cut through the rich autumnal flavors as well as complement the roast turkey. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are among the best wines for Thanksgiving, but a few other, more unique choices are available too. The following wines are all fruit-forward, food-friendly, and suitable for a whole range of tastes. Surprise your guests with one or more of these picks.
Beaujolais Nouveau is one of the most popular wines this time of year. Every third Thursday in November France releases it into the world with much lauded fanfare and drop ships it to locations worldwide. After the grapes are harvested, the juice is only fermented for a few weeks before becoming wine. The wine from négociant Georges Duboeuf is the easiest to find in wine stores across the country, but many other brands can also be procured. Beaujolais is made from the Gamay grape in the Burgundy subregion of the same name. The resulting wine is very fruity with a light to medium body with nice tartness but low tannins. It's the perfect red wine to go with poultry, especially turkey or chicken. This wine is possibly one of the only reds that can benefit from slight chilling, but try it at different temperatures to see which is more appealing. Drink it while it's young, the wine is not meant for aging.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Rustic Herbed Stuffing
Stuffing is never my department. My mom has always made the stuffing (another one of my dad’s favorites) and she ALWAYS stuffs it in the bird.
I must admit, I have never made stuffing before making this recipe. I made it last year as a test, prior to Thanksgiving, and it was so good that Eli ate half the pan.
Regardless if it is Thanksgiving or 90* outside, if I ask Eli what he wants for dinner, his answer always has stuffing in the sentence.
Last year marked a new tradition; our holiday menu isn’t complete without this dish.
Thanksgiving Popcorn
You've heard of Thanksgiving stuffing, Thanksgiving pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving turkey. But have you heard of Thanksgiving popcorn? Of course you haven't. That's because I just created it.
Why "Thanksgiving" popcorn? Read on.
I handed Jeff a bowl of popcorn and said, "Here, try this." He ate a couple of handfuls and said, "This is the best popcorn you've ever made."
"Really?" I said. (I thought my best was my maple walnut popcorn.)
He took another handful and tossed it in his mouth. "Oh, yeah. This is definitely the best. What's it called?" he asked.
"I don't know. I can't think of a name I like," I said.
"You should call it Thanksgiving popcorn. It's got all the flavors and smells of Thanksgiving," he said.
And that, my friends, is how today's popcorn got its name. Hmmm... I wonder if I can get my own Wikipedia entry for it.
Classic Sage Bread Stuffing for a Crowd
This recipe is a combination of technique and ingredients from Cook’s Illustrated and Joy of Cooking, which I suppose now makes it my own. There are tons of recipes with exotic flavors and ingredients, but if you’re looking for that classic Thanksgiving stuffing, this is the recipe to use. Drying the bread before making the stuffing is an important step for texture and flavor.
If you plan ahead, you can just leave the bread cubes out on the counter for a few days to become stale. I usually just spread them out on baking sheets and dry in a 300-degree oven for 30 to 60 minutes. Let the bread cool before using in the stuffing. You can substitute three 14-ounce bags of plain dried bread cubes for the homemade dried bread cubes, but you'll need to increase the amount of broth to 7-8 cups.
This recipe can easily be halved and baked in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish for a smaller crowd.
Stuff It!
In my book, Stuffing has held its place in my penalty box along with
green bell peppers; cilantro, cumin and lime flavored Life Savers. For
me, it’s the Buzz Kill of Thanksgiving.
I have never met a Stuffing I’ve liked, but not for obvious reasons. I
find the premise of a food item that’s made from torn up bread to be,
somehow, cheating, not to mention being a food group that’s utterly
unappetizing to me. Justin Wilson, The Cajun Cook from a while back
once made something that even he copped to being the height of poverty
cuisine; faux potato salad! It was made with old torn up bread.
Nothing wrong with poverty cuisine by the way. Southern fried and most
Jewish food is exactly that. But substituting potatoes with bread is
just sad.
Wikipedia outlines the history of stuffing dating back to Roman times
where you could get anything from a chicken to a dormouse stuffed with
vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, spelt (which is described as ‘old
cereal’ by Wikipedia) and a variety of organ meat still considered
palatable today.
Nothing wrong with that, I say. But, as it had evolved and morphed, it
has picked up and been dominated by bread. Gross. Especially when you
consider the quality of bread in our country.
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