Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family.

Today, I'm super thankful for the the man I call my husband, who stands by my side through the good, the great, the crappy, the bad & the sad. He always makes me laugh & my heart smile. Thank you Chris!

We're blessed to have super supportive family & friends who walk through life with us. We love you all!

I'm also thankful for all of your who check in & read this blog & keep me going & cooking. Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have the best day!

Thanksgiving Desserts

clockwise from top left: Soft Serve Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream; Whipped Coconut Milk & Pineapple Parfait;
 Moto's Warm Date Cake with Toffee Sauce; Fudgey Made-from-Scratch Brownies

Here are some of my favorite desserts as of late. Some are healthy & some are just deliciously decadent. I think any of these would work for Thanksgiving. What will you be making for dessert tomorrow?

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Be safe!

Thanksgiving Appetizers

clockwise from top left:  Balsamic Glazed Roasted Grapes with Lemony Ricotta Toasts;
Zucchini Butter; Simple Toasts with Marscapone, Chives & Sea Salt; Garlicky Pretzel Pizza Rolls

It's getting close! It's almost Thanksgiving. If you're not hosting you're probably bringing an appetizer. Here are some of my favorites from this year. What are you making?

Crispy Cauliflower Nuggets

In the words of my husband, “these don’t even taste like cauliflower.”

I gave these to Chris as an appetizer one night. They were a great way to tide him over while I finished cooking dinner, so I know they’d be perfect for the holidays too without getting your overstuffed before the stuffing. These are a great way to make cauliflower fun to eat & don't really taste like "veggies" they just taste good.

P dot S cauliflower has a ton of vitamin c in it - who knew? So make these & feel good about ’em!

Reinvent Your Turkey Day Leftovers

It's the day after thanksgiving & I'm so thankful for a day chockfull of family, food & laughs. Oh, & leftovers.  What are you making with yours? These are some of the ways I've reworked leftovers in the past.

• For everything you brought home from grandma's house, try this sandwich
• For the mashed potatoes you can't get enough of, try these potato croquettes.

Thanksgiving Sides

Clockwise from top left corner: Parsnip Puree | Simple Herb-Lime Farro | Celery Root Puree | Root Vegetable Stuffing

'Twas the Monday before Thanksgiving & you haven't gone grocery shopping yet. You're not hosting but you said you'd bring a side dish to dinner. What will it be?

Truth be told, I've yet to host Thanksgiving or cook a whole turkey (or chicken) myself.  Each year I usually bring a dessert or side or both. This year I will be making mashed potatoes for an army - the request was specific so potatoes it is. If someone else is whipping up your mashed potatoes this year & you're looking for a tasty side dish to make these are some that I've made before that are super tasty & a little bit different.  Let me know if the comments below if you try them or if you have another side you recommend.

Dress to Impress (& Eat) on Turkey Day

1 | 2 | 3

We all want to dress to impress especially around the holidays. But I think we can all agree that we need to dress to eat, too! Some bad news, friends, if your sweats have pockets in them - that does not make them dressy - leave them at home.  Good news, there are dresses that will give your sweats a run for their money in comfort, earn you a compliment (or ten) & leave room for seconds.

Here are some of my tips for holiday dressing:

1. Pretty patterns are your friend:  If you are prone to wearing your dinner no matter how hard you try to get it in your mouth opt for patterns - they hide stains better.
2. Classic shifts & color blocking are chic & comfy: If your eyes are bigger than your stomach, opt for soft fabrics with either elastic waist bands or go uber chic with a shift (read: loose around the waist!) If you can find something with slimming color blocking like dress #2 - you'll have your fellow party-goers confused when you reach for seconds while maintaining your slim silhouette.
3. Consider the temperature where you're going: Is it always hot at Grandma's even if it's 30 degrees out? Then that sleeveless #3 is suddenly not a crazy idea but a good one.  If it's traditionally as chilly inside as it is outside opt for a sweater dress like #2 or another long-sleeved option like #1.

What are you wearing for the holidays?

Thanksgiving Appetizers

Clockwise from top left: A Simple Cheese Plate; Apple Parmesan Basil Bites; Whipped Feta Crostini; Simple Mushroom Crostini

My sister & I were talking about how we usually don't eat much the day of Thanksgiving - until we get to "the Thanksgiving" portion of the day.  If you're the same way you probably think the appetizers  (or antipasto at my Grandma's house) portion of the night is key since it might be one of the first things you're eating that day (besides all the tasting while cooking, of course).  These were some of my favorite simple, light appetizers from previous posts that I think would be great for Thanksgiving this year.

What are you making for appetizers?

Thanksgiving Sandwich

There's a deli in NYC that serves a "thanksgiving on a roll" sandwich. I love it. So I recreated my own that I think was a bit healthier yet totally indulgent at the same time. 

What did you do with your Thanksgiving left overs?

Click through for the road map to make your own rendition of a thanksgiving sandwich.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family!

After a great night with one of my favorite couples, Suz & Sam, I was up early to bid them adieu & to make some tried & true recipes: root vegetable stuffing & chocolate chip cookies.

What do you have cooking in your kitchen?

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Thanksgiving is Thursday! What are you making?

I feel like most people get so wrapped up in the planning surrounding the traditional meal that most forget about breakfast.  So I'll remind you: you should probably plan to eat something for breakfast that will hold you over until the feasting starts mid afternoon.  Hungry, or in my case hangry (so hungry I get angry) isn't a good look for anyone.  My suggestion, apple cinnamon pancakes.

Click through for this simple recipe you can make Thanksgiving morning.

PS: Happy Birthday Dad!

Broccoli & White Cheddar Soup

When winter is in the air I only want to eat warm cozy bowls of soup.  I found a recipe for broccoli cheese soup on the super tasty recipe-filled blog,  not without salt.  I adapted this recipe to make it my own yummy (less heavy) version for dinner. I think this would be a great warm-up dish for Turkey Day.

Click through to see how I kept this soup rich & creamy without using cream!

Root Vegetable Stuffing with Fall Fruit

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week already, that means time to start planning sides & desserts.  I watched Giada make a version of this stuffing that is both sweet & savory & thought I'd give it a test run before the big turkey day.  I'd say it was a hit, according Chris & me of course.

I love stuffing but I really do not like any type of meat in it - sausage, gizzard, no thanks.  I loved this recipe because it has hearty root veggies plus the sweetness of fall fruit. It's kind of like a dinner cobbler - too savory to be dessert but just sweet enough to make you want seconds.

This particular recipe calls for goat cheese for a tangy extra creamy zing but if you don't like goat cheese (Maggie I know what you're thinking) you can just leave it off, but if you love goat cheese like Chris & me, you're in for a real treat.

Click through for the full recipe (that serves 8-10 people) & photos.