I partnered with Ocean Spray so I could give YOU ALL some Thanksgiving tips for if you are hosting your 1st or 20th Thanksgiving meal!
Ocean Spray brought me to Rockefeller Center® where they turned the iconic plaza into a Thanksgiving Bootcamp with stations manned by our own CranMa's! Yes, real life Grandma's (who are also real-life Ocean Spray cranberry farmers) were there to teach us the ropes, along with Ocean Spray Thanksgiving experts, but lets be honest, who is more of an expert on these things than your Grandma? Here were the biggest takeaways that I learned.
1: Presentation is key! You want everyone to feel the holiday spirit as soon as they walk in, so we were taught how to turn cranberries into really beautiful and really easy to do tables-capes. From napkin holders, to a super cool cranberry centerpiece!
2: Start off with a cocktail! Everyone walks in and they are definitely feeling Thanksgiving with the beautiful decorations, so the next logical step is a cocktail! We were taught a really delicious and again easy to make cranberry martini, that is sure to please everyone!
3: Prepare, Cook, and Cut the Turkey properly! The turkey is the showcase of every Thanksgiving feast, so we were taught the proper ways to first prepare the turkey, how best to cook the bird, and then finally the best way to slice and serve it to your hungry guests! The #1 takeaway was to remember to let the turkey rest after coming out of the oven. I know everyone is hungry, but you have to let it sit so all the juices will be retained and your turkey wont dry out!
The best part of the afternoon was that we were able to then sit down in a Cranberry Bog and get an early Thanksgiving meal!
