2019 THANKSGIVING RECIPE GEMS

Every holiday calls for a fun and festive meal to celebrate, but Thanksgiving sets the bar. If you’re hosting dinner at the Midtown West apartments at 555TEN or just looking for a dish to share at a friend’s place, here are some excellent recipes and tips for must-have side dishes and a flavorful roast turkey, grilled or deep-fried. Don’t forget dessert!

If you want both a beautifully cooked and a perfect-looking turkey—the one that’s the centerpiece of every iconic Thanksgiving photo or painting—follow Anthony Bourdain’s advice: make two birds. The first one is your showpiece for the table. Make it a smaller bird, roast it at 425 degrees for two hours, basting it occasionally before dressing it up “like a showgirl, with chop frills and elaborate fruit garnishes on a bed of old-school parsley or kale.” For your second bird, you can roast it in the same manner or you can perform a new twist on what has become a modern turkey classic and deep-fry it. Thankfully, this technique has become safer with the advent of electric deep fryers by makers such as Butterball. Forego the open flame and medieval kettle of oil, opt for an electric countertop model, and cook that fowl to juicy perfection in a single, safe, and easy hour.

Next to the perfect turkey, great stuffing makes or breaks the holiday. Again, keep it simple. All you need is the right blend of bread, eggs, celery, onions, sage, and a few other hearty spices such as thyme and rosemary. Epicurious.com has a stuffing recipe that has all of these ingredients and tastes spectacular too. Because stuffing is likely to be the most time-intensive part of your prep, prepare it a full day ahead of your meal, cool it, cover it, and put it in the fridge for baking and serving the next day. Just be certain to add a few minutes onto your cook and prep time, so that it’s ready to eat on Thanksgiving Day.

Like the turkey, sweet potatoes bring comfort with both their heartiness and simplicity. You can toss them into the oven at 400 degrees, bake them for 45 to 60 minutes until the juices start to seep out and caramelize on the skin, and then serve them with butter and brown sugar for an easy side. Or, you can dazzle your guests with this whiskey-glazed sweet potatoes recipe from Guy Fieri that combines several of our favorite fall ingredients into a single masterstroke of side-dish sorcery. Pecans, apples, and sweet potatoes are taken to a new level of sweetness with a one-two punch of whiskey and agave nectar. The result is an aesthetically stunning and equally sumptuous creation, sure to get your guests talking. And the warm aroma that the cinnamon and nutmeg impart during cooking adds instant holiday cred to your home and party. 

Finally, don’t forget the desserts. When it comes to this holiday, that means pies representing the hallowed trio of Thanksgiving classics: pecan, apple, and, of course, pumpkin. If you’ve been searching for a pumpkin pie that doesn’t crack on top (or is less likely to), give Chef John’s a try. Don’t forget to add a heaping dollop of whipped cream and grated nutmeg to the top. Our choice for pecan pie is easily this Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie recipe found on Food.com. Its secret is cooking the sugar and corn syrup first. And while we respect that there will always be a debate among apple pie aficionados over what constitutes the best recipe for this all-season staple, we can all come to a détente over the classic recipe found at TasteofHome.com. If you’ve never made an apple pie before, this is the one to start with. They’ve also provided a short video showing you how to prep and assemble it, so even novice bakers can make the perfect pie.

Thanksgiving is about people coming together to express gratitude for all that they have. There’s no better way to do so than to celebrate your bounty with a perfectly prepared feast of perfectly prepared recipes. Try some of our suggestions for the ultimate turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, or dessert, and guarantee that your table will be the talk of the town this holiday season. Or tweak what you see here to create your new version of these Thanksgiving traditions.

From everyone at 555TEN’s luxury rentals, we wish you, your family, and friends a Happy Thanksgiving!