Cooking & travel are two of my favorite past times. I just LOVE spending time in the kitchen, playing with new recipes and reliving those that are tried and true. This Thanksgiving, I’m going to experiment with a menu full of new recipes. Here are a few that look really good – with more to come!
Main Dish
Savory Pot Roast
While most of you are going to be roasting, frying, and smoking turkeys for Thanksgiving, I’ll be over here cooking up a savory pot roast for my family. While a crock pot would be convenient, I love the way a traditional oven roast locks the flavor into a properly-seared roast.
Sides
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Mac & Cheese is not normally something that we serve at Thanksgiving in our family, but a number of recent cooking shows have me ready to bake this up for my family. Mac & cheese is one of those dishes that has a wide variety of approaches, so what I’ll do with Amanda’s loose recipe here is to use Gouda and Gruyère and add some crispy bacon on top!
Ina Garten’s Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
I’m vegetarian, and I love this twist on simple roasted brussels sprouts. I’ll put the pancetta on half of it for my carnivore family members, and the balsamic is a step up from the method I usually use for my roasted vegetables. A flavorful twist on a dinnertime staple!
Spinach Gratin
You can tell I’m on an Ina Garten trip here – and there are good reasons why! Back in the day, when my then-boyfriend, now-husband used to go to Boston Market for a simple date, my favorite side was their creamed spinach.
In this recipe, Ina takes a simple classic up a few notches with the addition of gruyere cheese. So creamy and flavorful!
Ina Garten’s Cranberry Fruit Conserve
With cranberries, apples, raisins, and chopped walnuts, this hearty conserve looked SO GOOD on her show and I can’t wait to try it!
Desserts
Classic Tiramisu
Maybe not the most traditional Thanksgiving dessert, but one I’ve been dying to try. Since I’ll have a number of people who can share this flavorful treat with me, this New York Times recipe (5 stars & thousands of reviews) and seems like now is the time!
That said, I can’t do anything the simple way, so instead of lady fingers (which can vary in texture and quality. -you want good, soft lady fingers for a good Tiramisu) I’ll be making a classic Genoise for the sponge layers, using this recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen.
Author’s note: This was strong on the first day for my family, none of whom are accustomed to alcohol. By day two, however, the flavors had really mellowed and it was even better! There was none left by the end of the day!
The Pioneer Woman’s Pumpkin Rum Cake
I saw Ree Drummond’s “Friendsgiving” recipe for Pumpkin Rum Cake while I was on a quick weekend getaway to visit my youngest son at his Army AIT. While I haven’t baked much with alcohol in the past, I’ve noticed that they sure don’t shy away from it on the Great British Baking Show, so I’ve been thinking about giving it a try. Spiced Rum seems to be a holiday go-to (and apparently, that huge glass jug of it I just bought at Costco is going to last me quite a while!).
This recipe looks so good, especially when glazed with the cream and maple syrup she shows how to make in the video. I’ll definitely be making it for Thanksgiving dinner (but don’t tell grandma!)
Hawaii-Style Pumpkin Crunch
This unique recipe was suggested by my friend and fellow teacher Amy Boehning, who lives on the gorgeous island of O’ahu. She tells me it’s a staple in Hawai’i – and it’s definitely one I look forward to trying here in the mainland!
Breads
Homemade Hawaiian Rolls with Citrus-Honey Glaze
Everyone LOVES the store-bought version of these, but here is a recipe to try at home! I have absolutely fallen in LOVE with the Bake from Scratch cookbook series that I borrowed from the local library, then had to buy. This amazing recipe takes your homemade Hawaiian Rolls to the next level!
If you can make yeast rolls (and even if you haven’t ever tried!), you can bake these!
I’ll be adding to this list over the next couple of days as I finish planning our Thanksgiving dinner, so tell me in the comments below – what is YOUR favorite Thanksgiving recipe?
I’ll add it to the page and credit you, of course!
Kimberly Brownlee is your Kansas City Travel Agent (and home baker) with Next Adventure Vacations.
Contact me to start planning your family vacation today!
816.866.8883
Kimberly@NextAdventureVacations.com
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