first

December 7, 2015
At Home with Friends

3 comments

Pumpkin Cambozola Walnut Custards with Spinach Salad

I always start the Thanksgiving Feast with a bright fresh salad before the dense, carb-heavy main event. I use autumnal flavors and colors. Sometimes, it’s persimmons, sometimes it’s pomegranates, sometimes it’s golden beets. This year, it was individual Pumpkin Cambozola Walnut Custards on top of baby spinach, garnished with vibrant pomegranate seeds. The Custards are […]

GAME PLAN: THANKSGIVING

Thursday Night

6:00 P.M.

4 Weeks Before

  • Invite guests.
  • Think about Menu and style of Thanksgiving. (Will you be doing most of the preparation on your own or is yours a group effort? Do you want to do most of the meal and ask people to bring a dessert or salad, or their favorite Thanksgiving dish?)
  • Buy all non-perishables including alcohol.
  • Decide logistics: Where to set up bar, buffet, etc. Do you need extra tables and chairs?

3 Weeks Before

2 Weeks Before

1 Week Before

  • Finalize menu and confirm guest list.
  • Set table: If you’re doing a formal sit-down dinner, it’s not too early to set the table. Traditional Thanksgiving involves a lot of last minute food preparation, so set the table now!

Sunday Before

  • Do all grocery shopping.
  • Wash all the vegetables and fruit.
  • Buy and arrange flowers. If your house isn’t too hot, flowers will keep if you replenish water, or wait until Monday to arrange flowers.

Monday Before

Tuesday Before

Wednesday Evening

Thursday

December 3, 2015

December 3, 2015

November 30, 2015
At Home with Friends

no comments

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I have wonderful memories of my mom “pulling out all the stops” for Thanksgiving. The entire family got up early that morning and my father was busy chopping onions and apples for the stuffing while I broke up the toasted French bread and the cornbread that my […]

November 23, 2015
At Home with Friends

2 comments

Basil Pomegranate Martini

Santi, my favorite bartender, created this on the spot using Pom Wonderful Concentrated Pomegranate Juice and fresh basil from my garden. While he made these one at a time, I asked him for a recipe to make a pitcher of them. This is what he came up with. If you don’t have Santi, you can […]

November 19, 2015
At Home with Friends

5 comments

The Ultimate Cheese Platter

If you slice up some generic Swiss and put a hunk of orange cheddar on a plate, odds are no one will eat it and you’ll be eating lots of cheese omelettes and baking cheese bread to use up the leftovers. Nothing wrong with cheese omelettes or cheese bread, but wouldn’t you rather present a […]

November 16, 2015
At Home with Friends

3 comments

Raita

YIELDS: Approximately 1 Cup Ingredients 3/4 cup full fat Greek yoghurt 1/2 cup chopped, seeded and peeled cucumber 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin Directions 1. Mix all ingredients on medium bowl. 2. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

November 12, 2015
At Home with Friends

2 comments

Parmesan Crackers

I am always on the lookout for great tasting gluten free crackers. I’ve made Parmesan crisps by spreading mounds of freshly grated Parmesan cheese on paper-lined baking sheets. This resulted in delicate thin Parmesan crisps but required careful handling and attention to detail. I had a cup of leftover grated Parmesan cheese and decided to […]