Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets Blog

Archive for the ‘Thanksgiving’ Category

Uh oh. You’re entrusted with cooking the Thanksgiving bird this year and have no idea where to start. We’ve all been there at one time or another. Here are some tried and true tips that will take the anxiety out of preparing a delicious roast turkey:

• Plan on having 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of turkey for each person at your table. If you want leftovers for turkey sandwiches the next day, buy a slightly larger bird.
• Plan for thawing time if you buy a frozen turkey. You can’t cook a frozen turkey and get good results.
• Thaw the bird in the refrigerator for best results. Place the frozen turkey in its wrapping on a large plate to catch any juices. You need one day for every four to five pounds of meat.
• A defrosted turkey can only stay two to four days in the refrigerator before you need to cook it.
• A fresh turkey will have a USE BY date imprinted on the packaging. If you purchase a fresh one, make sure you cook it by the stamped date.
• A turkey purchased frozen and never thawed can stay for up to a year in the freezer.
• The USDA does not recommend buying a pre-stuffed turkey. If you want to cook your stuffing inside your turkey, stuff it right before you put the turkey in the oven.
• Wash your turkey by removing the wrapper. Take out the package inside the bird’s cavity that includes the innards (i.e., gizzards, neck, liver, etc.). Many first-time turkey cooks have been surprised by what’s in there. Most of the giblet packs are plastic, so be sure to get it out before you put the turkey in the oven. Then run the turkey under cold water, pat it dry, and then sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
• Treat a raw turkey as you would any poultry. Wash your hands with soap and water to avoid spreading bacteria, and be sure to wash any surfaces and utensils the raw turkey touched.
• Place the turkey in a large roasting pan big enough to catch the cooking juices. Add a cup of water to the pan to eliminate burning. Tuck the wings under so they don’t burn, or tip them with tin foil.
• The oven should be set to 325 degrees. Cooking times are tricky, so you should read the instructions on the turkey’s wrapper. You can also go by this guideline: for a 10 to 18 pound turkey, you will need 3 to 3-1/2 hours of cooking time if it is unstuffed. Figure 3-3/4 to 4-1/2 hours if it’s stuffed. Start checking on the turkey around 3 hours and judge from there.
• It’s best to use a pop up timer that comes with the turkey to judge doneness. But if your turkey didn’t come with one, you can insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. A turkey needs to reach 165 degrees to be safely cooked.
• The less you open the oven door, the crispier the turkey will be. Every time you peek, you let out precious heat that your oven has to work to regain.
• When the turkey is done, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. This is the time to use the hot oven to your advantage and pop all the side dishes in to heat. It also gives you some extra time to prepare the Thanksgiving treats for after dinner.
• Remove the stuffing from the bird and serve it in a bowl. Do not leave it in the turkey as bacteria could accumulate.
• Refrigerate any leftovers immediately. Do not leave cooked turkey out on the counter for more than two hours, even if you plan on snacking on it again soon. Better to be safe and heat it up again for your second round.
• Refrigerated leftovers should be eaten within three to four days. If you freeze your leftovers, use them within two to six months.

With all the holidays approaching, we wanted to give you a chance to win something nice for yourself. Of course, it could also be one less gift for you to purchase as well! The giveaway features one of the brand new designs that are featured on the website. It's stocked with loads of fall treats and offers an attractive appearance as well in the event that it becomes a gift.

This festive fall gift basket features an adorable scarecrow decoration, cheddar biscuits, candy corn, gourmet popcorn, peanuts, hot cocoa, a pumpkin rice krispy treat and a cookie. The perfect mix for any holiday treat, and it could be yours!

To enter the giveaway:

1) Follow us on Twitter

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3) (Optional) For a bonus entry, mention this giveaway on Twitter and leave your Twitter username in your blog comment

4) Leave a comment on this post and let us know when you're done!

The winner:

A winner will be drawn and posted a week from today on November 1st, 2010 at 10:00am.

Update: This giveaway has ended.

New For 2009!  We've taken classic Oreo cookies and dipped them in milk, dark and white Belgian chocolate to create a one-of-a-kind treat for Thanksgiving.  A golden round box holds 16 of our chocolate dipped Oreos that are sprinkled with colorful autumn leaf confetti in oranges, yellows and reds. Then we add various hand-made royal icing decorations such as pilgrims, turkeys, and cobs of corn.  Each cookie is nestled in the round gift box to create our Thanksgiving Oreo Cookie Wheel.

We offer a wide range of Thanksgiving Gifts & Baskets that offer a perfect way to thank the host/hostess for entertaining you and your family during the Thanksgiving holiday.  Our gifts start at just $15 so be sure to check them out!

Although turkeys may want Americans to eat more ham, we all know that turkey will be eaten by about 90% of people on Thanksgiving Day.  If you've got family coming to your house for the big turkey day celebration, consider gathering some craft supplies so the kids can have some fun making their own gobblers to decorate the house.  Photo courtesy of Glitter Graphics.

Here are some of my favorite resources for turkey crafts:

http://familyfun.go.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-craft-decorations/thanksgiving-turkey-crafts/

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/thanksgiving/turkey_crafts.html

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/thanksgiving_crafts.htm

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/turkeycraft1/Turkey_Crafts.htm

http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/thanksgiving-turkeyscraftsideaskids.html

Be sure to check out our Turkey Box Cookie Gift Bouquet to use as an adorable centerpiece on your Thanksgiving table....it comes filled with 12 mini cookies inside a turkey shaped container for just $22.

For many of us, November is the month of football-either piling on warm clothes, opening your coffee gift basket and making some hot coffee, and joining the throng on the bleachers or collapsing in a chair in front of the TV. What else is there to watch over Thanksgiving? For the Romans, November was an equally frenetic sports month in which athletes paraded their finely honed skills before crowds of cheering, avid fans shouting on their favorite team or champion. One difference is that the ancient Roman athletes performed before the gods and goddesses. Sports were a component of the religious ritual - the Ludi dedicated in November to Jupiter.

An ancient author, Dionysus of Halicarnassus, leaves us a colorful description of the parade and the athletic games. Young men, most likely of leading Roman families, led the procession, riding horseback or driving two- or four-horse chariots. Then came the competing athletes attired only in loincloths. Groups of dancers with flute and lyre players passed by next in the procession. These dancers wore red tunics with bronze belts, crested helmets, and swords and carried short spears. Behind them came other men dressed in goatskins playing the role of satyr and mimicking the warrior dancers. More groups of musicians and dancers followed, together with individuals carrying burning incense and sacred gold or silver ritual urns.

Images of the gods were then carried in procession, including the twelve Olympians as well as Saturn, Ops, Themis, the Muses, the Graces, and the semi-divine Hercules, Aesculapius, and others. Finally came the sacrificial animals. The Roman magistrates, serving as priests, officiated over the sacrifice of oxen; then the games would begin.

The events in the Circus Maximus, which could hold 150,000 people, were well attended and began with four-, three-, and two-horse chariot races. In one race, the driver had a companion riding in the chariot; as it crossed the finish line, the companion would leap from the chariot and run the track himself, competing against the other runners to win the whole race. The chariots raced for seven laps around the Circus Maximus, which is equivalent to about five miles and less than fifteen minutes. Then came boxing and wrestling matches, with the winners receiving crowns.

To the ancient Greeks and Romans, athletic skill was a gift of the gods and athletic competition was a form of worship that was taken very seriously-sport and religion were united. Athletes at the Olympic Games in
Greece traditionally offered sacrifice and prayer to Zeus/Jupiter before the events, swearing an oath against cheating, which was on par with blasphemy. It was the priest who gave the signal to start the race, while the victor officiated at the sacrifice to the god. When athletes trained hard and performed well at the games, they were hailed as heroes endowed with a divine blessing-a strong, fit body. The gods and goddesses attended the games and enjoyed a good rivalry and athletic competition; their images were carried in a parade through Rome just behind the athletes. Who could ask for better fan support?

Athletic skill is a wonderful and unique gift. In classical thought, it was as important to develop the body as the mind, so that there was a balance between the two. Our bodies are indeed expressions of the divine. Sacred games and sports under the auspices of the gods and goddesses were the ultimate tribute to the sanctity of the body. The combination of physical dexterity, strength, determination, and drive with hard work and hours of training shows itself in the moments of competition, whatever the sport. Those moments when the runner crosses the finish line, the charioteer pulls ahead of the rest, the wide receiver catches the touchdown pass, the striker puts the soccer ball in the net-those glorious few moments of achievement are moments of euphoria and awe. For the Greeks and Romans, these were sacred moments when the gods gave approving nods.

We honor the spirits in November by turning our attention to the passing of time and in doing so acknowledge the essential human spirit with all its frailties. Yes, we grow old, and in November we accept the process of aging. We revel in the peak moments of human achievements in art and sport, for the mind and the body. We lay back and observe the passing of the month and the end of the year. It is all good. And, most important, it will come again, with subsequent years, new playwrights, and new athletes striving to surpass the current records.

So this year as you are celebrating the accomplishments of your favorite athlete or star quarterback, be sure to ponder those Roman athletes (as you chug your beer and enjoy some gourmet nuts of course).