Tag: Thanksgiving

Try This—Roasted Pumpkin Salad With Spinach and Feta

I have an insatiable sweet tooth, and while I should technically feel bad about the entire loaf of Blueberry Streusel Bread I ate over the weekend, I’m taking comfort in the fact that my other latest obsession is this healthy salad recipe. I absolutely love salads that incorporate something cooked, especially since the addition of something warm makes it easier to enjoy a fresh salad in cold weather. This Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Spinach and Feta from Recipe Tin Eats ticks all the boxes. It’s seasonal, it’s sweet, it’s savory, it’s comfort food, and  best of all it’s healthy.

I’ve made this recipe with winter squash, but roasted pumpkin is always the clear winner. When roasted just right, the pumpkin is sweet and juicy without being too mushy (as squash can sometimes be). The feta adds a zing of salty and creamy, while the pine nuts add a nutty crunch. This is the perfect salad recipe for those colder Autumn and Winter days, and makes a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu. Delicious! You must try this!!!

Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Spinach and Feta

ingredients

for the roasted pumpkin

  • 1½ lbs pumpkin, peeled and cubed
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper

for the dressing

  • 2½ tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • salt and pepper

for the salad

  • 5 oz (about 4 handfuls) baby spinach
  • 2 oz feta, crumbled
  • ¼ c pine nuts (optional)

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 430°F.
  • Toss pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper.
  • Spread on baking tray, bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, flip, then bake for a further 7 – 10 minutes until golden but not mushy.
  • Remove from oven and immediately loosen pumpkin with a spatula (pumpkin tends to stick to the backing sheet as it cools).
  • In a small mason jar, combine salad dressing ingredients and shake well.
  • If using pine nuts, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until light golden and they smell nutty.
  • Remove them from the skillet as soon as they’re ready and set aside. 
  • Place spinach in a bowl, drizzle with a bit of the dressing then toss. 
  • Add pumpkin, just a bit of feta and pine nuts, then gently toss just to disperse the feta.
  • Transfer to serving plate.
  • Sprinkle over remaining feta and pine nuts.
  • Just before serving, drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve and enjoy!

5 Thanksgiving Tablescapes That You’ll Adore

I’m awesome at cooking a meal for one or two people. Four people tops, but when you start getting into catering numbers like the 17 people that will be at my house for Thanksgiving, I pass the torch to my sister. The trade off is that I’m always in charge of decorating the dining room. Seems like a fair trade until you factor in how neurotic I am when it comes to staging the perfect table. There are so many things to consider. Color scheme, seating, floral arrangements. The list goes on.

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. What I usually do to get inspired is I scour the internet for snapshots of beautiful tablescapes, and then I just recreate them in my own dining room, usually at a fraction of the cost thanks in large part to stores like Michael’s, Target, Thrift Stores, and even the Dollar Tree! I rounded up some of my favorite tablescapes so you can get inspired too! It’s not too late to create a beautiful and elegant Thanksgiving.

via Everyday Occasions
via Casa de Perrin
via Annabode + Co
via Style Me Pretty Living
via Rooms For Rent

For more dining room inspiration, check out my Pinterest board Because Dining Rooms & Because Homewares

5 Last Minute Vegetarian Recipes for Your Thanksgiving Menu

I love you all. I really do, but I have suffered through many a Thanksgiving hosted by well-meaning, non-vegetarian friends where the feast pickings were slim. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that my crusade against leaving your vegetarian guests hungry at Thanksgiving rages on. Last year I gave you some tips on how to not starve your vegetarian guests on Thanksgiving. Hopefully you heeded my advice, and had an amazing vegetarian friendly holiday. This year, I want to share some of my favorite last minute Thanksgiving recipes that are not only easy to prepare, but also super delicious!

Vegetarian Vegetable Stew

via The Curvy Carrot

Simple Pumpkin Soup

via Minimalist Baker

Mushroom Pot Pie

via Savory Simple

Sweet Potato Gnocchi With Balsamic Sage Brown Butter

via Salt and Wind

Mushroom & Stout Pot Pies with Sweet Potato crust

via First Mess
Salted Honey Apple Pie

Try This—Salted Honey Apple Pie

This may read like a Trader Joe’s commercial, but I assure you, they have no idea who I am except for the massive amounts of money I give them for cookie butter and apple blossoms. Still, I have to give them a shout out for all the hidden gems they have hiding in their freezer section.

Anyway, I was looking for a frozen pie crust. Anyone that’s ever made a pie from scratch knows how temperamental and unforgiving homemade pie crust can be. When it’s done right though you have flaky, buttery heaven surrounding the filling that you’ve made. Sounds yum, but the time it takes can sometimes be a pain. I really wanted to try this recipe before the holidays, so I wanted to stress less about the crust and focus my energy on the filling.

Thank goodness for Trader Joe’s Pie Crust! As far as frozen pie crusts go, this is by far the best. For sure the closest you’re gonna get to that homemade flavor and consistency. Anyway, The most important part of a pie is the filling, and this recipe is seriously dope.

A little backstory… If you haven’t already, you should pick up the Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. This recipe book is everything! When I was a kid, there were whole sections of Brooklyn that were dilapidated wastelands, Gowanus (the little section located between Carroll Gardens and Park Slope) was one of them. Now there are all kinds of trendy little shops and cafes all around that neighborhood. Four & Twenty Blackbirds is one such little cafe that specializes in homemade pies that are pretty darn delicious. Fortunately, if you don’t live close by, you can now try your hand at making some of these recipes at home thanks to their cookbook.

This particular recipe is one of my favorites! So without further ado! You must try this!!!

Salted Honey Apple Pie

Salted Honey Apple Pie

Ingredients (for the filling)

  • 1/2c (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2c sugar
  • 1 tbsp white cornmeal
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1tsp vanilla paste (find it here)
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons flaked sea salt (for finishing)
  • 1 to 2 fresh apples, peeled and thinly sliced

Salted Honey Apple Pie

Salted Honey Apple Pie

Directions

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, cornmeal, salt, and vanilla paste
  • Whisk in the honey
  • Add the eggs (one at a time), whisking to combine.
  • Add in heavy cream and vinegar, continue to whisk.
  • Remove your pie crust from the freezer and arrange thinly sliced apples around the bottom
  • Pour the filling into your pie crust
  • Bake pie on the middle rack for about 45 to 55 minutes until pie is deep golden brown and puffed around the edges and set in the center.
  • Rotate the pie (so that the part of the pie that’s been facing the front of your oven is now facing the back) about 30 minutes into baking
  • This pie cooks like custard and is done when the filling is no longer liquid, but set and golden brown
  • Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 3 hours
  • Sprinkle with sea salt and serve warm, or at room temperature

***for a little extra yum, try using sage infused honey

Images: TwiggStudio

How to Not Starve Your Vegetarian Friends on Thanksgiving

How to Not Starve Your Vegetarian Friends on Thanksgiving

So I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 25 years. I’m certainly not the militant kind of vegetarian that has bumper stickers on my Subaru hatchback condemning meat eaters and making family and friends uncomfortable with anti-meat rhetoric. Nope, I usually don’t even tell people I’m a vegetarian even when they invite me over for a meal. I’ve gotten really good at making do with the side salads people serve, or the bread on the table. Thanksgiving is another story. With all the comfort food being passed around the table, it’s hard to enjoy the revelry when you’re forced to sup like Peter Rabbit.

Not all vegetarians are created equally. While some people go nuts with eggplant, some absolutely loathe the taste. Same goes for mock meat. So what can you fine, friendly meat-eaters do to ensure your vegetarian friends have the best Thanksgiving ever? Here are a couple of tried and true tips and recipes to ensure your vegetarian friends and family get the most out of Thanksgiving dinner!

Potluck

pot-luck

If your friend offers to bring a vegetarian main course, you should certainly take them up on that. That way, if the rest of your efforts fall flat, they’ll at least have something on the table to enjoy.

Say no to Zucchini

zucchini

I always scour the internet for vegetarian recipes and am appalled by the sheer numbers of zucchini recipes. Not a fan, and if I’m not a fan, there are probably quite a few others that share my disdain. Before you settle on that seemingly popular zucchini dish, just say no! Of all the vegetables in the world, on Thanksgiving especially, avoid any main courses that center on one vegetable, particularly zucchini and eggplant.

Pot Pie and Casserole

pumpkin-pot-pie

I know from experience that when I’m heading to a meat-eaters house for food, there’s a good chance I’ll see green bean casserole. Half of the time, it’ll be sprinkled with bacon bits. Sigh. Not only is this breaking the number 2 rule of centering on one vegetable, the added bacon or chicken stock make it totally inedible. Instead of ruining an otherwise acceptable meal for a vegetarian, skip the meat stock and garnish. Try this pasta bake recipe instead, or even go for a potpie recipe with fall flavors.

Don’t Forget the Stuffing and Gravy

vegetarian-gravy

There are tons of vegetarian friendly recipes out there for Thanksgiving staples. From stuffing to gravy, this is the encyclopedia of delicious vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes! They even manage to sneak in some zucchini in a few of these! For a pared down version of a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast, check out this awesome menu from OhMyVeggies.com!

a_vegetarian_thanksgiving_menu