The Bitten Word

Thanksgiving 2013: Behind-the-Scenes Photos from Fakesgiving + Our Full Menu

Bittens, we are done! 

We made it through 15 recipes for Thanksgiving this year. We have had so much fun writing about these dishes and hearing your thoughts on them -- and we can't WAIT to hear how your own Thanksgiving dinners turn out.

In case you want a refresher, below is our full menu from this year's Thanksgiving posts.  And if you need any further inspiration, we've just updated our Favorite Holiday Recipes page, where you can find all sorts of good ideas from years past.

Thanksgiving 2013

Cocktail
The Pilgrimage

Main Course
Pimentón-Roasted Whole Turkey Breast with Chorizo
Sausage Pear Stuffing
Extra-Crispy Skillet Stuffing
Roasted Onion and Chestnut Compote
Cabernet Cranberry-Kumquat Sauce

Side Dishes
Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Bananas with Honey
Green Beans with Benne and Sorghum
Carrot Mash with Orange and Mint
Winter Greens with Preserved Lemon
Turnips with Bacon and Pickled Mustard Seeds

Desserts
Pear-Rosemary Pie with Cheddar Crust
Brûléed Pumpkin Pies
Sweet Potato Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

 

Meanwhile, we thought you'd enjoy a little behind-the-scenes look at the Fakesgiving dinner we threw a few weeks back.

Want to see some photos from the dinner?

Your Thanksgiving Questions, Answered!

We've been getting lots of great emails and comments with Thanksgiving-related questions, so we thought we'd round up the best of the bunch here!

Let's get started. 

 

I Need That Carrot Mash! 

"Where can I find the carrot mash recipe you talked about on the radio?" -- a dozen-plus people

Here's the recipe for Carrot Mash with Orange and Mint. 

 

Making Carrot Mash Ahead of Time

"Can Carrot Mash with Orange and Mint be made ahead of time?" -- Mandy 

Yes! Absolutely. You could EASILY make this a day early and reheat it in the microwave. In fact, that's exactly what we did. 

 

Desperately Seeking Cranberry

"I am looking for a good recipe for cranberry sauce since I'd like to offer up an alternative to the traditional jello mold always requested by my in-laws. I saw the lemon and fennel recipes. Any favorite between the two, or any others you'd recommend instead?" -- Valerie

That Cranberry Chutney with Fennel and Golden Raisins is really, really great. If you're looking for something different, we also loved this Nutty Cranberry Relish, which we described as a "walk on cranberry sauce's wilder side." 

 

What Goes with Baked Brie?

"I'm pretty much a cheese purist. I like my cheeses with little more that a good baguette and some butter. However, for an appetizer this thanksgiving I'm making baked Brie in puff pastry and I need something to go on top or beside it. Savory or sweet is okay. Just wondering if you have anything you absolutely love or has been a big hit at a party you've been to." -- Chris
 

We have two words for you: pumpkin butter.

 

Since we made the Pilgrimage Cocktail we've been on a pumpkin butter kick. We think it would be an excellent accompaniment that would add a great Thanksgiving-ish flavor to the Brie. Here's a version we found that uses pepitas and almonds to add a little crunch. 

 

Fix the Crispy Cauliflower? 

"I'm thinking of making the Crispy Cauliflower with Capers, Raisins, and Breadcrumbs from Bon Appetit to bring to a friends/fakes-giving, which you didn't love a few years back. Any further thoughts? I'll defititely turn up the volume with more dressing." -- Michael 

We're glad you're thinking about that crispy cauliflower, because we think it's worth revisiting and tweaking. We definitely agree with you about more dressing, and wonder if you shouldn't also cut the breadcrumbs down just a little.  It calls for 3/4 cup.  Maybe if you used 1/2 cup plus a couple tablespoons?  Also, as we noted, we do think homemade breadcrumbs would help make this less ... "dusty." Another thought:  What about using panko instead of breadcrumbs?  That'd REALLY give you a nice crunchy texture. 

 

 

Hosting a Guest with Celiac Disease 

"I will have a guest over for Thanksgiving this year that has Celiac Disease, and therefore cannot eat gluten. She also has to eat low or no dairy. I was wondering if you had any 'tried and true' gluten-free side dishes?" -- Leann

We have to admit that we're not up to speed fully on Celiac, but if you check out the "Side Dishes" section of our favorite holiday recipes, we think you'll be able to find something that will work for you (or that can be easily adapted. We have a feeling that our readers have a lot more ideas on this. Bittens, do you have a great idea for Leann? 

 

Onion Compote -- Make Ahead? 

"I am planning to make the onion and chestnut compote from your website--my only question is - can I make it a day early and then re-heat it?" -- Diane

We think you can absolutely make that compote a day ahead and reheat it.  We'd suggest reheating it slowly on the stovetop or in the oven, rather than the microwave.

 

Planning Soup Shots

"I am planning on making a butternut squash soup shooter appetizer for Thanksgiving.  Do you like this recipe or the Butternut squash and sage soup better? (Does one seem to be easier than the other?) Also, for the third year in a row, the Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts and Dried-Cherry Vinaigrette have been requested from me!  It's one of my family's FAVORITE recipes, which I found from you guys!!" -- Lauren 

If you're choosing between the Basic Winter Squash Soup and the Butternut Squash and Sage Soup with Sage Breadcrumbs, we think you should go with the sage version. It has more flavor, and if your'e looking to do a soup shot, you want to maximize the flavor. 

 

Not to muddy the waters here, but we might also suggest a different option here, which would be this Scarlet Carrot Soup. It is really good and unexpected. 

 

 

Have a Question? 

Do you have Thanksgiving questions? Post them here in the comments and we'll do our beset to answer them! 

 

~ Zach & Clay 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2013: Winter Greens with Preserved Lemon

A recipe from The Bitten Word

While we were furiously cooking in the lead up to our Fakesgiving, we found ourselves with a whole mess of turnip greens. We had gotten the turnips for the Turnips with Pickled Mustard Seeds and Bacon from our CSA, and they had the greens attached. We had removed the greens from the turnips and stored them seperately. Rather than wait and use the greens some other time, we decided to improvise a simple dish that would use them, and opted for making Winter Greens with Preserved Lemon. 

This was a completely selfish decision, as we had made Preserved Lemons following this year's Cover to Cover Challenge. The lemons have been giving us the stank eye every since they've been properly brined, as if to say, "WHY AREN'T YOU USING US??? WE ARE DELICIOUS!!" (Oddly, they say this in a British accent.) 

For our Fakesgiving take on this dish, we used both the turnip greens as well as the dinosaur kale that was growing in our garden. We did a quick sauté of the greens in a large pot, then simply tossed the greens with chopped preserved lemon. 

We opted to use one entire preserved lemon for a pound of greens. It's Thanksgiving we're talking about, and we wanted big flavor. The salty, sweetly sour preserved lemons are perfect paired with bitter winter greens. 

While we are advocates for decadence at Thanksgiving, we also enjoy having a few dishes that are on the lighter side. This one fit the bill for us -- hopefully it will for you, too.

 

Thanksgiving 2013: Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Bananas with Honey

Food Network Magazine (November 2013)

We have open minds when it comes to Thanksgiving.

We won't hesitate to use a new ingredient or technique, or choose something that sounds outright bizarre for the Thanksgiving table (we're looking at you, Tomato and Olive Stuffing). 

When we were selecting dishes for our Fakesgiving, our menu was shaping up to be somewhat traditional, so we purposefully zeroed in on a few things that were more unusual.

And Tyler Florence's Whipped Sweet Potato with Bananas and Honey from Food Network Magazine is nothing if not unusual.  

Thanksgiving 2013: The Pilgrimage Cocktail

Food Network Magazine (November 2013)

This cocktail doesn't make a lot of sense for a Thanksgiving crowd. But it might be good enough to serve anyway.

We had flagged this to make for our Fakesgiving dinner a couple weeks back. But on closer inspection, we realized you have to prepare each serving of this cocktail on its own, in a shaker. With 16 people coming over for dinner, we knew that was a nonstarter. We needed something we could make completely in advance and let guests serve themselves. (We wound up making a giant punchbowl of rum Manhattans, which is a cocktail we've been playing around with for a while; we'll write about it for you someday soon.)

Anyway, we knew we didn't want to tackle The Pilgrimage for a large group. But the idea of this cocktail kept tickling our brains, thanks to one very unconventional ingredient in it: pumpkin butter.

Thanksgiving 2013: Brûléed Pumpkin Pies

Martha Stewart Living (November 2013) and Bon Appétit (November 2013)

We have some fun news: We'll be interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered today, to discuss this year's big Thanksgiving trends! [UPDATE: You can now listen to the segment online! And here's the recipe for Carrot Mash with Orange and Mint.]

But first, let's back up. 

When we started thinking about this year's Thanksgiving trends, there were two major themes we noticed right away. One was desserts with savory elements, like the Pear-Rosemary Pie with Cheddar Crust we wrote about last week.

The other was brûléed pumpkin pies.

Three different food magazines featured a pumpkin pie finished with a brûléed top -- that glassy, caramelized sugar crust that makes a crème brûlée so delicious. What are the odds that such a pie would show up in the pages of Martha Stewart Living, Bon Appétit, and Saveur? 

We embrace the idea whole-heartedly: Who needs an excuse to use a kitchen blowtorch? Not us.

We knew we had to try one, so for our Fakesgiving, we decided to make Martha Stewart's version. More on that in a bit.

But then last week we got an unexpected and very exciting email: Would we be interested in discussing Thanksgiving trends on NPR's All Things Considered?

All Things Considered?! Of course!

That's when we decided to try out a second brûléed pie.

Thanksgiving 2013: Turnips with Bacon and Pickled Mustard Seeds

Bon Appétit (November 2013)

We have previously lamented the poor social standing of the turnip, that underappreciated, oft-forgotten standby of the root vegetable world.  

When we saw that Bon Appétit had a prominent turnip dish on their Thanksgiving menu, with these Turnips with Bacon and Pickled Mustard Seeds, it was a no-brainer that we'd make them.

Finally, some recognition for the turnip. And with bacon! And pickled mustard seeds! 

Sadly, this dish isn't doing our friend the turnip too many favors. 

Thanksgiving 2013: Cabernet Cranberry-Kumquat Sauce

Bon Appétit (November 2013)

We've got a bone to pick with Bon Appétit. 

Last Thanksgiving, we were really excited about making a side dish of Hearty Greens with Kumquats. It seemed like such an interesting twist on basic greens that we were eager to try it as part of our run-up to Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, we couldn't find kumquats anywhere. We tried several grocery stores and specialty produce markets; we even looked at ordering some online. But they were nowhere to be found. Too bad, we thought. We ditched the dish.

This year, like Charlie Brown trying to kick a kumquat-flavored football, we fell for it again.

This Cabernet Cranberry-Kumquat sounded like a wonderful, unique spin on traditional cranberry sauce. We flagged it as a must-try recipe.

And then we started calling grocery stores. Same as last year: Nobody had any kumquats, and nobody knew when they'd be coming in. We called every place we could think of. (In a truly next-level display of craziness, we even called a couple produce places in New York City. Clay had a work trip to New York, and we briefly considered bootlegging some kumquats on Amtrak. But even the New York purveyors didn't have any.)

Now, in fairness, we were doing our Great Kumquat Search a few weeks prior to Thanksgiving. But most of the places we talked to said they don't usually get kumquats until January.

All of which leads us to an inescapable conclusion:

A) Bon Appétit has a time machine; or 

B) Bon Appétit has a kumquat-cloning machine; or

C) You might have to make a substitution to this recipe.

We've got some ideas for one of those. (Sadly, we're fresh out of time machines and cloning devices.)

Thanksgiving 2013: Pear-Rosemary Pie with Cheddar Crust

Southern Living (November 2013)

Though it's not a new trend for Thanksgiving, pears are an abundant ingredient in this year's Thanksgiving dishes. And that certainly held true at our house. We made three dishes that used pear for our Fakesgiving. 

We were excited by the idea of a Pear and Rosemary Pie, but we were sold by the idea of a Pear and Rosemary Pie with a Cheddar Crust. 

Thanksgiving 2013: Roasted Onion and Chestnut Compote

Saveur (November 2013)

Though numerous dishes on this blog give evidence to the contrary, we are, in our day-to-day lives, healthy eaters. 

But at Thanksgiving, all bets are off, and we love a little decadence. 

If there's a time to haul out the high-fat, high-calorie ingredients, it might as well be at Thanksgiving. 

You can rub your turkey in duck fat, run through pounds upon pounds of butter, and pour on cream to your heart's content. You can even take a relatively healthy dish and make it oh-so-not-healthy. Go ahead, smother those poor green beans in bacon fat! They won't mind. 

At Thanksgiving, more is more.

That's what initially drew us to this Roasted Onion and Chestnut Compote. 

Fasten your seatbelts, Bittens. This recipe's a rich one.