Because Thanksgiving is the American holiday, we always serve American wines.

If you pour just one white wine and one red wine at Thanksgiving, that’s O.K.

But for those who want to up their wine-pairing game, here’s a Thanksgiving food and wine pairing guide.

Of course, you don’t need to serve a different wine with every course as shown below. Only wine nerds do that (guilty!).

But we hope this inspires you to consider different pairings with your feast.
 
 
HOW MANY WINES ARE “TOO MANY?”

If you think the following amount of wine is “too much” for one Thanksgiving meal…well, it depends on how much of a wine-aholic you are. We’ve been serving different wines with every course of a big dinner for decades.

That’s no judgment on anyone who doesn’t. It’s just an aspirational comment for those who might like to try.
 
1. Apéritif & All-Purpose White: Chardonnay

For those who want a white wine apéritif, Chardonnay is a popular choice. At the table, it pairs with all the traditional dishes.

Chardonnay really shines with green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, which is why it’s also the go-to for vegetarian meals.

2. Seafood & All-Purpose White: Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris (pee-no gree) can be your white wine aperitif, or wine of choice for anyone who only drinks whites.

But it shines with shellfish dishes, especially those with olive oil. Its acidity cuts through the rich fats and enhances the crustacean flavors.

Most people don’t serve seafood at Thanksgiving dinner, but we have friends who start the meal with oysters on the half shell. It’s historic:

The Pilgrims ate plenty of them, gathered from the ocean, and oysters may have been part of the original feast. America’s coastline was teeming with clams, lobsters, mussels, and oysters reefs.

3. Apéritif & All-Purpose White: Albariño

Here’s another all-purpose white wine. This grape from Spain is not as well-known in the U.S., but is is now being planted by more American growers. It’s an excellent apéritif, a touch more aromatic than Pinot Gris.

It’s an excellent alternative to Pinot Gris for seafood and vegetarian/vegan dishes.

4. Turkey: Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is the go-to wine for the main course. It is the perfect pairing for turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. If you choose one wine for the dinner table, make it Pinot Noir.

5. Beef: Cabernet Sauvignon

If your Thanksgiving dinner includes prime rib, Cabernet Sauvignon is a heartier wine that stands up to beef, and more substantial dishes and sides like stuffing with with sausage or dishes with spicy ingredients like chiles.

6. Beef, Ham & Turkey: Zinfandel

Zinfandel is the happy medium when serving turkey or a roast, and is also a perfect pairing with ham. Its spiciness complements ham’s cloves and a sweet or savory glaze.

7. Dessert

Dessert wines are made to be drunk with the dessert, and the sweetness goes with any dessert. We even like it with a cheese course.

But for those who are stuffed from dinner but still want to end with something sweet, dessert wine is just the ticket.

Quady Winery in California makes several dessert wines, the most familiar of which are Essensia and Elysium.

But there are quite a few fine American dessert wines. Look for Late Harvest Riesling, Ice Wine, Orange Muscat.

You may come across Bonny Doon’s Viognier Vin de Glacière, one of the first California dessert wines.

Many dessert wines come in half bottles. Don’t hesitate to ask for guidance from the wine store staff.
 
 
In Vino Veritas, and for Thanksgiving, In Vino Americae Veritas.

[1] So much to eat, so many wines to pair (photo © Fairmont Hotel | Chicago).

[2] If your crowd are wine enthusiasts, treat them to wine pairings for Thanksgiving (photo © Cameron Hughes).

[3] How about this cranberry-walnut stuffing? Here’s the recipe (photo © Go Bold With Butter).

[4] There’s even a wine for pumpkin pie and other Thanksgiving desserts (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[1] Oven-baked nuggets served Buffalo Wing style. The recipe is below (photo © Nadine Primeau | Unsplash).

[2] Don’t like blue cheese? Serve chicken nuggets with your favorite dips. Here’s the recipe (photo © Every Last Bite.

[3] Vegan nuggets: Alpha Foods used its Chikn-Nuggets to make a Buffalo Chickn hero/sub, with all the fixings: blue cheese dressing, onion, pickles, shredded lettuce and tomatoes. Here’s the recipe (photos #3 and #4 © Alpha Foods).

[4] We like chicken nuggets (here, vegan Chick’n Nuggets) with three dips: blue cheese, Russian dressing and good old ketchup.

[5] Here’s a recipe for chunky blue cheese dressing. Reminder: Use good blue cheese! (photo © Perfect Meals).

November 13th was National Chicken Nuggets Day, and we tried a new recipe (below and photo #1) to celebrate. If you missed the celebration, February 5th is National Buffalo Chicken Dip Day and National Chicken Wing Day is July 29th.

> The recipe is below.

> So is the history of chicken nuggets.

Elsewhere on THE NIBBLE:

> The year’s 40 chicken holidays.

> The history of chicken.

> The different types of chicken and chicken cuts: a photo glossary.

> The history of Buffalo wings.

 
 
AN INTRODUCTION
 
Almost everyone knows that a chicken nugget is a bite-sized piece of chicken, coated in batter and then deep fried (although the recipe here uses baked nuggets, for ease of prep and fewer calories).

In the world of chicken nuggets, better nuggets are made by cutting up chicken breasts. Cheaper versions are made from ground chicken or a meat slurry*. If you care, check the ingredients.

For vegetarians and vegans, there are excellent vegan nuggets from companies like Alpha Foods and Quorn.

And check out who invented chicken nuggets, in the history below. (Hint: It wasn’t McDonald’s.)

Today’s recipe idea is for Chicken Nuggets Buffalo Wing Style (photo #1).

Buffalo Wings are fried chicken wings served with hot sauce, a blue cheese and celery. Here’s the story of their impromptu creation.

Buffalo Wings have their own national holiday, on July 29th.

But on to the fusion of Buffalo Wings and chicken nuggets: Buffalo Nuggets.
 
 
RECIPE: BUFFALO CHICKEN NUGGETS

For this recipe, you can make chicken nuggets from scratch or buy them frozen.

You can also buy takeout nuggets from a fast-food restaurant or deli, but that will cost you more.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can buy all the ingredients and just assemble.

The recipe uses blue cheese dressing, which is the prevailing way to serve Buffalo wings. Originally, a hunk of blue cheese was served.

On the sandwich version (photo #3), we used a commercial blue cheese dressing, but crumbled some Bayley Hazen Blue on top of the dressing. We really enjoyed the added piquancy of the crumbles.

We always have some great blue cheese in the fridge. We created a hero sandwich with Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the nuggets according to the recipe or package instructions.

2. PLATE with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

3. SANDWICH: Pile the ingredients onto the bread. For a variation, toast the bread.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CHICKEN NUGGETS

The chicken nugget was invented in the 1950s by Robert C. Baker, a food science professor at Cornell University. He created more than 40 poultry, turkey and cold cut innovations.

Here’s more about him.

In the 1950s he created chicken pieces that were breaded or battered, then deep-fried. It was called the “Chicken Crispie” by Baker and his associate.

Two problems facing the meat industry at the time were the ability to clump ground meat without a skin, and produce a batter coating that could be both deep fried and frozen without becoming detached.

Baker’s innovations solved these problems and made it possible to form chicken nuggets in any shape by:

 
His findings were published as academic papers, but not patented [source].
 
And then came McNuggets.

The product that became Chicken McNuggets was conceived by Keystone Foods, a supplier to McDonald’s, in the late 1970s (the company was acquired by Tyson in 2018).

In 1981, McDonald’s launched Chicken McNuggets in select markets. They were in McDonald’s worldwide by 1983.

Why the delay?

McNuggets were so well-received that every franchise wanted them, and there wasn’t a system to supply enough chicken [source].

Following suit, other chains introduced chicken nuggets, as did frozen food manufacturers and restaurants.

Here are the ingredients. The Chicken McNuggets formula was changed in 2016 to remove artificial preservatives and improve the nutritional value†.

Here’s more about Chicken McNuggets.

Following food trends, different manufacturers created vegan nuggets for foodservice and grocers.

Some fast food restaurants have launched vegan alternatives. McDonald’s is testing vegan McNuggets in Europe. They’re made from chickpeas, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, corn, and onion, and are coated in a crunchy breading [source].

Modern chefs, who grew up loving McNuggets, have created their own creative, fusion and gourmet versions, from pretzel-coated chicken nuggets to Korean chicken nuggets to zucchini and parmesan-crusted chicken nuggets.

Have fun with your nuggets. As we celebrated Chicken Nuggets Day, we also served them on skewers with cherry tomatoes and celery chunks—and blue cheese dip, of course!
 
________________

*A meat slurry is reconstituted chicken meat designed for chicken nuggets, dog food, and other industrial uses. Here’s more about it. A study published in the American Journal of Medicine analyzed the composition of chicken nuggets from two American fast food chains. It found that less than half of the material was skeletal muscle (i.e., chicken flesh), with fat occurring in an equal or greater proportion.

†As of August 1, 2016, the ingredients within the U.S. are as follows: White boneless chicken, water, salt, seasoning (yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring, safflower oil, lemon juice solids, dextrose, citric acid), sodium phosphates. Battered and breaded with water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dextrose, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil (canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil) with citric acid as a preservative [source].
 

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Sometimes the food adventure takes you to new countries and new cuisines. You may discover new must-have favorites.

That’s what happened to us with bureks (BOO-rek, also spelled börek and other variations), when we discovered Balkan Bites, a New York-based family business that bakes bureks from generations-old recipes handed down from great-great grandmothers in Albania. (More about them below.)

Bureks a Southeast European comfort foods a portable stuffed phyllo swirl.

Delicate pastries made of thin, flaky hand-stretched phyllo dough, traditionally they are filled with cheese, meat or vegetables—or a combination.

Modern bakers have created sweet options as well: everything from the classic cinnamon-sugar, sweetened cheese and sweetened yogurt, to Nutella.

Bureks may be prepared in a large sheet pan and cut into portions after baking, like baklava; or as individual pastries.
 
 
WHO EATS BUREKS?

For centuries, burek had been the food of nomads and wanderers: carried in knapsacks from Beijing to Barcelona, from Modena to the Maghreb, cooked over campfires.

So delicious, however, borek found its way onto the table of khans and kings. It is a culinary witness to generations of migration, conquest and displacement.

Here’s more on the history of borek.

Working their way into the diet of everyday folks, bureks have long been served as a popular street food, a home snack or a part of a sit-down meal.

They’re part of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire: the Balkans* (image #8), the South Caucasus, the Levant, North Africa and other parts of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

Originally introduced by the nomadic Turks of Central Asia, the flaky phyllo swirl travelled across borders for centuries, adopting different names and shapes [source].

The Southern Slavic cuisines make derivatives of the burek. And it’s also Jewish comfort food—though not European Jewish but eastern Jewish.

 
For breakfast, lunch, appetizer or dessert, there’s a reason to eat bureks. You can even have them as a main course with a green salad.

In the Balkans, burek is traditionally eaten with a side of yogurt or ajvar, a roasted pepper spread that goes with everything.

It’s “the ketchup of the Balkans,” says Balkan Bites (you can make it or buy it online).
 

BALKAN BITES BUREKS

Balkan Bites sells frozen, ready to bake bureks, in packages of four (photo #7), that make a delicious snack or an easy meal for the whole family.

Frozen bureks last for one year in the freezer.

At Balkan Bites, everything is made from scratch. The phyllo dough uses unbleached flour, extra virgin olive oil, real butter “and a lot of love, says Balkan Bites.”

“We believe in simple, high-quality ingredients and we never use palm oil, soybean oil, or margarine.”

We pop one into the oven for a snack, or heat more for a meal of different flavors of burek.

It’s easy cut them in half and share the flavors.

While the top of the börek is occasionally sprinkled with sesame or nigella† seeds, or both (photo #3).

But Balkan Bites expands the traditional menu with these combinations:

 
…and for dessert:

 
Serve them with:

 
…and our American additions:

 
Is it time to treat yourself to something special?
 
 
>> GET BALKAN BITES HERE.

Please note that if you search online, there’s a London company with the url BalkanBites.COM. This is BalkanBites.CO.

________________

*The Balkans is a geographic area that lies on the southeastern edge of Europe. Known for its diverse cultures, traditions, and ethnicities, it is the shared love of food, like the Burek, that brings people together.

†Nigella seeds are often incorrectly referred to as black caraway, black cumin, fennel flower and onion seeds, among others. However, nigella (kalonji in Hindi) is none of these.

While it is not an aromatic spice—it has just a hint of savory scent—it is very flavorful. Nigella seeds have an oregano-like quality with herbaceous notes, a slight bitterness and a warm, toasted-onion flavor.

They are as adaptable as most spices. Add them salads, sauces and as a garnish for soups and other foods [source].

[1] Bureks are often served with yogurt (above) and ajvar roasted pepper dip (below—all photos © Balkan Bites).

[2] Bureks with ajvar, “the ketchup of the Balkans.” You can buy it or make it, and make it as smooth or chunky, as mild or hot as you like.

[3] Bureks with the classic topping of nigella and sesame seeds.

[4] Mushroom-Onion Burek.

[5] Nutella Burek.

[6] Pumpkin Spice Burek.

[7] Balkan Bureks arrive frozen. Each package contains four bureks.

[8] The Balkans.

[1] Moroccan-spiced baked fries (photos #1 and #4 © Idaho Potato Commission)

[2] Ras el hanout, the famed Moroccan spice blend (photo © Silk Road Spices).

[3] The ras el hanout spices are blended, then ground. This mix includes allspice, black peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, hibiscus, lavender, mustard seed and star anise. (photo © Spice & Tea).

[4] The types of Idaho potatoes. Idaho russets are on the bottom row.

[5] Broiled Salmon with Ras El Hanout Spiced Butter. Here’s the recipe (photo © The Kitchn).

[5] How about some grilled Moroccan Chicken? Here’s the recipe (photo © Feasting At Home).

For Cook Something Bold & Pungent Day (November 9th), we made these oven-baked fries flavored with the Moroccan spice blend, ras el hanout (photo #1, recipe below).

While ras el hanout is piquant rather than pungent (here’s the difference), it fit the bill—especially since the spice blend was augmented with garlic, paprika and cilantro.
 
 
WHAT IS RAS EL HANOUT

As just mentioned, ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice blend; it is also used in Algeria and Tunisia.

The name translates as “top of the shop,” i.e., the best.

There is no one recipe for ras el hanout: Every spice merchant has a proprietary recipe, and the cooks who buy the spices debate who has the best version.

The mixture often includes 30 or more of a spice merchant’s best ingredients: whole spices, dried roots and leaves, ground together.

 
The complex blend delivers many subtle undercurrents of floral, peppery and sweet.
 
 
HOW TO USE RAS EL HANOUT

Traditional uses include as a dry rub or marinade for grilled meats, in starches (couscous, potatoes, rice) and traditional Moroccan dishes like b’stilla and tagines.

You’ll find many uses for it. As with all blends, a bonus benefit is that you don’t have to measure out multiple seasonings.

We use ras el hanout on many things:

 
 
BUY IT OR MAKE IT

If you don’t want to buy a jar, here’s a recipe from food writer Marc Bittman:

 
Thanks to the Idaho Potato Commission for this recipe. If you love potatoes, check out the myriad of creative potato recipes on their website.
 

RECIPE: BAKED FRENCH FRIES WITH RAS EL HANOUT SEASONING

This recipe was developed by Tina Dawson of Love Is In My Tummy for the Idaho Potato Commission.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PEEL and slice each potato vertically in half. Take one half, then slice it vertically in half again to reduce the thickness. Flip it on the flat side, and slice again into 4 fry-shaped pieces. Repeat with all the potatoes.

2. IMMERSE the chopped potatoes in water for 20-30 minutes. This step is essential to removing the starch, making for a crispier fry.

3. RINSE the potatoes until the water runs clear. Drain. Using paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, dab until the excess moisture is removed. Transfer to a clean, dry bowl.

4. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F (220°C). Position the baking rack to the lowest position and another rack to the slot just above it.

5. COMBINE the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients except the cilantro. Toss to coat the spices evenly over the potatoes. Arrange in a single layer on a large baking tray or two medium trays (you may line the tray(s) with foil to make clean-up easier).

6. BAKE for 30 minutes. Halfway during baking, swap the top and bottom trays, and flip the fries. Once the time is up and the fries are crisp…

7. REMOVE from the oven, toss with chopped cilantro and serve immediately with condiment(s) choice.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POTATOES

Popovers have always been a special food to us.

Light and airy, they can be part of the bread basket for almost any meal.

Bread lover that we are, we can make a meal just of popovers and a pot of tea.

 
The recipe is below, but first:

> National Blueberry Popover Day is March 10th.

> National Raspberry Popover Day is May 3rd.

> National Cherry Popover Day is September 1st.

> The history of popovers.
 
 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POPOVERS & YORKSHIRE PUDDING

 
 
WHY DON’T WE EAT MORE POPOVERS?

For something so delicious and easy to make, why don’t we eat more of them? Is it because they (in theory) require a special pan?

Even our Mom, a baker extraordinaire who had more bakeware than one could count, didn’t have popovers in her repertoire.

Instead, she relished them at Sunday brunch and afternoon tea at a restaurant that brought a heaping basket of them to the table.

How the sight of that basket full of hot popovers filled our hearts!

Over the years, we delighted in finding restaurants that made popovers.

One of our favorite neighborhood places served them with strawberry butter. It didn’t get better than that. But oh, the line of people waiting for tables.

And then, alas, they lost their lease and closed (R.I.P., beloved Popover Café).

The Harvard Club in New York City makes them, and we’ve wangled as many lunch invitations as we can from friends who are members.

But now, the choice is obvious:
 
 
BUY A PAN!

One day we wandered into Williams Sonoma on one of those “just browsing” visits—the kind that that end in a large bill for impulse purchases.

It was there that we encountered our popover pan. Soon, we were churning out our own popovers.

They are so easy to make, that we figuratively kicked ourself for the years we went without popovers.

Why buy a 6-cup pan over a 12-cup pan?

While the first answer is, how many do you need, there is also the size of the popover.

 
Don’t worry about having too many popovers.

 
 
DO YOU REALLY NEED A POPOVER PAN?

Can’t you use a muffin tin?

Sure, a muffin pan will bake popovers just fine. But…

A popover pan will give you taller popovers with a more defined “mushroom” top.

The popovers from a muffin tin will taste the same, but the popovers will have flat tops and won’t be dramatic-looking.

See additional uses for a popover pan, below.
 
 
RECIPE: TENDER POPOVERS

“Watching popovers ‘pop’ is always a thrill,” says Vermont Creamery, which provided this recipe.

“Just don’t open the oven door!”

Vermont Creamery’s popover recipe is particularly easy because it doesn’t have the long and complicated resting time in the fridge.

Prep time is 10 minutes. Bake time is 35-40 minutes.
 
 
Ingredients For 12 Popovers

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 450°F; place the rack in the middle. Pour the melted butter into wells of 12 popover pan cups.

2. BEAT the eggs in bowl at high speed, scraping the bowl often. Beat for 2 minutes or until foamy, light and lemon-colored. Add milk and; continue beating for 1 minute. Add the flour and salt; beat until well mixed.

3. POUR the batter into the prepared popover pan. Bake on the middle oven rack for 15 minutes.

4. REDUCE the oven temperature to 350°F. Do not open the oven door! Continue baking for 20-25 minutes or until the popovers are a deep golden brown.

5. REMOVE from the oven. Insert a knife into each popover to allow steam to escape. Serve immediately with condiments of choice.
 

OTHER USES FOR A POPOVER PAN

 
 
> THE HISTORY OF POPOVERS

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BREAD

[1] Buttery, brown popovers, ready to eat. This 12-cup popover pan is from Chicago Metallic (photo © #1 and #3 Chicago Metallic Bakeware).

[2] The simple ingredients to make popovers (photo © Vermont Creamery).

[3] A 6-cup popover pan from Chicago Metallic.

[4] A popover pan with bright red swagger, from Neiman Marcus (photo © Neiman Marcus).

[5] Here’s a recipe for cherry popovers. In the off season, you can make them with frozen cherries or other frozen berries (photo © Elephantine BLog [now closed]).

[6] Food fun: These popovers are turned into a deconstructed version of the classic British dish, Roast Beef With Yorkshire Pudding (photo © Betsy Live | Salt & Honey Caterers).

[7] Twice-baked popovers are baked, cut open and filled with bacon and scrambled eggs. Then, they—re baked some more (photo © King Arthur Flour, recipe no longer available).

[8] You can flavor popovers with herbs, and add grated cheese, too (photo © Nordicware).

*This is our favorite butter—so good we can slice it and eat it like cheese.
 
 

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