The traditional Thanksgiving spread is myriad and sundry, encompassing a great range of tastes–both literally and figuratively. Preparing requires dedication, and in the modern holiday, with the added palates of our vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or food-allergic guests, the Thanksgiving meal has new challenges.
Thanksgiving is only seven days away now, and the best way to plan is to start with some old fashioned lists. Names of guests, time you want to serve, dishes you want to cook, dishes that others should bring, and, (perhaps most importantly), what you want to pour. A week is plenty of time to give yourself a minimally stressful experience, so start finalizing your menu today if you haven’t already. If you do all the shopping this weekend and make a dish or two per day, you’ll be ready to greet your guests on Thanksgiving–smiling, glass of wine in hand.
On Seasonedfork, we’ll be counting down to Turkey Day with a series of posts designed to help ease you into your holiday prep, and we’re sharing our Thanksgiving menu with you–starting with this recipe for Herb-Roasted Olives, an easy make-ahead hors d’oeuvre that checks off all the boxes–vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and delicious. Tomorrow, look for our recipe for gluten-free Thai-spiced snack-mix–guaranteed better than anything you’ll find in a bag or a box.
Ingredients for Herb-roasted olives:
2 cups of assorted olives (Black Kalamata olives and tiny Moroccan olives, along with Spanish Manzanilla green olives, are all delicious)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon coarsely chopped rosemary
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Toss together olives, olive oil, garlic, oregano, fennel seeds, red pepper, salt, and black pepper, then transfer onto a small baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, until sizzling. Once removed from oven, transfer to a serving bowl and toss with orange zest, parsley, and rosemary. Allow to cool and store in sealed container in your fridge. Remove from the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature prior to serving.
Notes: Olives will keep, covered tightly and refrigerated, for at least a week. Serve them in one of those decorative dishes or trays you have been storing in the cabinet, next to a smaller bowl for pits and another with toothpicks.
For those of you who are heading to someone else’s home for Thanksgiving dinner, make sure you let your hosts and chefs know how much you appreciate their effort. Also, bring wine…bring lots of wine!
Our Thanksgiving Menu:
Hors d’oeuvres and bar
Herb-roasted olives
Thai-spiced snack mix
Crudités with green goddess dressing
Prosciutto-wrapped breadsticks
Assorted North Fork wines: red, white and sparkling
Flat and sparkling bottled water, with lime wedges and plenty of ice
First course
Green salad with sautéed Peconic Bay scallops, local oyster mushrooms and assorted fresh herbs, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon, local sea salt, and black pepper
Main course with side dishes
Turkey en Croute
12 Ingredient Pumpkin Cornbread Stuffing, (gluten-free and vegetarian)
Shaved and sautéed brussel sprouts with chestnuts
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Desserts
Pumpkin-coconut pie
Baked apple crumble
Hot apple toddies
