Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

Special Fork is happy to announce that Andrew B of Riverside, California, won our prize package of cooking tools. Thanks to all our Facebook fans who participated.  We plan to have more contests in the future, so please stay tuned.  Congratulations, Andrew!

And now for today’s blog.

By Sandy Hu

I can’t wait for Thanksgiving. I’ve planned the menu and Steve, the family grocery shopper, has my comprehensive shopping list. To beat the crowds, by 7 a.m. on Saturday we were at the Alemany Farmers’ Market. We came home with bagsful of goodies – precious Gravenstein apples for the second pie; turnips, parsnips and Brussels sprouts to roast; gourds and pumpkins for a centerpiece; pears, pomegranates, persimmons…a Thanksgiving bounty.

Steve has already picked up all the staples and will get the last of the perishables tonight. And the free-range turkeys are on order. So I’m ready!

Note the operative word: turkeys (plural). We are trying something different this year. Since we like a lot of leftovers and part of the tradition of Thanksgiving is to send guests home with doggie bags, we’re roasting two turkeys this year.

Here’s the rationale: one large turkey requires more hours in the oven; while the thick thighs are taking forever to cook, the breast could dry out. Two smaller turkeys cook quicker and should roast more evenly. We’ll roast one turkey on Wednesday, carve the meat and divide, package and refrigerate, so it will be ready for guests to take home.

And here’s the bonus: we can make the turkey stock with the neck and bones, strain it and use the drippings from the first roast turkey to make the gravy the day before Thanksgiving. This will take some of the frenzy out of Thanksgiving Day, when we normally have to rush to make the gravy while the turkey rests and while trying to heat up the sides.

If you’re still in the menu planning stage, I’ve gathered some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes from Inside Special Fork.

If you are cooking just for yourself and/or one other:

• Lori has a recipe for Herb and Lemon Roasted Turkey Breast to serve two. And she’s even included the trimmings, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts and Red Onions with Bacon.

If you aren’t big on turkey:

• Serve prime rib instead. Andrew has an elegant and festive recipe for a turkey alternate.

If you want a different cranberry sauce:

• Katie has a recipe for Honey-Mustard Cranberry Sauce.

If you still need a stuffing recipe:

• Try my mom’s Portuguese Stuffing with linguisa (Portuguese sausage).

If you want a pumpkin dessert that isn’t pumpkin pie:

• Joy demos Pumpkin Panna Cotta as a Video Friday recipe.

If you need a little hand-holding to roast your turkey to perfection:

• Andrew gives step-by-step instructions.

If you want some tips for organizing yourself, with houseguests due and a big feast to fix:

• Lori gives helpful Thanksgiving tips.

You can also search www.specialfork.com on your smartphone under “Special Occasion” and click on “Thanksgiving” for more recipe ideas. If you are on a computer, use this link to get to the Special Fork smartphone recipe database.

Finally, if you haven’t done so yet, please don’t forget to support an organization that ensures no one will go hungry on Thanksgiving Day. We donate to the St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco each year.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! At Special Fork we have so much to be thankful for – the great people we work with to produce this mobile recipe site, and to you, for being a part of our Special Fork family.

Special Fork is a recipe website for your smartphone and PC that solves the daily dinnertime dilemma: what to cook now! Our bloggers blog Monday through Friday to give you cooking inspiration. Check out our recipe database for quick ideas that take no more than 30 minutes of prep time. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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