• American warplanes pounded Syria with airstrikes as the Assad regime fell on Sunday.
• They hit dozens of targets in support of the anti-ISIS mission, which officials say will continue.
• The US isn't the only military conducting strikes amid the uncertain situation in Syria.

The US military has carried out extensive airstrikes in Syria since the Assad regime collapsed over the weekend, and it's not the only country on the hunt for targets in this uncertain moment.

American, Israeli, and Turkish forces have all been involved in bombing targets across Syria over the past few days in actions said to be in support of their respective national security interests.

For the US, this means continuing to go after the Islamic State, as it has done for years, but with an intensity to keep the group at bay. The Biden administration has stated that this mission will continue despite uncertainty about the future of Syria's leadership.

The US has repeatedly said that it is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS. "We don't want to give ISIS an opportunity to exploit what's going on," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday, adding, "They love nothing more than ungoverned space."

Widespread military action in Syria

As rebel forces reached Damascus on Sunday and Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country, US Air Force B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets, and A-10 attack aircraft bombed ISIS targets in central Syria. The widespread strikes hit the terrorist group's leaders, operatives, and camps, said US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations.

A senior administration official, speaking to reporters, described the combat operation as "significant" and said the American warplanes dropped around 140 munitions to hit 75 targets. The US military said the goal of the strikes was to prevent ISIS from reconstituting in central Syria.

Jonathan Lord, a former political-military analyst at the Pentagon, told Business Insider the US military is "rightly worried that ISIS could slip through the cracks in the chaos," so it is hitting as many targets as possible.

Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversaw US military operations in the Middle East in the 2010s as the Centcom commander, told BI that it's "good" the US is sending a clear message and taking action to prevent ISIS from exploiting the void in central Syria.

He added that it's important for the US to maintain a small presence in eastern Syria, calling it "a very effective and efficient way to keep tabs on this threat."

The widespread bombing since Sunday has, however, not been limited to just US actions. Israel has carried out over 300 airstrikes across neighboring Syria, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.

Israel has targeted the remnants of Assad's former military, including aircraft, ammunition depots, weapons storage facilities, warships, radar systems, and additional assets, the SOHR said. Israeli officials have said these strikes are intended to prevent weaponry from falling into the hands of potential foes.

"Israel is taking no chances with their security and not waiting to find out if the new Syrian government is friendly or hostile," said Lord, who is now the director of the Middle East Security program at the Center for a New American Security think tank.

The Israeli military has also sent its ground forces across the Syrian border beyond a United Nations-monitored buffer zone that separates the two countries. The UN has criticized the move, which Israel said is a measure to protect its citizens amid the uncertainty in Damascus.

Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, told BI that the actions are a "combined effort to try to minimize as much as possible the risk of growing military challenges following the current situation in Syria."

He said the Israeli approach likely includes diplomatic efforts to complement the airstrikes and buffer zone operation.

Meanwhile, a Turkish drone attacked a military site in an area held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the SOHR said on Tuesday. Ankara, which views the nearby SDF as a terror group, has targeted Kurdish forces for years. The US frequently works closely with the SDF on counter-ISIS operations.

"The Turks have a legitimate counter-terrorism threat that they, too, have a right to deal with," Kirby, the White House spokesperson, said in response to a reporter's question about action against Kurdish groups.

The widespread military actions come on the heels of the shock collapse of the Syrian Army amid a stunning, only dayslong rebel offensive that removed Assad from power. The longtime dictator had relied extensively on military support from Russia, Iran, and Lebanese Hezbollah to keep opposition forces in check.

US officials are blaming the fall of the Assad regime on the reality that these three actors have been weakened and distracted lately by their respective conflicts with Ukraine and Israel. Russia, in particular, used to exercise significant control over Syrian airspace, but the future of Moscow's military footprint in the country is now unclear.

The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the culmination of years of civil war, has given way to a power vacuum with different factions protecting their own interests – and vying for power in the Middle Eastern nation. 

The U.S., worried about the resurgence of an ISIS stronghold, has struck targets associated with the Islamic State in central Syria. 

Turkey, which controls a zone of Syria on its northern border, has continued to attack U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. 

Both work with different proxy groups. 

Here’s a look at the different forces vying for control in the region:

HTS was the key faction behind the fall of Damascus and the fleeing of Assad, and now controls the capital city. But the Islamist militant group is far from a U.S. ally – its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head and has been designated a terrorist since 2013. The group governed just a sliver of northwest Syria in Idlib. 

ISRAEL DEPLOYS PARATROOPERS TO SYRIA IN 'DEFENSE ACTIVITIES' AFTER FALL OF ASSAD

The group, founded as an al Qaeda affiliate, still remains largely aligned with al Qaeda but focuses on establishing fundamentalist Islamic rule in Syria rather than a global caliphate. 

The U.N., U.S. and Turkey all designate HTS as a terrorist organization. The group, in recent years, has worked to soften its image and lobbied to be delisted as a terrorist group, highlighting its government services in Idlib and promising to protect religious and cultural sites, even churches, in Aleppo. 

Experts believe Turkey, which has long looked to topple Assad, may have been at play in HTS’ offensive. 

Syria’s forces loyal to Assad have staved off coup attempts since 2011, often through violent crackdowns on protests and rebellion. 

By 2020, government troops backed by Iran, Russia and Lebanese Hezbollah had pushed rebel forces back to the northwest corner of Syria. 

In the waning days of November, rebel factions swiftly overpowered government troops, seizing control of Aleppo – a city previously reclaimed by Assad's forces in 2016. Eight days later, the insurgents successfully captured not only Aleppo, but also Hama, Homs and Damascus.

On Monday, HTS granted Assad’s forces "a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted under compulsory service."

"Their lives are safe and no one may assault them," the group said in a statement.

The SNA is a loosely bound coalition of Turkish-backed forces primarily intent on fighting Kurdish forces. But the coalition, which carries out Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s anti-Assad efforts, was also involved in the fall of Damascus. The groups have – in the past – also battled HTS and other Islamic State terrorists. 

The SNA coalition believes U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria to be linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that has launched Kurdish nationalist attacks in Turkey.

SDF is a coalition of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, centered in northeastern Syria. They have long worked alongside the U.S. in battling Islamic State forces in Syria.

In addition to fighting the Islamic State, they’ve been fending off attacks from Turkish-backed fighters. 

US STRIKES DOZENS OF ISIS CAMPS AND OPERATIVES IN SYRIA AMID ASSAD'S DOWNFALL

Kurdish forces were not involved in the offensive that toppled Assad, but they hailed the offensive campaign. 

"In Syria, we are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians," said Mazlum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, on Sunday morning. 

After relatively friendly relations with Syria throughout the early 2000s, Turkey condemned Assad over the violent 2011 crackdown on protesters. 

While Turkey and the U.S. are allies – bound to protect each other through NATO – they are on opposing sides in Syria, even as both celebrated Assad's downfall. The Turkish military fired on U.S.-backed forces in Syria over the weekend, where fighting erupted between rebel groups in Manbij, a Kurdish-controlled city near Syria's border with Turkey. Turkey has long had a goal of pushing the Kurds away from its border, and is looking to use the current turmoil to capture control along the border and decimate the Kurdish population there.  

Kurdish separatists have fought Turkey for years, looking to carve out their own autonomous nation. 

Russia has long propped up the Assad regime, and days ago granted the ousted leader asylum.

Since 2015, Russia has effectively acted as Assad’s air force, but its capacity to intervene on the dictator’s behalf has diminished since resources were needed for the war with Ukraine. 

Iran was Assad’s biggest supporter, providing arms and military advice and directing its proxy Lebanese Hezbollah to fight the insurgents. But Hezbollah had to direct its troops back to Lebanon to fight Israel, leaving Assad’s forces in a weakened position. 

HTS leader al-Golani lamented in a speech on Sunday that Syria had become "a playground for Iranian ambitions."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited his forces’ weakening of Hezbollah for playing a key role in the fall of Assad. Israel has consistently launched strikes against Syria with the strategic aim of disrupting the channels Iran uses to supply arms to Hezbollah.

After Assad’s fall, Israel, on Sunday, struck Assad’s chemical weapons facilities within Syria, for fear of what hands they may fall into in his absence. 

Israel also captured control of a buffer zone within the Golan Heights, the first time they’ve captured territory in Syria since the war in 1973. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved in on Sunday and told residents to remain in their homes until further notice. They said they needed to capture the territory to ensure border security. 

They also captured Mount Hermon – the highest point on the border between the two countries and a blind spot in their defenses that Iran had been exploiting to send low-flying drones. 

Some 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria, where they are partnered with the SDF to fight ISIS. 

On Sunday, President Biden said U.S. troops would remain there to "ensure stability." 

The U.S. carried out dozens of precision strikes on more than 75 ISIS targets in central Syria over the weekend to prevent the terrorist group from exploiting the unrest to rebuild. 

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"We're clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to re-establish its capability to create a safe haven," Biden said. "We will not let that happen."

Biden said the U.S. would support Syria's neighbors – Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel – "should any threat arise from Syria during this transition."

The president added that the fall of Assad created a "historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria."

• The US blocked Turkey from acquiring F-35 stealth fighters.
• Turkey wants the F-35s and may be willing to move the Russian air defenses that triggered the ban.
• President-elect Trump may favor a deal, but he'll likely face resistance inside his administration.

Until five years ago, Turkey had planned to buy 100 of Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jets to modernize its air force. But its acquisition of a top-of-the-line Russian air defense missile system dashed that plan, with the US barring Turkey from acquiring any F-35s out of concern the sophisticated Russian system could compromise its tiny radar return.

Five years later, Ankara hopes the incoming Trump administration will reverse its ban.

Turkish sources are signaling the discussion may go beyond an appeal from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom Donald Trump built a rapport. According to Bloomberg, Turkey may agree to restrict its Russian S-400s air defenses in return for the US lifting sanctions. Over the summer, Greek media reported that Washington suggested Ankara transfer the Russian missile launchers to the American section of Turkey's Incirlik airbase, effectively putting them under American supervision.

"If Turkey agrees to a soft decommissioning of the S-400s by storing them at Incirlik under US supervision, it could significantly accelerate Ankara's reintegration into the F-35 program," Suleyman Ozeren, a lecturer at the American University and senior fellow at the Orion Policy Institute, told Business Insider.

"However, this move would likely require Moscow's consent, which presents a complex challenge."

That's not the only hurdle. While analysts see signs that Trump and Turkey may try to clear the impasse, any agreement could still face resistance in his cabinet and in Congress, which passed the 2017 legislation under which Turkey would later be sanctioned for its acquisition of the S-400 system.

Ali Bakir, a Turkey expert at Qatar University's Ibn Khaldon Center and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, sees "cautious optimism" in Ankara.

He attributes this to the belief that "personal understanding and communication" between Trump and Erdogan will resolve outstanding issues in the Turkish-US relationship, paving the way for a "fresh start."

"However, it is important to acknowledge that Congress also plays a significant role in this dynamic," Bakir told BI. "Congress has often been the most problematic element in US-Turkish relations, rather than the US president."

"Early indications suggest that Congress may not be particularly favorable towards Ankara," Bakir said.

Ozeren also anticipates Ankara could find "greater room to maneuver" during Trump's second term, especially as Republicans will control the House and Senate.

"In theory, this could increase the chances of obtaining US approval for Turkey's return to the F-35 program," Ozeren said. "Nonetheless, given the deeply strained relations over the past decade, any progress would likely be fraught with difficulties and setbacks."

Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company RANE, believes Trump is personally "keen" on selling F-35s to Turkey.

However, Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is a Russia and China hawk and may prove "less flexible" on the requirements of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that became law in 2017. Bohl sees "little sign" that the law will be overturned.

"So, it will remain to be seen if Trump can overcome these institutional hurdles to a sale to Turkey," Bohl told BI.

Before Turkey received any S-400s, Washington had repeatedly warned Ankara it would not tolerate F-35s flying in a military that also operates S-400s, fearing that could compromise the low observable radar signature critical to the aircraft's survivability. Placing Turkish S-400s under US supervision in Incirlik could resolve such concerns.

"The damage will never be too severe in terms of relations; what matters is whether or not the administration, and Congress, decides Turkey has done enough to limit the potential exposure of the F-35 to Russian intelligence and/or information gathering," Bohl said.

"That will likely be a split between Trump, who tends not to emphasize such risks, and the Pentagon and intelligence services, who do," Bohl added. "Even with a pliable defense secretary compared to Mark Esper in his first term, this consideration may still be in play."

Turkey has repeatedly asserted over the years that it no longer needs F-35s since it is developing its indigenous stealth jet, the TF Kaan. Despite these assertions, Ankara would most likely welcome another chance to acquire the fifth-generation produced by Lockheed Martin, in partnership with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems; its powerful single-engine is built by Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation. The F-35 is flown by 17 American allies.

"I believe that if the ban on F-35s is lifted, Ankara would definitely want to acquire them, despite other parallel deals, as Turkey cannot afford to be overly dependent on a single player in critical times," Bakir said.

At the same time, Turkey is developing domestic air defenses and has never put the S-400 into service in the five years since receiving them. The intervening Ukraine war, where Russian S-400s suffered losses, could reduce the value Turkey sees in them.

"Certainly, the S-400's combat performance against Ukraine has been mixed; Turkey may conclude that more advanced F-35s are in its national interest, particularly given Israel's recent deployment of F-35s against Iran," Bohl said.

"At the same time, F-35s will be reliant on US supply chains, and those could be interrupted over politics or because of other priorities that make resupply difficult."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

• In preparation for Thanksgiving, I looked for good ways to use up leftover turkey breast.
• I made a Thanksgiving-leftover sandwich but found it took more effort than it was worth.
• I discovered a soup that was so delicious I'd make another turkey just to have an excuse to eat it.

Each Thanksgiving, I cook a full family meal and have lots of leftover turkey in my fridge.

I tried making dishes with varying levels of difficulty to find the best leftover turkey recipes. I opted to make a Thanksgiving-leftover sandwich, turkey salad, and soup with slices of leftover roasted 4-pound turkey breast.

Here's how each recipe stacked up.

I began by making a Thanksgiving-inspired sandwich.

For the first recipe, I utilized all of my Thanksgiving leftovers to make a sandwich from The New York Times.

Our typical Thanksgiving leftovers include mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and green-bean casserole, so I bought a few store-bought versions for my test.

I also grabbed thick sandwich bread and turkey gravy.

The stuffing layer was the most labor-intensive part of the sandwich.

I began by mixing the mayonnaise and cranberry sauce to create a cranberry mayo and combined the chopped turkey and gravy to make a sauce.

Next, I made a box of stuffing, pressed it into a square pan, and refrigerated it until it hardened.

Once it was solid, I fried each side in a bit of oil. This step took the longest to prepare and required some planning ahead.

Unfortunately, layering all of the ingredients was pretty messy.

The sandwich recipe called for stacking layers of cranberry mayonnaise, gravy, mac and cheese, stuffing, green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and the turkey between two slices of bread.

I knew it would be a messy disaster before I even put the two pieces of bread together.

The sandwich tasted good but wasn’t worth the hassle.

Overall, the sandwich was messy and difficult to eat. When I tried to take a bite out of it, all of the ingredients slid out onto the plate.

I ended up eating everything with a knife and fork, which made me wonder why I went through the hassle of stacking it all into a sandwich.

Next up, I tried making turkey salad.

The easiest dish to make was the turkey salad, which was similar to chicken versions I've made in the past.

The ingredients were simple: celery, green onion, paprika, mayo, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and finely chopped leftover turkey.

I made a few changes to the recipe, but the dish was still good.

I don't like the crunch of celery or onion, so for this turkey salad, I changed things up a bit.

Instead of adding diced celery, green onion, and salt, I just added celery salt to flavor the dish without adding a harsh crunch to the salad.

The turkey salad made a great sandwich that I'd try again.

I love chicken salad, so I was excited to try the turkey recipe in the form of a sandwich.

It tasted great, as it had plenty of flavor from the mustard, paprika, and celery salt while showcasing the turkey.

Overall, I thought it was simple to make and, as an added bonus, required ingredients I already had in my pantry and refrigerator.

I'd make this turkey-salad recipe again if I had leftovers on hand.

Lastly, I tried a recipe for turkey soup.

I'm a fan of hearty fall meals, so I was happy to find a recipe for leftover turkey soup.

Out of the three recipes, the soup had the longest ingredient list, including long-grain wild rice, chicken broth, and diced carrots, celery, and onions.

After some chopping, I was ready to try the recipe out.

Right from the beginning, the soup felt perfectly rustic.

I love a soup dish that starts with cooking aromatics like carrots, celery, and onions.

Simmering the chopped vegetables in a bit of butter immediately set the tone for the savory soup I was about to enjoy.

Even before I added the cream, I could tell the soup was going to be good.

After sautéeing the chopped vegetables, I added chicken broth and a box of long-grain wild rice to the pot. Then, I let it simmer until the grains were cooked through.

I also added the half-and-half the recipe called for, though I think you could forgo it to make a lighter soup.

I'd cook another Thanksgiving turkey just to have an excuse to make the soup.

Once I added the half-and-half, the soup was creamy and ready to serve.

I thought the finished dish was so delicious, hearty, and savory. I loved the flavor of the vegetables and turkey.

My family returned for seconds, so we hardly had any leftovers the following day.

I wouldn't mind cooking turkey breast again just to make the soup.

The turkey-soup recipe was my winner.

Of all three recipes, the one I'd be most likely to make again is the creamy, delicious turkey-and-wild-rice soup.

Though the Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich and turkey salad were good, I wouldn't go out of my way to cook another bird for either dish.

If I were looking for a way to use pieces of a leftover Thanksgiving turkey, I'd make the wild-rice soup.

This story was originally published on November 23, 2023, and most recently updated on November 27, 2024.

• As a chef of over 15 years, I've learned how to cook the perfect turkey.
• Make sure you have ample time to defrost your turkey and limit yourself to basting every 30 minutes.
• Despite what you see in the movies, carving a turkey at a Thanksgiving table just isn't realistic.

Whether it's brined, fried, basted, or roasted, turkey is a staple on any holiday table. The best way to make a turkey, however, is a never-ending debate.

There are some solid tips I've learned as a chef to improve any sort of holiday-turkey preparations and make this year's bird the best yet.

Consider the size of the bird

Despite the fact that many households prepare a turkey every year, it's easy to forget how much you'll need for a generous serving. Of course, you should also consider how many leftovers you want to enjoy without having so much turkey that it's wasted.

Plan for 1 pound of meat per person for a bone-in turkey. If you're going for just the breast portion or anything without bones, plan for ½ pound per person.

Decide on a cooking method

Any way to cook a turkey can be successful if you prepare your bird well enough. However, some methods work better for different kinds of birds.

Roasting at a lower temperature for longer will always result in a more tender turkey, especially if you spring for heritage birds, which typically have leaner, darker meat that retains moisture when cooked low and slow.

Experiment with cooking the light and dark meats separately for a faster cook. And don't forget Kosher turkeys already have some salt introduced to them in the butchering process, so be careful not to over-brine it, which can make it too salty. 

Always plan ahead

The bigger the bird, the longer it takes to defrost, with the largest turkeys taking up to three or four days when frozen solid. Though you can expedite the defrosting period by rinsing the turkey with cold water, I think that's also pretty wasteful.

If you don't have room in the fridge to store and process your bird, grab a cooler and let the turkey defrost there. Be sure to brine or season your turkey at least a day ahead so all those delicious seasonings penetrate the meat.

Invest in a good thermometer

A good thermometer lets you easily monitor your bird from beginning to end.

I recommend using an updated digital model with a probe that's inserted into the turkey and a thermometer that stays outside the oven so you don't have to repeatedly open the appliance as the bird cooks. 

Monitor the temperature of your turkey

Though salmonella should be a concern as you're preparing your turkey, according to the CDC, a turkey can be left out of the refrigerator for two hours or less without developing excess bacterial growth.

With this in mind, know you can take your turkey out of the fridge one hour before cooking to let it come to room temperature. This helps the bird cook more evenly, resulting in juicy meat and crispy skin.

Baste your bird minimally

When making a whole roast turkey, some basting is definitely a great choice. Just be aware that this process requires you to open your oven door and lose some of the heat from the oven each time you bathe the skin in pan juices.

Some judicious bastings will help keep the meat juicy, but few too many will prevent the skin from crisping. Limit yourself to no more than one basting every 30 minutes for the best results. 

Let the turkey rest

Plan to have your turkey done before the meal so that it (and you) can take a break.

Letting the turkey rest anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours will make a world of difference for the juices to redistribute and ensure that you have adequate time to carve and plate your turkey.

Carve and plate your turkey in sections

Though a deluge of movies show whole turkeys carved tableside, it rarely works out as well as it does on the big screen.

Once the turkey is cool enough to handle, break it down into sections by breasts, thighs, wings, and other parts. Pop them onto an oven-safe platter, cover the plate, and warm the turkey in the oven at a low temperature before serving.

To make things extra tasty, add some of those pan juices you used for basting.

This story was originally published on November 22, 2022, and most recently updated on November 16, 2024.

• I cooked a Thanksgiving feast using only Ina Garten's recipes, and it cost me $132.
• I made turkey, green beans, stuffing, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pie.
• I spent 10 hours cooking but the meal was beautiful and filled with delicious highlights. 

When I first became interested in food and cooking, I spent a lot of time watching Ina Garten on Food Network and pouring over her cookbooks and recipes.

Garten is one of the greats, so when I recently decided to cook an early Thanksgiving dinner for friends, it was a no-brainer that I'd put together a menu full of "Barefoot Contessa" recipes.

Like Garten, I kept things simple and elegant, choosing classics like roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Although I've been cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my family for more than 15 years, I learned new tricks and found recipes I would definitely make again.

Here's what it was like to cook a full-on Ina-giving.

The ingredients were surprisingly easy to find.

Fresh green beans, elbow macaroni, and goat cheese were on the ingredient list, which felt fresh, simple, and easy to acquire.

Still, since I was following recipes from a pro, I thought I'd probably have to go to five different stores to gather up all of the ingredients.

To my surprise, I found all the groceries I needed at Walmart in only one trip. 

 

I started cooking the day before and knocked out the apple pie first.

Garten's deep-dish apple pie was to be our dessert, so I made it a day in advance to save time on the big day.

The recipe called for a lot of citrus zest, but it was simple to get the amount I needed from oranges and lemons using my microplane grater.

I am pretty die-hard about following recipes, but I cheated a little on this one by using a store-bought pie crust rather than making my own. I was glad I did, as the meal was still plenty of work.

Next up was the cranberry sauce.

I prepped Garten's make-ahead cranberry sauce the day before, too.

I've made cranberry sauce from scratch before, but I prefer the canned variety, so I was curious how Garten's would stack up.

The recipe called for tart Granny Smith apples and lots of citrus zest, which required a lot of grating and chopping.

 

The stuffing was also easy to make in advance.

Garten's sausage-and-herb stuffing was next on my to-do list. I prepped this a day ahead of time as well.

It was easy to brown sausage, cook down ingredients such as apples and onions, and mix everything in a pan with toasted bread pieces. Using the straightforward, simple recipe, the stuffing came together easily and was a breeze to make.

Garten puts goat cheese in her mashed potatoes, which I'd never done before.

Day one of cooking also involved making Garten's goat-cheese mashed potatoes.

Since the mashed-potato recipe was full of creamy butter and milk, adding goat cheese seemed odd to me, but who am I to argue with Ina?

I prepped the entire recipe in advance, whipping my potatoes with a hand mixer. Then, I loaded the cheesy mixture into a baking pan and topped it with butter and Parmesan cheese.

The tomato-topped mac and cheese also felt unique.

My kids would riot if mac and cheese was not part of our Thanksgiving meal, so I chose a recipe that involved a fresh tomato topping to mix up our normal side.

In addition to topping the Gruyere-and-cheddar-based mac and cheese with fresh tomatoes, the recipe also called for a fresh breadcrumb topping.

I'd never made fresh breadcrumbs before, but I quickly learned it's easy. I just put slices of bread into a food processor and pulsed. 

With day one of prep work complete, I enlisted the help of a favorite Thanksgiving hack.

One of my favorite ways to keep things organized while cooking a big dinner such as Thanksgiving is to cover each pre-assembled dish with aluminum foil and write the cooking time and temperature on top with a permanent marker.

That way, when it's time to cook, I can easily see what needs to go into the oven at which time and I won't be searching for the recipes again to find the information.

On the big day, I started with green beans.

Garten's green-beans gremolata recipe is a big jump from my normal casserole, but I was excited to try a fresher, less creamy approach to the vegetable side. 

Like a lot of Garten's Thanksgiving recipes, the gremolata required lots of citrus zest, along with pine nuts, fresh herbs, and Parmesan.

After blanching the green beans and tossing them into an ice bath, I set them aside for when they'd be sautéed and tossed with the gremolata before serving.

 

The last item to prep was the bird itself.

In recent years, my husband and I have spatchcocked our turkey, a technique where you open the bird up, remove the backbone, and lay it flat for cooking.

We were a bit hesitant to try Garten's oven-roast turkey, as it was a way more traditional approach. After prepping the bird and stuffing it with garlic, herbs, onion, and lemon, we popped it into our oven and hoped for the best.

When everything was cooked and ready, I was really proud of the meal I'd created.

Although Garten's Thanksgiving dinner didn't look like my normal one, it was stunning when everything came out of the oven and was laid out on my kitchen island.

Everything looked delicious and elegant. I immediately thought it was one of the most beautiful meals I'd made in my life.

I spent about 10 hours in the kitchen in total prepping our Thanksgiving menu, and when I saw everything put together, I knew the time was well worth it.

The turkey turned out beautifully, but I'd probably stick with spatchcocking.

Garten's oven-roast turkey was beautiful and looked like something out of a Thanksgiving movie.

Still, I find the spatchcocking method allows for better planning when it comes to cooking time. With the bird laid flat, I think it's easier to predict how long it'll take to reach the correct internal temperature.

The cranberry sauce was a little fancy for my taste.

I'm a canned cranberry sauce girl through and through.

Garten's recipe was the most involved cranberry sauce I've ever made from scratch with its citrus zest and chopped apples. It took a lot of work and I don't feel it was worth it. 

It was a bit tart, and in the future, I'd stick with canned cranberry sauce.

Although I'll keep cooking my casserole for Thanksgiving, I'd make Garten's green beans again.

I'm a big fan of traditional green-bean casserole made with cream-of-mushroom soup and crispy onions.

Garten's green-beans gremolata was a different dish entirely — fresh and citrusy instead of creamy and full of umami. Still, it was delicious. 

I'd definitely make the side again, just not on Thanksgiving.

Garten's tomato-topped mac and cheese reminded us of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

I wasn't sure about topping mac and cheese with fresh tomatoes, but it worked.

The homemade breadcrumbs and elbow macaroni provided enough carbs that, when combined with cheese and tomato, it gave everyone at my dinner table grilled-cheese-and-tomato-soup vibes. 

 

The goat cheese in the mashed potatoes changed the flavors of a classic.

 I loved Garten's mashed potatoes, but adding an ingredient as creamy and tangy as goat cheese definitely changed the flavor profile.

These were not your classic mashed potatoes. Instead, they were a more creamy mash with pungent notes from the goat cheese.

Although they didn't scream "Thanksgiving" to me, I would make them again as a side dish for a different meal.

Garten's stuffing converted me into a stuffing girl.

I've never been into stuffing, as it's always seemed to lack flavor and take up valuable real estate in my stomach — which I'd rather fill with the aforementioned green-bean casserole.

Garten's stuffing recipe, however, made me a convert.

The savoriness of the sausage and herbs combined with the tartness of the apples was perfection and I loved the freshly-made toasted cubes of bread we'd prepped the day before.

The deep-dish apple pie was a hit with my guests.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed Garten's deep-dish apple pie, so much so that it was the only menu item we didn't have leftovers of.

Made with tart Granny Smith apples, the pie was the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, combined with a crispy crust. We served each slice with a scoop of vanilla-bean ice cream, the perfect accompaniment.

I'm still proud of the meal I created.

Going on a 10-hour adventure through some of Garten's most iconic recipes was a lot of fun. Looking back, I'm still proud of my hard work and the beautiful menu I served my guests as a result.

I spent $132.77 on ingredients, which felt like a solid deal considering I was able to feed a dozen people, with leftovers. My usual Thanksgiving meals typically cost me more to prepare.

It was a lot of work,  but there are some great recipes I plan to make again throughout the year or for our next holiday feast. 

This story was originally published on November 9, 2023, and most recently updated on November 25, 2024.

• US troops remain in Syria to counter ISIS and patrol oil fields in the region.
• Trump's return raises uncertainties about the status of these troops in this highly volatile region.
• Both Turkey and the Kurdish-led officials hope to sway the incoming Trump administration.

For almost a decade, US troops have been on the ground in Syria to assist Kurdish-led forces in the defeat of the infamous Islamic State. These forces tamp down on the ISIS remnants in the northern and eastern regions they presently control, where tens of thousands of captured ISIS fighters, their families and suspected affiliates remain in open-air camps and prisons.

But there's a new wrinkle of uncertainty in this highly volatile and contested region: US President-elect Donald Trump.

During his first term, Trump ordered the withdrawal of US troops partnered with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after ISIS' territorial defeat. Trump did this following a phone call with the president of Turkey, a staunch rival of the SDF, resulting in an immediate cross-border Turkish operation against those US-allied forces. Trump then backtracked and kept 900 US troops in Syria.

His imminent return to the Oval Office once again raises the specter that the US could pull out, leaving a power vacuum that Turkey, the Syrian regime, and Russia may move to fill at the SDF's expense. The resulting instability could be an opening for ISIS to regroup. Turkish officials want the US to leave, with the incumbent defense minister stating, "Trump will strongly focus on this." But the Kurds hope they can persuade him otherwise.

"We formed a successful alliance with the United States in combating terrorism," Sinam Mohamad, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council mission to the United States and a top diplomat of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, told Business Insider.

"We may have felt frustrated during Trump's first term due to his decision to withdraw American forces from Syria in 2019," Mohamad said. "But today, as a result of the political circumstances in the Middle East and the world, we see that President Trump will have a different outlook than before."

The AANES administrates large swathes of north and east Syria under the SDF's control.

The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is backed by Russia, does not recognize the AANES. Turkey vehemently opposes it, claiming the SDF has inextricable ties to its main adversary, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Turkish strikes against AANES infrastructure have cut off water and electricity to over a million people, leading to charges that Turkey is violating international law.

"The incoming Trump administration has an opportunity to reconfigure the entire US strategy in Syria, maintain its minimal but high-rewards troops presence in Syria, and proceed with a bold vision to mend fences between Syrian Kurds and Ankara," Mohammed A. Salih, a non-resident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute and an expert on Kurdish and regional affairs, told BI.

"The focus should be on a win-win outcome for all sides, America, Kurds, and Turkey."

Some called for a US withdrawal after the January drone attack against a US base in Jordan that supports operations in Syria, killing three Americans and injuring 47.

The specific timing of any American withdrawal will also be a critical factor.

"The American withdrawal from Syria may take place in 2026 or before that, but what will be different are the circumstances that will accompany this withdrawal," the SDC's Mohamad said. "It may take into account the dangers facing the areas of the autonomous administration and Washington's allies in the fight against terrorism, and at that time, it is necessary to ensure the withdrawal with political security for the region."

The official underlined the continued importance of the American presence for ensuring "the continuation of the fight against terrorism" and that the SDF can continue securing the "large number of prisoners of the terrorist organizations languishing" in AANES detention.

The Kurds have thousands of former ISIS fighters in its camps and detention centers. The sprawling Al-Hol camp has a population of over 40,000, including thousands of ISIS women and children, a number of whom remain radicalized. It has warned that another Turkish invasion would divert SDF fighters and resources away from securing these facilities.

"The Syrian Democratic Forces have the qualifications to secure these facilities," said Mohamad, the Kurdish diplomat. "But they will not be able to perform their duty to the fullest extent if the withdrawal occurs without political security for the region's situation."

Mohamad stressed that AANES and SDF would want American guarantees that Turkey will not invade after a US withdrawal.

"A sudden troop withdrawal could probably result in even more disastrous outcomes than in Afghanistan, given the presence of various regional and global powers in Syria and the resurgence of ISIS and other jihadi groups there," said Salih, the FPRI regional expert.

"In all likelihood, the situation will be highly chaotic in the event of a withdrawal with serious consequences that could witness the mass escaping of ISIS prisoners, likely more radicalized and resentful as a result of their prison experience," Salih added.

While weakened from years of war, ISIS has already demonstrated its capability to regroup and threaten their adversaries. A coordinated ISIS jailbreak attempt in 2022 led to almost two weeks of heavy fighting with the SDF.

A rapid US withdrawal tips the uneasy balance of powers. Salih anticipates this could lead to "a hectic race" between Iran, Russia, the Syrian regime, and Turkey for the resource-rich AANES regions.

"All the problems we suffer from in the regions of North and East Syria are related to the necessity of placing our region within the international solution platforms related to Syria, political support, and finding a solution to the Syrian crisis with the participation of the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Democratic Council in the political process," Mohamad said.

"This will have a major impact in changing the shape of the region, reducing hotbeds of tension, and ensuring global security and peace."

Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.