Thanksgiving Appetizers: Butternut Hummus & Deviled Eggs

I spend most of Thanksgiving day cooking, and love to have some tasty appetizers on hand to keep everyone going (but not too full) before the big feast. Here are a couple fun ideas that are easy to prep ahead.

My local paper, The Palo Alto Weekly, did a really lovely article and video all about Thanksgiving Appetizers adapted from my new cookbook. We shot a 15-minute recipe video on the deck where I made some fun recipes like this Butternut Hummus (below) and an adaptation on my deviled eggs, turning them into Butternut Hummus Deviled Eggs with Pomegranate Seeds. Read the article by Anna Medina and get the recipes HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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The video above is by The Palo Alto Weekly, shot by Veronica Weber. Host: Anna Medina. The video accompanies the article published 11/17/16.

Nutty Cauliflower Pilaf

Last night we went to our friends' house for their annual Friendsgiving party. The celebration has grown to about 40 people and features the most amazing potluck feast you can imagine! We all sign up for dishes in advance and this year I brought a Nutty Cauliflower Pilaf using a bag of Taylor Farms Cauliflower Pearls. I thought this would be a good one to bring since it's gluten-free and we have several friends that are gluten intolerant. (Also, one of the only vegetables I can currently get Ezra to eat is cauliflower in this riced/pearl form!) I mixed the cauliflower with quinoa to give it a bit more substance, and for crunch and chew, you can mix in any nuts, seeds or dried berries you have on hand. This will be making a repeat appearance at our Thanksgiving table this Thursday.

I also made a couple quick, seasonal sides to go with it: A simple Kale Salad with baby kale, persimmons and pomegranate seeds, plus some Crispy Old Bay Brussels (see recipes below.)

Nutty Cauliflower Pilaf

16 oz (1 bag) Taylor Farms Cauliflower Pearls

1 c cooked red or white quinoa

2T butter

2T olive oil

1/4 c golden raisins

1/4 c dried cherries

1/4 c shelled whole pistachios (or chop, if you prefer)

1/4 c sunflower seeds

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, sauté the cauliflower pearls with the butter and olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are softer, translucent and just starting to brown. Mix in all other ingredients and serve warm in a bowl or on a platter. Serves 6 as a side (easily doubled or tripled for a larger group).

Kale Salad with Persimmon & Pomegranate

11 oz (1 box) Taylor Farms Organic Baby Kale

1 Fuyu persimmon (I leave the peel on)

1/3 c fresh pomegranate seeds (about a 1/2  pomegranate)

Place baby kale on a large platter and top with slices of persimmon and pomegranate seeds. Use your favorite balsamic dressing. Serves about 6. 

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Crispy Old Bay Brussels

9 oz (1 bag) Taylor Farms Shaved Brussels Sprouts

Olive oil

Old Bay seasoning

Spread the brussels out on a baking sheet in a thin, even layer and drizzle the entire surface generously with olive oil and sprinkle with plenty of Old Bay seasoning (which adds saltiness and spiciness). Roast in the oven at 400ºF for about 20 minutes, tossing once or twice, until some bits are brown and crispy. Check it occasionally to make sure it's not burning. Serve hot. This dish is best served relatively soon after roasting, as the crispiness will reduce with time. Serves about 4 as a side.

We are hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year– 18 people for dinner in our little cabin will be quite cozy...we are excited! Check my Instagram stories for more (@theforestfeast). 

Happy Thanksgiving,

Erin

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This post was done in partnership with Taylor Farms. Thank you for supporting the brands that make The Forest Feast possible.

Persimmon Inspired Thanksgiving Sides

Those who know me well know I am a *little* obsessed with persimmons. There's a short window of time in California each Fall when Fuyu persimmons (pictured above; the only type I care about) are abundant and that window is NOW! I love working them into the Thanksgiving meal.  If you have access to them as well, here are some of my favorite ways to use them. Click each picture below for more recipe info.

Persimmon Salad

I make this every Thanksgiving and often add avocado, too!

Persimmon Cranberry Sauce

Persimmon Squash Salad with Radicchio

also: 

Persimmon Brie Appetizer + A Simple Green Salad with Persimmon

We are hosting Thanksgiving this year for the first time ever! I'll be back soon with my menu ideas...Cheers!

Fall Recipes from My New Book

My new cookbook, The Forest Feast Gatherings, was released TODAY! I couldn't be happier or more excited about how it turned out. It's got 100 simple vegetarian recipes geared for entertaining, and set up in menus for all different types of occasions, from a brunch, to a wine & cheese party, to seasonal dinner party menus. Plus it's loaded with even more of my photos and watercolor illustrations and several DIY ideas for hosting.

I wanted to share a couple recipes from one of my favorite menus, the Fall Feast. Each menu starts with a page like this:

Testing was fun. Friends and family actually hosted gatherings for all the menus in the book, making all the recipes to serve in one setting and then sent invaluable feedback on how much time it took to make everything, how it tasted, if there were leftovers, etc. Here are a couple favorite recipes from the Fall dinner party menu: 

Thank you so much to everyone who pre-ordered! Your free gifts should be arriving soon. And thanks to everyone who came out to my launch events in NYC last week. Thank you to Powerhouse and Paper Source for hosting. We had such a fun time! More photos in my newsletter, here.

For anyone in the CA Bay Area, hope you can come to the west coast launch party this Saturday from 5-7pm in Woodside. More info here. Drinks and snacks from the book will be served (free event)!

Cheers and Happy hosting!

Halloumi Grill Wraps

Labor Day is a favorite holiday weekend of mine since it marks our wedding anniversary (5 this year!). I am heading to Santa Barbara to stay at my aunt & uncle's beach house, perhaps my favorite place in the world, where we will probably BBQ every night! I think food cooked outdoors always tastes better, don't you?

I am always trying to brainstorm new ideas for bar-style serving at parties and included a lot of these types of ideas in my cookbook that comes out next month. Since I could basically live on grilled vegetables and cheese, I came up with this idea for wraps that works perfectly for laid-back BBQ entertaining. We recently stuffed BBQ veggies and grilled halloumi cheese into multigrain Flatout Flatbread wraps and it was a delicious combo! These flatbreads are super soft and tasty, and perfect for a meal-sized wrap.

Halloumi Grill Wraps

serves 4

8 oz Halloumi cheese

1 eggplant, 1 bell pepper and 1 zucchini

1 package of Flatout MultiGrain with Flax Flatbread

Garnish: tahini sauce or dressing, hot sauce and fresh herbs

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Slice the vegetables into long strips, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and then place on the BBQ until cooked. Slice the halloumi into long strips as well and place on the BBQ (it's a magical cheese that doesn't melt!). Make sure the strips aren't too thin or they'll fall through. The halloumi just needs to be warmed, so it won't need long. Warm the flatbreads over the grill if you like, but it's not mandatory since this variety is so fresh and soft. I like to place all the ingredients out on a buffet and let guests build their own wraps. 

For garnish: Place toppings in small bowls at the end of your buffet. For the tahini, I found a bottled tahini-lemon salad dressing that worked great, but some deli sections offer a standard white tahini sauce. As for hot sauce, I used Sriracha, and for the fresh herbs I used cilantro but parsley or basil would also be great!

Cheers to the last "official" weekend of summer. Hope you get some time to cook and eat outdoors. Happy BBQing!

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This post was done in partnership with Flatout Flatbread and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make The Forest Feast possible!