Turkey Ramen, Cranberry Sauce Cocktails and Other Last Minute Tips on Thanksgiving Day Chefs



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Make yourself an enriched milkshake and read this expert advice on scrambling strategy when key ingredients are not available, when extra guests show up or the pie goes down.

If there is one rule that Thanksgiving experts agree on is planning. Make a lot of lists. Start cooking a week before. Even the best Thanksgiving ultimatum of the late Anthony Bourdain was not to start cooking on Thanksgiving Day.

But while most guests intend to serve a homemade and thoughtful Thanksgiving feast, this rarely becomes a reality. Professional chefs and sommeliers share their best jamming tips when key ingredients are not available, extra guests come in, the pie falls to the floor, or you simply run out of time.

1. Save time with safe snacks: "Prepare a plate of vegetable crudités before the meal," suggests Katie Button, Curate's owner-manager in Asheville, NC, and encourages her to use vegetables at her fingertips. "I serve it with a horseradish dip. This saves you time if you are slow to cook, but it is also light and bright and does not fill up until the main event. "

2. It's easy to be so cheesy: A ripe cheese wheel – something creamy like Brie – is an inescapable choice for Caitlin McCormick, pastry chef at Fig in Charleston, South Carolina. "Mix dried fruits and nuts with jam, spread them on the cheese wheel, wrap the whole grindstone in a store-bought puff pastry and bake it for a very easy but indulgent cheese dish." . "

3. Embrace casseroles – and cans: "They are very easy to warm and always delicious," says Aaron Bludorn, executive chef at Cafe Boulud in New York. "You can be creative with them and they are still shouting Thanksgiving. Canned green beans can be quickly and easily processed into a last-minute side with a sherried lemon vinaigrette. White beans from the pantry can become a mini-cassoulet with bacon and sausage (remaining breakfast), then top with breadcrumbs and then bake. It's good the next day, too.

4. Yes, it also means canned cranberry: "No matter how many talented chefs you have in the kitchen, you can not say" Thanksgiving "better than a can of purchased cranberry sauce," says Mario Carbone, chef / owner of The Grill in Manhattan. "Ocean Spray is my favorite brand. It has an intense taste of cranberry and a sweet-and-sour balance that's almost impossible to replicate. It's also very nostalgic.

Lucas Sin, New York chef Junzi Kitchen, agrees: "Canned cranberry sauce is so much easier than homemade. To cook, I cook a canned cranberry sauce with spices such as ginger, clove, cinnamon, cardamom and fennel; orange juice; and spiced rum. "

5. Ramen-ize your turkey rubs: Erik Bruner-Yang, head of the Brothers and Sisters in Washington, DC, suggests using instant packaging of ramen spices. "Rub the outside of the turkey with the seasoning mix," he says. "I like the flavor: garlic, ginger, onion, red pepper, white pepper, sesame oil, red pepper oil and the Dehydrated vegetables, already perfectly dosed so you do not have to worry about the measure, then save the cooking juices to make ramen soups and turkey noodles. "

6. Reduce roasting time: "If you run out of time to roast an entire turkey," suggests Craig Koketsu, chef and partner at Quality Meats in New York, "remove the thighs and thighs from the bird and place them on a stuffing casserole Before cooking, it reduces the roasting time and allows you to cook the breast perfectly without worrying about whether the brown meat is well cooked and it gives the stuffing in the pan the real roast turkey juice to absorb because there is never enough stuffing in the cavity of the turkey alone. "

7. Try a non-traditional stuffing … "Stuff your turkey with fried rice instead of traditional stuffing," suggests Junzi Kitchen's Sin. "It absorbs the flavors of the bird better than the stuffing and never becomes pasty. You do not even have to make your own fried rice; buy it at any Chinese restaurant, and it will work. "

8. … and upgrade store bought material: "The Pepperidge Farm stuffing is always my favorite, but I add home-made chicken broth and a good parmesan grill," says McCormick.

9. Use the barbecue – even if you do not cook with: "If you have an outdoor barbecue, light the fire very softly and use it as a hot box when preparing several dishes," says McCormick. "Just make sure your baking dish is cast iron or metal (not glass)." Bonus tip: "Install a cooler with drinks to save as much space as possible in the fridge."

10. Simple secrets to the good sauce: "Soy sauce is a secret weapon for my sauce," says Koketsu of Quality Meats. "It helps to complete its flavor while adding a nice caramel color."

The Carbon Grill opts for something stronger. "I finish mine with alcohol to animate it and add acidity," he reveals. "Following the American theme, I use Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon."

11. Make butter punch above its weight: Fig's McCormick suggests buying bread or buns for your favorite baker and then dressing the butter – it's a minimum effort for a huge gain. "A herbal butter is superb, rolled into a log and sliced. You can also add honey and cinnamon at room temperature, then load it into a piping bag with an open star tip and turn it into an individual dish. It takes 10 minutes but looks so elegant on the table. "

12. Raid your freezer: "Do not be afraid to use frozen vegetables," says Ross Henke, executive chef of Quiote in Chicago. "Some, especially corn and peas, taste better than fresh produce at this time of the year. Microwave your frozen peas, add butter, kosher salt, chives and tarragon. It's a light and refreshing side dish, but thirsty for taste.

13. Take a sweet potato shortcut: If you do not have time to prepare a pot of sweet potatoes, you can make a bake version or even microwave, suggests Brian Christman, executive chef of Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse in San Diego. "Rub the sweet potatoes with oil, season with garlic, onion, salt, pepper and sugar, and cook until tender. Sprinkle brown sugar and butter on the potato when you cut them to open.

14. Buy your pies: "Making pies is the biggest waste of time for Thanksgiving," says Curate's Button. "Find an amazing bakery you like and buy it. There is so much work to be done in the tasty part of the meal that taking a dessert can seem very painful. "

15. … Or try this accelerated version: "To prepare a quick pie, I transform the sweet potatoes in a vegetable mill and mix them with a little sour cream, pour them into a graham cracker and toss them with marshmallows or marshmallows to sweeten them," explains Pichet Ong. pastry chef. director at Brothers and Sisters. "You can also make it a tasty side dish with baked turkey skin and thyme as a garnish. This is an updated version of the sweet potato casserole. "

16. … or cook the crusts early: Cory Colton, pastry chef at Quality Italian in New York, prefers to serve pies where the filling can be baked separately from the crust, like a chocolate cream pie. "You can prepare them a few days before Thanksgiving," he says, "and simply fill in your baked pie crusts on the day of. Or for a fruit tart, you cook your filling until the fruit is tender and sparkling. On the day of, put the fillings in the crusts and garnish with a breadcrumb filling that can also be prepared in advance. You can also set up a DIY Ice Cream / Ice Bar with your favorite pie fillings – such as fruit and crumble – as a garnish, with a fudge sauce and whipped cream. You'll eliminate the most tedious part of pie making and it's a fun display. "

17. Just give a milkshake instead: If you do not have enough time to make a pie, Christman from Del Friscoe offers a solution: ice cream drinks. "They are built to please. You can mix vanilla ice cream, pumpkin spice and brown sugar, and even add a little brown rum. Or try vanilla beans with caramel and bourbon.

18. Saving a tart in ruins: On the other hand, "if you make an apple pie then you let go – which has happened – get the pieces you can, chop them and stir them into ice cream at vanilla, "advises Mindy Segal, owner of Hot Chocolate. in Chicago. "Then sprinkle the ice cream with a pipette of CBD oil. Problem solved."

19. Prepare your drinks: "If you do not have enough bottles of wine for the table, put it a little more festive (and compatible with Instagram) by creating a punch for Thanksgiving," says Joe Campanale, owner and director of Fausto wines in Brooklyn. . "Combine your red wine with orange slices, your favorite spices for autumn warming – sticks of cinnamon, clove or star anise – with a brown spirit. Cognac, whiskey or rum will do the trick. You can sweeten it with simple syrup or maple syrup to taste. Serve with ice on the side so as not to dilute. "

20. Get the wrong wine: "The Spanish classic of putting red wine in Coca-Cola is a good way to show off the bad wine your uncle brought with him," says John deBary, spirits writer and former drinks director of Momofuku.

21. Enrich the remains: "When you make the turkey soup, add some of the stuffing leftover," says Jody Adams, chef / owner of Trade in Boston. "It enriches and thickens it a bit."

22. Cranberries in the style of sparkling wine cocktails: "Everybody still has extra cranberry sauce," says Paul McGee, co-owner of the tiki bar in Chicago Lost Lake. "As a general rule, customers will bring sparkling wine. To make the evening more festive, take 1 teaspoon of spicy cranberry sauce and add it to 5 oz of sparkling wine in a coupe. You will get a nice champagne cocktail. You can also add 1 teaspoon of this crispy gin tonic cranberry sauce, vodka tonic or just tonic and soda. "

23. Fancy dishes can compensate the thirsty: "Serve your Thanksgiving dishes on beautiful platters," says Bludorn of Café Boulud. "It's an easy way to raise the buffet and distract from a dish that's not perfect.

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