Andrew Zimmern talks to us about teaming up with AARP to host a virtual Caregiver’s Thanksgiving

Andrew Zimmern answers our holiday based questions too

GE: Do you have a favorite dish that you enjoy eating on Thanksgiving, not making but actually eating?

AZ: “I’m the stuffing guy. I do it in the bird and I happen to like the flavor and the moisture that the stuffing gets by absorbing all of those wonderful juices from the bird. It does require some tricky cookery so that your dark meat and your white meat cook at the same even temperature. And we have tips on that on my website at Andrewzimmern.com.”

GE: And what is your favorite thing to actually make on Thanksgiving?

AZ: “My favorite thing to make for Thanksgiving is my oyster chowder. Oysters were eaten at the first Thanksgiving, turkey was not. We know that in all likelihood, a pumpkin, salmon, some kind of hoofed animal most likely venison, and oysters were eaten at the first Thanksgiving, because we know in that part of the world that’s what the indigenous peoples were eating. And my family always used to honor that by, you know, we might we always roasted two turkeys and one had chestnut stuffing one had oyster stuffing. I do the same thing, but I do oyster chowder as it’s always cold in Minnesota so when guests come in the door, and they’re taking off shoes and coats, I always feed them my oyster chowder in a mug so when they walk into the house they have a hot mug of soup in their cold hands. I think that’s really important. I think it’s a great touch of hospitality, it’s a great way to show people you care about them.”

GE: Is there a tradition, or a food dish that you wish more people would bring into the holiday?

AZ: I do, I think people should be cooking what they like. They should be celebrating with the foods that are important to them. I’m a New Englander I’m an East coaster I mean that’s that’s where my roots are, so I keep getting more and more traditional every single year.

Last year was the first Thanksgiving where I just rolled a big pumpkin into a very large pile of coals and covered it up, and then came back two hours later and uncovered it and pulled away the char and then I served the charred pumpkin in the middle of the table and I took some brown butter and sugar and emulsified it in a blender, using a couple little cheffy tricks. And so I was able to actually show people, honoring our first peoples or indigenous peoples I think is very important. So we’re actually able to have a moment and eat a dish that we know was consumed the way they consumed it by rolling hard squash into a fire.”

If you are looking to learn some more fun tips and tricks for Thanksgiving, while also helping to honor the caregivers in our lives, then you will definitely want to tune into Andrew Zimmern’s presentation with AARP. Not only will you learn more about how to downsize your Thanksgiving dinner, but you will also get some tasty recipes to try as well.