Turkey Day Traditions

Turkey Day Traditions

Less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, many Choate students have already made plans for the week away from school. Most are looking forward to Thanksgiving break and their own Thanksgiving holiday celebrations, whether traditional or unique, while some choose not to celebrate the holiday at all.


The family dinner is what many are looking forward to most in Thanksgiving. Almost every one who chooses to celebrate the holiday looks forward to it. “My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the food, especially the pies,” said Consuelo Garcia-Garcia ’12. Ilana Heaton ’14 agreed with her: “I love the food on Thanksgiving. The stuffing in turkey is my favorite.”



Special Traditions

While turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pies, and many other traditional Thanksgiving foods are all largely enjoyed, some members of the Choate community look forward to their own interesting food traditions. Gabe Davis ’14 said, “The day before everyone [in my family] comes, my grandpa and I spend four hours making a lot of hot and sour soup. I don’t know what his recipe is, but it is just fantastic. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, my family buys about forty two-pound lobsters. Guests are invited, and the people eat loads and loads and loads of lobsters just to prove that we are New Englanders.”


Choate as a school has it’s own tradition for Thanksgiving— the annual “Thanksgiving Festive Dinner” at Hill House dinning hall during the week before exams. Students and faculty looked forward to this event each year. This year the dinner will be on Thursday, November 17. “I love it. They make all the traditional Thanksgiving food: Turkey, cranberry sauce, and a lot of pies.” said Afia Amoako ’14.


Along with the festive food, Thanksgiving represents other memorable family traditions as well. Spanish teacher Ms. Patricia Antunez said, “My brother and I used to play ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ in the record ‘Christmas with the Chipmunks’ after Thanksgiving to start off the Christmas season when we were little. Now we are playing the same song for our children to carry on the tradition.”


International Students

Although Thanksgiving is not widely celebrated in other countries, most people are still excited about the break from school. Sara Sagadiev ’13 from Kazakhstan is going back home and staying there for a week. “I’m looking forward to spend time with my parents and friends and just enjoy the environment I grow up in,” she said. Aline Mitsuzawa ’14 from Brazil is also going back home to Sao Paulo. Unlike those who are eager for stuffing and mashed potatoes, she said that she misses the taste of traditional Brazilian foods such as barbecue and “Pastel”, a kind of fried cheese. “Thanksgiving is not a popular holiday in Jamaica. Only families have connection with the United States celebrate it,” said Anji Chatani ’14. “My whole family gets together and we have dinner. I went to an American school where we always had three or four days off for Thanksgiving.”


Some international students choose to travel to places nearby instead of going home since the break is relatively short. Isaac Lee ’14, from South Korea, said that he plans to go to Caribbean for a week with his sisters. James Liu ’15 from Beijing, China will meet up with his mother in New York, and together they will go to a family friend’s house in Washington D.C. Liu is excited for his visit to D.C. because it will give him an opportunity to experience the American holiday. He said, “I’m really interested in learning about the traditions and how to make Thanksgiving food such as turkey from my American friend.”


For international students who are unable to go home and do not have other travel plans, there is no need to worry. The school offers to arrange for them to stay with a local student family or a faculty family. Mr. William Morris, Dean of the Fourth Form Boys, said, “Anne Armour, Director of International Students, circulates a questionnaire to everyone at the beginning of the year, asking if [boarding students who live far away] have made plans for Thanksgiving break or if they’d like to be placed with a family, whether a day student, a local boarding student, or a faculty. Then she works with Libby Peard, parent coordinator…They maintain a list of families who volunteer to host international students. Mrs. Armour and Mrs. Peard do their best to help those request a host family.”

Turkey Day: Seven Steps to Safely Deep Frying Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Turkey Day: Seven Steps to Safely Deep Frying Your Thanksgiving Turkey

Although there’s some debate about whether turkey was actually served at the first Thanksgiving, there’s no question that modern-day Americans are finding new and creative ways to serve up this traditional holiday favorite. One that’s been on the rise in recent years involves the use of turkey fryers. Deep-fried turkey started in the deep South, but has become something of a national craze in the past decade.


Unfortunately, this passion for deep frying has resulted in a rise in the number of dangerous accidents involving turkey fryers. According to the National Fire Protection Association, Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, which are the number one cause of residential fires and fire-related injuries. Turkey fryers are playing an increasingly significant role, too, with the NFPA estimating they cause 1,000 fires annually.

“Every Thanksgiving, we receive reports of accidents involving turkey fryers,” said Mike Convery, chief claims officer and vice president for MetLife Auto & Home®. “Some of these stories are quite serious, too. For example, not so long ago, we had a customer whose overturned turkey fryer ignited his motorcycle’s gas tank. He suffered serious third-degree burns and endured months in rehab -- not to mention the total destruction of his home.”

Although using a turkey fryer can be dangerous, there are actions that can be taken to reduce the likelihood that an accident or injury will occur. Consider the following:

01. One major cause of turkey fryer accidents is that the turkey is not completely thawed, which can create a volatile situation. The National Turkey Federation recommends refrigerator thawing: allow approximately 24 hours for every five pounds of bird thawed.
02. Use your turkey fryer outdoors, away from buildings and any material that can burn. Never use turkey fryers on wooden decks or in garages. Make sure to place the fryer on a flat surface.
03. Never leave the fryer unattended. If you don't watch it carefully, the oil may catch fire.
04. Never overfill the fryer, and make sure to leave adequate room for the oil displaced by the turkey.
05. Never let children or pets near the fryer when in use. And, even after the food is on the table, remember: turkey fryers remain dangerously hot for hours.
06. Always use well-insulated potholders or oven mitts when using a turkey fryer. And, even though they may look silly, wear safety goggles to protect your eyes from oil splatter.
07. If a fire breaks out, never use water to try to put it out. Adding water to a grease fire will only make things worse, quickly, and could result in significant fire damage, as well as devastating injury. Make certain you keep a fire extinguisher on hand, but if the fire appears unmanageable, call 9-1-1 for help, rather than fighting it yourself.

To help people learn more about fire safety in general, MetLife Auto & Home offers free materials, including a coloring book for children entitled “Learn about Fire Safety with the PEANUTS Gang” and a fire safety brochure entitled “About… Fire Safety.” Both are available by calling 1-800-608-0190. Fire safety information is also available at www.lifeadvice.com.

MetLife Auto & Home, a brand of Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and its affiliates, is one of the nation’s leading personal lines property and casualty insurance providers, with more than 2.7 million policies in force. MetLife Auto & Home is a part of MetLife, Inc. MET, a leading global provider of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in over 50 countries. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Thanksgiving and Turkey Recipes of 2011

Thanksgiving and Turkey Recipes of 2011

 It’s the time of the year again where families all around North-America reunite and celebrate together the autumn harvesting season with thanksgiving. If you’re receiving this year, it’s the perfect time to show your guests what the Paleo diet is all about and that healthy food is in fact also really tasty.The stars around thanksgiving are the meat and vegetables usually seen in North-America at this time of the year. Turkey, beef, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, cranberries, mushrooms and apples are all standard fare.

What I’ve decided to do here is create a complete menu including the main thanksgiving turkey with the sauce, stuffing and cranberry sauce as well as another main of juicy rib roast, appetizers, vegetable sides and even a classic dessert, the pumpkin pie. All this in Paleo fashion.

Of course, simple olive, fruit and cheese platters are also welcomed by everybody to snack on, but the recipes included here will produce enough food to fill even the hungriest.Some thanksgiving recipes are already perfectly Paleo, but yet some needed to be adapted somewhat. The cranberry sauce presented here is a tarter version than the traditional one, but I think it’s an even more interesting taste to contrast with the turkey and stuffing. The stuffing, for its part, is made out of lean ground beef instead of bread and is absolutely amazing and tasty. Be aware that some of your guests will probably want to steal your recipe. Finally, the pumpkin pie is made on a nut crust and is lightly sweetened with some honey instead of being a massive sugar vehicle.

I hope that you and your family will enjoy preparing and eating those delicious recipes and that your house will become the favorite place to have a thanksgiving dinner for the whole family.

The Turkey 

The turkey is the centerpiece of most thanksgiving dinners and is at the heart of this November tradition. The wild turkey being native to the North-American forests, I couldn’t think of a better animal to feast on to celebrate the local harvest.

Of course, now that Thanksgiving has been commercialized and some of its essence lost, so is the traditional turkey. Now turkeys are selected for larger and larger breasts for more and more white meat, probably because of our global fear of fat. This means, unless you source some heritage turkey or hunt wild turkey yourself, that you’ll have to pay more attention during the cooking process not to end with dry meat. You’ll want to make sure not to overcook it and to baste it really often. A kitchen syringe is also a good idea here, to inject some juices into the meat itself.

It goes without saying that getting a turkey that as been properly raised and fed is really important not only for the advantage in taste, but also the health benefits of a better fat ratio and fewer toxins. The difference is worth the price.

Mushroom butter roasted turkey

The little twist in this roast turkey recipe is in the use of dried wild mushrooms to create a delicious flavored butter that will help cook the turkey and also be an integral part of the final sauce to serve with the bird. The sauce is created with the cooking juice so it’s very simple to prepare without even thinking about it.
Ingredients

Turkey

    * One 10-12 lb turkey;
    * Garlic powder;
    * Ground dried thyme;
    * Poultry mix or finely chopped fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram;
    * 1/2 cup chicken stock;
    * 1/2 cup good quality and sugar-free BBQ sauce (can be homemade);

Wild mushroom butter

    * 1 1/4 cups dried wild mushrooms;
    * 1/4 lb room temperature butter or clarified butter;
    * 1 tbsp white wine;

Preparation

   1. Preheat your oven to 450 F.
   

2. Grind the dried mushrooms in a coffee grinder to a powder.  Mix that powder in a bowl with the soft butter or ghee and add the whine and mix again.
  

3. Clean and pat dry your turkey. Remove the organs if still present in the cavity. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan.
   

4. Cut the skin at a few places on the bird and place some of the wild mushroom butter between the skin and the flesh with a small spoon or a kitchen syringe.
   

5. Season the bird generously with garlic powder, dried thyme, the fresh herbs or poultry mix and black pepper. Also add the rest of the mushroom butter on the surface of the turkey.
   

6. Place a loose sheet of aluminium paper on top of the turkey and put it in the oven.
  

7. Reduce the heat to 350 F immediately after putting the turkey in the oven. Cook for about 18 minutes per pound. 3 hours and a half in our case. Season with salt and pepper after 30 minutes of cooking.
   

8. Baste the bird about every 20 minutes to make sure the meat stays moist.
  

9. You can remove the aluminium paper an hour before the end of the cooking process to obtain a golden and crispy skin.
  

10. Remove the turkey from the oven when fully cooked and set the turkey aside, out from the roasting pan and covered with the sheet of aluminium paper.
  

11. Place the pan on the stove top on a medium heat and deglaze with the chicken stock. Add the BBQ sauce.
  

12. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
  

13. Serve the sauce immediately with the turkey.

Cranberry sauce

Turkey is almost always served with a sugary cranberry sauce at thanksgiving, but this sauce doesn’t have to contain that much sugar to be delicious. Of course, cranberries on their own are very tart, but in this recipe a cup of orange juice is added for a nice orange test and to cut on the tartness. No extra sugar needed. As an added bonus, this sauce is so easy to prepare, you could probably do it eyes closed. This recipe gives a cranberry sauce that’s a bit more tart than usual, but you’ll probably end up liking it even more than the cranberry sauce you used to know.

At this time of the year, you shouldn’t have any problem finding fresh cranberries, but you can always use frozen ones in the case you can’t find any.

Ingredients

    * 1 lb fresh raw cranberries;
    * 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice;

Preparation

   1. Place the cranberries and orange juice in a pot and slowly bring to a boil, making sure to stir from time to time.
   2. As the cranberries cook, they will eventually pop. When all the cranberries have popped, the sauce is ready.
   3. Cool in the refrigerator and serve with your thanksgiving turkey.

Beef, celery, walnut & apple stuffing

Who says turkey stuffing absolutely has to be made out of bread? This version made with lean ground beef, celery, apples and walnuts tastes amazing and is way, way healthier. The ground beef has to be very lean not because we are scared of the fat in any way, but because the fat changes the taste and texture and creates something much different looking and tasting than a traditional stuffing. With the celery, apples and spices used, the aroma and texture will be very similar to the traditional stuffing. Cooked outside the bird, stuffing was traditionally called dressing, but now the names seem to be interchangeable. The usual spices used in a turkey stuffing are often sold in a mixture called a poultry mix and include rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram. Of course, the result will be much better if you chop yourself fresh herbs than if you buy a mix of dried a dried version of them.

Ingredients

    * 1 lb extra lean ground beef;
    * 1 tbsp cooking fat;
    * 4 stalks celery, diced;
    * 1 medium onion, diced;
    * 1 apple, diced;
    * 2 cups finely chopped walnuts;
    * 1 clove garlic, minced;
    * Generous amount of poultry mix or springs of fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and marjoram, very finely chopped;
    * Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

   1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
   2. In a large pan, sauté to ground beef and celery with the cooking fat for about 3 minutes. Make sure to crumble the ground beef to small pieces.
   3. Add the diced apple and onion and continue sautéing for another 2 minutes.
   4. Add the fresh herbs or poultry mix, minced garlic, walnuts and season with salt and pepper. Mix well. The meat should still be somewhat pink, it’ll finish cooking in the oven.
   5. Put the mixture in a baking dish and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven.