There’s so much attention given to what to serve during football games that we now have what we are designating a new category of food: Game Day Cuisine.

We identified some 25 different game day favorites, and

 
We’d like to add something new to the list: a cheeseburger baked potato (photo #1).

It combines two comfort foods in an easy-to-eat format.

This recipe was created by Milisa Armstrong of Miss In The Kitchen, and sent to us by the Idaho Potato Commission.
 
 
RECIPE: BACON CHEESEBURGER BAKED POTATO

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Scrub the potatoes and pat dry. Place them on a baking sheet and bake one hour or until the potatoes are cooked through.

2. REMOVE the potatoes from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly. Lower the oven temperature to 375°F.

3. CUT the potatoes lengthwise about ¾ of the way through carefully, leaving them attached on the bottom. With a spoon, scrape the insides into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, sour cream, 1 cup of cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Mash together or whip with an electric mixer, depending on your desired texture.

4. SPOON the filling into the potato shells and place on a baking sheet. Toss the ground beef with the barbecue sauce and spoon equally over the potatoes. Sprinkle each potato with the remaining cheese, bacon and green onions.

5. BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until the potatoes are heated through and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

[2] We cool the bacon and then cut it into squares with a kitchen scissors (photo © Edwards Virginia Smokehouse | Facebook).

[3] Scallions and green onions are the same thing. The usage is regional: In the Northeast, for example, it’s scallions. We prefer “scallions” because it’s easy to confuse green onions with spring onions, a different variety (photo © David Tanis Market Cooking).

Colby-Jack cheese. This popular blend is available shredded by Sargento and Kraft (photo © Joe Green | Golden Age Cheese).

An recent American cheese recipe, Colby Jack is a combination of two popular cheeses, Colby and Monterey Jack. Both are semihard cow’s milk cheeses.

Colby contributes a sharper taste than Monterey Jack; Jack contributes its smooth meltability.

Colby cheese is the orange cheese in the blend (photo #4). It is similar to Cheddar in look, taste and texture. Colby is a dry cheese, slightly crumbly and like young Cheddar, slightly sharp.

Colby cheese was developed in 1885 in a cheese factory near Colby, Wisconsin. The benefit over making Cheddar is that Colby does not take as long to age before the sharp taste is achieved (it skips the “cheddaring” step.

Monterey Jack cheese is a mild, creamy, white cheese, and a great melter. The surprise is that Monterey Jack is a renaming of Mexican queso blanco.

In the 18th century, queso blanco was made by the Mexican Franciscan friars of Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo in Monterey, California. It was then made by other dairies in the area.

Much later, in the late 19th century, a local businessman named David Jack owned a dairy along the Salinas River. Like other dairies in the area, it produced queso blanco.

Jack’s dairy subsequently formed partnerships with other regional dairies, to sell their cheeses throughout California. His queso blanco was mass marketed, first as Jack’s Cheese and eventually as Monterey Jack.

Variants of Monterey Jack known include Dry Jack (an aged version) and Pepper Jack (with peppercorns).
 
 

[1] Dressing is cooked in a separate pan (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Bluepoint oysters, a variety of Atlantic oyster (the different types of oysters; photo © JP’s Shellfish).

[3] Fresh sage, an aromatic herb for recipes and garnishes (photo © Good Eggs).

Every Thanksgiving, her stuffing was made with white bread, sweet Italian sausage, celery, onions, fresh parsley, sage, and thyme.

Want chestnut stuffing? Oyster stuffing? Cornbread stuffing? Go have dinner elsewhere!

By the time we had our own kitchen, we had grown so used to Mom’s sausage stuffing that it was tough to rebel, except by switching out the white bread for cornbread.

And, we switched to dressing over Mom’s preferred method of stuffing (the difference is below).

We did shell chestnuts for stuffing for a couple of years before the wide availability of peeled, vacuum-packed chestnuts. But when you’re trying to save time, it’s easy to try another recipe.

Fortunately, our grocer’s fish counter has all the oysters one can afford, shucked and ready to plop into the dressing.

This year, we received a classic oyster stuffing recipe from Sandy Ingber, “The Bishop of Bivalves” and executive chef of the Grand Central Oyster Bar.

If you don’t want to make it yourself, the restaurant is selling it for $18/pound, ready to pick up between 12 noon and 8 p.m. on November 21st.

Orders may be placed by emailing info@oysterbarny.com, by calling 212-490-6650, or in person at the Oyster Bar. Place your order no later than Monday, November 20th.

Otherwise: Cook away! This recipe can be made up to 2 days in advance.
 
 
RECIPE: CLASSIC OYSTER STUFFING FROM THE OYSTER BAR

Ingredients

1. DRY the cut bread cubes overnight, or toast them in a low-temperature oven (115°F-185°F) until crisp.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F oven. Melt half the butter in a medium skillet. Add the onions and celery, cooking until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic, sage, thyme, and nutmeg; cook for 30 seconds more.

3. COMBINE the cooked vegetables with the bread cubes, parsley, stock, milk, and eggs, mixing gently. Fold in the oysters. Season with salt and pepper. If making dressing in a separate pan…

4. TRANSFER the mixture to a large greased baking dish. Dot the surface with pats of the remaining butter. Lightly oil both sides of a piece of parchment and place on top of the dressing. Bake until it is crisp on top and the stuffing temperature reaches 160°F (check after 40 minutes).
 
 
STUFFING OR DRESSING: THE DIFFERENCE

It’s simple:

 
While the idea of stuffing the bird appeals to many, most experts recommend cooking a separate dressing.

For food safety reasons, stuffing in the cavity of the bird must reach the same 165°F temperature before it is ready to serve. If you have a vegetarian dressing, it’s not an issue.

(But if you have a dressing made with raw meat or seafood, do make sure it cooks to 160°F.)

It’s also a heck of a lot easier to make dressing, both in placing it in a pan instead of spooning it into the turkey cavity; and in avoiding the labor of scooping the stuffing out of the bird.
 
 

If you like flowers on the table for a special dinner, you know that it’s necessary to keep the arrangement low.

Otherwise, guests can’t see each other across the table.

Tall arrangements belong on a buffet or side table.

You can finds scores of Thanksgiving centerpieces online (check out these on Pinterest).

But for the time-pressed or craft-challenged, this arrangement from Ocean Spray (photo #1) couldn’t be easier.

The centerpiece uses elegant white ranunculus in a bowl of cranberries.

Yellow ranunculus or other white blooms like roses (photo #2) work just as well.

THANKSGIVING CENTERPIECE

Materials

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the cranberries in the vase with enough water to fill the vase 3/4 full.

2. USING a sharp knife or scissors, trim 1/4″ off the ends of the flowers, cutting at a 45° angle. Add the cut flowers to the vase, arranging as needed.

2. REPLACE the water as needed, and discard the berries when they become soft. Snip the ends of the flowers 1/4 inch each day, as you change the water in the vase.

________________

*Instead of changing the water daily, you can add bleach to the water to keep bacteria (along with their aroma and cloudiness) from growing.

[1] Easy, peasy: two ingredients, plus a vase and water (photo courtesy Ocean Spray).

[2] A variation with white roses, from Xmaslet | Tumblr.

[1] Go green with reusable shopping bags (photo courtesy Pier 1 Imports).

[2] Give rechargeable batteries with gifts that require batteries (photo courtesy Energizer).

[3] Some people would rather you give a donation in their name (image courtesy Feeding America).

[4] Use newspaper wrap to plain or fancy effect (photo courtesy Steemit).

[5] Buy a living tree that you can plant outside after the holiday (photo courtesy Paramount Landscaping).

[6] Make tree ornaments from pine cones (this one from DIY Ready, more from Pinterest).

We try to live as green a life as possible: recycling everything we can, making judicious purchase choices, using a Sodastream and a water filter instead of tossing endless empty bottles into the landfill.

We don’t use wrapping paper, instead packaging gifts in reusable gift bags; and using our mom’s example of wrapping large gifts in yesterday’s newspapers (use the comics section for kids’ gifts).

We weren’t surprised to learn that, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25%.

Environmental activist C.J. Quinn has devoted her life to raising awareness about environmental stewardship. She has shared with us her article, “Six Tips to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint During the Holidays.”

Give the earth a present this year, she says. “Celebrate the holidays with the gift of giving by knowing that you are thinking about the environment. Use the following tips this holiday season and smile because you are not only giving to your loved ones, but to our precious planet as well.”

Here are her tips, interspersed with a few of our own.
 
GIFT-BUYING TIPS

 
GIFT-GIVING TIPS

 
GIFT-WRAPPING TIPS

 
CHRISTMAS TREE TIPS

 
DECORATING TIPS

 
CHRISTMAS CARD TIPS

 
Reducing your carbon footprint creates another kind of peace on earth—as well as your own peace of mind.

Not excited about pumpkin pie? Can’t have pecans or other nuts?

There’s always the venerable apple pie to end Thanksgiving dinner. But let us suggest an easy-to-make alternative:

Cranberry Apple Crisp from Ocean Spray.

We recently were served a piece, and it was love at first bite. When one guest had to leave in advance of dessert, it was all we could do not to reach across the table and snatch her plate (we were among strangers, and shy).

Fortunately, this Ocean Spray recipe is so easy…and with a crisp, you don’t have to roll out pie crusts.

This is a recipe everyone will enjoy.

Crisp, crumble, cobbler: here’s the difference.
 
 
RECIPE: CRANBERRY-APPLE CRISP

Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 45 minutes. This recipe is made in a baking pan, but you can make individual servings in ramekins.

Ingredients For 9 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

2. PARE and core the apples, rinse the cranberries. Layer the apples and cranberries in the pan, sprinkling with sugar as you layer.

3. MAKE the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Work in the butter the until light and crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples and cranberries.

4. BAKE 45 minutes or until apples are tender.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CRANBERRIES

[1] It looks humble, but tastes divine (photo Amy Sussman/AP Images for Ocean Spray—all photos courtesy Ocean Spray)

[2] You can make individual portions in ramekins.

[3] Ocean Spray cranberries are available fresh or frozen…and the fresh ones freeze beautifully if you have to many (photo Ocean Spray)