Thanksgiving 2022...my contributions to the family potluck (not including the bottle of dessert wine I brought back from a vineyard in San Diego, purchased at the Lawrence Welk Resort Farmer's Market on November 21, 2022)
Thanksgiving Kale Salad
feeds 18-20
1 bunch of kale, washed/dried and chopped in small pieces
2 bunches other hardy greens such as romaine & radicchio, wash/dried and chopped in small pieces (leave these out if you're making this for a smaller crowd)
1 large sweet potato, cut in 1/4" pieces
1 large red beet, cut in 1/4" pieces
about 2 cups assorted whole wild mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced thin
1/2 cup of raw organic green pumpkin seeds
about 1 1/2 cups good EVOO
3 lemons, juiced and seeds removed
7 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup breadcrumbs (preferably from homemade sourdough, but any good bread will do...just tear it up and then put in your food processor to make fine crumbs.)
1 cup grated parmesan (I put chunks into the food processor after taking the breadcrumbs out...and just used the regular blade, not the shredding blade. This will grate it very fine.)
1. Roast the sweet potato, beet, sliced mushrooms all on separate parchment-lined sheet pans. This will either take about 2 hours at 250F, or 45mn or so at 350F. You want them to be toasted rather than mushy, so you'll need to keep them in the oven past the mushy stage. You'll toast the breadcrumbs the same way, but with less cooking time. Do the same with the pumpkin seeds, but you won't use parchment and the cooking time will be less. All of these should first be tossed with some good EVOO and kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal...you can order it from Amazon). The veggies will shrink while cooking, the mushrooms "chips" will be considerably smalter, with a chewy concentrated flavor, and the bread crumbs and pumpkin seeds should be just lightly browned. When done, remove these from oven and let cool to room temperature. You'll likely need to complete this step in stages (or ahead of time) because it requires a lot of oven space.
While the veggies and pumpkin seeds are in the oven:
2. Add 1/2 cup EVOO, the lemon juice, garlic and chili flakes in a pint sized canning jar and shake vigorously until dressing is emulsified. Add salt & pepper to taste and shake again. Let sit for 1-2 hours before using, so flavors will meld.
3. Toss just a little bit of the dressing with the kale...just enough to wet it. Massage the kale for about 30 seconds with clean hands. Let the kale sit in fridge for about 30mn (I put it in a Ziploc.)
4. Mix the finely grated parmesan with the cooled toasted breadcrumbs. We'll call this the parm-crumb mix.
4. Put all the greens in a bowl, including the kale and toss with some of the dressing. Add about 1/3 of the veggies, the seeds and the parm-crumb mix. Toss again and add enough dressing so everything is a wet, but not soaked.
5. Arrange the salad on a platter and sprinkle remaining roasted veggies, seeds and parm-crumb mix on top, in whatever way you would like. (I had intended to keep some greens visible, but got distracted or carried away...I'm not sure which. :-)
Cranberry Sauce
feeds 18-20 (Make a day ahead)
24oz fresh cranberries
2 ripe oranges
1 fresh apple, cut in large chunks with core removed
1 cinnamon stick
8 whole cloves
1 vanilla bean
2-3 tbsp bourbon
1 cup filtered water
1 cup white sugar (or for the healthier version, use 3/4 cup coconut sugar, good maple syrup or honey...or a combination)
1. Cut the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the vanilla seeds. Add both the seeds and pod to a sauce pan with the water, apple, cinnamon stick, sugar and bourbon. Zest the oranges into the pan as well, and then squeeze/add the juice from both oranges. Toss the orange pieces into the liquid.
2. Bring all ingredients to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to simmer, just under medium heat.
3. With tongs, carefully remove the vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, cloves, apples and orange pieces. Discard.
3. Rinse cranberries and add to the simmering liquid. Cook for about 10mn, or until about 75% of the cranberries have popped, and the sauce has thickened a bit.
4. Pour into 2-3 pint-sized canning jars. Keep lids off while they cool to room temperature. Refridgerate overnight. When ready to serve, just remove the lid and add a spoon. This "sauce" (which is more of a jelly consistency) is especially good on leftover turkey sandwiches!
Tea break during Thanksgiving Prep. I always pull this mug out of my mom's cabinet for my tea or coffee when I'm at her house. I purchased it in 2019 from a little family-owned ceramics shop in Portugal. It's about half the size of a normal mug, and its quaint size, as well as the little flowers and painted blue rim just makes me smile.
This is the same kale salad pictured above, but tossed and served a day later, as leftovers. I warmed it in the oven to get all the fall veggies toasty again.
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