Ready, Set, Prep: Careful Planning Makes Thanksgiving Day a Lot More Fun

Thanksgiving was my mother's favorite holiday. She loved the food, the gathering of friends and family and the positive outlook of a holiday that sought to bring everyone to the table. 

For many years, my wife and I enjoyed having a gathering at our house as a time to celebrate what is good about our life, to see family and friends we don't see often enough and to have a really great feast. This will be the third year that our older son Franklin and his fiance Lauren will host Thanksgiving. We are deeply appreciative of them for taking on the holidays very large effort.

If you are hosting the meal at your house, even before the vegetables are prepped and the turkey is brined, there is a lot you can do that will make the holiday go more smoothly.

Whether you are hosting a dinner of six or twenty-six, with so many dishes part of the celebration, planning is essential. And that means being prepared. Planning ahead ultimately means less stress and more fun on Thanksgiving. 

The First Step - Make a List 

Step 1 - as soon as you decide who will host, invite the guests so you have a head-count and ask who will bring a favorite Thanksgiving dish

Step 2 - for the dishes you will prepare, pull out the recipes you want to make, make an ingredients list and a preparation time line (some dishes like pickles can be made the week before, some like an apple pie and the turkey are best made on Thanksgiving)

Step 3 - clean the house

Step 4 - borrow extra chairs

Step 5 - pull the extra table out of the garage

Step 6 - shop

Step 7 - cook

Step 8 - on Thanksgiving, share the feast and enjoy the food

Step 9 - clean up

Step 10 - lie down

The recipes we use are a mix of the ones we've perfected over the years and a couple that are new to us. We want to have the favorites and also to shake it up a bit, to have some surprises.

Among the favorites are kosher dill pickles, corn bread stuffing with Italian sausage and shiitake mushrooms, cranberry sauce with nuts and orange juice, shiitake mushroom-turkey liver pate and chocolate banana walnut cake.

I'll make the Moroccan style pickles that I learned to make on a trip to Marrakech. The kosher dill pickles only need 2-3 days to cure, so I'll make those on Monday of Thanksgiving week.

10 Delicious Holiday Recipes

To help prepare for Thanksgiving, I published an e-cookbook 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes.

The ten recipes are easy-to-make, festive and fun. With a recipe for roasting a perfect Thanksgiving turkey with stuffing.

Using the Kindle App you can read the recipes on any smart phone, computer or tablet. The app is free and downloads easily.

I hope you'll order my book and let me help you plan your holiday meals with recipes for special cocktails, appetizers, salads, sides, entrees and really delicious desserts.

Ready, Set, Prep: Planning Makes Thanksgiving a Lot More Fun

Thanksgiving was my mother's favorite holiday. She loved the food, the gathering of friends and family and the positive outlook of a holiday that sought to bring everyone to the table. My wife and I enjoy having a gathering at our house as a time to celebrate what is good about our life, to see family and friends we don't see often enough and to have a really great feast.

Because we host the meal at our house, there is a lot to do.

Whether you are hosting a dinner of six or twenty-six, with so many dishes part of the celebration, planning is essential. And that means being prepared. Planning ahead ultimately means less stress and more fun on Thanksgiving. 

The First Step - Make a List 

Step 1 - as soon as you decide you will host, invite the guests so you have a head-count and ask who will bring a favorite Thanksgiving dish

Step 2 - pull out the recipes you want to make, make an ingredients list and a preparation time line (some dishes like pickles can be made the week before, some like an apple pie and the turkey are best made on Thanksgiving)

Step 3 - clean the house

Step 4 - borrow extra chairs

Step 5 - pull the extra table out of the garage

Step 6 - shop

Step 7 - cook

Step 8 - eat

Step 9 - clean up

Step 10 - lie down

The recipes we use are a mix of the ones we've perfected over the years and a couple that are new to us. We want to have the favorites and also to shake it up a bit, to have some surprises.

Among the favorites are kosher dill pickles, corn bread stuffing with Italian sausage and shiitake mushrooms, cranberry sauce with nuts and orange juice, shiitake mushroom-turkey liver pate and chocolate banana walnut cake.

I've already made the Moroccan style pickles that I learned to make on a trip to Marrakech. The kosher dill pickles only need 2-3 days to cure, so I'll make those on Monday of Thanksgiving week.

10 Delicious Holiday Recipes

To help prepare for Thanksgiving, I published an e-cookbook 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes.

The ten recipes are easy-to-make, festive and fun. With a recipe for roasting a perfect Thanksgiving turkey with stuffing.

Using the Kindle App you can read the recipes on any smart phone, computer or tablet. The app is free and downloads easily.

I hope you'll buy my book and let me help you plan your holiday meals with recipes for special cocktails, appetizers, salads, sides, entrees and really delicious desserts.

Thanksgiving Favorites Meet at the Table

It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the 4th of July.  Now the sun sets at 4:30, the leaves are falling from our trees and it's time to get ready for Thanksgiving.

Thursday we'll have friends and family around our table. We'll celebrate one another with a toast and give thanks for all our good fortune.

To be ready for the event takes planning. Even the most expansive meal begins with small tasks like peeling a carrot and making pie crust. We wanted to share our way of getting our meal from farm to table.

To prepare the turkey I'm consulting my own e-book: 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes.

As important as having good recipes, good planning and sharing the effort makes all the difference: Planning Well Makes for a Better Thanksgiving

Step 1 - invite the guests and see who will bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish
Step 2 - pull out the recipes we want to make
Step 3 - clean the house
Step 4 - borrow extra chairs
Step 5 - pull the extra table out of the garage
Step 6 - shop
Step 7 - cook
Step 8 - eat
Step 9 - clean up
Step 10 - lie down

Dietary restrictions are part of the calculations since some guests need to avoid gluten, some land based-animal proteins, others eschew sugar and for a few nuts are an issue. Avoiding those ingredients doesn't mean missing out on the fun.

Included in the mix of dishes there will be a pan charred salmon seasoned simply with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. The galette, this year's "apple pie," will not have almonds.

For everyone who can enjoy the traditional favorites there will be a large turkey stuffed with Michelle's Corn Bread Stuffing with Italian sausages, pecans and dried apricots, which is a labor of love because she eats neither corn bread nor sausages (nor, for that matter, turkey).

The appetizers will include my personal favorite, deviled eggs with anchovies and capers, as well as delicious cheeses--supplied by our friend from Paris who stays with us during the holidays--a selection of olives, charred pistachios in the shell flavored with dried spices, sea salt and cayenne pepper and turkey liver-shiitake mushroom pate, another personal favorite.

For side dishes there will be freshly made cranberry sauce, roasted whole tomatoes, roasted sweet potatoes--the little ones which are sweeter and not starchy--, garlic-parsley mashed potatoes, oven roasted Brussels sprouts--quartered, seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar and roasted whole tomatoes.

Salads this year will be one with arugula with persimmons, a beet "carpaccio" salad, a toasted hazelnuts and cheddar cheese, black kale salad dressed with a vinaigrette and homemade rosemary croutons and--another personal favorite--frisee with blue cheese and chopped green olives.

And there will be pickles: kosher dill and Moroccan mixed vegetable pickles.

Friends are bringing desserts--a big bowl of mixed berries and selection of ice creams, a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. I will contribute a apple galette and a banana chocolate chip walnut cake in the shape of a castle.

Have a great Thanksgiving.  Here are some of the recipes for our dinner.

Corn Bread Stuffing with Sausages, Dried Apricots, and Pecans

Over the years my wife has developed a crowd-pleasing stuffing with a contrast of textures: soft (corn bread), spicy (sausage), chewy (dried apricots), and crunchy (pecans).

Yield: 15-20 servings

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 boxes corn bread mix

3 celery stalks, washed, ends trimmed, leaves discarded

1 pound mushrooms, brown, shiitake, or portabella, washed, pat dried, finely chopped

2 medium yellow onions, peeled, ends removed, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped

1 stick sweet butter

1/2 - 1 cup turkey or chicken stock

4 Italian style sweet sausages

1 cup dried apricots, finely chopped

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Sea salt and pepper

Method

Make the corn bread the night before and leave the pan on the counter so the corn bread dries out. Use any cornbread mix you like. My wife uses Jiffy. It's inexpensive and tastes great. The instructions are on the box.

Saute the sausages whole in a frying pan with a little olive oil until browned, remove, cut into bite-sized pieces, and set aside. Pour off the excess fat. Add the celery, mushrooms, onion, and garlic into the pan with the stick of butter and saute. Season with sea salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned, then add 1/2 cup of the stock, toss well and summer 15 minutes. Add more stock as needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper. 

Cut the cornbread into chunks and crumble into a large mixing bowl. Add the apricots, pecans, and the saute. Stir well and set aside until you're ready to stuff the turkey.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed, stems trimmed, quartered

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil and seasoning, put in a roasting pan with enough room so they don't sit on top of each other. Roast in a preheated 350 F degree oven 30-45 minutes, turning every 5-10 minutes for even cooking.

They'll come out of the oven so warm and sweet, they'll get eaten before they arrive at the table.

Roasted Whole Tomatoes

A side dish, full of flavor and perfect to serve alongside turkey and stuffing.

Ripe and over ripe tomatoes work best. If you shop at farmers' markets, keep an eye out for discounted tomatoes. 

When they're roasting, tomatoes give off a clear liquid. The flavor is pure essence of tomato. The wonderful chef, cookbook writer, and founder of Fra'Mani, Paul Bertolli was famous for hanging tomatoes in cheese cloth and capturing the clear tomato water that he called "the blood of the fruit."

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

3 pounds ripe tomatoes (washed, stems removed)

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the whole tomatoes on a Silpat sheet or a piece of aluminum foil on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Roast for 90 minutes. When the tomatoes are removed from the pan, be certain to spatula off all the seasoned olive oil and tomato water. That liquid is full of flavor. Spoon the liquid over the tomatoes.

Arugula Salad with Hazelnuts, Carrots, Avocado, and Croutons

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 bunch arugula, washed, stems removed, leaves torn into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

1 carrot, washed, peeled, cut into thin rounds

1 avocado, peeled, pit removed, roughly chopped

1/4 cup croutons

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and pepper

Method

On a low flame reduce the balsamic vinegar to 1 tablespoon. Set aside to cool. Roast the hazelnuts in a 350 F degree oven for 20 minutes, shaking the pan every 5 minutes to cook evenly. Remove, put into a dish cloth, rub roughly to remove the skins, let cool, and crush with the side of a chefs knife.

Put the arugula, hazelnuts, carrot rounds, croutons, and avocado into a salad bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar. Season with sea salt and pepper. Toss and serve immediately.

Amsterdam, Jenever and Me, Together Again

I'm back in Amsterdam. Which makes me very happy. I celebrated being here by walking across the city.

For a coffee at a local hangout, I met Machteld Ligtvoet, a friend from several trips to the city. The brasserie and bar de Ysbreeker (Weesperzijde 23, 1091 EC) was named for the ice breakers that used to dock on the Amstel River in front of the 18th century building. We talked about Amsterdam and she shared some of her favorite destinations.

After we said goodbye, I could have taken a tram back to the INK Hotel Amsterdam where I am staying or, as Machteld suggested, I could walk.

That was great advice. Walking across the city was so much fun. 

I walked on the east side of the Amstel River, checking out the river traffic and the house boats moored along the river and the canals. Then I walked across the city center so I could stop at the Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam. I had heard that the Grand's 1-star Michelin restaurant Bridges had recently been remodeled. 

Anne-Claire Koopman, Marketing Manager at the Grand, gave me a tour of Bridges. The restaurant is a delight. Elegant, modern and intimate. I didn't have time in my schedule to have a meal, but next trip, that will be at the top of my must-do list. 

There were other changes at Bridges as well. A new bar, the addition of a chef's table in the heart of the kitchen and an expanded bistro, where we found a seat with a close-up view of the beautifully lush courtyard garden. 

For a snack, we had a plate of  bitterballen, that quintessential Dutch appetizer made with flour and bits of meat, deep fried and served with a proper spicy mustard. Delicious! But it was the beverages that gave me a Proustian moment.

In 2015 I was in Amsterdam and stumbled on a liquor store on the edge of the Jordaan, 2008 Wine & Spirits (Haarlemmerdijk 59). Ron Verhoeven offered me a tasting of Jenever or Genever, a distinctive Dutch spirit. Clear or amber, depending on the age, it was love at first sip.

Verhoeven set me on a path that I've pursued since then. I wrote an article about Jenever, which I am reprinting here.

Which brings me back to Bridges. Jenever was on the drink menu. Of course, this is Amsterdam. The bistro poured Jonge Bols Dubbelgestookte Graanjenever with a beer back. I loved the combination of a strong clean spirit and the effervescence of a light Dutch beer. Delicious. 

All that was missing was to close the circle.

After I said goodbye to Anne-Claire, I continued walking north through drizzle and sunny skies. I crossed DAM Square, joining the throngs of tourists north on Nieuwendijk, which finally became Haarlemmerdijk. I was returning to square one, the place where it all began.

I walked into 2008 Wine & Spirits expecting to see Ron Verhoeven again. He wasn't there. Arjan his brother-in-law greeted me. 

I quickly saw what I wanted. Zuidam: Jonge Graan Genever. I bought two bottles to bring home. Arjan told me the history of genever and how the quintessential Dutch spirit fell out of favor in the 60s and 70s. Happily in the last twenty years, jenever has had a resurgence. Large and small producers have embraced the spirit, improving the quality, striking out into new flavor directions.

For the rest of the evening, at dinner at de Belhamel (Brouwersgracht 60) and for a nightcap at the Pressroom Bar at INK, I sampled more jeneers. Oh, happiness.

I enjoyed a Wees Jonge and a Zuidam Gelagerde Korenwijin 5 Jaar Vat Gelagerd. So different. So delicious. 

Which leads me to the article I wrote about Jenever. I'm reposting it now, to share with you my enjoyment of jenever and hope you join me in lifting a glass, with a beer back, to salute the wonders of Amsterdam and the Dutch! (Did I mention that my grandfather was born in Rotterdam?)

Jenever’s clean, bright taste is perfect neat or in cocktails.

If you visit Amsterdam, you will be advised to do as the Dutch do. No matter the weather, rain or shine, jump on a bicycle and explore the city. A necessary part of the Dutch experience is to stop in a neighborhood bar for a sandwich and a glass of jenever (or, genever, as it is variously spelled, and pronounced “yin-e-ver”).

You will happily greet the waiter who delivers jenever to your table in its traditional tulip shaped glass. As you sip, the jenever will give you “Dutch courage” to go back outside to continue your adventures.

For hundreds of years, jenever was the favorite drink of the Netherlands. When the English and Dutch fought a war in the 17^th century, the English soldiers remarked about the fierceness of their opponents. That fierceness seemed to have something to do with the drink they shared before battle. Soon the English were drinking jenever as ardently as the Dutch and when they returned home, they wanted more of the same.

They called their creations “gin,” a reference to jenever but gin was made in a very different way. Because gin is better known, jenever is sometimes incorrectly called “Dutch gin.”

The Basics

Both use juniper berries as an aromatic, but jenever is distilled from malt wine made with rye, corn and wheat, while gin is distilled from grains. That malty base gives jenever a quality similar to whiskey or scotch. 

To be called a jenever, the spirit can only be produced in the regions specified as AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée), which include the Netherlands, Belgium and a few areas in France and Germany. In 2008, two sub-categories were created that differentiated a “young” (jonge) and an “old” (oude) jenever. The names refer not to age but to the percentage of malt wine and sugar in each. Following the historic practice, old jenever must have at least 15% malt wine and no more than 20 grams of sugar per liter. Creating a more modern and lighter distillate, young jenever may have no more than 15% malt wine and no more than 10 grams of sugar per liter.

A few jenevers are exported to the U.S. and they are prized by mixologists.  The best way to enjoy the great variety produced by Dutch distilleries is to go on a jenever-bar-crawl in Amsterdam.

A Walking Tour of Amsterdam’s Jenever Tasting Rooms

Walking along the canals, visiting museums and hanging out in coffee shops, you will want to visit several of Amsterdam’s jenever tasting rooms called proeflokaal. Many of those family-run bars are in historic rooms with ancient wood paneled walls, cooper pots used in distillation and shelves lined with dozens of types of jenever. 

For my tour of Amsterdam, after I crossed tourist-popular Dam Square in front of the Royal Palace, I walked down a narrow pedestrian walk-way lined with centuries old stone buildings that all but blocked out the bright blue sky overhead. Finally I reached Wynand Fockink (Pijlsteeg 31, 1012 HH Amsterdam,+31 20 639 2695), a 17^th century tavern with a retail store in one small room and a bar in the other. 

Wynand Fockink feels like a setting you’ve seen in a Rembrandt painting with low ceilings and long wooden shelves, sagging with age and the weight of a great many liquor bottles. No mixed cocktails are served here. The bartenders offer customers tastings of their old, young, spelt, rye and superior jenevers in traditional tulip shaped glasses.

Another destination for that old school experience is the charming, historic, 19^th century building housing Proeflokaal A. van Wees (Herengracht 319, 1016 AV Amsterdam, Netherlands, +31 20 625 4334). The tasting room serves sixteen types of van Wees jenever. The young jenevers have a light, bright flavor. The old jenevers, of which there are many, have flavors varied by the choice of botanicals and the length of time spent in oak casks. Some of those jenevers are aged as long as fifteen and twenty years to create flavors similar to brandy or fine Scotch. 

The Van Wees Distillery (Van Wees distilleerderij de Ooievaar) originally opened in 1782, may be the oldest, continuously run jenever distillery in Amsterdam. Fenny van Wees, the current owner and distiller, took over from her father who followed his father into the business. Now her daughter, Nikki Swart, has joined her. Their small batch jenevers are sold in bars around Amsterdam and exported throughout Europe, although not as yet to the U.S. About her release, the Miracle of Amsterdam (Mirakel van Amsterdam), she uses phrases commonly employed to describe fine wines and exquisite whiskeys. 

“It smells like honey, straw, vanilla, lemon, cardamom and other sultry scents, as if you’re wandering around through a warm eastern countryside. Tasteful and yet absolutely charming and elegant. In my opinion a female jenever, made by a female.”

For a completely different experience, a must-stop on a jenever tour of Amsterdam is the House of Bols (Paulus Potterstraat 14, 1071 CZ Amsterdam, +31 20 570 8575). The design style is modern, bright and colorful. In the Mirror Bar, the décor is fun and exciting as guests gather around the long bar to watch mixologists ply their trade. Guests can also join a workshop in cocktail mixology and have tastings of Bols’ liquors and jenevers as well as take a tour of the distillery and experience the varied aromas and flavors used in creating spirits in the Hall of Taste. 

Jenever in the U.S.

Making an appearance in Michelin-starred restaurants and bars around the country, jenever appeals to mixologists who like its distinctive flavors and its ability to play nice with other ingredients.  

Leo Robitschek at New York’s Nomad Bar (1170 Broadway, New York 10001, 212 796 1500) uses jenever to build complex flavors in his cocktails. To make the Dr. Walnut cocktail, he mixes Bols Genever 1820 with Amaro Ciociaro, Royal Combier, hazelnut liqueur, lemon juice, egg white and shaved walnuts. For a completely different experience, Bols Genever 1820, pisco and cachaça are combined to create a high-octane base in the Sakura Maru cocktail, flavored with sheep’s milk yogurt, lemon juice and agave. 

At San Francisco’s Mint 54 (16 Mint Plaza, San Francisco 94103, 415 543 5100) in Union Square, Jacobo Rosito uses a light touch when he creates jenever cocktails.  His New Era cocktail, a riff on a Moscow Mule puts Bols 1820 Genever front and center in a light mixer of St. Germain, lime juice, Fever Tree ginger beer and a few dashes of Angostura Bitters. For his Smokey Old Fashioned, he accents Bols Barrel Aged Genever with Lapsang Souchong syrup and bitters 12.  

Rosito says that those two cocktails are now the most popular at 54 Mint. For an after dinner digestive, he recommends Bols Barrel Aged Genever, which he happily admits he loves neat as his own end-of-the-evening treat. Rosito declares enthusiastically that jenever will become the new trend in the U.S.

Cesar Cerrudo at Mercado Modern (301 N. Spurgeon Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701, 714 338 2446)

also benefited from a visit to Amsterdam. Cerrudo riffs on classic cocktails using Bols genevers. With a nod to Amsterdam’s Red Light District, for his Red Light Negorni he uses Bols Genever, Pisco Viejo Tonel Acholado, Galliano L’Aperitivo infused with strawberries, lavender infused Carpano Antica Vermouth, Fee Brothers Rhubarb bitters, Fernet Vallet and clove smoke. His customers enjoy the way the genever interacts with the pisco, giving his Negorni a distinctive flavor profile.

By inviting mixologists to Amsterdam, Bols familiarized Rosito, Cerrudo and many others with jenever. As bartenders become better acquainted with jenever and demand increases, expect small batch distilleries like Wynand Fockink, Van Wees Distillery, Zuidam and others to make their distinctive jenevers available in the U.S. When that happens, jenever’s clean, bright flavors will compete for the attention of loyal mescal, gin and whiskey drinkers. And that will be a good day for everyone who loves quality spirits.

Thanksgiving Favorites Meet at the Table

For Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, we'll enjoy the holiday with 18 family members and friends. We know the dinner will be a lot of noisy fun, but until then, there's lots to do so the meal runs smoothly and everyone has what they want to eat.

We began preparing last Sunday when we shopped at the Pacific Palisades farmer market. This morning we picked up the turkey and a few last-minute ingredients at the Santa Monica farmers market. For "fuel" I ran into Starbucks to have a double espresso.

To prepare the turkey I'm consulting my own e-book: 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes.

As important as having good recipes, good planning and sharing the effort makes all the difference: Planning Well Makes for a Better Thanksgiving

Step 1 - invite the guests and see who will bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish
Step 2 - pull out the recipes we want to make
Step 3 - clean the house
Step 4 - borrow extra chairs
Step 5 - pull the extra table out of the garage
Step 6 - shop
Step 7 - cook
Step 8 - eat
Step 9 - clean up
Step 10 - lie down

Dietary restrictions are part of the calculations since some guests need to avoid gluten, some land based-animal proteins, others eschew sugar and for a few nuts are an issue. Avoiding those ingredients doesn't mean missing out on the fun.

Included in the mix of dishes there will be a pan charred salmon seasoned simply with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. The galette, this year's "apple pie," will not have almonds.

For everyone who can enjoy the traditional favorites there will be a large turkey stuffed with my wife's Corn Bread Stuffing with Italian sausages, pecans and dried apricots, which is a labor of love because she eats neither corn bread nor sausages (nor, for that matter, turkey).

The appetizers will include my personal favorite, deviled eggs with anchovies and capers, as well as delicious cheeses--supplied by our friend from Paris who stayed with us last week--,a selection of olives, charred pistachios in the shell flavored with dried spices, sea salt and cayenne pepper and turkey liver-shiitake mushroom pate, another personal favorite.

For side dishes there will be freshly made cranberry sauce, roasted whole tomatoes, roasted sweet potatoes--the little ones which are sweeter and not starchy--, garlic-parsley mashed potatoes, oven roasted Brussels sprouts--quartered, seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar and roasted whole tomatoes.

Salads this year will be one with arugula with persimmons, a beet "carpaccio" salad, a toasted hazelnuts and cheddar cheese, black kale salad dressed with a vinaigrette and homemade rosemary croutons and--another personal favorite--frisee with blue cheese and chopped green olives.

And there will be pickles: kosher dill and Moroccan mixed vegetable pickles.

Friends are bringing desserts--a big bowl of mixed berries and selection of ice creams, a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. I will contribute a plate of my almond-dark chocolate ganache chocolates, the apple galette and a slow cooked passion fruit custard.

Have a great Thanksgiving.  Here are some of the recipes for our dinner.

Corn Bread Stuffing with Sausages, Dried Apricots, and Pecans

Over the years my wife has developed a crowd-pleasing stuffing with a contrast of textures: soft (corn bread), spicy (sausage), chewy (dried apricots), and crunchy (pecans).

Yield: 15-20 servings

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 boxes corn bread mix

3 celery stalks, washed, ends trimmed, leaves discarded

1 pound mushrooms, brown, shiitake, or portabella, washed, pat dried, finely chopped

2 medium yellow onions, peeled, ends removed, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped

1 stick sweet butter

1/2 - 1 cup turkey or chicken stock

4 Italian style sweet sausages

1 cup dried apricots, finely chopped

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Sea salt and pepper

Method

Make the corn bread the night before and leave the pan on the counter so the corn bread dries out. Use any cornbread mix you like. My wife uses Jiffy. It's inexpensive and tastes great. The instructions are on the box.

Saute the sausages whole in a frying pan with a little olive oil until browned, remove, cut into bite-sized pieces, and set aside. Pour off the excess fat. Add the celery, mushrooms, onion, and garlic into the pan with the stick of butter and saute. Season with sea salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned, then add 1/2 cup of the stock, toss well and summer 15 minutes. Add more stock as needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper. 

Cut the cornbread into chunks and crumble into a large mixing bowl. Add the apricots, pecans, and the saute. Stir well and set aside until you're ready to stuff the turkey.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts, washed, stems trimmed, quartered

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

Toss the Brussels sprouts with olive oil and seasoning, put in a roasting pan with enough room so they don't sit on top of each other. Roast in a preheated 350 F degree oven 30-45 minutes, turning every 5-10 minutes for even cooking.

They'll come out of the oven so warm and sweet, they'll get eaten before they arrive at the table.

Roasted Whole Tomatoes

A side dish, full of flavor and perfect to serve alongside turkey and stuffing.

Ripe and over ripe tomatoes work best. If you shop at farmers' markets, keep an eye out for discounted tomatoes. 

When they're roasting, tomatoes give off a clear liquid. The flavor is pure essence of tomato. The wonderful chef, cookbook writer, and founder of Fra'Mani, Paul Bertolli was famous for hanging tomatoes in cheese cloth and capturing the clear tomato water that he called "the blood of the fruit."

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

3 pounds ripe tomatoes (washed, stems removed)

Olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the whole tomatoes on a Silpat sheet or a piece of aluminum foil on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Roast for 90 minutes. When the tomatoes are removed from the pan, be certain to spatula off all the seasoned olive oil and tomato water. That liquid is full of flavor. Spoon the liquid over the tomatoes.

Arugula Salad with Hazelnuts, Carrots, Avocado, and Croutons

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 bunch arugula, washed, stems removed, leaves torn into bite sized pieces

1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

1 carrot, washed, peeled, cut into thin rounds

1 avocado, peeled, pit removed, roughly chopped

1/4 cup croutons

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and pepper

Method

On a low flame reduce the balsamic vinegar to 1 tablespoon. Set aside to cool. Roast the hazelnuts in a 350 F degree oven for 20 minutes, shaking the pan every 5 minutes to cook evenly. Remove, put into a dish cloth, rub roughly to remove the skins, let cool, and crush with the side of a chefs knife.

Put the arugula, hazelnuts, carrot rounds, croutons, and avocado into a salad bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar. Season with sea salt and pepper. Toss and serve immediately.

A Little Bit of Planning Makes Thanksgiving a Lot More Fun

Every year I look forward to Thanksgiving. A time to celebrate what is good about our life, to see family and friends we don't see often enough and to have a really great feast. Because we host the meal at our house, there is a lot to do.

Being prepared means less stress and more fun on Thanksgiving. The first step is to make lists. 

Step 1 - invite the guests and see who will bring their favorite Thanksgiving dish
Step 2 - pull out the recipes we want to make
Step 3 - clean the house
Step 4 - borrow extra chairs
Step 5 - pull the extra table out of the garage
Step 6 - shop
Step 7 - cook
Step 8 - eat
Step 9 - clean up
Step 10 - lie down

As of today we've completed Step 1.

Tomorrow we'll start on Step 2 by pulling out favorite recipes, the ones that "it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without."

Which would include: kosher dill pickles, corn bread stuffing with Italian sausage and shiitake mushrooms, cranberry sauce with nuts and orange juice, shiitake mushroom-turkey liver pate and chocolate banana walnut cake.

To mix things up, I'm adding Moroccan style pickles that I learned to make on a trip to Marrakech. And because this Thanksgiving is also the first night of Hanukkah, Michelle is making latkas using Yukon Gold potatoes and also ones made with sweet potatoes from Yang Farms at the Sunday Pacific Palisades Farmers Market.

10 Delicious Holiday Recipes

Last year I published my first e-cookbook 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes.

The ten recipes are easy-to-make, festive and fun. With a recipe for roasting a perfect Thanksgiving turkey with stuffing.

Using the Kindle App you can read the recipes on any smart phone, computer or tablet. The app is free and downloads easily.

I hope you'll buy my book and let me help you plan your holiday meals with recipes for special cocktails, appetizers, salads, sides, entrees and really delicious desserts.

10 Delicious Holiday Recipes

I'm happy to say I published my first cookbook, 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes.

I wanted to create a cookbook with ten easy-to-make recipes perfect for the holidays.

I'd like to hear what you think about the recipes and I would certainly like it if you would buy the book. For $2.99 you get a great collection of cocktails, appetizers, salads, sides, entrees and a couple of dynamite desserts.

I used Amazon and Kindle, but if you don't own a Kindle, no problem. You can download the Kindle App that works for your smart phone, computer or iPad. It's free and downloads easily.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.  Have a great holiday!