To cook dinner for 90,000 people you have to get up very early in the morning and probably several days before dinner time. On Tuesday, more than 2,000 cooks are working to put the finishing touches on the meals that will fill the bellies of fans attending the Thanksgiving Day game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
NBC 5 previewed the meal Tuesday morning, which includes classics like roast turkey, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes and glazed ham as well as some stadium exclusives like Cowboys Mac 'N' Cheese, Thanksgiving Hand Pie and The Thanksgiving Bowl (details below).
By Thanksgiving Day, the culinary team at Legends Hospitality, the crew making the food inside AT&T Stadium, will have prepared nearly 11,000 pounds of Cowboys Mac 'N' Cheese, more than 4,000 pounds of ham, nearly 12,000 pounds of turkeys and 4,700 pounds of dressing. They use 238 gallons of cranberry sauce, 720 pounds of green beans, 2,400 pounds of Yukon gold potatoes, and 2,200 pounds of sweet potatoes grown by the WE Over Me Farm on the grounds of the former football field at Dallas' Paul Quinn College. The cooks are also using kale and collard greens harvested from the farm in other Thanksgiving Day dishes.
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“To be able to prepare favorite traditional Thanksgiving flavors each year for thousands of fans is always so immensely exciting for our team,” said Marcelo Vasquez, executive chef of Legends Hospitality at AT&T Stadium. “The excitement on the field and holiday celebration with family and friends combine in amazing ways, and we love the honor of making it special for fans.”
They'll also produce 182 gallons of whipping cream to top desserts made from 400 pounds of pecans and 900 pounds of pumpkin.
“We love bringing each and every fan the opportunity to have their favorite flavors and celebrate the holiday with a great meal in our The Thanksgiving Bowl and Thanksgiving Hand Pie creations,” said Heather Fuller, concessions chef for Legends Hospitality at AT&T Stadium. “It is so exciting that fans respond each year to these growing faves that bring it all together in a game day growing classic way.”
Fuller refused to divulge the recipe for the Cowboys Mac 'N' Cheese, but said it's a complicated sauce that brings the fan favorite to life -- and that it's soon headed for retail shelves for fans to enjoy at home.
THANKSGIVING MENU EXCLUSIVES
Thanksgiving Bowl
Smoked turkey breast piled high with savory herb dressing, famous Cowboys Mac ‘N’ Cheese, sweet potatoes, and green beans, drizzled with turkey giblet gravy, served with fresh cranberry sauce and a brioche roll. All in an easy-to-carry and sit on your lap bowl.
The bowl can be found at the following locations: Main Club Bent Buckles, Main Club Sandwich Carts, Silver Club Bent Buckles, Upper Concourse Bent Buckle Carts and Upper Smokehouse Stands.
Thanksgiving Hand Pie
Layers of savory herb dressing, fresh cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potatoes, oven-roasted turkey breast and turkey giblet gravy enclosed in a flaky pie crust and baked.
The hand pie can be found at the following locations: Main Club Bent Buckles, Main Club Sandwich Carts, Silver Club Bent Buckles, Upper Concourse Bent Buckle Carts, four HOF stands will have the Thanksgiving Pie instead of Cheesteak Pie and five stadium drop locations will also be selling the pie.
Fans in some sections can order the items for in-seat service.
Kickoff Thursday between the Cowboys (7-3) and Giants (7-3) is at 3:30 p.m.
