Thanksgiving Menu and Planning

Thanksgiving Thankful

November 25, 2020 By kimwheeler 8 Comments

How is your Thanksgiving going today? I saw this pillow above and I had to get it for my entry as this is our year in a nutshell isn’t it? Making the best of it right? I didn’t know what to write about at the beginning of this pandemic. I never thought we could still be living with Covid at the end of the year, but November has finally brought us some happy news. The vaccines coming are hugely effective. There is a light at the end of the dark tunnel we’ve been living in all year! I am feeling especially thankful right now for that and the election and frankly 2020 being almost over.

We were so busy this week getting things ready for Thanksgiving and having Griffin home now for two months (yay) from University. I have just finished The Queen’s Gambit which was fantastic acting and of course I loved the clothes and the sets. I loved the vintage Kentucky home the main character lived in. I’m now into The Crown, also a good diversion, but being a hard core Diana fan, not sure how much I like some of the acting and Charles and Camilla are getting me angry all over again. I have come around to liking Charles again the last decade, but boy did he mess things up. I know the family (or the firm as they say in England), had some hand in that too.

One other show Americans may not have watched, but I am now recording on PBS is Escape to the Chateau. I man obsessed. An English couple sell their two bedroom flat in Essex and buy a 19th century French chateau that they renovate and fix with a limited budget, but a loads of talent and creativity. Dick the husband is a Lt. Col. and handy with everything and Angel is just the most creative designer whether it’s interiors or events that they host. I love their darling children and the last episode I watched Angel had created the most beautiful Christmas table I have ever seen. A fun an inspiring show with just lovely people!! Any other good recommendations for shows you all are watching?

Are you celebrating Thanksgiving with family? Are you doing small? A young guy who helped me at the store told me he ordered his own Safeway dinner because he didn’t want to endanger his mom, as he works with the public. I thought what a loving son. So many are doing the right thing this year and it seems easier now knowing this might be over sooner than we thought. Last year we had thirteen people for dinner, but this year just five, us plus my dad. This will be the year we did what we all had to. It’s not going to be much longer friends. WE CAN DO THIS!

I made a quick trip to Crate & Barrel on Monday to check things out and get some table ideas. I am always inspired by their beautiful store and how they have Thanksgiving and the holidays set out. I came home with this runner and this long wooden centerpiece bowl.

I foraged in the yard for olive branches and leaves and added my small pumpkins from Halloween. These vintage napkins rings from an estate sale, kind of work with this mod runner, the black plates and white napkins. I will add some votives to the table and blankets to everyone’s chair as we will be outdoors.It’s going to be a little chilly, but we will make it fun I hope!

Max and I did a lot of prep today…

We made ahead the sweet potato casserole, the cranberry sauce, the pies (one pumpkin and one pecan), a new recipe of California inspired Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing from Sunset magazine, and Ina Garten’s version of Chez Panisse’s spiced nuts for the appetizer. Tomorrow we will do the mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts and the bird on the grill. The challenge is figuring how to get it all heated and cooked at the same time isn’t it??

I’m so glad Max like doing the pies and is a great help in the kitchen! I could not do this without his help.

I hope you all are hanging in there this year. It hasn’t been an easy one for so many. I am thankful to all of you for your kind and thoughtful comments all year…

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Kim

P.S. I’ll be back this weekend with some Black Friday deals and ideas to help with your holiday shopping.

Thanksgiving Ideas & Fun Links

November 18, 2017 By kimwheeler 6 Comments

Happy Friday! I woke up at 5:30 this morning with thoughts of Thanksgiving dinner swirling in my head. I got my coffee and sat down with my trusty old recipe binder to brainstorm this year’s menu and table. I’m always surprised by what I have in there. Over the years I have collected variations on Thanksgiving recipes, some I have tried- and others well, I hope to try some year!

Among the torn out pages are inspirational table settings, cooking tips from newspaper clippings, years of William’s Sonoma handouts, holiday menus from restaurants and scribbled index cards cards from my grandma’s ancient recipe box. All of these are covered in plastic page protectors and and are a real help when I begin this planning stage of Thanksgiving.

Pages of the notebook -this with Max’s timeline for a Thanksgiving day a few years ago.

Most precious to me is my mom’s own handwritten instruction on how to cook a turkey that she gave me when I first got married. I read it again this morning and I am so glad to have kept it. Makes me feel a bit like she is still here with me.

With my mom at my home Thanksgiving 1999.

Besides my binder, I refer to my pile of cookbooks and I also have been furiously saving ideas from Instagram and other blogs. I am always looking for something new that grabs my fancy. This year I am going to give mashed potatoes in the slow cooker a go from the Half Baked Harvest blog. What a brilliant idea- one less thing on the stove and keeps them warm- always a challenge with mashed potatoes. I love Tieghan’s photo and recipes. Her Instagram has some of these recipes, including a little speed video clip of these Crockpot Three Cheese Mashed Potatoes.

Smitten Kitchen is another great food blog and her Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions made in a iron skillet looks delicious and may take the place of my roasted brussels sprouts this year.

I also like Smitten’s Apple Herb Stuffing with the addition of tart apples and fresh torn bread -a mix of sourdough and country bread.

Deb Perelman who writes Smitten Kitchen, was on NPR the other day and what a great gal. It was one of those shows where people called in and told their favorite Thanksgiving dishes and tips. It reminded me of something my grandmother listened to when we were kids on her little a.m. radio in the kitchen. One caller recommended strapping blue ice packs to your turkey’s breast while it comes to room temp before cooking. By keeping the white meat extra cold it will cook slower and apparently dry out less. I think I’ll try that as well this year.

I always like a festive cocktail and this Cranberry Thyme Spritz, also from Half Baked Harvest, looks so pretty and has two of my favorites in it, elderflower and grapefruit. Another new thing this year is I am going to order brioche rolls from the world famous Manresa Bakery in my town. Seems a shame not to when they are a five minute drive away. They also have a chocolate pistachio babka that I might have to indulge and get.

As far as the table, I still have this fabulous giant white pumpkin and I plan to work him in somehow with our precious wooden turkey carved from Max’s Kentucky great-grandfather that we love. I am thinking of using my linen tablecloths with black cloth napkins and add in some earthy accents- from the outside like leaves and branches with masses of tea lights. My son Griffin is always good helping me forage for such things and figure out the arrangement.

Last year I found these faux bois looking placemats at Crate & Barrel and kind of went from there with tan napkins and used my tortoise shell looking tumblers as vases for short arrangements I made from a supermarket bouquet and succulents and berries from the yard. You can probably tell I used the page from my binder above as my model.

A few years before that I used linen tablecloths and my parent’s china with my collection of old silver, glass and white votives. Pears and olive branches added the color.

I love the green of pears with silver and linen!

Besides dressing the table what are you wearing? Personally, I like a dress and thought this little number was cute. It’s just right for Thanksgiving with it’s colors and long sleeves and I’m digging the dropped waist too.

I rarely go to The Loft, but also found this for a more casual California feel and like this number below with velvet accents.

I also still LOVE this Trina Turk dress for winter events and this velvet one looks comfy and flattering. I’ve been eyeing a pair of cream colored booties which would give the dresses a little edge. I like this pair from Trina, this pair from The Loft, and these by Sarah Jessica Parker.

So much to do, but I love this time of year! Jackson, my college son is coming home today for a week. I can’t wait to just hang out with the kids and cook together.

SO I’m throwing it out there..What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Do you have any great tips for cooking the meal, or cool traditions that are unique to your family? Please, please share below. I’d love to hear more neat ideas.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Kim

P.S. I have a new dining table arriving the week after next that I bought on a trip to Ojai last weekend. I can’t wait to tell you all about beautiful Ojai- why it should be on your radar, and about the cute shop I bought the table and chairs from- all on another post.

Thanksgiving Table Ideas and Menu Plans

November 24, 2014 By kimwheeler 24 Comments

I’m excited about the holidays and I think I’m coming close to my final table vision this year.

I start out by going through my recipe binder, my cookbooks and magazines. After shopping around a bit, I decided on tablecloths from Homegoods. I am having 13 for dinner so I’ll need 2 tables and matching tablecloths are nice.

Tahari had these lovely linen tablecloths with a slight silver thread in one, gold in the other. My plan is to go with lots of glass, crystal and mercury glass votives, clippings from my olive tree and pears for color. I have a mix of white plates and plan to use the old silver flatware and white cloth napkins.

Pears look so good with everything and you can transition them right into Christmas decor too. I find olive branches or clippings from trees or scattered leaves can add a natural more rustic look I like as well.

I think it will be fun to greet guests with a glass of champagne on this tray. I found the flutes at a tag sale in town. They are so delicate and I love the etched stars in them. Lovely to sip from!

Lucky for me, my mom and dad will cook and bring the turkey, gravy and stuffing. My husband and I just have to do all the sides. Pies are brought from my aunt and uncle and my grandmother will bring her cranberry jello.

This year I’ll be doing just one appetizer of a good brie with rainforest crackers and scatter around tiny bowls of Trader Joe’s marcona rosemary almonds.

My side dishes this year are :

frisée and fennel salad with apples, walnuts, dried cranberries and citrus dressing
roasted brussels sprouts with parmesan topping
yukon gold sour cream mashed potatoes
sweet potato casserole (so cliche, but gotta have it!)
cranberry sauce with orange segments and pecans
rolls

It’s enough to make us all overeat and still have plenty of leftovers.

It’s nice to send others home with some of the food, especially my grandmother. For this reason I save any nice take-out containers for a few months before just for this. I also like utilizing mason jars with small amounts of gravy, soup or veggies. Places like our local Ace Hardware sells a box of 12 for around $7. They make super storage and drinking glasses for older kids too. I also like not storing food in plastic whenever possible!

Sitting by the fire brainstorming my Thanksgiving plans with some of my favorite sources.

Many of my friends are taking the smart route of ordering the turkey or the entire feast from places like Whole Foods or other local spots. Purple Onion, a local cafe and a favorite of mine, has a fantastic Thanksgiving catering menu. If I wasn’t cooking with all these helpers, I would surely do that. The turkey prep thing is not my favorite. I dislike handling it and sadly once even left the packet of giblets in!! That of course was one of my first Thanksgivings…Many years ago. 😀 I have help now. I’m fortunate to have a husband who gets right in the kitchen and starts dicing, chopping or whatever. He just waits and says okay what next? LOVE that.

I also trek to my local Williams-Sonoma to pick up each years’ free Thanksgiving guide. I have saved them and they always have inspired ideas and practical advice. Get one if you need some fresh recipes and help with turkey cooking times and more. You can also access all this year’s great recipe’s here. This Pomegranate Gin Fizz from their list looks pretty and I might have to try it!

If you need more help also check out Ina Garten’s 10 Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving.

I love this holiday. It’s about being together and being thankful and sharing. That’s all that matters really right?

Anyone have any great traditions or recipes please share below. One of our traditions is to play a lot of board games and take a lot of family walks and fit in some movies. The downtime is my favorite part.