LAST-MINUTE THANKSGIVING APP & COCKTAIL IDEAS
A Special Thanksgiving Eve Edition of "What's 4 Dinner?"
We interrupt our regularly-scheduled Thursday newsletter cadence (of one newsletter, lol) to offer you last-minute kitchen advice!
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AU: Most people already have the turkey day menu planned by this point (and if you don’t, may I suggest supporting a local restaurant through takeout or dine-in, instead of a manic rush to the grocery store? Because, girl…). But I find most people don’t really think about the art of the nosh before the meal. So Elizabeth took a spin through her (prolific and DELICIOUS) catalog of recipes on her website to cull together some last-minute bites and cocktails you can put out for guests tomorrow while the turkey gets carved.
EK: Not only are people hungry when they arrive, but they’ve looked forward to eating all their favorite foods without any guilt all year, so they’re ready to dig in! But there is a delicate balance between offering too many noshes or not enough to satisfy.
AU: AGREED! I feel like a nice veggie-and-dip tray is always a good move, or just some olives, nuts, and a cheese or two. Just don’t go too crazy!
EK: I make sure that I have a few choice bites that will tickle their tastebuds, but won’t ruin their appetites—as the cook, I selfishly want people to save room for the main course!!
THE NOSH OF IT ALL…
EK: Because your friends and family are probably “starving” when they arrive, I like to set out some lighter things to nosh on, so that they still have an appetite for the meal that I’ve spent days cooking! For Thanksgiving, I always make my trusty Tumbled Tomatoes—tasty, salty and virtually calorie free!—and my Crispy Cheddar Cheese Straws that have a secret unexpected ingredient that makes them extra special and foolproof!
If you don’t typically make cheese straws, you should. They are timeless and nearly everyone LOVES them. Plus, once you make them a couple of times, you can switch up the cheese and the seasonings, if you like. I make mine with a healthy pinch of cayenne pepper and really sharp cheddar, but feel free to customize to your liking.
Read on for a little bit more on cheese straws and how I discovered my secret ingredient. :)
Bring on the Cheese Straws
EK: The South is credited with creating the cheese straw, but no one knows who, where, or why exactly. There is one vague story about leftover cheese being added to biscuit dough to make a snack, but I don’t buy it...
Cheese straws are closer to a crumbly savory shortbread cookie than they are to flaky biscuits. These days, the term “cheese straws” encompasses a category of savory crackers in all different shapes and some even made with puff pastry.
The recipe that I grew up with was a simple dough made in a bowl with a fork. It was rolled into a ball and mashed down flat with the same fork in a criss-cross pattern like a peanut butter cookie. The ingredients were few; best-quality butter, extra-sharp cheddar, all-purpose flour and a pinch of cayenne pepper. They were served as a nibble before dinner and wrapped up with a bow as a gift at the holidays. These days there are so many commercial companies making all manner of cheese straws in every possible flavor combination that “cheese straws” have become a category of cheese crackers.
Cheese Straws are perfect for nibbles and noshes before the big Thanksgiving meal. And, the recipe that I use is a mash up of the recipe that my mother made with a secret ingredient that I discovered in Paris many years ago.
When I was in college, I visited one of my best friends who was doing a year abroad, and lived with a family in the tony 16th arrondissement of Paris. Expecting to meet the lady of the house, I rang the bell. Instead, I met Sena, the jovial family cook who was infatuated with all things American. Sena ran the house, did all the market shopping and cooking and looked after my friend. She invited me in, and I couldn’t wait to taste her French food. Instead, she placed a plate of the best cheese straws that I had ever tasted in front of me with some ice tea. She was beaming. I was a little disappointed. She was obviously proud of herself, thinking she was very “American chic” serving cold tea and cheese straws to two Southern girls.
I took a bite to be polite. Little did I know that bite would change my cheese straw game forever. Always the inquisitive one, I had to know why they were better than all the cheese straws that I had tasted before. I complimented Sena, and then asked, “what is your secret?”
When she told me, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, her secret was Rice Krispies cereal. When I pressed her, she admitted that she picked up her secret years before from an exchange student from Alabama.
I loved that I had to travel all the way to Paris, to pick up a cheese straw tip from a girl from Alabama. And, to this day, I add Rice Krispies cereal to my cheese straws. Try them! I guarantee that you won’t be able to stop eating and/or making them!
CHEDDAR & CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWS (WITH A PARIS TWIST)
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated by hand
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal—the secret ingredient!
Mix first six ingredients with a fork or clean hands until all the ingredients are well distributed. It will be a stiff dough but it will all come together eventually. Add Rice Krispies and mix until evenly distributed—you will need to use your hands at this stage.
Cover and chill for 2 hours. Roll into small balls or logs. Place on ungreased cookie sheet fitted with a SilPat or parchment paper, and mash down with a small fork in a criss-cross pattern.
Bake at 325°F for 20-25 minutes or until golden on the edges. Note: The larger you make them, the longer they will take to cook. I like them slightly darker, but if you like them on the lighter side, bake for less time.
Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
COCKTAILS, BUT MAKE THEM THANKSGIVING…
EK: I love starting turkey day off with my favorite champagne, and since I am generally cooking, I usually start with a glass of bubbles in the kitchen…
AU: (Olympia Dukakis voice) You were brought up right.
EK: But once everyone arrives, I make a couple of Thanksgiving-themed cocktails to get the party started! My long-time favorite drink is the Quirky Turkey. I love it as much for the name as the drink. Cranberry Juice meets Bourbon in this decidedly simple libation.
THE QUIRKY TURKEY
I can’t resist making this drink with Wild Turkey—for obvious reasons… If someone coming to your house doesn’t drink “brown water,” you can make it with vodka, tequila, and even rum—it’s equally quirky!
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) Wild Turkey Bourbon (or any bourbon you like)
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cranberry juice
2 Lime wedges; one for the juice, and one for garnish
Fill an old-fashioned glass with a large cube of ice, pour the bourbon over the ice, add cranberry juice and stir gently. Squeeze the juice of a lime on top and garnish with the other lime.
CHAI OLD FASHIONED
EK: November happens to be Old-Fashioned month and your favorite old-fashioned is always a good choice, but if you are looking for a new old-fashioned, may I suggest my Chai Old Fashioned? It’s also super easy to bulk up for a crowd which lets the host off bartending duties for the day.
I made a Chai Tea Simple Syrup and mixed it with an Indian Single Malt Whisky called Paul John. It was the first Indian whisky that I had ever tasted and the Christmas Edition is the perfect pairing with the warm holiday spices in the Chai Tea. However, it is equally great with your favorite bourbon or rye—or unpeated whisky.
I recently wrote about it for Forbes and you can find the recipe there or through a link on my site.
AU: That’s it for today! If you need me, I’ll be knee-deep in turkey gravy and stuffing (which is by far the MVP of the Thanksgiving table. PERIODT!). We’ll see you next week… Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, friends!! xo
EK: Ditto! Except that I am in Houston and supporting both restaurants and barbecue joints this year—a first for me! Enjoy your day wherever you are! Gobble! Gobble!