Firehouse Challenge: Packaged vs. Homemade Holiday Dinner Classics

December 14, 2012 By 1 Comment
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For years, a relative of mine served boxed stuffing at her holiday gatherings, spiced up with cut-up pre-cooked turkey sausage. When I offered to make some homemade stuffing one year, she waved me off. “No one can the tell the difference, anyway.”

Funny, but I could absolutely tell the difference. Was it just me? I contemplated on how real mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh green beans and cranberry sauce would stack up to their processed cousins. What about supermarket turkey versus a fresh, organic bird?

There’s only one way to find out.

This year, I decided to make two dinners with the classic holiday side dishes — mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans and cranberry sauce. The catch: one featured all homemade sides, and the other, they cam came from a box, can or jar. 

I needed objective judges. Fortunately, there’s a group of individuals more than up for the task: the guys on Shift A at the Station 1 in Holmes Beach, my local firehouse in Florida. 

In addition to the side dishes, I threw in another comparative tasting — a standard supermarket-brand turkey breast (Publix) and a higher-priced organic version from an upscale grocery (The Fresh Market). 
 
The video offers an overview, the next few pages break down each of the dinner components by hassle factor, price, time and specific flavor comments from the firefighters. Also, you’ll find links to most of the recipes, too.
 
Let’s take a closer look.
Filed Under: Fearless Holidays
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  1. How Do Processed Holiday Classics Compare to Homemade? | Kathleen Flinn says:
    December 14, 2012 at 10:20 pm

    [...] The result? Find out in our in-depth look – plus get my favorite recipes — in the Firehouse Challenge on my new site, CookFearless.com Share this:TwitterEmailFacebookPrintMoreDiggStumbleUponRedditLike [...]

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