On Tuesday, while you were likely out voting or covering people out voting, the Associated Press had a style chat on Twitter, and it was about food. AP’s food editor, J.M. Hirsch, joined the chat, which was useful from both a journalism and holiday eater perspective. I’ve added in links to some AP holiday recipes, too, found thanks to Hirsch’s Twitter feed.
Welcome to our #APStyleChat on the style of food with AP food editor J.M. Hirsch. Send your questions our way.
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Let’s start with the drinking:
Don't get confused by cocktails. Most are lowercase – bloody mary, old fashioned, mojito – but some are up – Negroni. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Knocking back more than one? Bring on the bloody marys, mojitos, Negronis, martinis.
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Only sparkling wine from France's Champagne region is Champagne. If made elsewhere, call it sparkling wine. #APStyleChat #galenawrites
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Is it hot cocoa or hot chocolate? Depends. Cocoa is made with cocoa powder. Chocolate is made with melted chocolate. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
And now for the sides:
Got bread? Keep it one word — breadbox, breadcrumb, breadstick, cornbread. But not bread pudding. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Stuffing has become generic for the Turkey Day side. But technically only stuffing if stuffed. Cooked on the side is dressing. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Here are ideas for “10 fresh ways to doctor stuffing mix” from the AP’s Alison Ladman.
Baking rolls on Thanksgiving? Most of us will have parkerhouse rolls — one word, no caps. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
AP’s Michele Kayal wrote a handy piece on “What can and can’t be prepped ahead.”
Just in case you’re not even gonna try:
IHOP is all caps for International House of Pancakes. #APStyleChat @JoeHadsall
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
And just in case you really are gonna try:
Eating local this Thanksgiving? Try a farm-to-table meal bought from the farmers market. And don't forget a farmstead cheese. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
For consistency, AP recipes now use kosher salt when a volume is specified. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
You’ll need that Kosher salt in this creamy mashed potato recipe from Sara Moulton. And wow to these pumpkin pie into cannoli and barbecue-rubbed turkey recipes from Ladman.
Now for some housekeeping notes:
Lining your baking sheets for cookies? Try kitchen parchment, instead of parchment paper. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
And it's waxed paper, not wax paper. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
AP style is to say foil, not aluminum foil or tin foil, just foil. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Like great food? You aren't a gourmand, that's a glutton. But you might be a gourmet. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
Britons call it coriander, but in the US it's cilantro (and in these parts coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant). #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
We're getting into slow cooker season. But don't call it a Crock Pot unless you have that specific brand. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
A mandolin is a musical instrument. A mandoline is a slicer (that a spell-checker hates). #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
And this is tweet wins them all.
spatchcocking doesn't sound nice. it means cutting out the backbone of poultry to flatten the bird and speed cooking. #APStyleChat
— AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) November 4, 2014
If you simply can’t bring yourself to spatchcock, here’s an AP recipe for Thanksgiving Eggplant Strata and You-Won’t-Miss-The-Meat Vegetarian Gravy from Ladman. On Tuesday night I wrote about what journalists were eating as they covered the election. There were no pumpkin pie cannolis, as far as I could tell, but many of them did better than newsroom pizza.