It’s easy to understand why so many people enjoy the
holidays. It’s a time to come together with family and friends, spend quality
time with the people who are most important to you, slow down and take a break
from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Most importantly, it’s the best time
to cook and indulge in your favorite foods, like turkey, mashed potatoes and
sweet desserts.
At our senior communities across
New Jersey, it’s safe to say that our favorite Thanksgiving dishes are
already on our minds! Our culinary-trained chefs pull out all the stops for our
Thanksgiving feasts. Here are some of our must-have Thanksgiving foods that we
serve every year.
Thanksgiving turkey
The staple of every thanksgiving meal is a delicious golden
brown turkey. Whether you bake your turkey in the oven or deep fry it, the most
important thing is to get a turkey large enough to feed everyone. You’ll
probably want to have some leftovers too, so keep that in mind when deciding on
what size turkey to cook. When beginning your preparations, make sure you leave
enough time to defrost your turkey fully. Some people start preparations the
day before Thanksgiving to ensure their turkey is ready in time.
Let’s not forget to add a little bit of spice. There’s a
huge range of seasonings to choose from, and some of the most popular are lemon
pepper, rosemary and balsamic and honey. Whether you like a little or a lot, be
sure to season your turkey to give it more flavor.
Stuffing and dressing
While some people use stuffing and dressing interchangeably,
stuffing is actually what’s cooked inside of your turkey, while dressing is
prepared on its own. No matter what you call them, they are classic
Thanksgiving staples and a must-have at your dinner table!
Recipes vary from family to family and region toregion, but
dressings traditionally contain chopped nuts, diced raisins, and dried
cranberries, while other varieties like cornbread dressing have herbs, chopped
vegetables, cornbread, and breadcrumbs.
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Mashed potatoes and gravy is a year-round favorite, but it’s
especially popular at Thanksgiving. You may not think of mashed potatoes as a
versatile dish, but you can prepare it many ways, including with garlic and
chives, with cheese and bacon bits, or you can stick to the classic recipe. As
for the gravy, you can never go wrong with a classic Southern turkey gravy,
which is full of rich flavors and serves as the perfect topping for your mashed
potatoes.
Holiday pumpkin cookies
Last but never least, dessert! No Thanksgiving meal is
complete without the perfect dessert. Sure, pumpkin pie is all the rage at
Thanksgiving, but why not mix it up and try something new like holiday pumpkin
cookies? One of our UMC chefs, Collingswood’s own Chef Eric, has shared his
favorite recipe with us:
- 1
Cup Canned Pumpkin
- 1
Cup Sugar
- 1
Cup Shortening
- 1
Egg
- 1
Tsp Vanilla Extract
Mix the above ingredients together in a bowl until
they’re well-blended.
- 2
Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1
Tsp Cinnamon
- 1
Tsp Baking Powder
- 1
Tsp Baking Soda
- 1⁄2
Tsp Salt
Sift together all remaining dry ingredients in a separate
bowl, then add to the sugar/shortening mixture. Mix on low speed for two
minutes, scraping the bowl well throughout. After the dough is thoroughly
mixed, drop tablespoon-sized portions onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350
degrees for 12-15 minutes.
- 3 Oz
Cream Cheese
- 1
Tbsp Milk
- 1⁄2
Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2
1⁄2 Cups Confectioners’ Sugar
- Dash
of Salt
Combine the icing ingredients from the list above and mix
well. Once cooled, top cookies with the icing and enjoy.
If you’d like more information about what our UMC chefs will
be cooking up for all of our communities this Thanksgiving, or if you have
any questions
about senior living in general, please contact our team today. We
look forward to hearing from you, and perhaps having you join us for the
holidays!
To learn more, please visit our website at: https://umcommunities.org/
This blog was originally published at https://umcommunities.org/umc-corp/blog/thanksgiving-food/
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