With just under two weeks away, whether your Thanksgiving looks a little smaller this year whether you are a singleton, a couple or if you have a hungry family to feed. Well, this quick cheat sheet for Holiday Servings will help you figure out how much turkey, sides, pie and most importantly, wine that will you need for the holidays.
Most grocery chains are currently taking order for Turkey Day Dinners with all the trimmings, serving up to 6 people and are available for curbside pick up, locally. Call your local supermarket for availability.
Gourmet on-line shops also offer holiday dinners. Click on the link to check out their offerings. If this seems like an option, order right now! Harry& David
If you are planning to cook your own dinner, start shopping now. Be sure to start cooking on Monday or Tuesday the week of the holiday to avoid stress in the kitchen.
And if all else fails, you may be able to order take out and have it delivered.
_______________________________________________________ # of people 1 4 8
_______________________________________________________
Turkey* 1 1/4 lbs 5–6 lbs 10–12 lbs
Salad 2 cups 2 quarts 4 quarts
Stuffing/Dressing 3/4 cup 3 cups 6 cups
Potatoes/Starch** 3/4 cup 3 cups 6 cups
Veggie side 1 cup 1 quart 2 quarts
Bread/Rolls 1 piece 1 dozen 2 dozen
9″ pie 1 slice 1 pie 2 pies
Bottle of wine*** 1/2 2 2–3
_______________________________________________________ * Includes bone weight. For 1–2 servings, consider buying a roast turkey breast.
** If buying potatoes to make mashed potatoes, buy 1/2 pound of potatoes per guest.
Readily available in most supermarkets, quail packs a lot of flavor for such a diminutive bird. It also makes a divine alternative to traditional barbecue chicken if you’ve got a smaller crowds due to COVID19 this year. To give the bird a bit of Southern flair, they are brushed it with a traditional Alabama White barbecue sauce; its tanginess and subtle spice is a fine foil to the slightly gamey flavor of the birds.
Quail only requires a short amount of cooking time over high heat to reach the proper doneness of medium rare. Since the bird has so little natural fat, cooking beyond medium-rare runs the risk of developing a grainy texture in the meat.
Alabama white sauce was made famous by Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. Alabama white sauce is mayonnaise based, instead of tomato based, which gives it a great creamy flavor profile. Smoked chicken may be the most famous vessel for transporting this delicious, tangy and smooth sauce into your mouth, but it’s just the beginning! Alabama white sauce is incredibly versatile and has become a BBQ staple sauce for good reason. It offers the ideal balance of flavors to enhance all types of smoked or grilled meats and vegetables. If you are looking to change up your taste buds during this summer of grilling, try the white sauce on ribs or smoked turkey. You ca also use it as a tangy vegetable dip or use it as a dressing for cole slaw!
As an alternative, please feel free to use your favorite bottled barbecue sauce for this dish, to keep things easy. You can also prepare the quail indoors, in the oven, using a grill pan.
Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients: 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar 1/3 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoons water 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce Kosher salt, to taste 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided use 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, divided use Freshly ground black pepper Hot sauce 2 packs Semi-Boneless Quail, spatchcocked ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Directions: To make the white sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, brown sugar, mustard, horseradish and vinegar until completely smooth. Whisk in water, Worcestershire sauce, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and a few dashes of hot sauce.
Transfer to a lidded jar. Use immediately or let set in the refrigerator for 24 hours to let the flavors meld together. The sauce will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Bring quail out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you start cooking. Preheat a lightly oiled grill to medium-high.
Pat quail dry with paper towels. Season with salt, pepper, remaining ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ onion powder, and smoked paprika.
Place the quail on the grill breast side down, a few inches apart. Grill for about 3 minutes then carefully turn over and continue to grill until birds are just cooked through, about 3-4 minutes more.The internal temperature of the bird should read between 120 and 125° F on the meat thermometer.
Remove to a platter to rest for 5 minutes.
Dress with sauce and serve immediately with extra sauce on the side.
Cook’s Note: Sauce can be made a day ahead if desired.
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What to Do With Leftover Pickle Juice in the Sustainable Kitchen In the time of COVID.
If you didn’t know by now, a type of pickle juice is one of those secret ingredients that gave birth to Gatorade.
Gatorade was created in 1965 by a team of scientists at the University of Florida College of Medicine, including Robert Cade, Dana Shires, Harry James Free, and Alejandro de Quesada. Following a request from Florida Gators football head coach Ray Graves, Gatorade was created to help athletes by acting as a replacement for body fluids lost during physical exertion. The earliest versions of the beverage consisted of a mixture of water, sodium, sugar, potassium, phosphate, and lemon juice. Yes the formula for pickle juice! Just like the recipe Grandma used for canning her summer cucumbers and other vegetables.
University of Florida football player Chip Hinton testing Gatorade in 1965, pictured next to the leader of its team of inventors, Robert Cade.
Drinking pickle juice after an intense workout can help prevent muscle cramps. It also contains electrolytes (even more than most sports drinks!) that can help you stay hydrated. So, don’t throw away that precious pickle liquid!
So you’ve come to the end of a jar of pickles, and you are left with just the liquid, bereft of the delicious vegetables it once contained. Do not panic. Do not be afraid. Do not despair. And most of all, do not pour down the drain of your kitchen sink. That pickle juice or pickling liquid is not just watery trash.
Growing up, my grandmother and mother wasted nothing…..NOT A THING in their kitchens. They are we call now, sustainable cooks in the kitchen with ZERO WASTE. I remember the old Maxwell Coffee Cans that sat on the stove, being filled with bacon grease that was perfect for frying chicken livers in, or for roasting potatoes. I still keep an old metal coffee pot with the strainer to pour bacon grease in for reuse. They would also save the ends of vegetables and scraps of cabbage leaves and onion skins to make vegetable stock. And any organic material that was left, would go into the compost pile or my grandfather’s worm bed. He kept all kinds of worms in a pit he made out of discarded old bricks. And to say that these were the best worms you could use to go fishing with. The best natural fish bait ever.
Happy memories……But I digress……
So what is really in commerically made pickle juice
So what is really in commercially prepared pickle juice? Always read the labels, because they will tell you everything you need to know as the ingredients are listed in descending order, from greatest amount of what is being used to the least amounts used in the product. Did you notice it is very similar to the original recipe for Gatorade?
Photo Credit: One Good Thing, 2018.
If you play it right, it can add some pickle flavor to all kinds of delicious things. Pickle juice is a precious commodity, and you should use it. How?
Marinate Chicken In It You know how Chick-fil-A chicken is always impossibly tender and delicious? Well, I am going to let you in a little secret. Part of that is because it’s marinated in pickle juice. Use the same trick to make copycat Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches,or nuggets or tenders, whatever makes you happy, at home.
Meat Tenderizer Salty, tangy pickle juice makes a great marinade for meat. You can also use it to tenderize tougher cuts! For a marinade that’s perfect for pork or steak, whisk together some pickle juice, minced garlic, pepper, and mustard. Brush the mixture on the pork or steak, then let it marinate for an hour or up to overnight. Grill or roast the meat for a tender and flavorful meal.
Photo Credit: One Good Thing, 2018.
Put It In a Cocktail A pickleback—a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice—is one of those things you don’t think will work until it does. But what about a pickle martini? Use the juice like you would the brine from a jar of olives to make a pickle-y dirty martini, why not. It’s also an excellent addition to your next Bloody Mary.
Add It to Pimento Cheese Ahhh, Pimento Cheese on a buttery Ritz cracker for most Southerners is like having a smidgen of caviar on a blintz. The next time you’re making a batch of beer cheese or pimento cheese try pouring a little bit of pickle juice in there for flavor and a little body. It’s delicious.
Photo Credit: Williams Sonoma, n.d.
Use It Instead of Vinegar We are in the middle of the COVID Pandemic and you need vinegar but don’t have any around? Try using pickle juice. You could even use it as part of a vinaigrette to add some sour notes to a salad, or cut through the fat of something particularly rich, like a soup.
Add it to Mayonnaise for a Sandwich Spread Do you like pickles on your sandwich already? Good news: You can combine mayonnaise and pickle juice for a pickle-y spread for all that flavor in one.
Make More Pickled Food Toss a handful of baby carrots or shredded carrots in the jar and let it sit in your fridge for a few days. The pickled carrots make for a delicious tangy snack.
Another option delicious option would be using thinly sliced red onions or red radishes, plus a few sprigs of cilantro for an extra pop of flavor. These quick pickled onions vegetables would be perfect as a topping for salads, sandwiches, or tacos!
You can also put a few peeled hard-boiled eggs in pickle juice to make pickled eggs! Again, just leave them in the fridge for a few days to let the pickle juice work its magic.
All photographs and content, excepted where noted, are copyright protected. Please do not use these photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this photograph and all other contents, then we kindly ask that you link back to this site. We are eternally grateful and we appreciate your support of this blog.
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