This thanksgiving was super exciting.
like a brand-new puppy on christmas morning kind of exciting. i know i know, you’re rolling your eyes, but thanksgiving to me means spending time fine-tuning new recipes, which i get to share with friends and family. and what made it even more exciting were all the firsts this year. first time cooking in the new kitchen, first thanksgiving for my sister’s kids, first time we had friends feast around our dinner table together.
because i’m still thinking about all the deliciousness (while simultaneous scouring facebook marketplace for a used kitchenaid), i wanted to share with you our recipes. i’ll preface by saying i eat only veggies and i have family members that are gluten-free, so i’ll also throw out some cooking variations.
Appetizers:
winter squash galette. this was well worth every second of making it. the homemade bread put it over the top. i followed this recipe to the t, and made the dough the night before (keeping it in the fridge until ready to use). i used the delicata squash from our garden, and you’ll catch a theme with all the rest of the dishes too…
spinach dip. i definitely took liberties with the recipe, adjust based on what’s in your pantry.
First Course:
roasted pumpkin bisque with pumpkin seed dukkah with rolls. if you’ve never cooked with sugar pie pumpkins, this is a great one to start with. this was a crowd fave on thanksgiving. i baked the pumpkin the night before in the oven, so just had to throw it into the crockpot the day of (i doubled the amount of leeks it called for). don’t know what dukkah is? neither did i until i made this, and it was such a unique addition.
stuffed mushrooms, prepped the night before and popped in the oven just 40 minutes before serving.
lemony green salad with radicchio & pepitas, cause we needed something light right? we used some left-over mustard greens from the summer, and i added an asian pear and watermelon radish for color, crunch and sweetness.
Main:
kale goat cheese & bow tie pasta. bryan and i eat this, not going to lie, at least once a month. we had yet to share it with others, and thought this occasion would be perfect. we used gf noodles, and i’d recommend adding olive oil to the dish to keep the noodles tasty.
roasted asparagus with lemony walnut crumble. opps, i forgot to add the lemon and seasoning. last dish to go on the table kind of problems. also, we added beans to this mixture.
creamy roasted fingerling potatoes. solid, go to seasonal side.
miso pot pie. this was a fun one. and we had tons of leftovers. cooked with winter specific veggies like turnips, turnip greens and i added parsnip as well, the wine reduction is what helps turn the sweetness on this dish up a notch. for friendsgiving we added some chicken for our meat-eating friends.
Dessert:
homemade apple pie. a friend’s grandmother’s recipe. we added a woven pie top before the streusel. this put to use all the apples i froze this summer (i need more apple recipes, we still have more left!)
strawberry rhubarb plum pie. not going to lie, this wasn’t my favorite recipe as it calls for too much cheese. i’d recommend halfing it and cooking the fruit on the stove prior to adding to the dish. we did a second version of this in cupcake tins (minipies!) and it was legit. another fun one to use the rhubarb and plums i froze from the summer.
here was the gluten free crust recipe i used. make sure to use a gluten-free flour mix, not just pure gluten-free flour. you’ll need those binders. i used bob’s red mill paleo baking flour and it worked really well.
here is the regular, non-gluten free crust i used. i watch a lot of cooking and baking shows. guilty pleasure. one of the shows recommended using shortening with butter, which this recipe calls for. they weren’t lying, it was so flaky. i used crisco butter-flavored shortening and bob’s red mill organic flour.
Where to shop:
i bought as many veggies as i could from the milwaukee winter farmers market. it was packed, but worth it considering all the mushrooms, onions and squashes i needed and the fact these farmers worked their butts of bring this food to our thanksgiving table.
woodman’s for some great produce options (turnip greens anyone?) and affordable spices.
costco for pre-made foods, like crackers and cheese, cause they know how to do apps!
Timing:
i prepped as much as i could the night before, mainly all the dough. which gave me all day on thanksgiving to actually cook everything. timing worked out well, so if you have 2 days to cook, you should be able to knock out all the above recipes including shopping for ingredients and the random grocery store run for that stick of cream cheese you forgot!
hope you get some inspiration for all those yummy veggies!