Why the traditional turkey dinner every Thanksgiving is so last century

A generous salad of Red King Crab with diced celery, sweet pepper, onion and carrot -- dressed with Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice, cumin and other spices -- was the starter at our non-traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner on Thursday.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Numerous news outlets report an estimated 46 million turkeys were killed for Thanksgiving, but no one has explained how Americans could possibly stomach all of that white meat.

The white or breast meat of the domesticated turkey is the least flavorful and the easiest to overcook.

Even before I stopped eating meat or poultry in favor of seafood, I always insisted on getting the drumstick, thigh or wing -- and preferably all three.

On Thursday, I prepared a luscious Red King Crab Salad for an appetizer, and my wife cooked turkey legs and thighs for herself and the other meat eaters in the family.

Like the Red King Crab, our second course came from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro -- Phillips Seafood Restaurants' Maryland-style Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes.

I served them with Costco's Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.

After a big crab salad and two crab cakes, washed down with prosecco, a sparkling white wine from Italy, I was stuffed.

I didn't have room for sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive or an organic spring mix salad, as planned.

Later, I did have cheese, fruit, nuts, coffee and tea.

Pumpkin pie? Yuck!

My second course: Two golden crab cakes with pesto.

My wife prepared turkey parts from the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff in barbecue sauce. She seasoned and roasted other thighs and legs in the oven, and prepared rice with peas.

Three Red King Crab Legs and Claws, on an 18-inch-long cutting board, produced a large bowl of crab meat, below. The joints were easy to cut through with a large chef's knife, as were the soft shells with a seafood scissor, but I missed several small pieces of cartilage.

A great piece of fish and more at Jerry's Gourmet in Englewood

A beautiful piece of grouper with aromatic roasted peppers was the centerpiece of a restaurant-quality takeout dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood.

Editor's note: In Englewood, you can't go wrong stopping for takeout from Jerry's Gourmet & More or enjoying an omelet and home fries in a booth at Jackson Hole.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I was lucky on my Wednesday visit to Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood to find four Meals To Go in the refrigerated case, all with fish.

I picked two with a great fish, grouper; tricolor penne in a Bolognese sauce and vegetables ($7.99).

Two other dinners were made with farmed tilapia. 

After 4 p.m., the pork, chicken or seafood dinners are reduced to $5.99, if there are any left. A week earlier, there were none.

This week, my wife had Grouper Oreganato and I enjoyed Grouper with Roasted Peppers, Artichoke Salad and Carrots with Oil and Garlic.

In Jerry's back room, you'll find 2.2-pound bags of coffee beans from Italy for as little as $9.99 a pound; Garofalo whole-wheat pasta, including the hard-to-find, mouth-filling Pappardelle; and Ponti-brand vinegars for 99 cents to $1.99 for a half-liter bottle.

Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood; 1-201-871-7108.

The label of my wife's dinner. At home, I plated and heated up my dinner in the microwave, poured a glass of red wine and finished with a salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix and tomatoes.

At Jerry's, the refrigerated case holding Meals To Go also offers salads made with kale or farro, Jerry's Homemade Italian Dressing, sandwiches and other items. In another case, I saw a large Caesar Salad with Chicken for $5.99.

Jerry's Italian Dressing, here with Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix and tomatoes from our garden, is made with canola and extra-virgin olive oils, red onion, fresh garlic, anchovy, mustard, red vinegar, salt and pepper ($3.49).

In yet another refrigerated case, I saw this 32-ounce jar of Tripe Soup.

A Bellini cocktail is a mixture of Prosecco sparkling wine and peach puree or nectar, available at Jerry's. I use Kirkland Signature Prosecco, imported from Italy by Costco Wholesale ($6.99).

Jackson Hole may be known for burgers, but its menu also lists more than a dozen omelets, including this Spinach Omelet with Home Fries ($8.50). Toast, coffee or tea and a small glass of orange juice is included.

The beautifully restored classic Jersey diner, above and below, is at 362 Grand Ave., in Englewood (1-201-871-7444), a few blocks from Jerry's. Most of the seating is in booths, and the service is excellent.