How to Transform the Traditional Thanksgiving Table
Dare To Be Curious
Are you curious on how to Transform your Thanksgiving Tablescape?
Wondering how you’re going to get a new recipe in time for Thanksgiving?
If so, join us, we have creative solutions for you!
From the first Thanksgiving in 1621 to this day, Thanksgiving has been a celebratory feast with family and friends. It remains the same for us.
Sherrill’s Thanksgiving Memory
My grandmother’s old lace cloth covers the table and I am consumed with cherished memories of bygone days. I’ve polished the silver and chosen which china will grace the table. I’ve purchased new tall candles and decided which flowers I will use to best represent this day of declining autumn and the blessings of being together with friends and family.
For me, flowers are the key - so very different than the pumpkin, gourds, corn stalks of Halloween and the greens of Christmas. With flowers, you can create the bountiful harvest of Thanksgiving. Last year I was prowling through antique stores (a fav past time) and stumbled across ceramic pilgrims - a man and a woman. They were vases fired and carefully painted by someone in a long ago ceramic class. I fell in love with them!! These pilgrim vases have now become part of my Thanksgiving tradition!
Debi’s
Thanksgiving Memory
The Thanksgiving dinner table is where some of life’s most important memories are made. I just love the bounty and abundance of the textures, colors and spices of harvest season. One of my favorites is a well-crafted cornucopia filled with the succulent colors of burnt orange, crimson, deep green, and gold.
As a young girl, I remember watching my Grandmother, Josephine, fix a side of traditional Italian Pasta. Eating well in Italy requires a little more than just the main course, it also includes the luxurious style of a unique pasta dish and of course, a delicious wine. Today, I’ll be sharing with you, one of my favorite harvest season pasta dishes, that has now become a tradition at my Thanksgiving table. The colors and texture are sure to harmoniously blend and add an Italian Style mix with any Thanksgiving menu. Plus, I’m always baking seasonal Divine Biscotti….
Sherrill’s Secret Special Stuffing
2 loafs sliced bread, toasted, preferably bakery egg bread
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 pound butter melted
1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
2 large apples, grated
6 ounces sliced mushrooms sautéed with butter (I am generous with the butter!)
2 cans water chestnuts, chopped
(I double this recipe as I get large turkeys but this will be plenty for smaller birds)
Place bread in large colander. Run cold water over bread for a few minutes & then squeeze as dry as possible. Transfer to large bowl and add all other ingredients
Place extra stuffing in a casserole & bake, covered, for about 45 minutes at same temperature as turkey.
From Debi’s Dolce Kitchen - Delicious Butternut Squash with Pancetta
1 container of pre-squared butternut squash (you can find this in produce at wholefoods, or in the frozen section or you can always cut up a fresh butternut squash yourself)
1 head of garlic (you can peel the individual cloves or keep the skin on for a more rustic look)
2 tablespoons Italian Olive Oil
1 teaspoon smashed 5-peppercorn blend (I use the blend from Williams Sonoma)
½ teaspoons kosher salt
4 ounces of diced Pancetta (you can find this already packaged in the deli section)
1 pound or less (depending on how much pasta you like) of DeCecco Farfalle no. 93 Pasta (cooking time on the box, 11 minutes for al dente)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Place the squash and garlic cloves on a sheet pan in one layer. Toss with the Italian olive oil, kosher salt and 5-peppercorn and bake for 30 minutes, turning once at the 15 minute mark. In the meantime, start making your pasta according to the directions on the box. Then, take out of the oven, turn again using your spatula and sprinkle the pancetta, bake for another 25 minutes. Put the pasta and butternut squash in a large serving bowl, season to taste and serve hot.
(Chef’s note: If your pasta is too dry, you can always add melted butter…Yum!)
Join us this Thursday on our YouTube Channel “Dare To Be Curious.” We will be interviewing super talented florist and dear friend, Harry Nyholm, who shows us how to use fruits, vegetables, flowers and your special found treasures to transform your Thanksgiving tablescape.
May your table be filled with lovely flowers and more as you sit in conversation and conviviality with beloved family and friends.
Well, soon our turkeys will be in the oven and the wonderful fragrance of cooling apple cider, pumpkin and pecan pies will fill the house. We hope that you enjoy our gift to you, on this day of giving thanks with our special family recipes. Enjoy!
We are Grateful for YOU!
Always Dare to be Curious,
Cheers to You,
Sherrill and Debi
xoxo
P.S.
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Don’t forget to check out our books, which are easily found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Sherrill-Bodine/e/B001XSJ1X0? and https://www.amazon.com/Debi-Catenacci/e/B07DLFP3H7? :
“Talk of the Town” by Sherrill Bodine
“Divine Biscotti” by Debi Catenacci
Websites: https://bigbiggerbiggest.life/ and https://divinebiscotti.com/
