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THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet News & Views
Trends, Products & Items Of Note In The World Of Specialty Foods
This is the blog section of THE NIBBLE. Read all of our content on TheNibble.com,
the online magazine about gourmet and specialty food.
Archive for Thanksgiving
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November 20, 2009 at 8:15 am
· Filed under Entertaining, Thanksgiving, Vegan
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According to a 2009 Vegetarian Resource Group/Harris Interactive survey, about 3% of the U.S. adult population is vegetarian. If you’ve invited a vegetarian to enjoy your turkey dinner, plan ahead with these tips from nutrition expert Gary Null.
If you don’t know if certain guests eat meat and other animal products, phone or email ahead of time. Then you can plan to have a main-course option to offer, such as a Tofurky (a tofu turkey) or our favorite, the Celebration Roast from Field Roast Grain Meat Company, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week. (By the way, this also works for guests who may have food allergies or medical restrictions, such as low cholesterol/no butter.)
In fact, most vegetarians do not expect the host to make special accommodations. They may even offer to bring a vegetarian dish that they and others can enjoy. But providing a few things they can eat (crudités before dinner, potatoes and other sides made without butter, for example) will make for a better experience. Don’t hesitate to discuss options with them.
A vegetarian does not eat any type of animal flesh, whether from fish, fowl or other animals, although some individuals choose to eat dairy and/or egg products. This includes lard, chicken and beef stock and some prepared salad dressings.
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With the vegan Celebration Roast, you still
get leftovers for sandwiches the next day. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE. |
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A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) eats no animal-derived products, including honey, gelatin (used in desserts and marshmallows) and red food dyes derived from cochineal. If there is an animal-derived ingredient in a dish, no matter how small the amount, be certain to let your guest know.
Most importantly, the Thanksgiving dinner table is not the time to discuss why someone is a vegetarian. Some choose this diet for ethical or animal rights reasons. Others may be motivated by religious, environmental and/or health considerations. Some simply don’t like meat. If you really want to know why your guest has made this choice, ask another day—and if anyone else brings up the topic, steer the conversation to reasons everyone should be thankful!
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November 19, 2009 at 8:13 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Entertaining, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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For Thanksgiving weekend, how about some apricot pumpkin bread, delicious for breakfast, brunch, snacks and tea sandwiches. This recipe is courtesy of B & R Farms, apricot growers who sell their delicious products at California farmers markets and to wholesalers. For more recipes, visit brfarms.com.
APRICOT PUMPKIN BREAD
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup salad oil (we like olive oil)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons each: baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
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B & R Farms apricots drying in the California
sun. Photo by Shannon Grissom, courtesy
B & R Farms. |
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to at 350°F.
2. In large bowl, beat together egg, sugar, pumpkin, oil and orange juice.
3. In another bowl, mix flour with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger and add to egg mixture.
4. Stir in nuts and dried apricots. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about an hour until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool 15 minutes, release from pan and serve warm with butter, cream cheese or apricot preserves. (Cream cheese and apricot preserves makes a great sandwich! Serve it with a cup of black tea; Earl Grey or Assam would be especially nice.)
Find pumpkin pie recipes in our Gourmet Pies & Pastry Section.
Find recipes for pumpkin cupcakes, banana bread and carrot cake in our Gourmet Cakes Section.
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October 28, 2009 at 10:00 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Halloween, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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Fall is the time to bake up a pumpkin storm, so let’s add to the list with a delicious pumpkin cupcake with pumpkin cheesecake (cream cheese) frosting.
Created by cupcake blogger Stefani Pollack, the cupcakes are made with healthier graham flour and bits of graham crackers, yielding a far more rich-tasting, graham-y cake with a muffin-like texture—no delicate little cup of fluff.
Check out the recipe.
Read about the invention of graham flour and graham crackers.
Find more of Stefani’s recipes at Cupcake Project: An Experimental Cupcake Blog.
For another yummy combination of pumpkin and cheesecake, check out our Pumpkin Mocha Cheesecake Recipe, an elegant special-occasion dessert.
Make some pumpkin mousse.
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Holiday flavors: graham flour (used to make
graham crackers) and pumpkin cheesecake
frosting. Photo courtesy Stefani Pollack |
Cupcake Project. |
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October 22, 2009 at 7:40 am
· Filed under Cookies/Cake/Pastry, Halloween, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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We love pumpkin cheesecake: So many recipes, so little time! This recipe is on the lighter side—pumpkin mousse—which makes it a better option after a heavy dinner. Think ahead to Thanksgiving, but try it out for Halloween.
The recipe was created by Andrea Watman, Creative Director at Zabar’s in New York City. Another twist is the gingersnap cookie crust, which brings even more holiday flavor into the recipe.
Try the pumpkin mousse cheesecake recipe.
No mousse for you? Here’s a full-strength mocha pumpkin cheesecake (cheesecake with a coffee bean-graham cracker crust and a mocha glaze).
Find more cheesecake recipes, including Burnt Caramel Cheesecake Brûlée, Cranberry Cheesecake, Irish Coffee cheesecake, Mango Cheesecake, Mascarpone Cheesecake, Rosemarie Brie Cheesecake and Sour Cream Topping Cheesecake.
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Pumpkin mousse cheesecake is lighter than other recipes. |
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November 25, 2008 at 9:30 am
· Filed under Beverages, Coffee & Tea, Gourmet News, Thanksgiving
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| Here’s a timely hostess gift to pick up for Thanksgiving…or the perfect coffee to add to your own menu. Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend is a bold blend of beans created to pair perfectly with the flavors of the Thanksgiving meal. Starbucks coffee experts worked with Seattle chef Tom Douglas, 2008 Bon AppĂ©tit Restauranteur of the Year, to select full-bodied Sumatra beans with their hint of fine herbs, and combined them with Guatemalan beans from the famed coffee-growing region of Antigua, which add subtle spice and cocoa notes. The result is a coffee that pairs beautifully with both sweet and savory foods—from the sage-rubbed turkey and herbed stuffing and green beans to spicy pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, cheesecake, gingerbread and the cheese course. We couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving: We’ve enjoyed half a bag already! |
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Douglas, whose restaurants include Dahlia Lounge, Etta’s, Lola, Palace Kitchen and Serious Pie (plus catering venues and a bakery), whipped up an early Thanksgiving dinner at his Palace Kitchen restaurant, trying different coffees with turkey in a sage and sweet onion gravy. The herbs in the turkey brought out the herbalness in the Sumatran beans, and a more acidic coffee was used to break the fattiness of the gravy. (Pairing coffee with food really is a science!) Thanksgiving Blend is the house coffee at all his restaurants throughout November.
The coffee, in one-pound bags, is $10.95. While this is the first year for Thanksgiving Blend, Christmas Blend, which has been popular for 20 years (and is based on aged Indonesian coffee beans), will be available beginning November 28th.
-Demystify coffee in our glossary of coffee terms.
-Learn about the aromas and flavors of coffee.
-Check out the tricks for making good coffee.
-Explore the history of coffee.
-Take our coffee trivia quiz. |
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November 25, 2008 at 9:00 am
· Filed under Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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Still not sure about how to prepare the Thanksgiving bird? While the Pilgrims didn’t get anywhere near the Caribbean, it doesn’t mean you can’t groove to Roasted Turkey with Puerto Rican Flavors, courtesy of Chef Patricia Wilson of Johnson & Wales University and Restaurants & Institutions magazine.
TURKEY
Ingredients
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 teaspoon achiote seeds
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tablespoon powdered cumin
-2 tablespoons sea salt
-2 tablespoons black pepper
-1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
-14-pound whole turkey, fresh or froze/thawed
-Ripe plantain stuffing (recipe follows) |
Preparation
1. Gently heat olive oil and add achiote seeds. Steep for 10 minutes and allow oil to turn a bright red/orange color. (Do not fry seeds or the oil will become bitter.) Strain.
2. Mix garlic with spices. Stir in achiote oil until it forms a paste.
3. Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Rub turkey with a thin layer of the spice rub. Cover and marinate turkey in the refrigerator for about 10-15 hours.
4. Loosely fill turkey cavity with the plantain stuffing. Fold turkey wings under the back of the turkey and return legs to the tucked position. Place turkey on rack, and set in large shallow roasting pan. Roast turkey in a 325°F oven, basting occasionally with pan drippings. Roast for approximately 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 180°F in the thigh and the stuffing reaches 165°F.
5. Loosely tent the turkey with foil and allow turkey to rest for about 15-20 minutes prior to carving.
6. Place on a platter and garnish with chili peppers and orange slices.
Yield: 12 servings
RIPE PLANTAIN STUFFING
Ingredients
-1/2 cup golden raisins
-1/4 cup gold rum
-10 plantains, very ripe
-8 ounces unsalted butter
-1/2 cup water
-Sugar to taste
-1 cinnamon stick
Preparation
1. Plump raisins in rum.
2. Peel and cube the plantains. Melt butter in a skillet and sauté plantains.
3. Add water, sugar and cinnamon stick. Cook until the plantains are soft, about 25 minutes. Add rum and raisins and cook for 10 more minutes.
4. Slightly mash plantains. Let cool. |
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November 17, 2008 at 9:00 am
· Filed under Gourmet News, Pet Food, Thanksgiving
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While you’re savoring Thanksgiving favorites with family and friends, why give your canine gourmet those everyday treats? Cloud Star, makers of Buddy Biscuits, has added Turkey & Cranberry Muttos to its lineup of healthy dog snacks. Or perhaps your picky pooch prefers Duck & Sweet Potato. Both of these festive flavors join Oatmeal & Blueberry and Peanut Butter & Green Apple as nutritious snacks made from the same types of ingredients that people eat. The all-natural, preservative-free snacks are made from domestically-farmed ingredients and do not contain corn or soy. If you’ll be a house guest at a residence where there’s a dog, we’re sure that it would far prefer you bring a box of Muttos than a bottle of wine. Muttos dog snacks are available at health food and pet supply stores nationwide; you can find a retailer near you at Cloudstar.com or by calling 1.800.361.9079. A 16-ounce box is $6.45. |
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November 14, 2008 at 3:35 pm
· Filed under Entertaining, Recipes, Thanksgiving
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Chicago caterer, restaurateur and author, Carlyn Berghoff, provides these calorie-saving tips for the holidays:
-White meat has less fat and fewer calories than dark meat. If you brine your turkey or use the Turkey Cannon, the white meat will be so moist, a dark-meat lover won’t be disappointed.
-With a moister turkey, you don’t need gravy; but instead of heavy gravy, serve the turkey au jus instead.
-Try mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes. The consistency is similar; you’ll save on carbs and enjoy the benefit of the high-antioxidant cruciferous vegetable group, of which cauliflower and broccoli are two famous members. |
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-Instead of a green bean casserole made with butter and/or cream, blanch the green beans, then season them with a thyme and sage vinaigrette. Finish with a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds (see our review of SuperSeedz pumpkin seeds—perfect for the occasion).
-Pie is a no-win situation. Some of THE NIBBLE Editors’ favorite substitutes include baked apple, with a minimal amount of sugar (you can add non-calorie sweetener afterward) and sorbet (look for seasonal flavors like cranberry from artisan producers). Or get a sculpted fruit basket from Edible Arrangements—fruit made so pretty that most people will forget about the pie (or at least, about the second piece of pie). |
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