Appetizer
Spinach Balls
From Erin
Pairing, Andre Clouet Bru Grand Reserve Champagne

 Instructions (serving, 24 items)

6 eggs

2-10 oz packages of frozen spinach

1 cup shredded parmigiana cheese

3/4 cup melted butter

1 t chopped fresh garlic

1 t salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and shape into balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

Salad
Apple, Hazelnut, Fennel and Grape Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
From Susan & Drew
Pairing, Clos L’Elu Bastignan Chenin Blanc, Loire

Instructions (serves 6)

2 large crisp, skin on apples suchas Baeburn of Honeycrisp, cored

3 ribs of celery, preferably with innder leaves attached

1/2 fennel bulb, trimmed

1/2 c roasted hazelnuts, skinned and lightly crushed

1 c seedless red grapes, halved

1/4 c flat parsley leaves

2 T torn mint leaves

2 T torn basil leaves

1/2 c Green Goddess Dress (see below)

Kosher salt & fresh ground white pepper to taste

Directions

Cut apples into a large dice and place in a large bowl. Slice the celery on the diagonal and add to the apples. Shave the fennel crosswise into very thin slices and add it to the bowl as well as the hazelnuts, grapes and herbs. Toss gently, add the dressing and season with salt and pepper.

Green Goddess Dressing (makes 1 1/4 cups)

2 anchovy fillets, minced

1 T minced flat leaf parsley

1 green onion, minced

1 1/2 T minced tarragon leaves

3/4 c Mayonnaise

1/4 c sour cream

1 T white wine vinegar

3 T chopped chives

1 1/2 t lemon juice

Kosher salt & black pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together. Dressing may be prepped up to 2 days ahead, refrigerated and covered.

Side
Apple, Shallot & Potato Gratin
From Beth via Food & Wine
Pairing, Clos L’Elu Bastignan Chenin Blanc, Loire

Instructions (serves 6-8)

Softened unsalted butter, for greasing

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1 1/8 tsp. black pepper, divided

1/2 tsp. fennel pollen (such as Bona Furtuna), plus more for garnish

3 medium garlic cloves, crushed

1 thyme sprig, plus fresh thyme leaves for garnish

1 rosemary sprig

3 (5- to 6-ounce) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2 1/2 cups)

3 large shallots, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 2 cups)

1 large Pink Lady apple (unpeeled), cored and sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)

1 large Granny Smith apple (unpeeled), cored and sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)

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Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack 7 to 8 inches from heat. Generously grease a broiler-safe 3- to 3 1/2-quart ceramic baking dish or gratin dish with butter.

Combine cream, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, fennel pollen, garlic, thyme sprig, and rosemary sprig in a medium saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Remove and discard garlic and herb sprigs. Set aside.

Layer potato, shallot, and apple slices alternately in upright rows in prepared pan. Pour infused cream evenly over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Bake gratin in preheated oven until cream bubbles and potatoes, shallots, and apples are tender but not mushy, about 40 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil; broil until top is lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Garnish gratin with additional fennel pollen and thyme leaves. Serve hot.

Originally appeared in Food & Wine magazine, November 2023

Side
Roasted Balsamic Thanksgiving Vegetables
from Wesley via Hummingbird Thyme
Pairing, Poe Rosé of Grenache

Instructions (serves 10)

2 lb (900g, 2-3 large) Sweet Potatoes, peeled if you like, chopped into 1” cubes

1 1/2 lb (675g) Brussels Sprouts, quartered (or halve if they are small)

4 oz. (120g) Pancetta or Bacon, diced into 1/3” cubes

4 T (60 ml) Olive Oil

1 T Kosher Salt

1 1/2 t Black Pepper

6 T (90 ml) Balsamic Vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F. Drizzle olive oil over two sheet pans.

In a large bowl, place the chopped vegetables and pancetta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over chopped vegetables. (You may need to do this in two batches- just divide the veg and salt and pepper, and try to use half the pancetta in each)

With a large spoon, mix until oil is evenly distributed.

Pour vegetables onto the two oiled sheet pans.

Roast in oven until well-caramellized, about 35-40 minutes. Stir the vegetables once or twice during roasting.

While the veg are roasting, heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan until it is reduced to about 3 tablespoons and is syrupy. Drizzle over the roasted veg and serve.

Side
Zucchini Gratin
From Anna, via Richard Olney
Pairing, Poe Rosé of Grenache

Instructions (serves 6)

2 – 1/2 lbs small zucchini, sliced coin-thin (we use a mandoline for this)

4 Tb olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c bread crumbs

About 1/4 c milk

2 eggs

4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped

One small bunch parsley, chopped

8 ounces cheese — Gruyere, Jack, or a mixture

2 Tb butter

Directions

Toss the zucchini with olive oil in a large skillet over high heat — I do this in two batches — until limp and just barely starting to brown, about 7 minutes. (As you heat the zucchini, it will release water; toss gently until most of the liquid is evaporated.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

While zucchini cooks, mix together bread crumbs, milk, eggs, garlic, and parsley in a large bowl. Add zucchini and cheese; toss to coat evenly. (Add a little extra milk if it looks too dry — the mixture should be moist but not soupy.) If you like, reserve about 1/3 c cheese to sprinkle over the top.

Pour into a buttered gratin dish; top with dots of butter and, if you like, the remaining cheese. Bake at 400° for about 25 minutes, or until browned and bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Main (Vegan)
Mushroom Risotto
From Beth via Rainbow Plant Life
Durigutti Proyecto Las Compuertas Malbec 5 Suelos

Equipment

Dutch oven or deep sauté pan (for cooking risotto)

Medium saucepan (for heating vegetable broth)

Frying pan (for cooking mushrooms)

Ingredients (serves 6)

▢4 tablespoons (56g) vegan butter, softened at room temp

▢2 tablespoons (30-35g) white miso paste, softened at room temp (note 1)

▢20 ounces (570g) mixed mushrooms, sliced or torn (note 2)

▢3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

▢2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh thyme leaves

▢6 garlic cloves minced and divided in half

▢6 to 8 cups (1.5 to 1.9 L) vegetable broth (note 3)

▢2 large leeks (white & light green parts only), cleaned and diced (note 4)

▢1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

▢Freshly cracked black pepper

▢2 cups (~370g) Carnaroli rice or Arborio rice

▢2/3 cup (160 mL) dry white wine (note 5)

▢1/4 cup (30g) vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

▢1 handful Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

Take the vegan butter and miso out of the fridge and place in a small bowl to soften. Once softened, use a fork to cream them together until well combined.

Add the vegetable broth to a saucepan. Once it comes to a rapid simmer, adjust the heat to keep the broth warm/hot at a gentle simmer.

Cook the mushrooms. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil (if using stainless steel or cast iron, use more oil).

Once the oil is shimmering, add the mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for a few minutes to develop some browning. Cook for a total of 8 to 9 minutes, until nicely browned, stirring only occasionally.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped thyme and HALF of the minced garlic to the mushrooms. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.

Add the creamed miso butter and stir into the mushrooms, stirring frequently to coat the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cook the risotto. Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed deep sauté pan over medium heat (note 6). Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add the leeks and remaining garlic. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the leeks have just softened.

Add the rice and stir quickly until all the grains are well-coated and the rice smells slightly toasty, 60 to 90 seconds.

Pour in the wine, and stir to scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, cooking until the wine is nearly evaporated and the smell of booze has dissipated, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Ladle in 1 cup (240 mL) of warm vegetable broth and stir frequently but not constantly. Once the rice has absorbed the liquid, add the next round of broth, 1 cup at a time.

Continue this process stirring about every 30 seconds and adding more broth when most of the liquid has been absorbed.

It should take about 20 minutes from the time you add the first ladle of broth, or until the risotto is slightly firm and creamy, but not too soft or mushy.

To test for doneness: you can place the rice on a flat surface and smear downwards with your finger. It should be fairly smooth but you should still be able to see a bit of the white, al dente center of the rice. (note 7).

Add cooked mushrooms to the risotto, and stir to warm through.

Remove from the heat, and stir in vegan parmesan, if using. Taste for seasonings, adding salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Notes

1. White miso can be found at well-stocked grocery stores and Asian markets. If using a darker miso, like red miso, use less as it's stronger.

2. Mushroom varieties I like: cremini (inexpensive) + 2 to 3 fancier varieties, like oyster, maitake, shiitake, king oyster, beech, and chanterelle.

3. Heat 8 cups broth to be safe, but you may not use the entire amount. My favorite store-bought veggie broth is Organic Imagine.

4. To clean leeks, peel away papery outer layers, then dice. Add to a bowl of cold water and swish the leeks around with your hands. Scoop the leeks out with your hands or a slotted spoon and dry on towels.

5. To omit the wine, skip to adding the veggie broth. OR, add a splash of white wine vinegar at any stage when ladling in the broth.

6. When using a Dutch oven or similar pan, you need to use a bit more oil and elbow grease to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. If you use use the same pan to cook the mushrooms and the risotto, be sure to clean it out after frying the mushrooms and before cooking the risotto.

7. To tell if risotto is done: check out the smear test.

Main
Easy, No-Fuss Thanksgiving Turkey
From Tastes Better from Scratch
Pairing, Savage Wines Follow the Line Cinsault

Equipment

Instant-read digital thermometer.

disposable roasting pan

Large Serving Platter

Ingredients

▢1 12-20 pound turkey*

▢1 onion , peeled and quartered

▢1 lemon , quartered

▢1 apple (your favorite kind), quartered

▢.75 ounce container fresh rosemary*

▢.75 ounce container fresh thyme*

▢.75 ounce container fresh sage*

For the herb butter:

▢1 cup unsalted butter , softened

▢1 teaspoon salt

▢1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

▢6-8 cloves garlic , minced

▢fresh chopped herbs

Directions

If the turkey is frozen: Thaw in the fridge, 24 hours for every 5 pounds of Turkey. I like to give myself 1 extra day, just to be safe.

Remove the thawed turkey from the fridge 1 hour before roasting, to let it come to room temperature.

Adjust your oven rack so the turkey will sit in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Make the herb butter by combining room temperature butter, minced garlic, salt, pepper, one tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, one tablespoon fresh chopped thyme, and half a tablespoon of fresh chopped sage. (You’ll use the remaining fresh herbs for stuffing inside the cavity of the turkey)

Remove turkey from packaging and remove the neck and giblets from the inside the cavities of the bird. (Reserve them for gravy, if you want, or discard them). Pat the turkey very dry with paper towels.

Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion and apple and leftover herbs.

Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin above the breasts (on the top of the turkey) and smooth a few tablespoons of the herb butter underneath.

Tuck the wings of the turkey underneath the turkey and set the turkey on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan*.

Microwave the remaining herb butter mixture for 30 seconds (it doesn’t need to be completely melted--just really softened). Use a basting brush to brush the remaining herb butter all over the outside of the turkey, legs and wings.

Roast at 325 degrees F for about 13-15 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature (inserted on middle of thigh and breast) reaches about 165 degrees.

(I remove the turkey from the oven once it reaches 160 degrees. Then, I tent it with foil, and let it rest on the counter. It will continue cooking under the foil, to reach 165 degrees F.)

***Check the turkey about halfway through cooking, and once the skin gets golden brown, cover the top of the turkey with tinfoil, to protect the breast meat from overcooking. Alternately, you could start cooking the turkey with it tented in foil, then during the last hour or so of cooking you can take the foil off to let the turkey brown.

Allow turkey to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/how-to-carve-a-turkey/

Reserve any drippings and juice remaining in your roasting pan to make turkey gravy.

Notes

Turkey Size: if you're cooking for a smaller crowd (or just like white meat), try my Turkey Breast recipe.

Herbs: to substitute dried herbs, use 1 teaspoon dried herbs per 1 tablespoon fresh chopped herbs.

Tips for covering with tinfoil: Start with the bird uncovered. Once the skin gets golden brown, tent the bird with a large piece of tinfoil. If you have a roasting pan, you can use the lid to the roasting pan instead.

For Disposable Roasting Pan: Place fresh chopped vegetables on the bottom of the pan to act as a rack to elevate the turkey. Use 4-5 ribs of celery and 4 large carrots, roughly chopped. The veggies will add great flavor for your dripping to use for gravy however I don't recommend eating them or using them in gravy.

For An Electric Roasting Oven: directions stay the same!

Convection Oven: You can use the same method to cook the turkey in a convection oven, just check the temperature sooner (start checking after 2 hours) as it will cook faster.

Dessert
Pumpkin Roll
From Missy
Pairing, Madeira, Riesling, Gewurztraminer

Dessert with my family on Thanksgiving and Christmas day always presents a dilemma as we have to chose between my mother's fresh pumpkin and apple pies as well as my sister-in-law's homemade pumpkin rolls. But since we are all such good dessert-loving-sugar-addicts, everyone take a small piece of all three ("small" being defined very differently between family members), topping off the pies with a little whipped cream or ice cream. I always save roll for last, the moist pumpkin spiced cake with its silky cream filling melt in your mouth and make it the perfect end to the perfect meal! Thanks Missy for sharing your recipe!

Ingredients

Cake

-3 eggs

-1 cup sugar

-2/3 cup pumpkin

-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

*you will also need a clean dish towel sprinkled with powdered sugar to keep from sticking)

Cream Cheese

-1 cup powdered sugar

-1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened

-2 tablespoons butter

-3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Powdered sugar for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar and pumpkin.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.

3. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well blended.

4. Line a 10 1/2" by 15" jelly roll or cookie sheet with wax paper that extends over the lip of the pan. Pour the batter onto the cookie sheet, spreading evenly.

5. Bake 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. Prepare a clean kitchen towel by sprinkling heavily with powdered sugar.

7. After baking, turn the cookie sheet onto the towel, the cake should slide out onto the towel. Keeping the wax paper, start at one end and roll up the cake up lengthwise into the towel. Cool 30-40 minutes.

8. While the cake is cooling, make the filling, by stirring together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and butter. Mix well.

9. After the roll has cooled, unroll it, removed wax paper and spread the filling evenly over the cake. Roll back up without the towel. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or until filling is firm.

10. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving if desired.