Every November, Americans start looking forward to getting together with family and friends for the biggest feast day of the year. The day is full of ritual and tradition, but the Thanksgiving table is a curious one. There’s a definite menu of Turkey Day “standards” (most critically, the turkey), but there are some things on that list I’ve never tasted in my decades of American Thanksgiving eating, and I suspect I am not alone. One of the things that makes the American dining table so special is how it represents a medley of cultures, traditions, and flavors, and Thanksgiving just might be one of the best days of the year to recognize and celebrate our delicious diversity.

I knew my family’s menu quirks, but I wanted to learn more, so I first set out to define a “classic” Thanksgiving menu (the kind you see slow-panned on television), and then turned to my Yankee coworkers to measure the overlapping dishes…and the outliers. The always, never, and extras, if you will.

I asked AI for a “standard” American Thanksgiving menu, including sides and desserts, and here’s what it said:

• Roast Turkey
• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Cranberry Sauce
• Green Bean Casserole
• Sweet Potatoes
• Corn
• Other Veg Sides (Creamed Spinach, Roasted Brussels, Sauteed Carrots)
• Cranberry Relish
• Mac and Cheese
• Salad
• Dinner Rolls
• Pumpkin Pie
• Pecan Pie
• Apple Pie

But does anyone actually sit down to this menu?

Here’s how my family stacked up:

We always have roasted turkey, gravy, Bell’s stuffing, mashed potatoes (no lumps!), canned cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and apple pie. There are a few cooked vegetables, but they are unremarkable.

We never have sweet potatoes in any form, green bean casserole, or pumpkin pie.

And our unique Thanksgiving additions? When my Nana was cooking, it was Italian wedding soup to start and stuffed shells with the main course in a nod to my maternal Italian side of the family. Plus chocolate and vanilla pudding pie with graham cracker crust for dessert. And my husband’s family loves their French-Canadian meat stuffing.

Curious, I asked my fellow editors to compare their own table to AI’s suggestions. Here’s what they shared:

Travel Editor Kim Knox Beckius

It’s not Thanksgiving morning for me without Robinhood Meetinghouse Cream Cheese Biscuits. I literally cry if I can’t find them anywhere. They’re the creation of Chef Michael Gagne and made in Bath, Maine. The only must on my family’s holiday dinner menu has always been… Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. I think even the turkey is more optional. Green Bean Casserole is a big no for me, too.

As we’ve lost family members, we’ve had to be really flexible about where we celebrate the holiday and what we eat. Morgan’s Restaurant at Interlaken Inn in CT is one of the best dining out experiences we’ve had on Thanksgiving. Last year, I got THE most incredible apple pie from Christie Caters in Barkhamsted, CT. They do full to-go meals, too.

Associate Editor Joe Bills

Our family gatherings “always” list included pumpkin and squash pie. Also plates of mixed nuts still in the shells and dates stuffed with peanut butter. We seldom had salad and never mac and cheese. Green bean casserole was never big in my family, but it was a huge deal with my southern in-laws!

Associate Digital Editor Katherine Keenan

I’ll be blunt: The stuffing is the most important part of Thanksgiving, with the gravy coming in at a close second. But obviously the turkey, the mashed potatoes, and the cranberry sauce play a role in making those taste good (I’m a little-bit-of-everything-on-the-fork-at-once sort of Thanksgiving participant). We never had green bean or sweet potato casserole growing up, but I shamelessly adore both. And as for the standard pie trifecta: All three are necessary in my opinion, no matter the crowd size. Otherwise what would you eat for breakfast for days afterward?

I could take or leave everything else, though I’m tempted to make Parker House Rolls this year. Because, if anything, Thanksgiving should be a bit excessive.

Senior Food Editor Amy Traverso

We always have my mom’s green onion dip, turkey, Pepperidge Farm stuffing (if mom is making it), candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans with mushrooms, and both canned and homemade cranberry sauce. Historically, I’d be assigned desserts: pumpkin chiffon pie and deep-dish apple pie. This year, my sister and I will be taking over all the cooking and I plan to do a cornbread dressing (in my book) as well as the Pepperidge Farm classic and a dry-brined turkey. I may try doing homemade squash ravioli, or the ravioli di Gavi recipe that I learned this year in Italy. 

We never have sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. I don’t really get it.  

Our weird additions are sadly lacking. Italian dishes show up at Christmas, but not Thanksgiving. My dad’s mom used to make a pumpkin custard. And she’d make a self-basting turkey by draping slices of bacon over the breast meat. I plan to resurrect the custard this year. Keep the pies. And add a different green bean preparation that I did at Sunset magazine.

So now we want to hear from you! What “standard” Thanksgiving dishes does your family always have? Never have? Do you have a random dish that’s become a Thanksgiving essential? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Just How Standard is the “Standard” Thanksgiving Menu? appeared first on New England.

So you were supposed to thaw your turkey in the refrigerator ahead of time. But you forgot! What to do? You have two options, short of inventing a time machine and going back far enough to give the turkey a full day in the refrigerator for every four to five pounds of weight:

First, if you have five or six hours, you can defrost the turkey in cold water for 30 minutes per pound. Be sure to change the water every 30 minutes. Once thawed, pat the turkey dry, let it air dry for 30 minutes at room temperature, then roast according to your recipe.

Believe it or not, you can also roast a frozen turkey. It will take about fifty percent longer, but it’s doable. Season the frozen bird all over with salt, pepper, and any herbs or spices you like and place, breast-side-down, on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet or shallow baking pan. You want maximum air circulation here. To that end, do not stuff the bird! If you want dressing, bake it on the side.

Roast the turkey at 325℉ for two hours without opening the door. After two hours, take the turkey out. Try and remove the bag of giblets in the neck cavity. If it is still frozen solid, don’t force it. Likewise, if you can remove the neck from the abdominal cavity, do that. Brush the skin with butter or oil and return the turkey to the oven to roast for another 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and take out the giblets. The key is to get that bag out before it heats up and releases harmful chemicals. 

Continue roasting until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 160℉ to 165℉ (the temperature will continue to rise a bit after you take it out of the oven). The thighs should read 175℉. If you want to brown the skin on the breast of the turkey, turn the bird breast-side up for the last hour of cooking. Final cooking times will vary by the size of the bird and how frozen it is at the start, but here is a rough guide:

• An 8- to 12-pound turkey will take 4 to 5 hours
• A 12- to 14-pound turkey will take 4 1/2 to 5 3/4 hours 
• A 14- to 18-pound turkey will take 6 to 6 3/4
• An 18- to 22-pound turkey will take 6 3/4 to 7 3/4 hours

When cooked, remove the turkey from the oven, tent with foil, and let it rest 30 minutes before carving. 

2. I have more dishes to cook than my oven can fit!

A single residential oven can only do so much, especially if the turkey is taking up most of the space for multiple hours. Four strategies can help:

• Make hot sides ahead of time and reheat them as the turkey is resting. That would be your dressing/stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, etc.
• Use your grill as a second oven. Regulating the temperature of a gas grill is much easier than that of a charcoal grill and you will need to keep an eye on things, but most casseroles can cook quite well as long as they’re not set over a direct flame and you keep the lid closed.
• Emphasize stove-top sides like mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, butternut squash soup, and glazed carrots, 
• Choose a few dishes you can serve at room temperature. Whether it’s a hearty vegetable salad, a make-ahead savory galette, a grain salad, or roasted Brussels sprouts, lots of dishes taste just as good if they’re not piping hot. 

3. The food won’t be ready for 3 hours and everyone is hungry!

Appetizers can feel like overkill when you’re making so much food, but dinner often takes longer than expected and it’s good to have a couple of recipes in your repertoire that you can make from pantry staples. My favorites: cheddar gougeres, Deviled eggs, garlicky cream cheese dip, and clam dip (made with canned clams). Do you have a can of chickpeas? Drain, rinse, and dry them, toss them with salt, pepper, paprika, and coriander or cumin to taste, and roast them on a rimmed baking sheet at 400℉ for 15 minutes, then drizzle with some olive oil, stir to coat, and roast for another 15 minutes. Crispy, delicious, and easy.

4. The turkey is dry!

Carve the meat and put it on a platter. Mix equal parts gravy and chicken (or turkey) stock. Pour a generous amount over the meat, then cover the platter with foil and put it in a 200℉ oven for 20 minutes. 

5. The mashed potatoes are gluey!

If you overwork your mashed potatoes by beating them aggressively or using an electric beater, the cells will rupture and turn your fluffy mash into a gluey mess. Fortunately, adding butter to the mix will fix the problem.Gently fold in 1 tablespoon of salted butter per pound of potatoes. Taste and add additional butter as needed.

The post 5 Common Thanksgiving Emergencies (& How to Fix Them) appeared first on New England.

Sugar pumpkins, also called pie pumpkins, are increasingly available at farm stands and in local supermarkets, but it’s easy to mistake them as purely decorative gourds, or overlook them in favor of towering carving pumpkins. However, these small pumpkins have firm flesh, a pleasant sweetness, and are made for eating. Wondering how to use sugar pumpkins? Here are a few ideas for making the most of this ultimate fall ingredient.

Cut into wedges and roast. Our Walnut-Rosemary Glazed Pumpkin Wedges are a great place to start. The recipe has wonderful sweet, savory, and aromatic flavors and is incredibly easy to make. The skin of the pumpkin isn’t too thick and you can easily slice off the top and break it down into wedges. Feel free to play with your favorite flavors or simply season the pumpkin with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil before roasting. 

Cut into cubes for savory dishes: You don’t have to peel sugar pumpkins if you’re going to cut them into cubes and add them to soups, stews, or curries (pumpkin is particularly delicious with coconut milk). The longer cooking times will allow the relatively thin skin to soften.

Make pumpkin puree. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds (you can save them for roasting if you like, tossed with salt, pepper, oil, nutmeg, and a dash of cayenne pepper). Brush a neutral oil over the pumpkin halves and place them, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast them in the oven at 350°F until the flesh is tender, 45 to 50 minutes. You should be able to easily pierce it with a fork when it’s done. Let the pumpkin cool for a bit, then scoop out the soft flesh. Transfer it to a blender or food processor and blend until you have a smooth puree. If the puree is too thick, add water, 2 tablespoons at a time. Store in your refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for later use.

Add puree to savory dishes: Look for soups, stew, risotto, or pasta dishes that call for canned pumpkin or squash and replace it with your homemade sugar pumpkin puree.

Use in quick breads and muffins: Use your homemade puree instead of canned pumpkin for these sweet treats, as well as our delicious Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Just be sure that the homemade puree has the same thickness as the canned kind. 

Make a truly homemade pumpkin pie. Who needs the canned stuff?

Homemade pumpkin spice lattes: They may be a culinary punchline, but they sure taste good, especially when made with fresh pumpkin puree. Use 3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree for every 8-ounce serving. Combine a shot of espresso, pumpkin puree, maple syrup to taste, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Whisk together, then add steamed, frothy milk. Serve hot. 

Of course, these ideas are just a start. Given how well sugar pumpkins work in both sweet and savory dishes, this humble, affordable ingredient may become the star of your autumn kitchen. 

Do you have a favorite way to use sugar pumpkins? Let us know in the comments below!

More Pumpkin Recipe Ideas:

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Apple-Pumpkin Muffins

Harvest Pumpkin Chili

The post How To Use Sugar Pumpkins appeared first on New England.

The post The Condiment Our Food Editor Is Obsessed with Right Now appeared first on New England.

New England Oysters

Bagaduce (Maine):

Barnstable (Massachusetts):

Cotuit (Massachusetts):

Glidden Point (Maine):

Island Creek (Massachusetts):

Moonstone (Rhode Island):

Pemaquid (Maine):

Stonington (Connecticut):

Ninigret (Rhode Island):

Wellfleet (Massachusetts):

SEE MORE: How to Shuck Oysters | Advice Jeremy Sewall’s Oyster Stew Fried Oyster Roll

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How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs

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Choosing the right apples for your baking needs can be a daunting task — there are thousands of varieties! And when it comes to apple pie, not all apples are equal. Thankfully, Amy Traverso, Yankee Magazine senior food editor and author of the award-winning The Apple Lover’s Cookbook (revised and updated for 2020!) is here to help. Here are her 10 expert picks for the best apples for apple pie.

What Are the Best Apples for Apple Pie?

To avoid a mushy apple pie, you’ll need a mix of what Amy calls firm-tart and firm-sweet apple varieties. All baking apples should be firm so the fruit will hold its shape throughout the cooking process, and a combination of tart and sweet varieties will give your apple pie the best flavor. Choose an equal amount from each of the following lists and you’ll be making the very best apple pie in no time.

• Granny Smith

• Esopus Spitzenburg

• Northern Spy

• Idared

• Pink Pearl

• Ginger Gold

• Golden Delicious

• Jazz

• Jonagold

• Pink Lady

These ten firm apple varieties are our favorite apples for apple pie, but each apple is special in its own right. Keep scrolling for photos and a longer description of each variety.

Best Firm-Tart Apples for Apple Pie

Granny Smith

The classic “green apple” is firm, slightly sour, and definitely one of the best apples for apple pie. Since it’s a lunchbox staple, it’s available at supermarkets everywhere.

Esopus Spitzenburg

This heirloom variety has flavors bright enough to make for an excellent raw snack, but these are also great bakers. Pick it up at farmers’ markets in the fall season and use it to make the perfect pie filling.

Northern Spy

The Northern Spy is renowned as possibly the best apple variety for pie-making. Lucky for New Englanders, it grows best in cool climates, too. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t find it at your local supermarket — many farmers’ markets are stocked full of them.

Idared

As the name suggests, this tart and spicy apple is bright red in color when fully ripe. It’s most popular at farmers’ markets and pick-your-own orchards, but not so much in supermarkets.

Pink Pearl

This variety’s signature pink flesh tastes “like lemon custard topped with raspberries,” according to Amy Traverso. It can be found at some orchards in the Massachusetts, New York, and Indiana areas, or ordered online at mthoodfruit.com.

Best Firm-Sweet Apples for Apple Pie

Ginger Gold

This delicately sweet and crisp variety is not only one of the best apples for apple pie, it’s also great in muffins and cakes. You can find it in most supermarkets near the fall season.

Golden Delicious

This mild variety tastes best when paired with bolder flavors. It’s one of the most popular in the U.S. and can be found in just about any supermarket.

Jazz

The exceptional taste of the Jazz apple is not only great for pies, but makes for a delicious raw snack, too. Jazz apples come from New Zealand and can be found in supermarkets year-round.

Jonagold

As a cross between the Jonathan and Golden Delicious varieties, the Jonagold has enough sweet and tart flavor to fill a pie even on its own. It’s widely available at both farmers’ markets and supermarkets.

Pink Lady

With just the right combination of sweet and sour undertones, the Pink Lady is a great choice for both snacking and baking. It’s widely available in supermarkets any time of the year, making it an accessible favorite.

What, No Macs?!?!

McIntosh apples are a popular pick for many bakers, but our advice is to not use Macs in apple pie. Here’s Amy with the reason why, but also how to make McIntosh apples work if you’ve just gotta have ’em:

My grandmother made delicious pies with McIntosh apples, but they were essentially applesauce pies. Macs don’t hold up well to heat, cooking down to sauce long before the pastry is done cooking. If you love the flavor of Macs but still want some body to your filling, combine them with a firmer variety such as Northern Spy, Jonagold, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp. You’ll get nice, tender apple slices suspended in a delicious sauce.

Which varieties do you think are the best apples for apple pie? Let us know!

This post was first published in 2016 and has been updated. 

Learn More:
Blue-Ribbon Deep-Dish Apple Pie Recipe
Old-Fashioned Apple Pandowdy Recipe
What Should I Do With All These Apples? | Ask the Expert
The Best Apple Orchards in New England

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Few summer seafood traditions in New England are as anticipated as the first batch of steamed clams (aka “steamers”). Sitting down to the two bowls — one heaped with steamers, the other to collect the discarded shells — plus a few carefully arranged cups of broth and hot butter for swishing and dunking, is a time-honored tradition surpassed only by the lobster that sometimes follows them.

Steamers are one of two kinds of clams commonly eaten in New England, and if you’re sometimes confused about the different clam varieties and their various sub-groups, not to mention how you’re supposed to eat them, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Let’s see if we can break it down, shall we?

Kind of Clams

Soft-Shell Clams

Also called “steamer clams” or “long-neck clams,” soft-shell clams are oval in shape with an often protruding dark neck, or siphon. Small and tender, soft-shell clams are what we use for frying, but they’re also (as the name implies) fantastic steamed or in chowder. These guys like to burrow 6-12 inches deep, and you can spot their location by looking for a tiny hole in the wet sand at low tide. This is made by the siphon as it waits to feed.

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Hard-Shell Clams

Better known as quahogs, hard-shell clams are rounder than soft-shell clams, keep their neck safely on the inside, and don’t burrow as deep in the sand. When small, quahogs are referred to as “littlenecks” (the smallest) or “cherrystones” (medium), and both small varieties are a favorite raw or in chowder. The largest, simply referred to as quahogs, can be as big as a fist, and their tougher texture makes them a good choice for chowder or stuffies (which are baked stuffed clams, of course).

Basically, any clam can be used to make chowder. Just choose your variety based on how tender or toothsome you want the chowder to be.

How to Make Steamed Clams (aka “Steamers”)

To make steamers, live soft-shell clams are rinsed and soaked carefully to remove sand and grit and then cooked in a large kettle of water with salt added. They’re served with the hot broth left over from steaming and melted butter for dipping. If you want to add some color and flavor to your steamers, you can add lemon juice, beer, herbs, garlic, or white wine to the broth.

To eat steamers, select a lucky clam and remove it from the shell by the siphon (or neck). Pull off the turtleneck-like covering of black skin, then dunk a few times in the reserved broth to swish away any lingering sand before the final dip in melted butter. Repeat, repeat, repeat!

Do you look forward to steamed clams every summer? Or are you more the fried clams type?

This post was first published in 2014 and has been updated.

See More:
Steamed Clams Recipe
10 Best Fried Clams in New England
10 Best Clam Shacks in New England
How to Cook Lobster

The post New England Steamed Clams | Guide & Recipes appeared first on New England.

One of the great joys of a classic New England lobster dinner is how easy it is to make. No complicated sauces, no fancy techniques, no need to fire up the oven on a hot day. And you need only one pot.

But just because it’s simple doesn’t mean that you can’t run into trouble. In fact, because this is such an elemental meal, it’s important to get the details right. Mostly, that means cooking your lobster the right way. Here are five of the most common mistakes in cooking lobster, and how to avoid them.

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Cooking Lobster

1. Overseasoning the Water

When boiling lobster, you need to add some salt to the water to boost the flavor. But don’t overdo it. Too much salt in the cooking water can overwhelm the meat’s natural sweetness. (This is a common problem in restaurants, where large amounts of lobster are cooked in giant kettles filled with heavily salted water, or even seawater.) So how much salt should you use? A good rule of thumb is 2 or 3 tablespoons of salt for every gallon of water. You’ll get a flavor boost, not a sodium blast.

Note: This rule applies only if you’re boiling lobster. For steaming lobsters, you can use plain water. Why? With steaming, the lobster isn’t submerged in the water, so its natural flavor isn’t diluted. (And even if you did salt the water for steaming, it can’t evaporate, so it would have no way of seasoning the meat.)

2. Crowding the Pot

In order to cook lobsters as quickly and efficiently as possible, you need a very large pot, which will allow the heat to circulate evenly around them. A 4- or 5-quart pot can handle one or two lobsters, but if you’re cooking more than that, even a typical soup pot is going to be too small. This is why every decent New England vacation rental comes with a lobster pot. You’ll need one that can hold at least 16 to 19 quarts to get the job done.

3. Cooking in the Wrong Order

If you’re making the classic lobster dinner combo of lobster, mussels, clams, corn, and potatoes, be sure to do the vegetables first. That way, they cook in fresh water and retain their own flavor. Cook the lobster next, then toss in the shellfish for the last 5 to 7 minutes of cooking. Alternatively, you can cook the mussels and clams separately, steaming them with aromatics such as garlic and herbs, plus wine, beer, or cider to make a tasty broth.

4. Overcooking the Meat

Most inexperienced cooks leave lobsters in the pot for far too long, resulting in dry, rubbery meat. Lobster meat is fully cooked when it reaches 140º. But if you don’t want to have to stick an instant-read thermometer into the tail, you can use these guidelines.

How Long to Cook Lobsters

• Boiling average-size lobsters (1 to 1½ pounds) will take 8 to 12 minutes, depending on size.
• Steaming average-size lobsters will take 9 to 12 minutes, depending on size.
• Soft-shell lobsters (which tend to be available in summer) cook faster than hard-shell (which are sold in winter), so reduce cooking times by 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Failing to Drain

Boiled lobsters accumulate water beneath their shells. And nothing ruins a plate of food more than a flood of salty water when you open things up. So, after the lobster is cooked, cut a small hole in the tip of each claw and hold the lobster upside down to let it drain before serving.

Bonus Lobster Cooking Tips

Rubber Bands

Some hard-core lobster fans insist that the rubber bands that come standard on lobster claws will ruin the flavor of the meat when boiled. We haven’t found this to be true, but if it’s a concern for you, simply hold the lobster by the tail with tongs and carefully snip off the bands right before putting it into the pot.

A More Humane Approach

Many people feel understandably squeamish about killing lobsters themselves and wonder about the best, least stressful way to do it. We’ve tried any number of methods, including standing the lobster upside down to “hypnotize” it before cooking it, and splitting the head with a chef’s knife for an instantaneous death (we don’t like the latter method, as the lobster’s decentralized nervous system can still cause it to thrash around afterward). The technique we prefer is to put the lobsters into a freezer for 30 minutes before boiling, which seems to sedate and numb them.

This post was first published in 2019 and has been updated. 

SEE MORE:
How to Cook a Lobster the McLoons Way
The Great Maine Lobster Roll Adventure
McLoons Lobster Roll Recipe

The post 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Cooking Lobster appeared first on New England.

How to Grill Swordfish

Recipe: Grilled Swordfish with Tomato and Sweet Pepper Salsa

More Grilling Recipes: Brown Sugar Bourbon Steak Tips Grilled Oysters with Barbecue Sauce Grilled Salmon with Crème Fraîche Grilled Zucchini Salad Slow-Grilled Chicken Thighs with Alabama White Sauce

The post How to Grill Swordfish appeared first on New England.

How to Cook Lobster | Expert Tips from Bertha Nunan

Hard Shell Vs. New Shell Lobster

How Much Water to Cook Lobster?

When to Wash the Lobster Pot

Never Boil Pre-Cooked Lobster

SEE MORE: Cooking Lobster at Home | Our Best 5 Tips Classic Lobster Chowder Lobster Mac & Cheese Lobster Pie

The post How to Cook Lobster | Tips from Bertha Nunan appeared first on New England.

GET THE RECIPE: Sauteed Fiddleheads

LEARN MORE: New England Wild Edibles | Secrets of the Spring Foragers

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