It’s almost that time of the year when a low rumble of stomachs eagerly anticipating treasured Thanksgiving foods can be heard across the United States. The holiday that primarily celebrates harvest, also brings together families and friends to share a meal and give thanks for all the good things God has given us. Every family however interprets the Thanksgiving meal in their own way based on the foods of their region and their own ethnic background and traditions. So, while the popular belief is that Turkey is synonymous with Thanksgiving (in most cases it is) but if you travel around the US on Thanksgiving and are lucky enough to get invited to dinner, you’ll find shifting terminology, playful squabbles over the most authentic ingredients, and a number of unique regional foods.
If you’ve not had the time to plan a lavish Thanksgiving dinner this year, we’ve got you covered. With a little multitasking (and some help in the kitchen), you can create a quick, last-minute Thanksgiving dinner. These recipes can be made at home using ingredients that are usually there in the pantry or at max a supermarket ride away.
Starter
Crunchy Spicy Chicken Strips
Ingredients:
1 kg boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1” strips
11/2 cups sour cream
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 small onion finely minced
½ tsp chilli powder
3-4 packets (167g packets) plain potato chips, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
Salsa, barbecue sauce or sweet-and-sour sauce
Method:
Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine sour cream, onion and all other seasonings in a shallow bowl. Put the crushed potato chips into another shallow bowl. Dip chicken strips in the sour cream mixture, then coat with potato chips and place in a greased baking tray. Drizzle with butter.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or till the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve with salsa, barbecue sauce or sweet and sour sauce.
Main
Thanksgiving – Pardon the Turkey, Roast the Chicken – Alan Samuel
Yes, yes, we know Thanksgiving means Turkey, it’s traditional, it’s sacrilege not to have one, what would the Founding Fathers say etc. etc. But, what if you are a Philistine like me and don’t like turkey? What if you consider it one of the most tasteless meats on the table and the bigger the bird the more tasteless it is? And on a more practical note, if you do happen to live in a country where the turkey on offer isn’t great. Well, then you wait for the chicken to cross the road,,,,,,, and roast it!!
So more than the recipe and how to’s, I thought I’d give you some tips, tricks and ideas to make a good old roast chicken the centrepiece of your Thanksgiving dinner and if it all goes to plan it will really be “thanksgiving” for a perfect roast!
Let’s understand what we are dealing with, The chicken as we know is made up of 2 types of meat, the ‘white’ meat or breast and the ‘dark’ meat that comes from the legs, more popularly known as the drumstick and thigh. The breast is a thick, delicately flavoured, tender and perfectly white piece of meat which needs very careful cooking because it gets dry and fibery when overcooked. The legs, being muscle is darker meat, stronger flavoured and takes longer to cook than the breast. Now you’re wondering how you can cook both at the same time? Or damn I never knew that and why is it so complicated!! It’s only to help you understand why we do things the way we do!
A good roast chicken is well-cooked, tender, juicy and moist wrapped in a beautiful, golden brown crispy skin. So pay attention to how we are going to get there:
– Make sure the chicken is perfectly dry and season it with a generous twist of salt both inside and out. Tip – chill the bird for an hour – longer if you can. Even better, keep it uncovered in your fridge overnight. This allows the bird to do dry out completely, vital for that perfect crispy skin!
– Ease the skin away from the breast so that you can slide your fingers between the skin and the breast meat. Make up a savoury butter e.g. Mix together herbs – parsley, thyme, oregano, add crushed garlic, chilli flakes, mustard, basically any combination of herbs and spices you enjoy and push this into the space you have created between skin and meat
– Why? It keeps the breast and the chicken moist and succulent while allowing the flavours to ingratiate themselves and make friends with the chicken when cooking!
– You can also slather this mixture on the outside as well, or rub the outside with a light coat of olive oil and top with a “dry rub” (it is what it says – a mix of dry herbs). Perfectly acceptable but I’m not a fan as some mixes tend to burn and it’s not very pleasant!
You can also stuff the cavity with lemons, a whole head of garlic, halved across and more herbs if you want. Any flavour is a good flavour but keep them complementary so they don’t assault your taste buds! Garlic, lime herbs all go very well together but keep it simple and limited. Do NOT empty the spice rack because you have them!
Must Read: Christine Sharma’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes
– Pre-heat the oven to 200 C (400 F) and pop your roasting pan in at the same time. A heavy bottomed roasting tray, a skillet, a roasting pan or any oven proof glass or ceramic dish, all work equally well!
– Once the oven is hot, drizzle a bit of oil on the roasting pan and pop the bird on, breast side up. Because the pan is hot it sears the underside and gives you a bit of colour as well as holding in the juices
– Roast for about 10 mins at 200 C (400 F) to brown and crisp the skin, you can then turn it down to 180 C (350 F)
– How long for? Thumb rule is 20 mins for every 500g of meat, ergo a 2Kg bird would need? 80 mins – go to the top of the class! If you got it right! If you are one of those precise, technical cooks and like your thermometer, 75 C is what you are looking for. And for the rest of us ‘trial and error’ types, stick a knife in the thigh and if the juices run clear, you’re done!
– While all this is very exciting, the accompaniments are equally important. A tray of vegetables roasted at the same time is not only damn tasty it makes life so much easier too! HAlf way through your roasting pop in some carrots, potatoes (of course!) and my favourite, chunks of onion. There is nothing like sweet, slightly caramelized onions!
– Parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, green and red peppers are all great additions as is sweet corn. The best results are to oven roast the veg completely – tossed in some oil with salt and pepper, seasoned if you want or else a sneaky ‘cheat’ is to blanch or parboil them and finish them off in the oven – maybe last 20 minutes?
– Or do your veg completely separately – there are no rules!
– Once done take the bird out and let it rest – it’s been hot in there! – for about 15 minutes before carving, hacking or tearing apart. Like I said there are no rules when it comes to good food!
For whatever reason you don’t have an oven and you want to savour the joys of roast chicken you can follow most of the steps above but you will sacrifice the crispy skin part! Start with browning your chicken on all sides in a pan, till you get the colour you want – don’t underdo it, nothing worse than an anaemic chicken who hasn’t been out in the sun!! Once browned, add some root vegetables, carrots, onions and potatoes to a pan along with maybe some garlic and whole spices ( cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf), fry them off a bit and then let the bird sit on them like she was hatching eggs! Pour in some stock, wine if you haven’t drunk it all, some worcester sauce – again personal preferences are fine , just don;t go mad with the stuff you have in the cupboard and have never used! Cover and cook till done. The bonus of cooking this way is you get your chicken, vegetables and gravy to boot!
If you have any questions, ideas, suggestions or rude comments, email them to alan.samuel@worldoffood.in.
p.s.If they are rude you may not get an answer! Or if you’re lucky a rude answer back!
Either way enjoy folks – you have to eat it!!
Sides
Butter Honey Lemon Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
250g carrots
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh garlic minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped parsley or rosemary or thyme
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Peel the carrots, if using big carrots. Cut them into halves or quarters lengthwise. If using baby carrots, then wash and scrub them well and keep them whole. Keep a bit of the leaves as it looks pretty.
Whisk honey, lemon juice, melted butter, olive oil and fresh garlic. Preheat oven to 425 F. In a roasting pan, drizzle half the sauce over the cut carrots. At this stage add the rosemary or thyme if you are using these herbs. Roast the carrots in a single layer, stirring half way for about 20-30 minutes depending on the thickness of the carrots.
Once the carrots are tender, drizzle the remaining sauce over them, season with salt and pepper, and if you decide to use parsley, garnish the dish before serving.
Roasted Stuffed Onions
Ingredients
6 large red or white onions, peeled
1 cup basmati rice
1 tbsp spring onion, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ cup soya flakes or granules
1 tomato, peeled and cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp allspice powder
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
3 tbsp vinegar or white wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Method:
Boil the basmati rice in the usual way. Make a lateral cut on one side of the onions from top to bottom but not all the way through. Add the onions to the boiling water while the rice is cooking, and cook for 10 minutes, then remove and drain. This will soften and separate the layers of the onion.
Soak the soya flakes or granules in hot water for 10-15 minutes and squeeze dry.
Once cooked, drain the rice. In a bowl, add rice, spring onion, tomato paste, soya flakes or granules, cinnamon, all spice, cumin, chilli powder, coriander, salt and pepper and mix well. Separate the layers of the onion, divide and stuff with this mixture. Make use each layer is wrapped around the stuffing.
Heat oil in a large pan, add the onions cut side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the vinegar or wine and cover with a lid. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Flip the onions and simmer for another 10-15 minutes till it gets a roasty golden brown colour. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Salad
Roasted Beet & Pear Salad
Ingredients
3 medium sized beets washed well, with the skin on
Drizzle of olive oil, for roasting the beets
1 ripe pear, chopped into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup walnuts, toasted
2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
A few handfuls of salad greens of your choice
Micro greens, for garnish – optional
1-2 tablespoons walnut oil or olive oil
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
A drizzle of honey
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut the beets in half. Put them on a foil on a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap them in the foil. Roast for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size and freshness of your beets. Toss midway. Check the doneness by poking them with a fork. If they need more roasting time, continue for another 10-15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool. Slide off the skins and cut them into ½ “cubes. This can be done a day ahead of time.
Put together all the salad ingredients on a platter. Drizzle with a liberal amount of walnut oil or olive oil, a bit of balsamic vinegar, a little honey, and some salt and pepper. Garnish with toasted walnuts and micro greens, if you are using them.
Dessert
Easy Homemade Pecan Pie
One of the hallmarks of traditional American cuisine (also a Thanksgiving favorite) is the classic pecan pie. It consists of a thin pastry crust that is topped with a mixture of eggs, butter, flour, a sweetener such as brown sugar, syrup, or molasses, and a handful of halved or chopped pecans. You could also make variations as per your taste by adding coffee or chocolate. Either way it’s heaven in a baking dish.
Here is an easy homemade recipe of the Classic American Pecan Pie.
Ingredients :
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups pecan halves or pieces
1 (9-inch) unbaked OR frozen deep-dish pie crust (you can get it from a bakery)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spatula. Stir in pecans and pour the mixture into pie crust in the pie tin.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool for at least 2 hours (ideally on wire rack) before serving.
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Photos : Shutterstock
Related Coverage:
Eat Local : Coast-to-Coast Thanksgiving Food And Drink Guide
Christine Sharma’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes
Manhattan For Thanksgiving | Shaken and Stirred
A homeschooled chef even before she joined Catering College in Bombay, Christine’s gastronomic journey started with mother and grandmother. Polished with a degree and 10 years of experience in the Hospitality industry, Christine’s love of food, drink and everything gastronomic has been sharpened and honed with travel across the world. Today, she shares the wealth of her foodie experience and adventures across the world with Travel and Food Network, so look forward to much more from Chrsitine!
Alan is, in his own words, a born again foodie! An Alumni of the 1979 batch of the Bombay catering college, Alan spent the first 5 years after graduating in the hospitality industry, starting with the Taj group of Hotels. Many a shift later, Alan decided he wanted to see life outside the hotel too and left for what can only be described as a chequered career across the music industry, advertising, media, a brewery and finally in eLearning.
Alan lives in London (UK) and is now reconnecting with his first love – food – through the Travel and Food Network.
