ALT-2 Food Ideas for a non Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time when we focus on family and fellowship, not the food. But let's face it, Thanksgiving IS very much about the food. That doesn't mean a traditional Thanksgiving meal must be served. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, and sometimes, people just aren't in the mood for turkey and dressing - or in the mood to COOK a turkey dinner!
So what are the options? Here are food ideas for six non-traditional Thanksgiving dinners:* THANKSGIVING BREAKFASTHow many times have you missed the big Macy's Parade on television because you were busy in the kitchen preparing the turkey and trimmings? If your gang plans to sit around and watch parades and football all day anyway, why not make it more comfortable for everyone? Instead of the traditional turkey meal, serve breakfast! Invite everyone to come in their pajamas or other loungewear and feast on breakfast fare while enjoying the parade.
Breakfast is a fairly simple meal anyway, but make a few efforts to keep the dishes easy to prepare, easy to serve, and satisfyingly hearty. A holiday favorite at my house is sausage and scrambled eggs. For each person you will need approximately 1/4 pound of ground sausage and two eggs. (I use mild sausage, but if you know for certain your gang likes things spicier, you might use a medium or hot version.) First, crumble the sausage and fry it in a big skillet, draining as much grease as possible afterward. Set the drained sausage aside, grease your skillet again with non-stick cooking spray, then heat. Pour in scrambled eggs (I add just a little Half and Half for richness), and stir them gently, seasoning with just a little salt. Don't add too much salt, as the sausage is already salty and peppered! As the eggs begin to scramble, reintroduce the crumbled sausage, and mix together until the eggs are completely cooked, stirring often.
Serve this dish buffet-style with biscuits, toast, muffins, fruit and/or fruit juice, coffee, and any other pastries and beverages you prefer. Make extra, as this dish reheats well in the microwave and can make a return appearance later in the day on toast or a biscuit as a "sausage and egg sandwich." You might want to bake some frozen hash browns later to accompany these mid-afternoon sandwiches. A cake or cookies can be prepared for between-game snacking, along with chips, dip, and other munchies. This way, everyone gets to enjoy the parade and games... even the cook!
- SOUTHERN STYLEInstead of turkey and the trimmings, why not go Southern style and serve chicken and dumplings, brown beans, green beans, cole slaw, turnip greens and maybe a skillet of lightly browned cornbread. If you are REALLY from the south and ambitious, you might add some cheesy grits and a skillet of sliced sweet potatoes fried in butter and sugar!
If you are not adept at making chicken and dumplings, try this quick and easy version:
Bake or braise boneless chicken breasts and thighs ahead of time. Drain and cool, then chop into bitesized pieces, preserving the broth. Remove any fat from the broth. In a large Dutch oven, place the chicken and broth, adding chicken stock to fill the pot about 2/3 full. Bring to a boil and season to taste with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and black pepper.For dumplings, there are two choices... people I consider good cooks say they use frozen dumplings they buy at Wal-Mart in the freezer cases. My grandmother rolls hers by hand, but I have never mastered this. So I make mine with Bisquick! Mix together enough Bisquick and milk to make about one cup of very stiff dough (not much milk will be needed!). Bring the broth and chicken mixture to a rolling boil. Use a teaspoon to create small balls of the sticky dough, and drop them carefully into the broth. Stir gently to keep them separated, but not too much, as this will cause the dumplings to dissolve into the broth completely. As you add dumplings and stir, you will turn the dough so that it cooks on all sides, and your dumplings will rise to the top of the pot. When all the dumplings start to float on the top, this means they are ready! Serve immediately. If you have more chicken and broth than you can serve in one meal, only cook enough dumplings for those you are serving. You can reheat the broth and chicken another day and add more dumplings. But if you cook all of your dumplings at once, the next day you will have a thick, doughy goop!
Brown beans and turnip greens are best cooked in a crock pot with a ham bone or "hog jowl" - and this can be done overnight. Cole slaw can be made quickly and easily with a pre-shredded bag of cabbage and "slaw mix" from the produce section of your grocery store and your favorite slaw dressing. Mine is about 1/2 cup of T. Mazzetti's Blue Cheese dressing mixed with about 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. I shake this all together and dress my slaw. (I also add raisins and pineapple tidbits to my slaw, but this is optional.) Top off this meal with a pecan or buttermilk pie, and your guests will be saying, "Hush my mouth and pass the cornbread!"
- TAILGATE HEAVENIf it's Thanksgiving, there's football! And for many, that means getting to the big game. So why not do a tailgate Thanksgiving dinner. Either pre-cook hot dogs and brats at home and keep warm in an insulated container, or pack a small grill and cook on-site at the game in true "tailgate" style. Add a steaming thermos of chili, chips, dips, cookies and maybe miniature pumpkin or pecan pies (even s'mores if you brought the grill!), and you've got a feast to share with family and friends that fills you up and warms the heart - and gets you to the game on time!
- FISH DINNERWant to prepare an elegant, sit-down dinner but not up for turkey? Serve baked salmon with dill sauce. Cookbooks are filled with recipes for this dish. Add sides like wild rice, baby green peas, and a simple fruit salad, and serve everything family style from an elegantly decorated table you've set with your finest china, crystal and flatware. For dessert, consider cheesecake, a fluffy chocolate mousse, or even a gourmet ice cream with a complimentary sauce. White wine or champagne completes this festive celebration, and your guests are sure to feel special and appreciated.
- FRIENDSHIP STEWWhen I was a kindergarten teacher, my students and I cooked our own Thanksgiving dinner each year. The menu was "Friendship Stew," pistachio salad, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. I furnished beef for the stew, and each child brought one other ingredient - canned vegetables and consumme for the broth; pistachio pudding mix, crushed pineapple, marshmallows and cool whip for the salad; canned cranberry jelly; canned pumpkin and milk, and bread. I supplied the eggs, spices and pie crust for the pie, and the cafeteria ladies baked the pies for us once we had them ready. We carefully added all of our canned vegetables to my beef and broth to make our stew, and we mixed the salad. The children loved the thought that, like the guests at the first Thanksgiving dinner, everyone brought something and contributed, and we all worked to make the meal happen. The day was as much about working together as it was eating the meal.
As adults, we could do very much the same thing... sort of a grown-up, mixed-up potluck! Ask each person to contribute something to a stew. Start with a base of ground turkey, browned with chopped onions and celery. Place this cooked mixture (drained as much as possible) into a Dutch oven and add chicken stock to fill the pot about 2/3 full. Ask guests to bring vegetables to add... potatoes, carrots, frozen beans and peas, corn... whatever sounds good. Season as desired with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. The stew may need to be thickened before serving with a thin mixture of flour and water.
Ask some of the guests to bring ingredients for a salad, and another to bring bread. You can either have ingredients on hand for creating a pie or other dessert, or you can ask a guest to bring a ready-made dessert. But the object of this meal is to get as many people involved in the preparation as possible. So ask each person to chop and peel or add their particular ingredient(s) to the dish. Guests can busy themselves before the meal with watching the parade or a ballgame, visiting with each other... or setting the table for the meal. Guests could even make place cards and tablescapes, if you have the materials on hand to create these decorations.
Once all of the dishes are prepared and the food is served, those who gather at the table will all feel the camaraderie and fellowship of working together to bring this meal to fruition. And as good as the food tastes, the focus will be directed more toward the people who enjoy it.
- HAPPY PASTA BAR!I have a friend whose family always includes a big dish of lasagna on their Thanksgiving table. I am not sure why - no one in the family is Italian! Nonetheless, lasagna appears each Thanksgiving Day as part of their traditional dinner.
And why not? Everyone loves pasta. Try doing a pasta buffet this year instead of turkey. Serve several kinds of pasta... spaghetti, linquini, penne, farfalle, tortellini - whatever you and your guests enjoy. Set out sauces like marinara, alfredo, and pesto. Chop up cooked meats and raw vegetables... sliced sausage links, chicken breast, shrimp, onions, peppers, tomatoes, olives, artichokes... and set up an "omelet station" on your stove. Let guests tell you what they prefer in their sauce, and create custom pasta dishes on the spot by cooking the meat and veggies together in a little bit of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and adding the preferred sauce, then topping a plate of whatever pasta(s) the diner desires. While guests wait for their pasta dish to be created, they can create a dinner salad from fresh greens and salad toppings. Serve bread sticks, and even a side of lasagna, if desired. For dessert, make mini cheesecakes, cannolis, and other Italian pastries, and create a beautiful (and tasty) dessert bar.
This meal will also get everyone involved, to some degree and create a festive, interactive atmosphere. Your guests will be saying, "Mama Mia! That was SOME Thanksgiving!"
Once you start thinking outside the box, you may come up with dozens of other ideas for a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal that is suited to your lifestyle and the tastes and schedules of your guests. Remember, the food may be what brings you together, but the fellowship is what matters most!
