Recipe (PDF) | Visit Relish: Hours, directions

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By nestling stuffing in portobello mushroom caps and baking you have a new take on classic Thanksgiving leftovers. Top with parmesan once out of the oven. (AP)

For some people, the whole point of Thanksgiving dinner is to have leftovers. These are the people who intentionally buy a monster-size bird, mash way too many potatoes and pop an extra pie in the oven.

“In our house, the leftovers are the most exciting part of Thanksgiving. It’s such a great opportunity to use your creative juices to come up with new ways to use them up,” says Allie Lewis Clapp, food director at Real Simple magazine.
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The countdown

By planning and working in advance, you can get it all done by the big day and be
relaxed when your guests arrive. Ask for help whenever possible — guests can bring favorite dishes or help assemble yours. Many enjoy this, so don’t feel guilty asking.

Make your own checklist and timetable based on ours, adding or deleting items to match your plan. Just remember to stay flexible, and work within your limits. A calm and gracious host is the key to a memorable meal.
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The Divas tandoori turkey is an inventive take on the traditional Thanksgiving turkey. (Photo by Pam Brandon)

The Pilgrims weren’t afraid of change, so why are you?

Since the first Thanksgiving way back in 1620, we’ve had, oh, around 390 years to get it right. How the original menu of fish, fowl, pumpkins, berries and nuts morphed into kitschy melted marshmallow sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and quivering mounds of canned cranberry reflects a culinary saga as bold and twisted as our American history.

Truly, we understand your commitment to tradition, but perhaps just this once — in the rebellious spirit of our ancestral pilgrims, try something new. After all, didn’t Columbus mistakenly happen upon our great land while pursuing an alternate route to India in search of exotic spices? Indeed, the pilgrims would have no knowledge of the brave new world were it not for the original foodies of Europe, desperate to escape their own culinary rut.
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If you think just because you use ground turkey to make a burger it’s automatically healthier, you could be in for a big surprise.

Ground turkey has a reputation for being lean, but there are many varieties available, some with as much as 17 grams of fat in a 4-ounce portion. At that point, you might as well use ground chuck, which is more flavorful and has only 14 grams of fat. Read the full story

WASILLA, Alaska — (AP) Gov. Sarah Palin has granted the traditional Thanksgiving pardon to one lucky turkey, but the video that shocked some viewers captured what was happening in the background.
As she answered questions Thursday at Triple D Farm & Hatchery outside Wasilla cameras from the Anchorage Daily News and others showed the bloody work of an employee slaughtering birds behind the former Republican vice presidential candidate.