Happy Thanksgiving! I just want to share our Thanksgiving table this year!
My holiday tables reflect the season and are full of beautiful fall details; rustic, earthy, harvest, inviting, inspirational and colorful!
Unfortunately, not every holiday goes according to plan. I cooked so much, looking forward to having Joshua home for Thanksgiving, but he came home with a high fever and feeling sick.
We took him to urgent care to rule out covid, just your regular nasty flu.
The moment I hugged him and could feel how hot he felt, I got his virus at that moment, and then my hubby followed. It took us a couple of weeks to recover.
Since my in-laws didn’t have their flu shots this year, we were afraid to have them over, nor did they want to. So we decided to make the best of it and not let the good food and energy spent go to waste! Celebrated just the 3 of us! Still Thankful that we are together!Glad that we had plenty of leftovers, and I packed so much for Joshua as well.I was able to grab a few decent pictures and phone video while I was in the beginning stage of getting sick.
Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
Pumpkin cheese ball and crackers
Deviled eggs with caviar
Herring and mashed potatoes “sushi”
Cheesy Beef Stromboli
Mac and cheese
Mashed potatoes
Green beans and eggplant
Smoked Turkey
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy
Dessert
Cinnamon Apple Cake
Pecan snowball cookies
HOW TO MAKE DEVILED EGGS WITH CAVIAR
Ingredients:
4 cooked eggs, separated
2 Tbsp. Philadelphia Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
2 Tbsp. Mayo
thinly sliced cucumber and radish
Red salmon caviar
dill weed
Instructions
Mix cooked egg yolks with cream cheese and mayo. Adjust to taste. Fill egg whites and add sliced cucumber and radish on the side. Top with red caviar and dust with dill weed.
Serve and Enjoy!
Herring and mashed potatoes “sushi”
I have used an ice cube tray to create individual portions.
Cover the ice container with plastic wrap while pressing into each mold.
Add sliced red onion and sliced carrot in each mold, then seledka slice.
A drop of mayo, then mashed potatoes, and finish with sliced dill pickles.
Cover with additional plastic wrap and put in the fridge. You can make it a day or two ahead.
You can be as creative as you want here.
I just made this Chessy Beef Stromboli recently, and it was so good that I have decided to make it for Thanksgiving as well!
HOW TO MAKE STOVETOP MAC AND CHEESE
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow noodles, or any small, tube-shaped pasta
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground mustard
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 3 cups milk whole or 2% milk
- 8 ounces freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese (shred yourself for a much better taste)
Instructions
- Cook pasta until al dente in a large saucepan. Drain well and transfer to a warm bawl.
- In the same large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Stir in the flour, mustard, garlic powder, salt/pepper, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in milk and whisk until smooth.
- Cook over medium-high heat, constantly stirring, for 3-5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Turn off the heat and whisk in the cheese until melted.
- Pour the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce and stir well to combine. Serve hot.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST MASHED POTATOES
Ingredients
- 3 Large Baking potatoes
- ½ Cup milk
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
- salt/pepper
Instructions
- Peel, wash, and cut potatoes into smaller pieces. Place potatoes into a medium saucepan. Add cold water to the pan until the potatoes are covered. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water.
- Turn the heat on to high, and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low to maintain a simmer, and cover.
- Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft. Drain water.
- In a small saucepan, bring to heat: milk, butter, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese.
- Add hot mix to boiled potatoes and mash.
- Add salt/pepper.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb green beans, stem ends trimmed
- 1/2 sweet onion, sliced
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 small eggplant, thinly sliced
- 3 Tbsp. pasta sauce
- toasted pine nuts
- 2 tbsp. Olive oil
- 2 tbsp. butter
Instructions
- Heat the pan to medium-high heat. Add Olive oil and sliced onion,
- Cook, often stirring, for 8-10 minutes until the onion is a light golden brown.
- Add the butter, green beans, garlic cloves, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Lift the lid and give it a good stir every couple of minutes.
- Remove to a warm plate.
- Add more olive oil to a skillet, and working in batches, add the eggplant slices in a single layer.
- Saute eggplant for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until soft, browned, and caramelized on both sides.
- Repeat with the remaining eggplant slices, adding about 1-2 tablespoons of oil per batch.
- Add pasta sauce and cook for a minute.
- Assemble your creation and garnish with toasted pine nuts.
Once we discovered SMOKED TURKEY at Costco, the only one we buy for the Holidays! It’s Delicious, cold, or warmed up.
Since it’s a seasonal item, make sure to buy your turkey early. You can store it in the freezer and then unfreeze it a couple of days prior to the holiday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS ON REHEATING SMOKED TURKEY
How to make Cranberry Sauce
- sugar
- juice (used Pomegranate)
Combine and cook over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. The Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or 2 tablespoons cornstarch)
- 2 cups smoked turkey drippings plus vegetable broth
Instructions:
- In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter* over medium-high heat.
- Whisk in flour until well combined, and no white specks remain.
- Let cook for 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour in drippings and broth and whisk well.
- Bring to a simmer and heat until thickened to desired consistency, about 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
If you love APPLE CAKES, you will love this recipe. I will make a separate post for this cake since you will want to make this again and again!
HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON APPLE CAKE
Ingredients
- 4 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and sliced
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- dash of salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light olive oil or melted unsalted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon and 2 Tbsp Flour to mix with sliced apples
- Non-stick Spray
Instructions
- Mix sliced apples with 2 tablespoons of flour, cinnamon, and raisins in a large bowl.
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together: sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract.
- Mix wet and dry ingredients gently, careful not to over-mix.
- Spray your baking dish with Non-Stick spray (or brush with oil) and dust with flour on the bottom.
- Bake in the preheated at 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden. Time depends on your oven and your baking dish.
- The last 5 minutes of baking are Very Important. It is best when cakes are not over-baked. Judging by the color on the edges and by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake, it should come out clean.
- Cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes; invert onto a cake stand to cool completely.
Soft and delicious on the inside!
HOW TO MAKE PECAN SNOWBALL COOKIES
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
- 1 cup finely chopped toasted pecans (walnuts work too)
- 3 TBSp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar for rolling
Instructions:
- Put all ingredients except powdered sugar into a large bowl.
- Mix thoroughly by hand, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Roll cookies by hand into 1-inch balls.
- Place on an ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheet an inch apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until set but not brown.
- Let cookie rest for about 2 to 5 minutes, then gently roll each one in powdered sugar. Let cookies cool.
- Once they cool, roll again (gently) in powdered sugar.
- Store loosely covered.
NOTE: make sure to buy Toasted crushed pecans, or you can make your own. Toasting makes a huge taste difference.
Thanksgiving Dinner and Decor 2022
Thanksgiving Dinner 2022, recipes, and decor ideas for the Holidays! Salads, smoked turkey, sides, apple cake...
