Knorr + your pan drippings = easy, good gravy. Chart courtesy Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports did a taste test with commercial gravies to consider the options. The tasters tried 10 products—four dry mixes (add water, stir, and heat) and six canned or jarred gravies (just heat). They also tried them with and without the turkey pan drippings (minus the fat), which some products suggest—and which produced the best results.

Results

• Knorr is very good; in fact, guests might think it’s homemade. It has a big roasted-turkey taste, a fresh impression and slightly sweet, caramelized flavors nicely blended with herbs.
• McCormick actually tastes freshly prepared, though it’s a bit starchy—and meat or potatoes could mask those.
• Flaws increase as gravies fall lower on the list. Products rated “Fair” have even more drawbacks. The Franco-American is gelatinous; Simply Organic is also bitter; Serv-A-Gravy has little flavor, period.

Nutrition
Per serving, most of the gravies have 20 to 25 calories, very little fat, and 260 to 360 milligrams of sodium. (The exception, Serv-A-Gravy, has 15 calories and 210 mg of sodium.) Many include a little fat, stock, or broth from chicken or turkey, plus a dairy product. Those without meat flavor, fat or dairy—Simply Organic and Serv-A-Gravy—were lowest-rated.

Bottom Line
Try Knorr with pan drippings (minus fat).

• Cranberry-colored candles—either in candlesticks or pillars on the table.
• Small cylindrical glass vases (think large tumblers—and you can use tumblers) filled with fresh cranberries and water, with one colorful Gerber daisy standing in each. Choose a contrasting seasonal color like orange.After the festivities are over, disperse the floral tumblers to add seasonal decor to small areas of the home—bathrooms and bedrooms, for example.

Insert into a tumbler filled with cranberries.

Savor the aroma of a great cup of tea. Photo
courtesy DenbyUSA.com.

Here are some ideas from THE NIBBLE and The Fitzgerald Hotel Group’s “Fitz to a Tea” November tea service.

• Pumpkin Tea. Serve a “Pumpkin Tea” consisting of pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin scones. Have a some cranberry scones or muffins for those who don’t like pumpkin. Serve your favorite black tea, or try the Pumpkin Spice Tea from BigelowTea.com (KOF-K kosher) and Zhena Gypsy Tea (gypsytea.com, organic, Fair Trade and KSA kosher). Dragonwater.com has a caffeine-free (rooibos) pumpkin tea.

• Thankful To A Tea. No matter how busy we are, we all can lend a hand—and we all could use one. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, host a “Wish List Tea.” All the participants submit in advance one reasonable request they hope someone else in the group can fulfill. It can be a night of babysitting, a used bicycle, the loan or donation of a black cocktail dress or size 9 red pumps, someone to explain home equity loans, etc.Teas the season to be thankful…and to relax with friends over a good cup of tea.
• See our Tea Glossary to learn more about tea.
• Find more of our favorite teas in our Gourmet Tea Section.

Instead, serve Cranberry Royales as an apéritif this holiday season, a combination of cranberry liqueur and any sparkling wine.

1. First pour the cranberry liqueur into a Champagne flute—an inch or more, depending on how sweet you like your cocktails.
2. Then fill the flute with sparkling wine.
3. Don’t stir, or else give half a gentle stir with a swizzle stick (stirring destroys the bubbles).

You can make your own cranberry liqueur with two weeks’ lead time: There are many recipes online. You’ll have it in time for Christmas!

• Find more cocktail ideas in our Cocktails & Spirits Section.

Serve Cranberry Royales before Thanksgiving
dinner. Photo courtesy SXC.

Lots of food needs lots of wine. Photo
courtesy iGourmet.com.

Since some people are inveterate white wine drinkers, the best option is to offer both red and white with the turkey. We’ve provided some suggestions from THE NIBBLE and the National Turkey Federation:

In addition to the familiar names below, three transplants from the Alsace region of France—Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Riesling, are widely grown in the U.S. and vinified for American palates. They’re reasonably priced, too. Your wine store clerk can guide you to great choices.

Suggestion: Why not serve several different wines and turn your Thanksgiving into a mini wine tasting, with votes on which wine goes best? Since guests often ask what they can bring, can assign a different wine to different guest.

• Chardonnay. A perennial crowd favorite; just don’t try to pair a highly-oaked Chardonnay with turkey. Ask the wine store clerk for a non-oaked or lightly-oaked wine.
• Gewürtztraminer. One of our favorites, this fruity, spicy wine complements smoked turkey and other bold flavors.
• Pinot Blanc. This lesser-known but charming dry white wine has broad appeal.
• Riesling. Not the classic sweeter-style Alsatian or German Rieslings that pair so well with foie gras, American Rieslings are dry-vinified.
• Sparkling Wines. These range from pricier Champagnes to inexpensive Cavas from Spain. Either way, most people love a glass of bubbly. You can serve a glass as an apéritif as well as at the table.

RED WINES WITH TURKEY

For roast turkey (or chicken), you want a red that doesn’t overwhelm the turkey—one without heavy tannins.

• Beaujolais. This French wine is a favorite among those who like lots of jammy fruit. While regular Beaujolais ages in barrels before its release, 10 days or so before every Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau—the unaged, fresh wine—arrives in the United States. It’s very light and fruity. Read more about it.
• Pinot Noir. Our personal favorite and the top choice for Thanksgiving wines, based on a survey by readers of Wine Spectator. This medium-bodied wine pairs well with white meat, dark meat, and all of the dishes.
• Zinfandel. Many wine connoisseurs serve this wine with their turkey—an American grape for the quintessential American holiday. It’s the most full-bodied and richest of the wines on our list.

WHAT WINE GOES WITH DESSERT?

See our chart on wine and dessert pairings.