As an experienced blogger (I’ve been blogging here for four years!), I think more about the timing of topics when posting now. I didn’t used to. When I first started, I wrote about what I wanted to, no matter when it was. After all, I can’t be the only one who still makes some Christmas treats a few days after Christmas. Right? But honestly, although writing after-the-fact recipe posts about seasonal items might help some people, it really helps more people if I post earlier so that it can benefit the maximum number of people.

It was with that thought that I wondered if I should save this post for closer to Christmas or even next Thanksgiving. But these enchiladas were really good. I love enchiladas but absolutely hate the canned enchiladas sauce. If you’ve never had enchiladas with homemade sauce (which is super easy to make!), then you are totally missing out. I swear. Anyway, I hope you don’t mind this leftovers recipe, even though Thanksgiving was a full week ago.

Speaking of which, surprisingly, I ended up without an excess of leftovers this Thanksgiving. At least of the turkey variety. Of what was left, I gave some to my guests, made a Shepherd’s Pie and used the remainder to make this dish: smoky, rich turkey enchiladas with a zing at the end. These aren’t spicy per se, but they do have some heat at the end.

Are they kid friendly? That depends. I think Will would happily eat these with some avocado, but I think Paige would scoff at the heat. Does your child appreciate a touch of heat when it’s tempered with a cooling bite? If so, then they will probably enjoy this. Otherwise, keep it for the adults.

Hey, it’s okay to have an adult-friendly meal sometimes too, right?

If you are out of turkey, don’t worry, you can make these with leftover chicken too.

Do your kids like a little heat? Share in the comments!

Turkey Enchiladas
serves 4

1 1/4 lb leftover turkey meat, shredded
1 tbsp canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp minced canned chipotle in adobo
2 cups fresh turkey stock or chicken broth
1/4 cup water
8 corn tortilla
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 8-inch square glass baking dish with cooking oil spray. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, shaking occasionally. Whisk in the flour, chili powder and chipotle pepper. Cook, continuing to whisk, for one minute. Then, add the stock or broth and water a little at a time, whisking to incorporate. Cook until slightly thickened.

In a large bowl, toss together the turkey and 1 cup of the sauce. Add two tablespoons of cheddar and mix well. Set aside.

Wrap the stack of corn tortillas in a damp papertowel and microwave for one minute to warm.

Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the prepared pan and swirl to evenly distribute. Divide the turkey mixture evenly among the tortillas and wrap into a roll shape. Place in the baking dish, side by side. Pour remaining sauce over and took with the remaining cheddar.

Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes (uncovered) until heated through and the cheese is melted. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Serve with avocado slices and/or sour cream.

When I was planning Thanksgiving this year, a lot of it was pretty simple. After five years of preparing Thanksgiving dinner, I have a pretty good idea of timing, what works and where is best to go simple. So, when I was planning the menu I kept to several favorite dishes. That made the veggies and most of the sides easy.

I say most because stuffing plagues me. Every year, I try a new recipe. Every year, I hear that it’s good. But no one recipe seems perfect for our Thanksgiving.

Truth? I am not a big fan of stuffing (or dressing, if you prefer, since I don’t actually stuff anything). In fact, I dislike it so much that I nearly just made Stove Top. Yes, I am serious. Normally, I am not one to buy prepared mixes like that. But when it comes to stuffing, I nearly just gave in, since I know we all sort of like it.

Then I saw the recipe for Giada De Laurentiis’s Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta. It really got me thinking about giving homemade stuffing just one more shot. It looked and sounded so, so good.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make her recipe per se. See, I’ve recently discovered that when I brown pancetta, it gives me a horrid asthma attack. I have no idea why, but after cooking it three or four times with the same results, I realized that it’s something I need to stay away from for now. I know, it’s a bizarre thing to have a reaction to.

Once I figured out my ingredients list (which is actually pretty different than hers), I whipped this up on Thanksgiving. I figured at worst, it would look pretty on the table … fortunately, it turned out much better than that. Though the ingredient list is decidedly long, and the prep includes about a half hour of hands-on time, it’s worth every second. The salty, smokey bacon is a great contrast to the slightly sweet chestnuts, mixed with the crusty and perfect ciabatta bread.

I don’t need to search for a stuffing recipe anymore. This is the one.

Chestnut and Bacon Ciabatta Stuffing
serves 8

3 tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz bacon, chopped
1 Vidalia onion
2 carrots, peeled
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1 cup roasted and peeled whole chestnuts, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 pound (one loaf) day-old ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2/3 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1 cup chicken broth
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your baking dish (glass – 15×10x2 inches) by rubbing the bottom and sides with butter. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the bacon until crisp, then remove to a large mixing bowl with a slotted spoon. Add butter to the pan with the bacon drippings and set back over medium heat.

Use a food processor to shred the onion and carrots (alternatively, you can chop finely or grate by hand. If you choose to do it either of those ways, prepare the veggies before starting to cook the bacon). Add the vegetable mixture, along with the garlic and herbs. Saute until the vegetables are soft and the onions are translucent — about 10-15 minutes.

Pour the vegetable mixture into the bowl with the bacon. Add the ciabatta bread and Romano cheese, and toss together. Add the chicken broth and stir until moistened. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then mix in the eggs.

Pour the stuffing into the prepared dish and spread out into one even layer. Cover with a large sheet of buttered aluminum foil, with the buttered side facing down (this prevents the stuffing from sticking to the foil). Bake for 30 minutes, until heated. Then, uncover the stuffing and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes until the top is crispy and golden brown.

Devour.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! Ours was perfect – relaxed, happy and filled with good new memories. My kids and I watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on television, a favorite tradition of mine. Later, Shawn and I took to the kitchen to prep our meal – Shawn does the turkey and I do the rest (FYI, the table above is last year’s spread, check out this year’s recap here). Then, our company came and we all stuffed ourselves.

Perfect.

Now that it’s the ubiquitous day after, you probably have a fridge full of leftovers just begging to be used. I sure do! But seriously, there are only so many meals that you can eat reheated turkey and mashed potatoes for. Instead of zapping everything back to life, give the turkey, stuffing and cranberries a new life. Here’s how.

Turkey Leftover Recipes

• Traditional turkey sandwiches are great. But for a revamped version, try a Turkey, Fontina and Pancetta Pita Sandwich. Substitute warmed leftover turkey for the turkey cutlets.
• I love this sandwich idea from Kalyn’s Kitchen – use your leftover turkey to make Turkey and Guacamole Quesadillas. Talk about giving the those leftovers a whole new life with this Tex-Mex twist.
• Like risotto? You are going to love Artichoke, Turkey and Kalamata Risotto. With the days getting cold, this is the perfect substantial bite for a chilly winter night.
• I can attest that the recipe for Thanksgiving Stromboli from Sweetnicks is absolutely amazing. Flavorful, economical and just plain delish, you really need to try it. Mmm.
• Don’t toss the turkey carcass! It’s easy to transform it into a fantastic turkey stock. Then, that use that turkey stock to create a fabulous soup like Portabella and White Bean Soup. Delish!

Cranberry Sauce Leftover Recipes

• Ready for breakfast? Whip up a Cranberry Coffeecake with leftover cranberry sauce. It’s awesome to wake up to.
• For a breakfast goodie that is a little speedier, check out the Morning-After Cranberry Sauce Muffins at Serious Eats.
• How about dessert? Epicurious has a tasty-sounding recipe for Apple-Cranberry Crumb Pie. Who doesn’t need just a little more pie?
• Go decadent with this White Chocolate-Cranberry Creme Brulee from My Recipes. Doesn’t the sound of that just make you drool?

Stuffing/Dressing Leftover Recipes

• Hungry for something savory for breakfast? Check out Robin Miller’s Stuffing Frittata recipe on Food Network. With a healthy dose of two cheeses and some leftover stuffing, it sounds delightful.
• For me, the best part of stuffing are the crispy bits. How about making your leftover stuffing into a crispy Stuffing Bite? Better yet, Sunny Anderson’s recipe also uses up some leftover cranberry sauce.
• AOL Food has the right idea with their Stuffed Mushrooms, using up some leftover stuffing. What an awesome appetizer.

From our family to yours, we hope you had a wonderful, joyous, happy Thanksgiving.

When I was in first or second grade, we learned about cornucopias. Somewhere between coloring the ditto sheet and learning about this so-called horn-of-plenty, I decided that my family was totally missing the boat on this incredibly important holiday tradition. I went home and all but demanded that our Thanksgiving table feature one. And it needed to be made of bread (sort of like this).

What? Me? Demanding? Nah. Never.

I thought of that today when the kids and I went to Michael’s today for Thanksgiving centerpiece supplies. There on the shelf was a beautiful, dark, woven cornucopia basket. I yelped – yes, outloud – when I saw it. And, of course it came home with me. The basket was about $15, and you fill it as much as you can with fruits, veggies, flowers and leaves. It’s meant to symbolize a bounty. Bonus: if you use fruits and veggies, you can eat them post-Thanksgiving.

If a once-a-year basket isn’t in your budget, and you aren’t mildly obsessed with cornucopias like me, I have a few more centerpiece ideas for you.

Capitalize on the plentiful bounty idea with this cute apple barrel, also from Michael’s. At $5, it’s very affordable and can easily be reused. It’s perfect for collecting veggies from the garden, shopping at the farmers’ market or even collecting Christmas cards.

For a centerpiece, fill it up high with apples, oranges, pears and lemons. If you want to take it a step further, put a few fall leaves on the table and set the barrel on top. Then, flank it with a small pumpkin or two

Looking for a more minimalistic take on the centerpiece? Yes, big centerpieces are nice, but they can inhibit discussion. Seriously, do you want to talk to Aunt Milly through the giganto floral arrangement? So a simpler take can be absolutely fabulous.

This simpler centerpiece can be made for just a few dollars, particularly if you repurpose a candle you already have. Just wrap two sugar pumpkins with a metallic ribbon, using tape to secure (you want it to be completely removeable if you are going to cook them). Then place a candle between them. Here, I’ve used a small pumpkin-scented pillar candle in a metallic candle holder. Want something a little bigger? Add two more candles to the mix on the other side of each pumpkin.

See? Simple and easy.

Now, which centerpiece do you think I should use this year?

They are a lot different than I was. Growing up, I drank way too much soda. Seriously. We won’t get into quantities, but it was a lot. Too much. (Hey, it was the 80s, and many parents just didn’t know better. My kindergarten best friend brought soda in her thermos to school once. It exploded all over out desks … true story.)

My kids? Aside from Will having a sip maybe once (he wasn’t a fan), they don’t drink soda and haven’t really had it. And they aren’t interested in it either. I am so glad for that. I really don’t want soda to be their go-to drink like it was for me.

That said, on holidays, things are a little more lax. And considering that half of our Thanksgiving guests are of the under-18 variety, I like to have something a little special for them to drink. This spritzer fits that bill.

Since you are cutting tart pomegranate juice (I like the POM brand) with sweet ginger ale, it ends up with a nice not-too-sweet, just a little bite, flavor. And with the bubbles in a stemmed glass, it feels special too.

Will my kids drink this? Will might. Paige probably won’t. But if she does, that’s okay too. After all, it’s Thanksgiving – A special day.

Simple Pomegranate Spritzer
makes 1 drink

ice
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup ginger ale

Add several cubes of ice to a stemmed glass. Pour the pomegranate juice in. Then, add the ginger ale (yes, the order in which you make this totally matters).  Do not stir. Serve immediately.

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Really, it feels like the day has crept up on us. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were frantically running around buying last minute accessories for Halloween? Wasn’t it just a week away that we were mourning the end of summer and the beginning of the school year?

As much as we might like to hide under the covers and wish time to stop, we can’t. With a mere five days to Thanksgiving, we need to get planning for the big day. Don’t worry if you haven’t started planning yet … you can plan and prepare a fantastic, fresh Thanksgiving dinner in just five days. Seriously.

Ready? Let’s go.

Saturday – Five Days Before Thanksgiving:

• Order turkey, if you haven’t already — Today may be your last chance to order a fresh turkey.
• Access linens – Do you have the tablecloth(es) you need in the right sizes? Are they clean? If not, launder them today.
• Start thinking side dishes – What side dishes do you want to serve? Are Brussels sprouts a must-have on your table? Butternut squash? Carrots? Make a list of the types of dishes you want to make (no need to get ultraspecific on recipes yet).

Sunday – Four Days Before Thanksgiving:

• Finalize menu – Grab your list of side dishes. Find the recipes you plan to make and organize them in a folder. Consider the timing of the menu — you shouldn’t be trying to cook more than you can finish.
• Make shopping list – Use the recipes to generate a shopping list of everything you will need for T-day. Be sure to check quantities of standard items in your cupboard.
• Finalize guest list – Write down who’s coming.

Monday – Three Days Before Thanksgiving:

• Consider placesettings and decorations – Figure out what plates, silverware and serving pieces you want to use. Will you need charger plates? Placemats? Special napkins? What is your centerpiece going to be?
• Make cranberry sauce – Making cranberry sauce a few days early will save you big time at crunch time. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Thaw your turkey if you are using a frozen one – Frozen turkeys take several days to defrost in the refrigerator. Need a primer on defrosting? The LA Times has a good one.
• Iron table linens

Tuesday – Two Days Before Thanksgiving

• Clean serving dishes and plates. Shine silverware (if necessary).
• Make desserts for Thanksgiving.
• Double check that you have everything you need.

Wednesday – One Day Before Thanksgiving

• Make the centerpiece
• Set the table – This is one thing you definitely do not want to leave to the last minute.
• Begin cooking side dishes – Certain side dishes, like beets and carrots can be made ahead and reheated on Thanksgiving, saving you valuable time. You can even make mashed potatoes ahead of time, if you want.
• Pick up your fresh turkey.
• Pick up any last-minute items.
• Clean kitchen – It’s so much easier to cook in a clean kitchen. Don’t forget the rest of the house too.

Thursday – Thanksgiving

• Lay out your appetizers (hopefully you’ve gone for no-cook options like olive trays, cheese platters and veggies and dip.
• Cook turkey and side dishes. Make salad.
• Enjoy your day!

Centerpiece

Bread and Cheese

Napkin Rings

Relish Tray

Happy Kids

Buffet

Pie

From all of us here to all of you, Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s to wishing you had a fun, enjoyable, fantastic day with your nearest and dearest.

Over the years, I have experimented a lot with cranberry sauces. I’ve been looking for the right recipe that is different, but delightful. This is it.

This cranberry sauce is about as easy as it can get. The addition of apple adds a nice (and slightly sweet) twist that really takes the sauce to a different level. Try it paired with turkey and other holiday concoctions.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 apple (sweet and firm variety such as Fuji), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the cranberries and apples. Return mixture to a boil and then lower the heat to medium low. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring once in a while.

Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. Then refrigerate until serving.

I ended up going with a recipe for southern butternut squash. Somehow, in my head, it seemed like butternut squash must be a southern-type dish so that seemed to be the perfect recipe. Turns out that the “southern” style of making butternut squash is essentially a super-sweet custard. To this day, my family references that particular side dish when we discuss Thanksgiving or squash or side dishes or any combination thereof. It was that, um, memorable.

After that, I devised a cooking method that involved roasting a whole butternut squash (cut in half) and mixing it with butter, maple syrup and brown sugar. When it was done roasting, I would scoop it out and mash it together. My husband liked it a lot (though it still wasn’t the butternut squash he was looking for) and that became the squash that graced the table for several years. The rest of the family, myself included, would tolerate a bite or two, but I kept making it for him.

This year, in the interest of simplifying, I decided to forgo the whole cutting a big ol’ squash in half and preparing it for baking and then burning my fingers while mashing the hot innards about 45 minutes later. I just wanted something a little simpler. Then I saw a recipe for roasted butternut squash chunks in Woman’s Day — a magazine I don’t regularly read. While the ingredients didn’t meet the flavor combination I was going for, I saw some big opportunity to spin the super simple recipe into a good dish that would be a lot easier to prepare (no burnt fingers!).

When my husband found out about the change in recipe, he brought up the damn custard and asked why I always have to change things . . .

Fortunately, on first taste, all I got were wows — and suggestions that this is THE recipe to repeat next year. Yay for that!

2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 lbs butternut squash, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl. Add the butternut squash chunks and toss to coat well.

Spread the squash on a baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup) in a single layer.

Cook 25-30 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Serve immediately.