Recipes for an offbeat (but on point!) Thanksgiving party
This year we had The Tinker’s kids over for lunch on Thanksgiving Day, with their big meal coming with their in-laws/significant-other’s parents that evening. We wanted to do something decidedly Thanksgiving, but lighter, and a play on traditional dishes and flavors rather than them having to eat the same bit turkey dinner twice.
I search of the Internet came up with promising recipes – it’s always a bit unnerving to go into a party with foods you haven’t prepared before – but I’m so glad we did this. Every recipe was a winner, and could be a great list for future Thanksgiving parties or open houses in the future. Here is the menu, links to the recipes, and my suggestions of what I’d do differently (if anything):
These were just excellent. As I hadn’t made an actual Thanksgiving dinner to have dressing leftover (plus who ever actually has leftover dressing!) we made a batch of Turkey flavor Stove Top stuffing to use as the filling. Next time I think I’d add an egg to the stuffing to help it hold together better, but these were delicious – and they are more the girth of an eggroll than a small appetizer (just FYI – definitely not complaining!) Also, the recipe says to turn them about halfway. We had more success with them staying together if we waited until about 3/4 of the way done, and rolled them versus trying to pick them up to turn them.
Bacon Stuffing Bites – Recipe and image courtesy of Clinton Kelly, The Chew
Another winner, and very easy. Recommend medium-sized sweet potatoes cut closer to 1/4″ thick than 1/2″.
Sweet Potato Casserole Bites – recipe and image courtesy of WonkyWonderful.com
Caramel Nut and Cranberry Brie
Crazy simple and tons of flavor. Honestly, next time I’d leave off the caramel and just put the cranberry and nuts on top – the caramel makes it VERY sweet – but it was delicious – depends what you are looking for. Served this with traditional water crackers rather than the pictured baguette slices to let the brie shine through.
Caramel Nut and Cranberry Brie Appetizer – recipe and image courtesy of theseasonedmom.com
Nicely spiced and tasty for a cool day (we unfortunately were having a unseasonable warm day, so this was probably the least popular of the group, but still delicious). Not overwhelmingly spicy, leaving you room to add heat depending on your group’s tastes. I do suggest backing down the chicken stock by as much as half to really let the pumpkin shine through – you can always add more. Easy and quick too!
Thai Pumpkin Soup – recipe and image courtesy of foodiecrush.com
Baked Green Bean Fries with Sriracha Salt and Light Wasabi Ranch Dip
It’s worth having this recipe just for the Sriracha salt and Wasabi dip recipes. The fact that the green bean fries come out crisp and flavorful make this a keeper – and not just for Thanksgiving! On the Sriracha Salt, I burned the first batch and learned from the experience. I preheated the oven to 350, popped the salt in for about 5 minutes and pulled it. Done. Before using it in the recipe, I whirred it up a bit in my coffee-grinder-turned-spice-grinder. Perfect.
Baked Green Bean Fries with Sriracha Salt and Light Wasabi Ranch Dip – recipe and image courtesy of hostthetoast.com
I varied on the wasabi dip because of the ingredients I could find. I actually used a wasabi sauce versus pure wasabi, which no doubt made this a much milder version of the original. I also used rice vinegar as the vinegar, again going milder in taste. I also used good ol’ Hidden Ranch Light dressing. This dip was just wonderful, and I could imagine this used beautifully on fish, shrimp, hot and cold veggies, etc.
Making the fries, do take care to avoid getting the egg mixture into the breadcrumbs. The more egg that’s in the crumbs, the less likely they will evenly coat your beans/fries. I ended up making smaller batches of the breadcrumbs and using a fresh pan each batch, worked perfectly. I used Italian-seasoned panko for 100% of the breadcrumbs called for.
So, where’s the turkey?
I admit this was the last decision and came about due to an add on Facebook. It was also the hit of the get together!
A Baskin Robbins turkey ice cream cake!
Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Turkey Cake – image courtesy of Baskin Robbins
It really looked like this too, complete with the greenery! You had the option of selecting one or two flavors of ice cream (we went with Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream). The legs are made using sugar cones, and are also filled with ice cream. It even looked like turkey when we sliced into it! It was a fun ending to a fun lunch with fun people.
Feel free to steal this menu for your next Thanksgiving get together (or to use up some turkey day leftovers)!
