With just one day till Thanksgiving, we’re getting ready for some serious turkey trotting, feasting and spending time with families and friends. But, before we sit down and get ready for the turkey, there’s one thing missing And no, I’m not talking about the creamy mashed potatoes or that green bean casserole. I’m talking drinks!
While wine is an excellent choice, there are so many drink options out there, you might want to make it a little more festive. Adam Seger, master mixologist at The TUCK Room, shares three of his favorite drink recipes for Thanksgiving. A bourbon-based drink, a special mojito, and a healthier Eggnog, all of which can be easily recreated at home!
WISE OLD SAGE
Serves 6
Prep Bourbon Base:
1 Cup Bourbon
1/4 Cup Balsam Amaro (Available at Astor Wines)
1/2 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice (from 2 large or 3 medium lemons)
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
Mix above ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator
Assemble
Build Each ‘Wise Old Sage’ in a Highball:
Fill glass with ice
Fill just past halfway with sparkling water (or luxe it with Champagne)
Add 3oz of Bourbon Base
Top with 1 heaping tablespoon Cranberry Sauce
Stir and garnish with cranberries and fresh sage
HOLIDAY MOJITO
Prep Cranberry Sauce:
1 Naval orange cut in chunks
1 Lemon, ends removed, cut into chunks, seeds removed
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup whole Cranberries
Put above in a food processor, blend just until cranberries are well chopped, but not pureed
Assemble Build in a Festive Tumbler:
Three heaping spoonfuls of Cranberry Sauce
Handful of torn Mint Leaves
Fill with Ice
Add 1.5oz Premium Rum
Fill to top with Ginger Beer
To mix, pour into another tumbler, then back into original tumbler
Garnish with a skewer of 3 fresh Cranberries, Slapped Mint Sprig and a Candy Cane
For a nojito, skip the rum and finish with a bendy straw!
EGGNOG Makes 2 Quarts
For Eggnog, I recommend 1oz of Bourbon, Dark Rum or Brandy per 5oz of Eggnog. Then add freshly grated nutmeg to make it really special. Serve in a punch bowl with ice on the side so it doesn’t dilute. If you have kids and those who do not imbibe, either serve the spirits separately with a Jigger to measure or make a separate spirit free punch Bowl.
Your friends and family make the holidays, with some cheer from a well-balanced cocktail getting all in the mood. Pull out your punch bowl and your favorite pitcher so that you can make a few drinks at a time and spend your time imbibing and chatting with your guests versus taking up Holiday time making individual drinks.
Thanksgiving is this week! Thursday to be precise. But I mean, let’s be honest. Thanksgiving deserves a full week to spread the stress over. Traveling home or hosting Thanksgiving at your place, eating all of November’s calories in just a couple of days, and of course maneuvering the oh so delightful questions from relatives about when (insert wedding, children, promotion, moving) is happening.
Needless to say, we all have enough things stressing us out about Thanksgiving. Shopping for the feast shouldn’t be one of them. Luckily it’s 2017, which means you don’t have to brave the long lines at the grocery stores. You can just order it in. HelloFresh, Peapod, FreshDirect — and for the busy, urban dwellers who live on demand, embrace spontaneity and love discovery: FreshDirect’s FoodKick!
Forgot the cranberry sauce, don’t have enough wine, last-minute invited your neighbor who’s a vegetarian? Foodkick will deliver within an hour!
Here are some of the things that we have coming our way.
Roasted Bone-In Whole Turkey Breast for only $49.99 – Brined for extra lusciousness, the plump, juicy turkeys are raised without antibiotics, and they cook up moist and tender. This whole turkey breast is roasted with the bone in to enhance flavor, then delivered to you already cooked through and ready for a final stint in your oven to make the skin golden-brown prior to the big feast.
Historically, Turkey has been the star of the Thanksgiving show — this year Breakstone’s is here to set the record straight.
In fact, according to a recent survey* conducted by New York’s own butter brand, Breakstone’s, New Yorkers cited they would rather do the following than have a Thanksgiving with no butter:
Almost half would rather give up a season of Yankees baseball
About 23 percent would rather give up wine and beer at their remaining holiday parties
About 17 percent would rather give up bagels for a year
Not to mention, last Thanksgiving, New Yorkers bought more than 4.7 million pounds of butter — that’s more than 18.6 million sticks!**
That’s enough sticks to run the length of the Brooklyn Bridge 842 times!
That’s the length of more than 1,863 Empire State Buildings.
That’s 1,191 times the amount of yards rushed by the New York Giants in 2016 (1,412 yards).
That’s more than ten times the weight of the Statue of Liberty!
*According to an October 2017 Survata online survey of 718 New York adults. **According to November 2016 industry data.
It’s the time of year… Families gather, birds are stuffed, wine is opened (note: 19% pour it before noon).
What category do you fall into? While many cannot wait to start prepping for the holidays, some feel a bit overwhelmed. The history of Thanksgiving, In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Seventy-Five Percent of Americans choose to cook Thanksgiving to avoid family, and more than half start sipping wine while the turkey cooks – some before noon! Which category do you fall under, before noon or at the start of the meal?
Recipes for Thanksgiving Success
In addition to a few rewards for the cook, there are some serious trends among Shopkickers:
Thrifty Turkey: Thanksgiving doesn’t need to break the bank; half of those surveyed plan to spend less than $100 on the meal, even with 68 percent taking two to four trips to the grocery store!
Only a Few Fryers: Traditional turkey reigns supreme; four in five will roast their bird, and only 10 percent will deep fry this year.
Why Whip? More than half make pies from scratch (53 percent), but take a shortcut on the whipped cream. Four out of five people will use store-bought, with Cool Whip taking more of the pie than Reddi Whip.
The Right Stuff: Every state’s favorite side is stuffing – except in Arizona, where they prefer mashed potatoes.
In the days after Thanksgiving, people start to emerge from the safety of their kitchen, with a full 86 percent planning on holiday shopping that weekend. Despite the growth in ecommerce, if forced to choose, more consumers like to shop in-person on Black Friday (29 percent) versus online on Cyber Monday (20 percent). The most popular plan is to shop on both days (37 percent).
Which category do you fall into? Do you dine in, order in or cook?
Established in New York City in 1987, L.A. Burdick Chocolate was largely-inspired by travel to France and Switzerland by founder Larry Burdick. He and wife Paula — a graduate of the Fashion Institute Of Technology — co-founded the company, as known for both its pure chocolate and its hand-made delicacies. Beyond its online and mail-order offerings, L.A. Burdick now has stores in New York, Boston, nearby Cambridge, and Walpole, New Hampshire; its New York operations are now run out of SoHo on 156 Prince Street.
Beyond the quality of its ingredients, one of Burdick’s trademarks is its seasonal and limited-edition items. Not only does L.A. Burdick have specialty chocolates available for Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day, but such is also made special for St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the birthday of Robert Burns each year. More about this was uncovered via Q&A with Michael Klug, Burdick’s Head Chocolatier, and Cathy Watson, the brand’s Chief Operating Officer.
How does your new store in SoHo compare to other L.A. Burdick locations?
Cathy Watson: The new location is set up with the same structure as our other locations. It is a bit more compact as it is the smallest square foot store, but it gives us the opportunity to focus on the chocolates. After all, that is who we are.
Michael Klug: All of our store locations have the same flair of old-world Europe, with warm wooden tones on our displays and a welcoming feeling that I would best describe as “ cozy comfort.” However, our Boston location is our largest store with a very generous display of chocolate products and extensive seating capacity. Our Cambridge location is a favorite institution among college students around Harvard Square. The seating and display is more limited.
The SoHo location is our smallest store location, but reflects the same style as all our other stores. Walpole, where we are headquartered, is similar in size than our Cambridge store, with a little larger display option for products. We also have in Walpole our largest loose bonbon display. The café in Walpole shares its store with a local restaurant/bistro that is similar in furnishing style, but does not belong to our company.
To you, what makes L.A. Burdick different from other chocolatiers?
CW: Integrity. Love. Passion. All the ingredients necessary to stay true to who we are and the commitment to continue to give the customers the freshest, highest-quality product consistently for 30 years.
MK: This is a very wide question, and all other chocolatiers are so different from each other in the first place. We stand out by having an extremely strict commitment to freshness; we give our fresh bonbon assortments a shelf life of two weeks. We don’t use any preservatives, artificial ingredients, food colorings or molds. All of our chocolates are very detailed, garnished, are truly handmade and we use only highest-quality ingredients. Our signature chocolate mouse is present in each bonbon assortment and gives our exquisite elegant look a unique charming touch, that separates us easy from all other chocolatiers.
In addition, we focus on the chocolate flavors in our creations and have them being paired with their individual seasonings but not dominated. You will always be able to taste the finesse of the chocolate that is used in our Fig, Raspberry and Ginger bonbons, for example. At last, our hot drinking chocolate stands out as one of the most decadent, rich, complex hot beverages that can be found.
Where are your chocolates sourced from? Or is that a secret?
MK: We source our chocolate from Central and South America, the Caribbean Islands and Madagascar. We only source chocolate that meets our highest criteria, where we want to taste the quality of the cocoa upfront and not the sugar profile that is added to the cocoa. This is a wide problem with mediocre chocolate, that even in a high cocoa percentage chocolate the sugar flavor can be upfront the cocoa flavor. It is due, in these cases .to the large particle size of the sugar crystals.
Do you have a favorite product from L.A. Burdick?
CW: That is difficult, I don’t believe I do. I have many favorites, and depending on how I am feeling will depend on what I may choose.
MK: I personally love the single-source chocolate bars and our chocolate assortment boxes the most. The variety of different creations in the boxes offer me a quick satisfaction for every type of chocolate mood I am currently in.
Are there any holiday-specific products being offered by L.A. Burdick?
CW: Yes, we make handmade chocolate snowmen. They come in a wood box of nine, tied with ice blue French-wired ribbon and handstamped with a silver wax seal.
MK: We have for every holiday a large selection of chocolates. Right now we offer chocolate snowmen, German Christmas Stollen, tuxedo penguins for New Year’s, Hanukkah decorated wood boxes for chocolate assortments and chocolate mice assortments. January, we celebrate Robert Burns’ birthday with a wonderful single scotch whisky assortment. We have a special Asian-inspired chocolate assortment for Lunar New Year. Valentine’s-themed chocolate boxes, which included handcut chocolate heart bonbons. Easter chocolates in a very large variety…Mother’s Day features our chocolate bees and a 10-flavored fruity, floral spring bonbon assortment. Hand-dipped chocolate Elephants from April to August to support the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Halloween-based chocolates with chocolate ghosts, bats and chocolate assortments presented in a coffin box. Thanksgiving, we do handmade chocolate turkeys.
How do the current offerings of L.A. Burdick compare to what the store sold decades ago?
CW: The offerings are still to this day made the same way, and we have many of the same offerings, chocolate mice included. Michael has created other bonbons over the years to add to the collection, as well as creating specialty assortments for holidays…Other whimsicals have been added throughout the years. Snowmen, bunnies, ghosts…
MK: We always create new chocolate bonbons and products, but our style of how they are made and what characteristics dominate them is unchanged. We always look for very thin-shelled handmade chocolate products but our variety is more than doubled of what we did 20 years ago. Some products are still the same, like our classic mice and some of our bonbon like the Baton Framboise, Brazilia and Richelieu. But the variety offers so many options that were still not available back then like, turkeys, snowmen, special seasonal assortments, pate de fruit plain and chocolate covered and many many more.
New store aside, what is coming up for L.A. Burdick?
CW: We will continue to grow the company by putting in new stores in strategic locations, also continue to grow our mail-order business. In this business, when you talk about what is coming up, it’s really about continuing to source and making sure you are always getting the best ingredients. From the use of local farms for our cream and butter, to knowing where the beans come from that create the couverture used for our bonbons. There are so many companies that begin taking shortcuts to show a better profit, and we have to continually be certain that the products and ingredients that we purchase are always the best and will not allow ourselves to purchase anything but. This would mean, changing vendors if the vendor cuts corners.
MK: We will be expanding our retail program to Chicago this coming year, celebrating our 30th anniversary with the presentation of some special bonbons and drinks. Probably adding some more single-source options if we find cocoa sources that meet our standards.
Have you always been passionate about chocolate? Where did you work before L.A. Burdick?
CW: I have always had a sweet tooth — it is my downfall — and I have always loved business. So for me, this was a match made in heaven. I was in the restaurant business for many years before coming to Burdick’s. In fact, I bought a restaurant when I turned 21 instead of going to school. I taught myself how to be successful with a lot of hard work early on.
MK: I was passionate about food since my teens and so fascinated with it that in my early 20s gave up law school in Germany and did a formal education in the German cooking apprentice program. I was fortunate to learn 3 years in two-star Michelin restaurant in Cologne. From there I worked as a cook and pastry assistant under Eckart Witzigmann in Munich — if you Google him that will easy tell how special that experience was for me — and then was the pastry chef for Dieter Mueller’s restaurant in Bergisch Gladbach, which also achieved 3-star Michelin.
I moved to New York in 1993 and was pastry chef of Lespinasse under Gray Kunz and pastry Chef of Chanterelle under David Waltuck in 1997. After working for two years at The Mark Hotel in New York, I became Head Chocolatier at L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates in 2002. So my passion for food and chocolate goes hand in hand, but my base from savory food in my early years in the gastronomic world I consider my strongest asset as a Chocolatier. I always see our product as a delicacy and food product, and not as candy .
When not busy with work, how do you like to spend your free time?
CW: Hmm…This can sometimes be a problem because I am tied so closely with my position. But I love to travel, go antiquing, and just sit and look out at the ocean. Something low-key and calming.
MK: I always like to travel and taste the food of the world. Sadly that doesn’t happen too often, but cooking at home, enjoying fantastic wines especially reds from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Piedmont and whites from Germany, Loire, Alsace and Austria. I also enjoy fly fishing and classical music. But most of my time is occupied with my family life — my wife Ann-Michele and son Valentin.
Any upcoming concerts or events for you?
CW: Personally? Unfortunately this time of year comes with no plans except a huge family gathering at my house Christmas Eve. I have had it for the past 15 years ever since my dad passed. I don’t have any concerts or events scheduled, I begin thinking of those things in the spring.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?
CW: I personally don’t. When I am there, it is all business and I step out to grab a bite. But I love it when I go with Michael, because he is such a foodie that he always has a great place to go.
MK: I have to say since living in Walpole, New Hampshire since 2002, my exposure to the New York restaurant scene is limited. But I do love my dear friend Anita Lo’s Annisa very much. Also for casual great Germanic/Austrian fare, Erwin Schroettner’s Café Katja, the only place were you get great white asparagus when in season.
Finally, any last words for the kids?
CW: Children that are introduced to our chocolate at a young age learn about “real” chocolate. I know a few that have grown to become chocolate snobs and will not eat any other chocolate. It gives them a taste of a high quality product. They love the mice, penguins and snowmen!
MK: Good chocolate is not about cocoa percentage, only about great cocoa.
For many dancers, the dream is to be a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall. In the case of Keltie Knight, being a Radio City Rockette for six seasons was only the beginning of an illustrious career. Since 2012, Keltie has been an anchor for the syndicated CBS show The Insider. Keltie’s Insider duties regularly have her covering events all over the world, working the red carpets at the Grammys, the Primetime Emmys, the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, the People’s Choice Awards, and Cannes alike. Her bubbly and fun personality has also been seen in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! and as part of the 2016 Miss USA Pageant.
This Thursday, Keltie returns to host the Thanksgiving Day Parade Live On CBS alongside Kevin Frazier of Entertainment Tonight. Keltie spoke to Downtown about what is to be expected from this year’s parade, which will include performances by Sting and Miranda Lambert. The parade is also set to feature appearances by the casts of the Broadway musicals The Color Purple, On Your Feet! and School Of Rock.
Keltie Knight can be visited online at www.keltieknight.com. She can also be followed on Instagram and Twitter, where she is known to post fun multimedia content.
You started off as a dancer. Now, you’re a TV host. How exactly did that transition happen?
Keltie Knight: Much to my teachers and choreographers’ disdain, I was the loudest, chattiest and craziest dancer ever. When social media began, I was obsessed with sharing my behind-the-scenes experiences working with huge stars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé with my followers, and I usually got in trouble. I started a blog so people could follow my journey and it got so big that eventually the TV world took notice. There are bruises, major rejections, and some pretty epic hairstyles in between those 10 years, but here I am!
Looking back, is there a highlight from your dancing career?
KK: Taking my first little tap step on stage as a Radio City Rockette. A lifelong dream for me.
Was it always the goal to doing what you are doing now?
KK: I’ve always been a performer and I’m naturally very curious. I couldn’t have dreamed a dream THIS big, so I’m honestly shocked and still have to pinch myself daily.
KK: Speaking of shock, I was totally shocked when CBS asked me last year, I am friends in real life with the longtime host Kevin Frazier, and we’ve always had amazing, natural chemistry. Last year was the highlight of my year, and to be asked back again was the ultimate compliment. Also, my husband HATES to be in front of the camera, and at the end of the parade we bring out our families, so I am really excited to see him turn all red and shy again this year!
Any idea who will be performing at this year’s parade? Anyone you’re especially excited to see?
KK: Well, we have Sting and Miranda Lambert— no big deal. (laughs) The fact that these major superstars want to spend their Thanksgiving with us is incredible. Do you think I can ask for an autograph? (laughs)
You’ve been part of The Insider for almost five years. What is a typical production day like for you?
KK: I wake up at 4:30 AM and head to the studio, do hair and makeup and look through the show. We film starting at 7:00 AM, and I’m usually out the door by 11:00 AM to run around Los Angeles to do various interviews. In the evenings I am often at Red Carpets, or screening upcoming movies. I work VERY hard. There is an incredible amount of research and preparation to do. I also am on a first-name basis with all the American Airlines flight attendants because I spend half of my life on the airplane to New York and back.
Do you have to travel a lot for the job?
KK: I have almost one million miles THIS YEAR alone. That girl yelling into her phone, running through the airport in sneakers — it’s me! Side note, can we all please sit down until our boarding zone is called? We are just boarding a plane, it’s not The Hunger Games, everyone!
What is your favorite part of working on The Insider?
KK: I would be lying if I didn’t say I really enjoy wearing the fancy gowns and borrowed diamonds! But, beside the material things, being in places like Cannes, France with George freakin’ Clooney one on one, knowing I am having a once in a lifetime experience, is what keeps me going.
Keltie Knight
Is there anyone you haven’t yet interviewed but still hope to?
KK: My two bucket list items: covering Paris Fashion Week, and Michelle Obama!
Do you have any upcoming projects besides The Insider and hosting the upcoming parade?
KK: Yes! This year I co-created a podcast called LadyGang with actress Becca Tobin and fashion designer Jac Vanek. We are almost one-year old, and the response has been incredible. We have launched our site www.theladygang.com, and LadyGang Emojis, and a LadyGang subscription box- trying my hand at multimedia mogul. P.S. I need a nap!
When not busy with your career, how do you like to spend your free time?
KK: My ideal day off is waking up for a late brunch with my husband, a massage, cuddling with my doggie and then watching extended marathons of Fixer Upper on HGTV.
Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?
KK: My 100% fav in the WORLD: Paesanos in Little Italy. I’ll be eating my Thanksgiving dinner there this year with friends. It’s so small, cozy and the best food in New York City.
What about a favorite neighborhood?
KK: I’m really partial to Greenwich Village in Manhattan, because that’s where I lived in New York City. It was before it was as fancy as it is now, and I have tons of memories of spending my last $100 on BINGO night at Tortilla Flats drinking margaritas. There is so much magic in that area of the city. If you want a kick, read A Freewheelin’ Time by Suze Rotolo. She shared her time being Bob Dylan’s muse in the Village in the 1960’s — you’ll never see that area the same.
Finally, Keltie, any last words for the kids?
KK: It’s certainly a time of uncertainty and change, but I would want them to know that your life truly is what you make it. I have a Gwyneth Paltrow quote on my office wall that says “give yourself permission to be everything.” We have to work hard to make our dreams come true, and fight hard for what we think is right. Don’t give up the first time a door slams in your face, or the tenth time things don’t go the way you thought they would.
