Thanksgiving 2017 Recipe Review

I’ve been posting these little recipe reviews for a few years so I by the time I get to host Thanksgiving — my mom actually texted me this year asking if one day, when we have more space, we can all cook together at my house with the parade on in the background and to that I say YES! — I’ll know which recipes are go-to and which are no-go.  It’s a lifelong process, this Thanksgiving recipe collection thing.

Also, if I was a smart person, I might keep this note to myself in Google Docs, but I’m a blogger so I’m publicly posting it instead.  Don’t try to rationalize it.  

img_2936

Creamed Greens with Farro

If you’re bringing this for people who might not be super receptive to vegetables, let alone words like “kale,” “chard” or “farro,” feel free to re-brand this as “three cheese casserole.”  I went home with all the leftovers so I’m not sure that re-branding worked but I guess that just means more for me and I thought this was really good!  Except for the stemming/chopping of the greens (which you can totally do the weekend before), it comes together very fast, perfect for morning-of cooking.

img_2937

Sweet Potato Casserole

I made this last year and thought it was a tad sweet (even though I had already scaled back the sugar!) so I went with a 1/4 cup and it was perfect!  I roasted the sweet potatoes instead of using canned, then assembled the entire thing and put it in the fridge over night so come Thanksgiving, we just had to bake it.  Also maybe hit it with the broiler for a few minutes at the end to get the topping nice and crispy.  If you need a go-to sweet potato casserole, this is it.

img_2934

The New England Express

I made this a couple years ago and it was well received so I decided to bring it back.  Plus, if there’s going to be eight adults, two kids and two dogs in a 1000 square foot space, there must be alcohol.  Joey juiced something like 10 limes, then complained about how bad his fingers hurt for the rest of the week…

img_2892

Miso Caramel-Apple Pie

My Tuesday night Thanksgiving dessert-making ritual is the best!  Well, except for my Thanksgiving Eve ramen ritual.  And my Thanksgiving morning coffee and parade ritual.  And my actual Thanksgiving Day rituals.  But you now what I mean.  This pie dough bakes from frozen so I made it last weekend then finished it all up on Tuesday and it may or may not have taken me three tries to make the caramel sauce but all’s well that ends well.  I actually thought this pie tasted incredible but it didn’t really stand a chance against my mom’s chocolate cream pie.

What was your favorite Thanksgiving dish this year?

Halloween Weekend Things

Friday

img_2676img_2696img_2697

Sneaking out of the office early on Friday when you were out of the office Monday through Wednesday is a no go 😦 but it’s okay because once we got home, we made Roasted Veggie Mac and Cheese and all work stress instantly evaporated.  Poof!  Eating a bowl of comfort food while watching Season 2 of Stranger Things is a happy moment, indeed.  And don’t even pretend you weren’t doing the same!

We also carved two of our pumpkins (they’re already all wilty…) and sorry for that blurry photo but it was cold and I was standing outside in my pajamas, so this is the best I could do.

Saturday

img_2691img_2679img_2688img_2692

My plate looks like a melty sundae because cold coconut whipped cream + hot off the griddle pancakes = whipped cream waterfall.  Will I ever learn?  But tasted amazing all the same!  Afterwards, we took ourselves to the Union Station Farmers’ Market for the last time this year and I was met with a mixture of sadness that market season was ending and pure delight over finding those baby butternuts.

Who knows what I did all afternoon but later on, we headed to Bobby’s 30th Birthday/Halloween party as Max and Roxanne from A Goofy Movie.  All I can say is you don’t realize how much you touch your nose until you can’t touch your nose!  Also, I hadn’t dressed up for Halloween in a few years and it felt simultaneously fun and nerve-wracking.

Sunday

img_2693img_2694img_2700

Started Sunday with a pretty latte and even prettier fall leaves ♥  Followed by trips to two different Whole Foods (Whole Foodses?) for cupcake ingredients, but more on that in a moment.  When I got back home, Joey had already headed out to watch football so I took that time to do… uh nothing?  I read, lunched in the backyard and thought about how it was 70° but supposed to snow the next day.

As for those cupcakes, they’re naturally-dyed.  How cool is that?!  The cream cheese frosting is made orange by goji berries and the cupcakes themselves get their color from black sesame seeds.  I tried to make minis but they stuck in the pan SO BAD that I had to abort mission immediately and just make regular sized ones.  Overall, they don’t taste amazing but it seemed like a fun Halloween treat for the office.

What did you do this weekend?  Did you (or are you going to) dress up for Halloween?