While Thanksgiving calls for indulgence, there is an urgent need of balancing it with health. An article lists out some healthy tips to celebrate Thanksgiving:
1. Removing the skin from Turkey befoe eating
2. Packing in whole cranberries for the antioxidant punch.
3. Use low-calorie and whole meal cookies to work as crust for pumpkin pies.
4. Use a fat separator to have low-cal gravies.
5. Remove fat from the top before serving refrigerated stews and soups.
Pumpkin-pie classic is often the messiest job in the kitchen when it comes to the convenience seekers in the kitchen. Readymade pumpkin-pie can always save time and pie blunders, but a pumpkin pie taste-test from Washington area supermarkets reported in the Washington Post speaks of flaky crusts, spicy or overly sugary filling, jellied or watery textures and similar such readymade blunders of getting a pie from market and putting the blame on Whole Foods.
Pumpkin pie forms the most vital part of a Thanksgiving Table, so if in case hosts plan to bring it on the table, it would be better to stay uncompromising with the traditional dessert. The article suggests getting pie crust and canned pumpkin and then follow the instructions until the end. However, a pie-crust with homemade pumpkin with prove to be superior than a canned one and whatever it maybe it can save bucks and add to the flavor pumpkin pie if the idea of purchasing a pumpkin pie is dismissed altogether.
Beef is reported to get honors on a dinner platter if treated as virgin instead of basting it with marination, seasonings and sauces and then cooking it on a high heat. An article in The Guardian elaborates on the importance of indulging into a fatty piece of beef once a while and cooking it rare to enjoy the succulence of the beef at its optimum.
Facts provided in the article claims that intense flavor of the beef is such that it does not require any herbal basting to interfere with the cooking of meat along with its fat and bones. Research provides that chefs and home cooks often wed a beef chuck with onions, garlic, herbs and citrus juice.
However, the article somehow relegates the added flavors to the roasting pot to enhance the flavors of the juices that oozes out when meat cooks with the fat. Briefly, a fatty indulgence with beef is worth it when the succulent flesh is tasted in isolation of other flavors, which can work as a good pairing with mild flavors of parsnip, beetroot or lentils.
Turkey and gravy, dinner roll, sweet potato, fish taco, curried chicken, broccoli casserole, corn on the cob, brussel sprout and antacid flavor all served under one brand name of Seattle specialty beverage maker Jones Soda Co.
The latest ‘weird’ soda-flavor by Jones Soda is reported to be green pea soda, which it intends to market in $10 to $15 “holiday pack” of bottled drinks available in the US. Traditionally, flavored sodas are fruity, but the officials of Jones Soda claim that these out-of-box flavors sell out better than plain or simply fruity sodas.
Doubtless, the Americans are in for freaky flavors, but the point worth noting in the claims of the soda maker is to formulate something, which Coke and Pepsi might not be interested in for the heck of being different in the soda-row, though not having the present hankering for functionality to compete with them.
Most often thanksgiving treats mashed potatoes with utmost simplicity even though it deserves sophistication being the most important dish besides turkey during Thanksgiving. An article in the Washington Post lists out several ways in which mashed potatoes are treated in several countries and different chefs:
Ireland - Mashed potatoes are whipped into a mixture of scallions and hot milk, followed by addition of buttered potatoes.
Southern Italy - Mashed potatoes with sweet and hot pepper.
France - Cheese and butter.
California - Roasted garlic, milk and butter are whipped into mashed potatoes.
Chef Desi Szonntagh - Whips cilantro, chilies and corn kernels into mashed potatoes.
Read More for Recipes
McDonald’s introduction of halal products at two Melbourne restaurants targeting Muslim consumers has reportedly created lots of furor among the non-Muslim consumers. Facts provided claim that the non-Muslim consumers were not informed about the introduction of halal meat in the food chain.
This move of introducing halal meat by McDonald appears ridiculous as there is no reason as to why McDonalds should not keep halal meat as an alternative meat for its Muslim consumers. Doubtless, that sale from halal meat has surged the sales in McDonalds, but there is no meaning to the sales if McDonald loses its regular consumers.
Considering the food reservations in various Christian communities, McDonald is sure to invite long-term losses instead of gains from the halal products, if it decides to continue with the same.
Cranberries are reportedly making a niche area as super foods not only in alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages but also in other food products like fresh, frozen, in juices and dried for snacks or ingredients in cereals.
Facts provided by Ken Romanzi, chief operating officer of Ocean Spray, claims that annual sales of cranberries have shot-up by $1.5 billion a year in North America. Food processors have apparently come up with lots of ways of incorporating cranberry into their food products in the form of sauces, chocolates, ice creams, along with herbs and condiments and other gourmet uses.
Fact remains that the antioxidant content of cranberries are having an impact on the consumers and even the diners want to relish cranberries in almost everything from soups and salads to desserts and wines.
The cranberry market is expanding and the culinary usages of cranberries are appearing to be more diverse with the demands of the consumers. Therefore, the future of this super food appears to be bright with versatile profile, especially considering the marketing strategy of food processor to make every food appear functional with a cranberry addition.
The 100-mile Thanksgiving is a new concept developed by the sustainable agriculture groups including 100MileDiet.org, Local Harvest and EatLocalChallenge.com, to improve the usage of local ingredients in the Thanksgiving dinner.
Facts provided claims to project the benefits of eating fresh, contamination-free food, which presumably comes from produce grown with in 100-miles of establishment. Apparently, the benefits are speaking more of than just the consumer’s interest in being of help to the local farmer, increasing a sense of food ethics, convergence between diverse produce along with the local food choices and even food distribution.
Doubtless, 100-mile Thanksgiving is an attempt to boost the consumption of local ingredients, what it might change is the recurring food contamination and giving a nutrient-filled, preservative-free diet to the diners.
In an occasion like thanksgiving, which depends on the autumn’s bounty, the 100-mile purchase of produce would be the best bet to add flavor to creamed vegetables, tomato sauce and stuffed turkey. The American diners can have the pleasures of nutritious and flavorful eating once they decide to compromise with the luxuries of canned and shrink-wrapped produce.
Lamb meat is excellent with spinach and nut sauce. The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients
Boneless Lamb Meat
Roasted Peanut Paste
Roasted Cashewnut Paste
Chopped Spinach
Chopped Spinach
Turmeric Powder
Chopped Onions
Garlic-ginger paste
Green Chilies paste
Allspice Powder
Oil
Salt
Method
1. In a pressure cooker heat oil and fry onions until brown.
2. In fried onions add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, green chilies paste, turmeric powder and stir constantly for 15 minutes.
3. Add lamb meat, spinach and salt and cook until the moisture dries out.
4. Add paste of peanuts and cashewnuts, stirring constantly for 10 minutes.
5. Add allspice powder to the lamb meat and stir constantly for 10 minutes.
6. Add water to the lamb meat and pressure cook until tender.
7. Serve with rice.
Bouquet garni is one interesting ingredient that wonderfully infuses flavors into your stews, soups and casseroles. An article points that bouquet garni being a bag of herbs can be tailor-made according to the recipe. Facts provide that bouquet garni is traditionally made of sprigs of fresh parsley, thyme and a bay leaf, but you can add whole spices, zest and peels for introducing a new flavor.
What can appeal a chef in bouquet garni is that the herbs can be tied in a bag as per the required concentration of flavors. Therefore, benefit of bouquet garni not only extends to the permutation and combination of herbs, but also the steeping of flavors in slow-cooked foods.
