Happy American Thanksgiving!

This has really been a great year, with so much to be thankful for. It may not be Thanksgiving up here in Canada, but I have been taking time today to reflect on all that I am thankful for. And of course I have been daydreaming about delicious turkey dinners :)

All this talk of turkey this week got me thinking about one of my all-time favorite clips from the beloved British show Mr. Bean. Up here in Canada, his Christmas special is always on television every year during the Holidays and this is one of the best clips from it:

And of course this scene went on to inspire another great comedy show's Thanksgiving episode. Remember the time on Friends that Joey got the turkey stuck on his head?

Hopefully no one else had any accidents like that (besides, who would put their head in a raw turkey to begin with? Ewww!)

Have a happy (and safe) Thanksgiving to everyone in the US!

Savoury Stuffed Acorn Squash

We Canadians may have had our Thanksgiving back in October, but that doesn't mean that we aren't up to having it again alongside our American neighbours in November! For years my father worked in the US during the week, which meant that he got the American Thanksgiving off and we would celebrate it again. Who can say no to another big turkey meal? Not me :)

Now that I'm in my little apartment in the city, I don't exactly have the space to have a big Thanksgiving dinner, but the boyfriend and I decided to have a mini one the other night and make cornish hens. It seemed like the perfect time to test out this Savoury Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe that I found in the Fall addition of my beloved Food & Drink magazine. It remined me alot of stuffing, but much creamier and smooth with the squash added in.

And of course the cheese. How can I forget the awesome cheese. This would make for a great hearty vegetarian option at Thanksgiving. The recipe was originally for 12, but I cut it down to 2 servings. The 12 serving version is avaliable for printing at the bottom of the recipe as well.

What you'll need:
1 Acorn Squash
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Unsalted Butter
1 Shallot, finely chopped
1/2 a McIntosh Apple, chopped
2/3 of a stalk of Celery, chopped
1/2 tsp Dried Sage, crumbled
8 tsp Breadcrumbs
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with foil

I used an acorn squash that I got at the very last Farmer's Market of the season. I'm going to miss picking up fresh produce every week.

Cut squash in half lengthwise (stem to tip) and scoop out seeds.

Drizzle the inside of each half with a tsp of olive oil.

Put squash halves cut side down on the cookie sheet. Roast 40-50 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile, chop up apples, celery and shallots.

In a small frying plan, melt butter over medium heat.

Saute shallots, apple, celery and sage until apple and celery are soft. Remove from heat.

Remove cooked squash from oven, scoop out some of the cooked innards while leaving the shells intact.

Add sauteed vegetables and breadcrumbs into the squash, add salt and pepper to adjust seasonings.

Restuff squash halves and top with shredded cheese. Put back in oven and broil until cheese browns.

Cheesy melty goodness!

Serve it immediately as a side dish with your turkey. We had it with roasted cornish hens and Roasted Brocolli. You can also serve this as a vegetarian option or as a hearty appetizer. We were all set up on the coffee table to have a move night!

You can also make these ahead. Rewarm squash, top with cheese and broil before serving. 

Serves 2 (Recipe for 12 servings below)

Adapted from LCBO Food & Drink, Fall 2010
Printable Version (for 2)
Printable Version (for 12)

Nutritional Information

Spinach and Cheese Puff

For the past five years, my sister has been a vegetarian, which means that whenever we have a big family dinner (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc) we try to come up with a new vegetarian dish to try out. This year at Thanksgiving we turned to none other than Martha Stewart for this Spinach and Cheese Puff recipe. Not only was it filling, but it was a good source of iron and protein for non-meat eaters. It was also easy to make ahead and pop in the oven along with the other side dishes.

What you'll need:
Butter, to grease baking dish
3 packages (10 oz each) Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups Half-and-Half
3 large Eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere Cheese (about 6 oz)
Salt and Pepper
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a shallow 1-quart baking dish.

Make sure to squeeze as much moisture out of the spinach as possible!

In a large bowl, combine spinach, half-and-half, eggs, 1 cup Gruyere, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg.

 Stir to combine. 

Spread evenly in prepared baking dish.

 Top with remaining 1/2 cup Gruyere.

Bake until set and top is golden brown, 30-35 minutes.

This was a great make ahead dish. I did it in the afternoon before company arrived, set it in the fridge and then popped it in the oven for the full baking time, along with the other side dishes. If you want to make it even farther in advance, bake up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature, then cover with foil, and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more.

Serves 8

Printable Version
Nutritional Information

From Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/spinach-and-cheese-puff

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins

There are plenty of great recipes out there for what to do with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but what about all that cranberry sauce? My Great Aunt makes amazing homemade cranberry every year, but there is always some leftover and it seems like a same to throw it out. Thats where this muffin recipe comes in handy!

The insides are soft and delicious, while the top is golden and crispy!

(I'm sorry about the poor quality of the photos! I took these last year at Thanksgiving before I started using my big Canon camera, so please bear with me.)

What you'll need:

1 cup Flour

1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup Oats

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/3 cup Vegetable Oil

1 Egg

1/2 cup Milk

1 1/2 cups Leftover Cranberry Sauce

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line muffin tins with liners.

In a large bowl, combine flour, whole wheat flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, whisk oil, egg, milk and cranberry sauce.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients

Stir until just moistened.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

I always want to pull the delicious top off right away. Its so crispy and delicious!

If you're looking to make these into more of a dessert, spread some cream cheese icing on top! I used the icing recipe from my Carrot Cake Cupcakes.

Printable Version

Nutritional Information

A Thanksgiving Feast!

This weekend I headed up to my parents' house to celebrate Thanksgiving with the whole family. While driving up I saw all the trees that had changed into vibrant reds, oranges and yellows.

I kept that in mind while decorating the table for dinner, using all the wonderful inspiration just outside the door.

We had a big group of 20 people for dinner, so I wanted to keep the decorations low to the table, so that everyone can see each other.

I used small gourds that my mother had around the house, as well as some velvety leaves that I found in some decorating boxes in the basement. For little tealight holders, I grabbed small champagne glasses that my mom used to serve the kids apple cider in when we were all little. Its nice to be able to use things what you have around the house and save the time of going to the store and the expense.

 

When I ran out of small gourds, I stole a squash from the fridge and paired it up with cute Autumn salt and pepper shakers my mother has. I love these little guys and now I know where I get it from.

Coincidentally, a set of leaf shaped bowls that I'd ordered on clearance from Target arrived from the US right before the weekend, so we were able to use them as serving dishes.

And while I was taking these photos of the table, I looked over to see that someone was watching my every move. Do you see him?

Its little Whiskey, curled up on the couch. All the excitement of the day was already getting to him.

We decided to serve the food as a buffet, because its next to impossible to get 20 people to pass everything around, which meant that the table wouldn't have plates on it. It looked a little bare with just the utensils, so I decided to fold some napkins.

When I mentioned it to my mom, she said it would take me 20 minutes to fold all those napkins. Was it worth it? I turned to her and said " Time me!". So she put 15 minutes on the oven timer. How could I resist the challenge? I guess I broke some unspoken napkin folding record, because I did all 20 in 8:40 minutes. I'm starting to think I have compulsive issues...

Now that the decorations were done, it was time to focus on food. And lots of it :)

The entire house smelled like turkey, so it was painstaking waiting to carve into it.

The carving is my dad's forte. Years ago he happened to watch an episode of Martha Stewart with my mom and he was hooked on carving the turkey with an electric knife. Now he does it every time, and it comes out perfect.

We had PLENTY of food to go around for everyone (which meant lots of leftovers for the rest of the weekend!)

We use these large heated servers and they are great for keeping everything hot.

This is probably one of my favorite dishes: broccoli and cauliflower with spices and a bit of cheese on it. I know I could probably make it like this all the time, but it just seems to special to have it like this on holidays.

I also tried to make a new vegetarian recipe this year for my sister. Its a nice spinach and cheese puff with plenty of Gruyere cheese. I'll be posting the recipe in the next few weeks!

Whiskey was happy to stand by the buffet and wait to see if anyone dropped anything. Later on he figured out that the best place to sit was right by my 6 year old cousin who has a habit of dropping things. They sure do learn fast.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the meal, going back for seconds. I just had to post this picture to show my Great Aunt's faux fur collar on his shirt. I love this top! And at 90 years old, she can still pull it off!

Another highlight of the evening was hanging around with this little cutie.

And whats she smiling about? She's lost some teeth and she wanted to show me. Just too cute for words, really.

It was nice to have so many of my cousins in town at once and catch up with them all.

With all of us working and going to school all over the place, catching up over a good meal really brings everyone back together again.

After dinner, wine and plenty of pie, everyone was starting to get ready for bed, including my uncle. Just kidding! Those are his daughter's sleep pants, but I do have to admit that that colour looks good on him. I think I'll get him the matching top for Christmas ;)

With all the excitement, Whiskey and Shadow were pretty exhausted too. We put on the fireplace and before I knew it, the two of them were curled up in bed together. Who can blame them after they'd filled themselves up on dropped pieces of turkey!

I hope that everyone had a nice relaxing long weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!

This post is linked up to:
Between Naps on the Porch: Tablescape Thursday
A Stroll Through Life: Tabletop Tuesday