Thanksgiving Day: 5 mouthwatering dishes to celebrate with your family and friends
Gravy | An essential part of any Thanksgiving dinner, gravy can elevate even the simplest of dishes. Made using drippings from your choice of roasted meat, generous dollops of butter and a splash of wine, you can spruce up your Thanksgiving gravy using aromatics like garlic, onion, leeks, carrots, and celery. You can also use ingredients like fish sauce, dried porcini mushrooms, Worcestershire, miso paste, and soy sauce. Just make sure that if you’re using flour to thicken your gravy, use it in a 2-1 ratio with your fluid of choice (whether wine or broth). (Image: Shutterstock) Turkey | The roasted turkey or stuffed turkey is the centrepiece of the Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re not into turkey meat, which can be notoriously difficult to cook, you can substitute it with other poultry like chicken, duck or even quail. But no matter which bird you choose, the trick to getting the most succulent pieces of meat is to marinate the entire bird in seasoned buttermilk brine. This will not only allow the flavours to penetrate deep into the meat but also tenderise the meat. For crispy skin, just ensure to cook your poultry low and slow. This prevents burning and ensures that you don’t overcook the meat. (Image: Shutterstock) Pumpkin Pie | The perfect spiced dessert that uses plenty of pumpkins (you could use apples too) is the pumpkin pie. It is the perfect way to finish Thanksgiving dinner. When making pumpkin pie, the spice mix is the key ingredient. Make sure to not create an overpowering mix as spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves can quickly become overpowering. One nice trick to bring out the sweetness in your pumpkin pie is to add just a hint of salt to the pumpkin puree. (Image: Shutterstock) Cranberry Sauce | While cranberries are not very common in India, a sweet cranberry sauce is a great accompaniment to cut through heavy and fatty Thanksgiving dishes like mashed potatoes, roasted turkey and more. For the best consistency, chill your cranberry sauce well before serving. Some people like to blend their sauce for an even smoother texture before serving as well. (Image: Shutterstock) Roasted Root Vegetables | With Thanksgiving also being a harvest festival, root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, radishes, turnips and onions are a great side to serve on Thanksgiving. The simplest method would be to toss your vegetables in oil, salt and pepper before letting them roast in the oven. You can also make salads, granitas, and purees out of these vegetables for some different textures. (Image: Shutterstock)
