Thanksgiving in two days: more ideas for your table.

I was looking through previous post about Thanksgiving and found the one about my favorite yams.
I love this yam dish, it is so good and easy. The post is rather clever too if you have time to read it.

 I've already covered stuffing and cranberry sauces.  What about other side dishes ??
We live in the biggest Brussel sprout growing area in the country here on the central California coast, why not try my pan fried Brussel sprouts  or my roasted broccoli and Brussel sprouts?

Here is another website with 101 Thanksgiving side dishes in case you need or want more inspiration.

Finally the second most important part of any Thanksgiving day menu ( after the stuffing)...Dessert !!

This will be the first time that I can remember that we will not be having pie for dessert.
My brother is making a pumpkin cheesecake, he makes great cheesecakes.
While I don't have his recipe, here is a pumpkin cheesecake recipe I love.
He is also making fudge !!

Back to pies, in my family multiple pies were a requirement.
Pecan pie , pumpkin pie, a berry pie, maybe apple, pear or occasionally a small mincemeat for my dad.
Pies are another thing you can make a few days ahead.
For pumpkin pie, the spice flavor deepens, berry and other fruit pies have time to set.
If pies are too much for you, bake some apples or make a fruit crisp. 

I have a friend who can't abide pie or any cooked fruit. For her I would go with a pumpkin cake,  gingerbread or my ginger cake with warm caramel sauce. All of these cakes can be made ahead of time or give the recipe to someone else and have them bring dessert !!

I have so much to be thankful for in so many part of my life.
I hope you enjoy the time you spend on Thanksgiving with friends and family.

And remember in the words of the immortal Miss Piggy: Never eat more than you can lift !

Let that bread get stale !! Another Thanksgiving Day tip.

Whole wheat sourdough.

Cornbread

Here is something very easy you can do ahead of time for your Thanksgiving meal.
Let that bread get stale !!

I realize that I am making the assumption that you will be making your own stuffing and not using the stuff out of the bag or box. You do know that the packaged stuff is just stale bread cubes with salt and a few seasonings ??
Just like cranberry sauce it is so easy and so much better to make yourself.
If you are pressed for time and can't do all the vegetable prep required by the recipe below, keep it simple and just use bread and seasonings.

In years past we were required by tradition to have TWO kinds of stuffing, a cornbread stuffing of my sister's recipe and a traditional bread stuffing.
I will admit that stuffing is probably my favorite part of the meal, so I never minded.

Last year when we were doing the whole meal for only four of us, we decided to make up a hybrid.
This stuffing has both cornbread and whole wheat sourdough.
It is amazing !! And definitely satisfied all my stuffing needs.

This weekend I will be making the cornbread and cubing the sourdough and allowing both to sit out and get stale.

You could even saute all the veggies that go in this recipe and set them aside until T-day or the day before.

Here is a list of what goes in that stuffing.

1 8X8 pan of cornbread, cubed and staled
1/2 loaf of sourdough whole wheat bread, cubed and staled
3 cups broth, vegetable or fowl
6 tablespoons melted butter
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fennel bulb ( optional)
3/4 cup chopped tart apple, Granny Smith or Pippin
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
fresh sage and thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Here's the recipe.

Thanksgiving: the countdown. Start with your cranberry sauce.

For us foodies, Thanksgiving is the best holiday of all. A holiday that's sole and soul purpose is sharing a magnificent meal with people you love or are related to, both if you are lucky.

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week !! How did that happens ?? 

Don't panic yet, unless you haven't made your plane reservations or you are still hoping to paint your house before the family arrives, then you have permission to panic.

If you are hosting the Big Dinner there are plenty of things you can do ahead of time to get ready.
It's great to be able to check things off your list.
First you need to make a list...and delegate as much of the work as you can.

Over the next week, I'll post more of my Thanksgiving recipes and tips.

Today I made my cranberry sauce, it took me all of 20 minutes total and 15 of those minutes were cooking time. IT IS SO EASY !!

Here is a previous cranberry post with some other fun variations.

This year I made it with some of the mandarins from my sister's tree. They are seedless Satsuma mandarins, so sweet and flavorful, you can use tangerines instead or one orange in place of the three mandarins.
Bob licked the pan when I was done and pronounced it excellent. I hope it last until next week ;-)

Cranberry Sauce with Mandarins

Ingredients

8 ounces cranberries*
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
3 peeled and chopped mandarins
1 tablespoon chopped mandarin peel

* If your bag of cranberries is 12 ounces, use 3/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar.

1) Peel and chop three mandarins or tangerines, remove any seeds.

 2) Chop some mandarin peel to make one tablespoon.

3) Place a saucepan 1/2 cup water, 2/3 cup sugar, 8 ounces of fresh cranberries and the citrus and peel.

4) Stir to dissolve the sugar, bring to a boil.
5) Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the cranberries have softened.
6) That's it, store until the big day.

Now wasn't that easy ;-)

This weekend: In the Garden Art Show and Sale !

This is a great event and most likely the only sale I will be doing this year.*
 We have a nice variety of artisans with four new folks joining us.

Here are a few of the things I will be selling:

Lavender dryer sachets.

 Simple soaps.

 

Gourmet food treats. Come by to sample the jams and almond toffee !

  

Photo cards for all occasions. Mention this blog and get a free card !!

Body butter and other fun bath and body products.

 We serve hot tea and refreshments !
It's a relaxed way to start your holiday shopping.
Hope to see you there.

* If you can't make this show you can still put in an order by using my price page or set up your own personal shopping appointment. I am happy to deliver locally.

Your Place, a restaurant review.

Your Place seems an odd name for a restaurant...the subtitle, Farm to Table helped to me to understand what the owners were trying to say. Their webpage states that they are inspired " by the rich availability of local organic produce, sustainable seafood and naturally raised beef..." Sounds good.

I have been wanting to try this place since it opened and one of my clients recommended it.
Last Saturday was wet and cold, so our usual yard sale date was a bust. The perfect chance to try out Your Place, it had been almost 30 years since Bob and I had been out to breakfast in Santa Cruz.

As we sat down at our table, we were greeted by the cute little set of salt and pepper shakers in the photo above. Each table had it's own charming set.

The wait staff was attentive when we first sat down, bringing us coffee, water and menus. I ordered tea and was not pleased with their selection, however their food menu had plenty of choices !
 Bob decided on the breakfast burrito with country gravy, which sounded horrific to me... it looks rather horrific too. He enjoyed the gravy and the sausage inside, his only complaint was the excess of large potato chunks.

I usually use French toast as my breakfast barometer, I wasn't in the mood for something sweet. I braved the hazardous world of omelets and scrambles. My scramble had bacon, baby spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers and Parmesan cheese. It was perfect and that saying a lot coming from a very fussy egg eater. I chose the hashbrowns instead of the country potatoes, I didn't eat them. They were not brown nor crunchy, it been a long time since I had tried hashbrowns. Bob claimed they were fine...and while I ordered wheat toast they brought me a biscuit. They did bring me toast once I pointed out the mistake.

They had their own toppings to go with the toast. The strawberry preserves were watery and not very flavorful, I am guessing they were trying to do a reduced sugar jam. The marmalade was much better with big chunks of peel and just the right tartness.
 














The decor was clean and kitschy fun with white tableclothes, real napkins and those cute salt shakers.

Your Place is located in a strip mall with a very unassuming front.

Bob liked this tabletop sign about the carbon offset of their cocktails.

Overall we enjoyed having breakfast out and would come back again to try more of their menu.