The Bitten Word

Thanksgiving 2011: Tomato-Olive Stuffing

Everyday Food (November 2011)

Because we've overdone it a bit with takes on stuffings that incorporate sausage and dried fruit, we knew we had to try at least one very different take on stuffing for our recipe auditions this year.

We wanted something that brings unique flavors to the Thanksgiving table, something unlike anything we had served before. 

And we found it with this Tomato-Olive Stuffing from Everyday Food.  

Thanksgiving 2011: Cranberry Chutney with Fennel and Golden Raisins

Cook's Illustrated (October/November 2011)

O, cranberry sauce! You may be our favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. A tart oasis amidst a desert of savory sameness. A refreshing, zesty dip into a pool of sweet-sour bliss. A cool, calming cloth on the fevered brow of Pilgrims'---

Eh, whatever. We really like cranberry sauce.

And we love this version with fennel and golden raisins!

Thanksgiving 2011: Prune and Sausage Stuffing

Martha Stewart Living (November 2011)

Let's face it. "Prune" can be kind of an ugly word.

"Stewed prunes"? Doubly ugly. 

But we unabashedly love them as a snack or thrown into dishes.

And we doubly love them in this Prune and Sausage Stuffing.

Hear Us Talk About Thanksgiving Trends on "The Dinner Party Download"

We were pleased as punch and happy as clams when the guys from The Dinner Party Download, a radio program from American Public Media that's broadcast on more than 20 public radio stations around the country, asked us to chat with them about this year's Thanksgiving food trends.

We sat down for a fun chat with one of the show's hosts, Rico Gagliano. According to Rico's co-host, Brendan Newnam, "Like Vogue is to fashion, The Bitten Word is to stuffing ingredients." Hey, we'll take that!

You can listen to the show for free on their site. Our interview starts at about 32:30, but you'd really enjoy the whole episode, which features other interviews with punk rocker Henry Rollins, author Adam Gopnik and singer Cyndi Lauper.

Oh, and by the way, this photo is from Washington Square Park, from our trip to New York this weekend. We caught up with some friends, saw "Book of Mormon" (which was fantastic!), and ate some excellent food, including fried chicken at The Dutch in Soho and, um, fried chicken at Red Rooster in Harlem.

 

Thanksgiving 2011: Tandoori Turkey

Bon Appétit (November 2011)

Modern Family, Season 2 Episode 6:

Claire: I’m not done! So not done! Look, here's the thing. We have fireworks at Christmas now because that’s what they do in Colombia. I don’t mind. Thanksgiving? That used to be me, roasting a turkey, until the gays took it over with whatever new turkey-cooking craze it is that you saw on the Food Network. And I’m fine with that too. All I ask, all I ask, is that you leave me Halloween. Yeah, Halloween. I realize it is a crazy-ass holiday for a grown woman to care about this much, but it’s my crazy-ass holiday. Mine!

Cam: That’s a lot of complaining from somebody who asked for thirds of our tandoori turkey last year.

 

Ladies and gentlemen: Our tandoori turkey.

Thanksgiving 2011: Roasted Squash and Polenta Torta with Red Onion Marmalade

Fine Cooking (October/November 2011)

Here's just about everything you need to know about this Polenta Torta, in a series of five photographs. 

Thanksgiving 2011: Make-Ahead Roast Turkey and Gravy

 

Cook's Country (October/November 2011) 

"Make-ahead turkey."

When it comes to Thanksgiving cooking, are there any three words that sound more enticing? (Or more sacrilegious? After all, what is Thanksgiving Day without slaving away in a crowded, overheated kitchen while a huge bird takes up your entire oven for three and a half hours?)

Seriously, though: "Make-ahead turkey." Think of how dry it would be! How tasteless! But think of how much easier it would make your cooking! Think of how much less stressful your Thanksgiving could be!

As Cook's Country points out, many restaurants do it for holidays, with great success, so why not try it at home? 

"Make-ahead turkey." We had to try it!

We're here to tell you, not only is this make-ahead turkey the easiest turkey recipe we've ever made, it's also the best turkey recipe we've ever made. Ever.

And p.s.? This is also the best gravy we've ever made.

Thanksgiving 2011: Chestnut Pear Bisque

A Bitten Word Recipe 

We wanted to make at least one original dish for our Thanksgiving meal this year. Looking through our stash of food magazines, we noticed a definite scarcity of soups. There were only two soup recipes in all ten of our magazines.

So we decided to make up a soup!

Once we started thinking soup, we quickly started thinking chestnuts. Chestnut soup is rich and silky, and the nutty autumn flavor makes an excellent addition to a Thanksgiving menu.

But we wanted to pair it with something a little different. What could we pair it with? What would make a nice pair...?  What to pair, what to pair?  Hmm...pair...pairs....

Honestly, we have no idea where we came up with the idea for this soup.

Thanksgiving 2011: Cranberry-Lime Shrub Sparkler

Fine Cooking (October/November 2011)

A couple months ago, we were reading about colonial-era drink recipes. (Yes, we were just doing it for fun.)

Anyway, we came across something called a "shrub," an 18th-century American drink made with sweetened fruit and vinegar (not to be confused with a "switchel," another excellently-named vinegar-infused drink from the same time period). 

We were more than a little intrigued. Vinegar? In a cocktail? 

When we opened the Thanksgiving issue of Fine Cooking and saw a recipe for a Cranberry-Lime Shrub, we immediately added it to our Fakesgiving menu. We wanted to offer our dinner guests something special as they arrived, something fun to sip on while we finished prepping the meal.