Happy Sunday friends! I’m sure everyone has been in Thanksgiving prep mode like myself. To help make your Thanksgiving a little less stressful if you are hosting, I have some tips to share. These tips help me out every year, so I hope they help you too! I will be sharing my favorite turkey day appetizers, sides and desserts! Enjoy the weekend!
Helpful Thanksgiving Tips for Hosting
- The weekend before Thanksgiving plan out your menu
- Write out your grocery list and get prepared
- Two- three days before thanksgiving set table
- Write out a cooking schedule with the time you will put the turkey in the oven, or any other cooking method you prefer
- Writer out what you will be cooking/prepping the day before as well as the day of
Spiced Apple Cider Margarita
Serves: 1
Ingredients
1/2 gala or honey crisp apple, cubed
1 ounce spiced apple cider
2 ounces spiced apple cider
2 ounces tequila
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Honey or caramel sauce
Cinnamon stick (optional)
1 ounce triple sec
Directions
On a small shallow plate add salt and cinnamon. Mix both together. Around the rim of the margarita glass drizzle either honey or caramel sauce. This gets messy, so do it over a plate. Set glass aside. In a shaker or separate glass add apples, spiced apple cider, lime juice, tequila, and triple sec. Shake or stir very well. Pour into glass and garnish with cinnamon stick.
Fall Harvest Pear Salad with Candied Cinnamon Pecans
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Small container butter lettuce
1/2 head radicchio, chopped
1/2 shallot, sliced
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1 pear, chopped into cubes
Fresh parsley
1/3 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Candied Pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 teaspoon water
Directions
In a sauté pan add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and water. Cook for about two minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add in pecans and stir until they are coated in sugar mixture. Take off heat and spread them on a baking sheet with parchmont paper. Set aside. In a small bowl add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk salad dressing and set aside. In a large salad bowl, add lettuce, radicchio, pecans, shallots, pears, gorgonzola cheese and parsley. Pour dressing over salad and toss.
Roasted Butternut Squash Fall Salad
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 container arugula
1/2 shallot, sliced
1 container cubed butternut squash
1 cup red delicious or gala apple cubed (feel free to use another type of apple)
1/4 cup candied pecans (regular pecans work well too)
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
Oil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Salt
Pepper
Chopped parsley garnish (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 ° F. In a mixing bowl, add butternut squash, oil and cinnamon powder. Stir well until coated in mixture. To a baking sheet, add butternut squash and spread evenly in sheet. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until butternut squash is soft. Remove from oven and set aside. In a small bowl or mason jar, add all the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Whisk or shake very well. Set vinaigrette aside until later. In a large salad bowl, add arugula, pecans, shallots, butternut squash, apples, and crumbled blue cheese. Lastly, pour vinaigrette over salad and toss.
Roasted Butternut Squash, Brussel Sprouts & Bacon with a Maple Bourbon Glaze
Serves: 4
1 package butternut squash cubed
1 package brussel sprouts, halved
6 strips cooked bacon, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Maple Bourbon Glaze
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 ° F. In a large mixing bowl, add brussel sprouts, butternut squash and bacon. To the veggies and bacon, add maple bourbon glaze. Stir vegetables until they are completely coated in mixture. On a sheet pan, spread vegetables out evenly. Place sheet pan in oven for about 20-25 mins or until butternut squash is soft and brussel sprouts are tender and crispy. Take sheet pan out of the oven. In a large serving bowl, add veggies as well as dried cranberries and chopped walnuts. Stir mixture and serve.
Dutch Apple Pie
Serves: 10
Directions
For the Dutch Apple Pie:
1/4 lbs granny smith apples, 6 medium apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans ( I omitted these, but if you like pecans feel free to use them)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375˚F with a rack on the bottom and a rack in the center of the oven. Peel, core and thinly slice apples to about 1/4” thickness. You should have 7 cups of sliced apples. Place them in a mixing bowl and stir in 1 tsp cinnamon. Place them in a mixing bowl and stir in 1 tsp cinnamon. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 3 Tbsp flour then simmer for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Whisk in 1/4 cup water, 1 cup sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue simmering for 3 minutes, whisking frequently then remove from heat. Pour the sauce over the apples and stir to coat the apple slices. Pour apples over bottom crust. To Make the Crumb Topping, stir together dry ingredients: flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter and work it into the mixture with our hands until pea-size crumbs form throughout the mixture. Stir in pecans. Spread the crumb topping evenly over your apples. Bake uncovered at 375˚F for 50-60 minutes (we found 55 minutes to be perfect), or until the center of the pie registers 175˚F. Place a sheet of foil on the bottom rack to catch any drips from the pie. If topping is browning too much, cover with a sheet of foil. Remove from oven and cool 1 hour to allow the filling to set so it’s easier to slice.
Happy Thanksgiving!
In the Kitchen with Mare 