this year’s menu was chosen from EatingWell to make a healthier thanksgiving dinner and here are the dishes!
starter
main course
dessert
hope you had a lovely day of giving thanks to all your loved ones!
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check out EatingWell to plan some of your future meals!
i wanted to find a healthy dessert that would be somewhat refreshing after a large meal and then i saw this recipe. it just called my name and it was perfect!
while i did make the both the compote and pudding, i ended up serving the compote with vanilla greek yogurt because i was using palm sugar in my recipe and it changed the color of the pudding from white to brown. for the sake of presentation, i wanted the contrast red with white.
the greek yogurt ended up being a great substitute because it’s lack of sweetness went perfectly with the sweet and tart compote. i love this parfait so much, i can’t wait to make more! you’ve GOT to give this recipe a try!
Ingredients
For the compote
For the pudding
Preparation
To prepare compote
Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 teaspoons cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add pomegranate seeds, pomegranate juice and lemon juice; stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl. Refrigerate while you prepare the pudding.
To prepare pudding
Combine milk and half-and-half in a medium heavy saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean (or add vanilla extract). Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk egg, egg yolk, 1/3 cup sugar and 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch in a medium bowl. Reheat the milk mixture just until steaming. Carefully whisk one-third of the steaming milk into the egg mixture. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in margarine.
To prepare parfaits
Divide the pomegranate compote among six 6-ounce (3/4 cup) parfait glasses, ramekins or other small dessert cups. Spoon the pudding mixture over the compote. Cover and refrigerate until the pudding is well chilled and firm, at least 3 hours. To serve, garnish each parfait with pomegranate seeds.
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original recipe from EatingWell: Vanilla-Pomegranate Parfaits
MAKE AHEAD TIP
Prepare the compote (Step 1), cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Cover and refrigerate parfaits for up to 8 hours.
FRUIT TIP: POMEGRANATE
To seed a pomegranate, fill a large bowl with water. Lightly score the fruit into quarters from crown to stem end, cutting through the skin but not into the interior of the fruit. Hold the fruit under water, break it apart and use your hands to gently separate the plump seeds (arils) from the outer skin and white pith. The seeds will drop to the bottom of the bowl and the pith will float to the surface. Discard the pith. Pour the seeds into a colander. Rinse and pat dry. Seeds can be frozen for up to 3 months.
when i saw this recipe, i knew it would taste great! shrimp with garlic is always good but with a kick of paprika sounds like a party with fun friends: kidney beans and green beans. it was just as good as it sounded. this recipe is a must repeat!
Ingredients
Preparation
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Put green beans in a steamer basket, place in the pan, cover and steam until tender-crisp, 4 to 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring constantly, until just fragrant but not browned, about 20 seconds. Add shrimp and cook until pink and opaque, about 2 minutes per side. Stir in beans, vinegar and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup parsley.
Divide the green beans among 6 plates. Top with the shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with pepper and the remaining 1/4 cup parsley.
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original recipe from EatingWell: Paprika Shrimp & Green Bean Sauté
when i think sweet potatoes, the simplest is best: baked sweet potato. perfect. but every now and then i am tempted to try something different.
for thanksgiving dinner, i found this sweet potato casserole recipe. the casserole ingredients hit all the complementary notes with honey, vanilla and orange zest. i also added cinnamon. but what put this casserole over the edge is the topping. the combination of flour, sugar, oil, pecans and orange juice concentrate is baked to a hard crust that gives a contrasting texture to the casserole. awesome!
the only thing i would change the next time i make this is to use less sugar in the topping (already tweaked below). i actually reduced the sugar from 1/3 cup to 1/4 cup when i made it but it was still too sweet and made the casserole seem more like dessert than a side dish. i look forward to trying it again!
Ingredients
For the casserole
For the topping
Preparation
Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well and return to the pan. Mash with a potato masher. Measure out 3 cups. (Reserve any extra for another use.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch-square (or similar 2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
Whisk eggs, oil and honey in a medium bowl. Add mashed sweet potato and mix well. Stir in milk, orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish.
To prepare topping: Mix flour, brown sugar, orange juice concentrate and oil in a small bowl. Blend with a fork or your fingertips until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over the casserole.
Bake the casserole until heated through and the top is lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes.
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original recipe from EatingWell: Sweet Potato Casserole
i am not usually a fan of bread pudding but it seems like a thanksgiving thing to do! so i found this recipe and i could tell i would like how it tasted because it has most of the same veggies as my spinach lasagna.
there is only a little bread so it didn’t have as much of a bready taste as most bread puddings … perhaps that’s why i like it so much! in some way, it tastes more like a quiche. either way, i really enjoyed this dish!
Ingredients
Preparation
Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Add milk, hot sauce, 1/3 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; whisk until blended. Add bread and stir to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degree F. Coat an 8-by-8-inch (or similar 8-cup) ceramic or glass baking dish with cooking spray. Put a kettle of water on to boil for the water bath.
Cook spinach according to package directions. Drain, refresh with cold water and squeeze out excess moisture. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until tender and golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; stir to blend. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until any excess moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
Add the mushroom mixture and 1 cup cheese to the egg mixture; stir until blended. Scrape into the prepared baking dish; sprinkle a little cheese evenly over the top. Place the baking dish in a larger pan, put in the oven and pour boiling water into the larger pan to about halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake until the pudding is set in the center, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool slightly; serve hot or warm.
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original recipe from EatingWell: Savory Bread Pudding with Spinach & Mushrooms
i am not ambitious enough to cook a whole turkey but i wanted to try this rub! so i looked up directions on how to roast chicken and applied it to this recipe.
for my first time cooking a whole chicken, the recipe was a success! the chicken was so moist and tender. even without the gravy, it was so good! give this recipe a try!
Ingredients
For the garlic-lemon rub
For the turkey
For the gravy
Preparation
To prepare the garlic-lemon rub
Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 400 degrees F.
Rub off excess papery skin from garlic heads without separating the cloves. Slice the tips off, exposing the ends of the cloves. Place the heads on a square of foil. Sprinkle with 4 teaspoons water and wrap into a package. Roast until very soft, 40 to 45 minutes. Unwrap and let cool.
Zest lemons (see FRUIT TIP below). Place the zest in a medium bowl; juice the lemons into the bowl through a strainer to catch the seeds. Reserve the squeezed lemon skins.
Add miso, oil, chopped thyme and pepper to the lemon mixture. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the bowl. Whisk until the mixture forms a paste.
To prepare turkey
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat. Rub the paste under the skin onto the breast meat and leg meat and a little inside the cavity. Tuck the wing tips under the turkey. Place the reserved squeezed lemon skins, thyme sprigs and 2 onion quarters in the cavity. (You may not use all the citrus skins.) Tie the legs together with kitchen string. Place the turkey breast-side up on a roasting rack set in a large roasting pan.
Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Add 2 cups water and the remaining onion to the pan, tent with foil and continue roasting for 1 hour more. Baste the turkey with pan drippings and continue roasting, basting every 15 minutes or so, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees F, 1-1/2 to 2 hours more. Add more water 1 cup at a time if the pan is dry.
To prepare gravy
Skim off any visible fat from the juices from the roasting pan.
Whisk 1/2 cup of the stock and flour in a small bowl until smooth; set aside.
Set the roasting pan over two burners on medium heat. Add vinegar; bring to a boil and cook, scraping up the browned bits, until the liquid is reduced by about half, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the remaining 3-1/2 cups stock. Increase heat to medium-high; return to a boil, stirring often. Boil until the liquid is reduced by about half, 6 to 8 minutes.
Whisk the reserved flour-stock mixture and add to the pan, whisking constantly, until the gravy thickens, 1 to 3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice (or lemon and orange juices). Remove from the heat and pour the gravy through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup. (Discard the solids.) Season with salt and pepper.
Remove the string and carve the turkey. Serve with the gravy.
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original recipe from EatingWell: Roasted Garlic & Meyer Lemon-Rubbed Turkey
MAKE AHEAD TIP
Prepare the garlic-lemon paste. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
FRUIT TIP: MEYER LEMONS
Look for Meyer lemons from late fall to early spring in well-stocked supermarkets and specialty grocers. If you can’t find them, use 2 teaspoons lemon zest and 1 teaspoon orange zest plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons orange juice in Step 3. Place lemon and orange skins into the cavity in Step 6.
it has been a beautiful cake relationship between charm city cakes and harry potter. now that the last movie is coming out, the team pulled out all the stops for perhaps the last cake for the franchise.
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this week, Charm City Cakes
recreated a half-destroyed Hogwarts castle cake for
the New York premiere of ”Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2″
“It’s got over 120 LED lights on it that are all on different circuits so they’re blinking at different moments, so it looks like it’s on fire, and then it’s got smoke machines that go through it, so smoke is billowing out of the towers,” says Duff. Rupert Grint cut the first slice at the premiere after party.
image from Charm City Cakes facebook
image above from the-leaky-cauldron.org
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this is the second Hogwarts Castle cake by charm city cakes team baked for harry potter and they also made a cake of Hogwarts Express. i remember bcuz i saw them on Ace of Cakes!
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in late 2007, Charm City Cakes built
the Hogwarts castle with surrounding lake cake for
the Los Angeles premiere of ”Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
(shown in Ace of Cakes: season 4, episode 1)
Duff, Anna, and Ben travel to Hollywood for the Los Angeles premiere. in LA, they complete the construction of massively scaled edible replica of Hogwarts castle as seen in the film. the cake was on display at the official Warner Bros. premiere party, and featured appearance from Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint.
image from the-leaky-cauldron.org
image from the-leaky-cauldron.org
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in 2009, Charm City Cakes made the Hogwarts Express cake for
the New York premiere of ”Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
(shown in Ace of Cakes: season 7, episode 13)
Duff is invited to design a cake for the premiere of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”. Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) cut the first slice of the cake at the premiere after party.
image from betweenthepagesblog.typepad.com
image from feltbeats.com
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while i’m sad charm city cakes’ food network show, Ace of Cakes, is no longer on tv, i’m happy knowing i can continue seeing their beautiful artwork.
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learn more about Charm City Cakes in baltimore, md and new branch in los angeles, ca and see their beautiful gallery of cakes; follow on twitter and like on facebook
read from grub street new york how Harry Potter Pushed Duff Goldman ‘to Do Better and Better Work’
read my previous posts about
springs preserve is a cultural institution that features museums, galleries, outdoor concerts and events, colorful botanical gardens and an interpretive trail system that meanders through a scenic wetland habitat. in addition, you can book the preserve for events, like the wedding we attended. the venue is beautiful and the food is delicious.
Wolfgang Puck Catering practices sustainability by providing fresh, organic, and sustainable ingredients in its cuisine. they have a variety of choices to cater to your event, including seated meal, buffet, wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres, dessert reception, vegan meal, tea party, box lunch and snack break. in addition to catering services, Wolfgang Puck has a restaurant, Springs Cafe by Wolfgang Puck on the premises for everyday attendees. both the catering service and the cafe practices Wolfgang Puck’s WELL philosophy. the result is a responsible, sustainable and delicious culinary experience!
after the beautiful outdoor ceremony, the indoor reception started with lovely hors d’oeuvres. my favorite was the roasted Chinese Duck, Shiso Leaf and Mango Rice Paper Rolls and the Cucumber and Honeydew Gazpacho. following was the buffet dinner – from the prime rib carving station, to the choices of seafood, to vegetarian entrees. my favorite was the Marinated Haricot Vert Salad and the Pan Roasted Chicken with Caramel Soy-Garlic Sauce and Spinach. Wolfgang Puck Catering at Springs Preserve – one perfect union to celebrate another wonderful union. love.
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order Catering Services from Wolfgang Puck for your event
visit Springs Preserve in las vegas, nv
m made burgers for christmas dinner this year – shaping each patty with tj’s organic grass-fed ground beef 85/15 and frying them in bacon fat. so everyone can customize their own burger, there was an elaborate spread of toppings and sauces:
cheeses:
- american, gorgonzola, mozzarella, muenster and pepperjack
veggies:
- avocado, bacon, chili, jalapeno, cremini mushrooms, green peppers, onions and tomatoes
sauces:
- barbeque sauce, ketchup, dijon and wasabi mustard
so i made my burger topped with american cheese, avocado, lettuce, onion and barbeque sauce. there were also sides of roasted potatoes and new pickles – it was burger-tastic meal!
originally i was going to have a chili burger with m’s vegetarian chili but it tastes so good on its own that i had a separate bowl with avocado.
what a fun meal for the holidays!
so this year, i attended 2 two thanksgivings dinners wednesday and thursday nights, then i cooked a thanksgiving dinner tonight! although it is a little nerve-racking but it’s also kinda fun to make a huge production of a meal once in a while!
as i was deciding what to make, unintentionally but kinda cool, a food theme came out to tie the dishes together: apple cider!
so here’s the menu for tonight’s dinner:
Starter
Main
Dessert
