Tips from Café Louise
Thanksgiving is such a
wonderful time to spend with family and friends but it can also be an incredibly
hectic time with all that goes into hosting and serving turkey dinner. Thanksgiving
is Café Louise’s busiest holiday, so we truly understand the importance of
getting organized and planning ahead. Here are some tips for having it all go
smoothly.
Plan Your Menu
At least two weeks prior,
decide on your menu and make a shopping list. Go through each recipe and make a
list of all the items you need to purchase and make sure your pantry is stocked
with your cooking basics (spices, olive oil, stock, etc.) Once you know what
you’ll be serving, start organizing platters and plan your table setting.
Dessert First
This is also a perfect time
to do some baking. If you make your own pies and desserts you can make your
piecrusts and freeze them so they are ready to fill when you need them. If you are planning on serving cookies,
dessert bars or chocolate truffles it’s the perfect time to make these too and
freeze them in Tupperware containers.
Shop
Do your shopping by the
weekend before so you can start prepping food and decorating your table. Your
trip to the grocery store will have your cart filled with food but don’t forget
about candles for the table, flowers or decoration for a centerpiece and cocktail
napkins for your hors d’oeuvres. Think about the whole day and what you’ll need
to have on hand throughout.
Prep
Depending on what works best
for your schedule and oven space, you can start preparing food a few days in
advance. Vegetable side dishes and mashed potatoes can be prepped on Tuesday,
and cooked on Wednesday. They will reheat beautifully in the oven so you are
not piling up pots and pans on Thanksgiving Day. Also on Wednesday, prep your
turkey and have it ready for the oven.
We stuff our turkey with onions, citrus, fresh herbs, and celery. It’s fine to do this by Wednesday evening
unless you brine your turkey, in which case you can have all the onions, fruit
and herbs prepped and ready to go into your turkey on Thursday wen you pull it
out of the brine.
Helpful Wine Tips
A regular size bottle of wine
is 750ml and contains 4 generous glasses.
If you have 8 guests that all drink wine you should figure at least 2-3
glasses of wine per person. That’s approximately 6 bottles of wine, or 8 to be
safe. Both white and red wine are good with Turkey dinner so focus more on
drinking what you like instead of what pairs perfectly with the meal.
Wine Recommendations from Louise
Red- Beaujolais Nouveau (France)
- light and fresh.
White- Chardonnay (Oregon) -
oaky and full.
Pinot Grigio (brand- Kris) -
light and crisp.
Thanksgiving Dinner from
Café Louise
View our Thanksgiving menu on our website. We are happy to help make your holiday delicious.
Orders are due: Monday
November 24.
Put the turkey carcass, quartered onion, coarsely chopped carrots and celery,
garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a large stockpot and add enough cold water
to just cover, about 2 quarts. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the
heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and
strain the solids from the broth. Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer
and reserve; you should have about 10-12 cups broth.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper together until smooth. Add the stuffing and mix until well combined (see note) cover and place in refrigerator.
Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook about 6 minutes. Add diced carrots and celery, thyme sprigs and broth. Bring to a simmer, cook vegetables are just soft, about 10 minutes.
Roll the dumpling mixture into 1 inch balls with wet hands and place on a tray. Once all dumplings are rolled drop into the simmering soup, cook until dumplings float, approximately 3-4 minutes. Gently stir in the turkey meat, corn, and season with salt and pepper, and simmer until heated through. Serve immediately.
Note: Moistness of stuffing can vary; if the dumpling dough is too soft to roll, add flour a teaspoon at a time until it is firm enough to hold its shape while rolling.
Leftovers - Recipe
Thanksgiving leftovers are
the gifts that keep giving. You can certainly enjoy the meal all over again or
switch up the flavors with this recipe from Chef David Tolly.
Turkey & Dumpling Soup
- Carcass from one 12-14 pound roasted turkey, picked clean
- 2 large white onions, one quartered and 1 diced small
- 3 large carrots, peeled, 2 coarsely chopped and 1 diced small
- 3 stalks celery, 2coarsely chopped and 1 diced small
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups leftover stuffing
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups shredded leftover turkey meat
- 1 cup leftover corn kernels
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper together until smooth. Add the stuffing and mix until well combined (see note) cover and place in refrigerator.
Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook about 6 minutes. Add diced carrots and celery, thyme sprigs and broth. Bring to a simmer, cook vegetables are just soft, about 10 minutes.
Roll the dumpling mixture into 1 inch balls with wet hands and place on a tray. Once all dumplings are rolled drop into the simmering soup, cook until dumplings float, approximately 3-4 minutes. Gently stir in the turkey meat, corn, and season with salt and pepper, and simmer until heated through. Serve immediately.
Note: Moistness of stuffing can vary; if the dumpling dough is too soft to roll, add flour a teaspoon at a time until it is firm enough to hold its shape while rolling.
Happy Thanksgiving and Bon
Appétit!
