Thanksgiving for Two

If haven't mentioned it before, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I know it's December and I'm behind on blogging, but I had to share our little cooking day. Thanksgiving reminds me of gatherings and quality time with family and food. 

This year, I had to work the day before and after Thanksgiving, so not many options for family gatherings. So in an effort to make Thanksgiving just as happy as I remember it, Bryan and I had our first holiday as a married couple and we pulled out all the stops. 

Making lunch

There's kind of no point in making a whole turkey, or even a chicken, for two people. But you still want that bird. So we made turkey meatballs dipped in homemade cranberry sauce. Super easy and delicious. 

To kick things up a notch, we put our fancy pants on for some crostini. Appetizers are always fun and I wanted the menu to have the flavors of Thanksgiving, but with a twist in each dish. To me, Fall crostini means Autumnal squash, so we had roasted butternut squash with arugula, goat cheese and sage brown butter. YUM!

That takes care of lunch. Yes, this was an all day affair. For dinner, we decided to keep it simple and made dishes that could be packed up for leftovers, another favorite holiday tradition. 

For dinner, we made roasted Brussel sprout salad. Top those delicious little cabbages with blue cheese, bacon and almonds. Rich and indulgent. 

Nothing says Thanksgiving like quinoa. Yeah, I know. Not your typical holiday fare, but stay with me. Sautee some mushrooms in brown butter and sage. Cook the quinoa with garlic and chicken broth. Combine with mushrooms and left over butternut squash from the appetizers. Voila! Healthy protein with Fall flavors. 

Dinner

Some of my favorite food memories revolve around dessert. But as an adult, I have to watch the sweet intake. Things can easily spiral out of control if you leave me alone in a room with a full pie or box of cookies. Sometimes we need to treat ourselves without going overboard. In my opinion, this is where savory desserts come into play. 

Keeping with the Autumnal feel and to go savory, we made puff pastry wrapped pears drizzled with honey and topped with blue cheese and almonds. Savory with a hitn of sweet, but you still get that buttery richness from the puff pastry. Ice cream would work too if you're not into blue cheese. 

Dessert and Dannowine

thanksgiving is always better with friends and family, but I think Bryan and I did a pretty good job. Taking this opportunity to be creative and spend the day cooking together was a nice was to spend the holiday and revive our Valentine's Day cooking adventure. 

-Akemi-chan