This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LiveForFlavor #VivaLaMorena #AddFlavor #CollectiveBias Spice up Your Thanking Gathering with these tips and products from Knorr® and La Morena®!
I can’t remember a holiday with out friends, family and some times even strangers feasting at our dinner table. My familia knew that at the heart of hospitality was not how much fancy food you served, or what you have in your house, but it’s about the love you share. Inviting others to gather at your table is an extension of our heart.
Thanksgiving or Día de Acción de Gracias amongst Latinos in the U.S. is a celebration that many of us have embraced with open arms. Who doesn’t love family, food, faith and a good feast!
So I need to share with you a funny story about my mami’s first Thanksgiving dinner. Like many other Hispanic immigrants she decided to join in this special holiday. My father brought a turkey home from his job–the night before. She had planned on cooking it the following day for our Thanksgiving gathering with friends and family. I’m sure you all know where this is going if you have experienced this embarrassing moment. Well, unbeknownst to her she didn’t thaw out the turkey enough and she put it in the oven in the afternoon. Our guest arrived but the turkey was not ready. Dinner time came and gone, and the turkey was still not ready. After over 6 hours of cooking the turkey it was finally “edible” but she had no idea how to prepare it so she ended up with a dry, tasteless 1/2 frozen turkey.
Well, this was before I happened when I was a baby, because my earliest memories of Thanksgiving meals are enjoying an amazingly moist and delicious turkey. It was so moist and tender that we saw no need for gravy.
A Hispanic Thanksgiving is a beautiful mix of many cultures, that come together to create a unique marriage of foods, Latin decor, traditions and entertainment. Many Hispanics like my parents embrace the holiday by celebrating and spicing it up with Latino flair.
As you can see from our menu the turkey and green beans are the traditional foods served at a Thanksgiving meal but then I add some spice to the menu with: Mexican rice, salsa, flan and chorizo.
Spice Up Your Thanksgiving Gathering
Decor – Many times we think Latino decor needs to be bright and bold but here what I did was add our Latino roots by making a Thanksgiving banner in Spanish. My colors are very subdued but the marigolds against the brown paper decor adds a subtle splash of color.
The Meal!
Side Dishes
As a kid, we always had Mexican rice on the side of pretty much every meal. It was always a treat because my mom made some amazing rice. As I mentioned before, our Thanksgiving meal was a smorgasbord of dishes. Ours always included the best of both worlds and Mexican rice is the best of our world! The recipes I share below add a fun twist to a traditional recipe but using some well known Latin ingredients to spice it up.
With the apple & chorizo stuffing we are combining various ingredients to spice up your regular bread stuffing. You’ll have to try chorizo in your stuffing because it adds a whole new bold flavor to your traditional Thanksgiving dish.
Apple & Chorizo Stuffing Ring Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of french bread cubed and toasted in the oven (just lightly toasted)
- 1 large apple diced
- 2-3 chorizo, cooked and chopped
- 2-3 stalks celery
- 2 cups of chicken broth using Knorr® Chicken Flavor Bouillon Granulated Bouillon – 2.2 lbs
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tsp sage seasoning
- 3 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
Place onions, celery in a pan to lightly cook. Then add the chorizo and apples.
Place all of this a large bowl and add chicken broth.
This is my short cut tip for pretty much anything that calls for chicken broth when I’ve run out of our broth. I add bouillon to the water and I have immediate chicken broth!
Toss and mix well in bowl. Then add the sage and salt & pepper to taste. In a separate bowl mix eggs and pour them over bread mix.
Mix well and pour in a well-greased bundt pan. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes at 350. Serve warm!
You can find both La Morena® andKnorr® Chicken Flavor Bouillon Granulated Bouillon in the Hispanic aisle at Walmart.
Chipotle Salsa
ingredients
- 6 tomatoes
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves (you can use garlic paste)
- 1 lime (juice)
- cumin
- salt to taste
- La Morena® chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can
Place the tomatoes, onions and garlic on the griddle or as we call it “el comal”. Let them brown for about 5 minutes and then place them in a blender. Let them cool in blender.
Then add in the rest of the ingredients, lime juice, cumin, salt and peppers in a bowl.
Then add to the blender. Blend until smooth or if you like it chunky then don’t blend for as long. Add more salt to taste.
Dessert
Vanilla Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
Here’s my tip for an easy dessert–
When you’re in a hurry but need to feed a large group you don’t have to bake it yourself you can fake it!
What I do is mix homemade items and store bought items. Here I purchased plain vanilla cupcakes at the grocery store and when I got home I made caramel frosting to put on top and place them in fun cupcake liners. They are pictured above and every one thought they were homemade.
Pumpkin Flan Gingerbread Cake
ingredients
bottom cake layer:
- box of spice cake (you can also use vanilla flavor and add pumpkin spice)
- 1 Cup milk
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1/2 cup Pumpkin puree
top layer the flan:
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup milk
- 4 eggs
directions:
- Heat oven at 350 and grease your bundt pan then lightly flour the pan.
- Place the cake ingredients above in a mixing bowl. Then place them in the greased bundt pan.
- Mix the flan ingredients and then gently pour over the cake mix. The flan will sink to the bottom.
- Cover cake pan with foil. Place in large roasting pan; add 1 inch of hot water to roasting pan. (The roasting pan will serve as a water bath during baking.)
- Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Remove cake pan from water bath to cooling rack; remove foil. Let it cool completely before flipping it otherwise it will fall apart.
Entertainment
Spice up your Thanksgiving gathering with some fun Latin music! Latinos always know how to throw a party because they always have fun music, dancing and lots of laughter.
Our family also love playing games with the family.
Reenact the first pilgrims voyage to the U.S.! One thing we get asked often by those who are not from the U.S. is–Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving? Well this reenactment of the first voyage, is a fun and educational way to explain it. We’ve enjoyed doing this activity with the kids. We made this set of characters from toilet paper rolls which you can find HERE.
Want more?
I grew up watching my mom cook our meals because that’s what good Latina girls did back then or so my parents said. I’ll be the first to tell you one of her many cooking secrets –bouillon. Speaking of bouillon– Knorr® and La Morena® are bringing to our readers an opportunity to enter their awesome sweepstakes where you can win a Kitchenaid mixer and gift cards! Stop by here to enter: #AddFlavor Sweepstakes
I love all things chipotle, so La Morena® peppers are a staple in our pantry and Knorr® Boullion is my secret ingredient to many of my dishes. We love these products because they are trusted, high quality, ingredients you can depend on to create delicious meals that bring your friends and family together during this special holiday season.
