Thanksgiving is in a matter of hours. Are you in denial too!? Okay, now back to the matter at hand. Turkey. Twenty pounds of turkey. Turkey that still needs to be brined. This year we decided that we’d stay put for the holidays so my dear side of the family gets us and the misters cuzzie who’s up to visit from Portland. Mum and I decided that we’ split Thanksgiving cooking so I’m on turkey, pie, gravy and side dish duty! Pie crust, pumpkin pie and pecan pie recipe are already posted but stay tuned for the others!
No Thanksgiving turkey would be complete in presentation without the little turkey frills! Hey Google, thanks for the help! Below is a super simple Turkey Frill DIY, just remember to put them on for the presentation part and don’t cook them in the oven!
DIY Turkey Frills 1 sheet of white copy paper
scissors tape
I met this delicious seasonal dish at a baby shower a few weeks ago. Let’s set the stage here; I’m not usually super amazing thrilled baby showers attendee. But, one of my very good girlfriends recently had her first shower and there was a sacred promise that there would be no games, which is a huge plus for encouraging attendance. Little did I know that I would be greeted upon entry with a glass of La Marca Processco (which is my favorite) and ushered into a room of absolutely fantastic gals. With a glass of bubbly in my hand and a smile on my face I was shown to the food table. This, my fine friends, was both a visual and tasty delight! There were numerous quiche options, fresh shrimp with cocktail sauce, three types of homemade mini cupcakes and an absolutely amazing kale radicchio salad which I shamelessly had thirds of.
The bubbly was also flowing, but, that has no correlation to the ‘yum’ factor of this salad. Not only was it visually delightful, but it was so delicious that I had to remind myself I was in public and shoving salad into my mouth as quickly as I could was not socially appropriate. It was tangy, creamy, crunchy, herbaceous, earthy and downright amazing. Three bites in I was begging for the recipe. It was a simple and side dish that is easily transported for events and was SUPER tasty. Had I hit the side-dish mecca? Quite possibly my friends, quite possibly.
For halloween our office did a “Crocktober” and one look at the food sign up sheet had my insides yelling for something even remotely healthy! Someone’s got to make a non-crockpot dish to balance this whole situation out right!? So, when asked to sign up for a dish to share I decided that there needed to be a little balance to the baked goods, 3 types of mac n cheese (including one that boasted being ‘texas style’ which apparently meant extra cheese and cream), pork, meatballs, cookies, brownies and otherwise carbacious cheese covered feast that was about to ensue. This festive gathering needing kale, lots of kale. Good, wholesome tasty kale. There was no other thought in my mind than to debut the kale radicchio salad recipe. If we’re being completely honest, I made this salad for a few reasons; one of preservation so I knew there would be something I would eat there, and I also really needed some motivation to blog this recipe (that a few people have specifically asked for in the past week) and try my hand at homemade poppyseed dressing. Unless I had a deadline of hungry mouths tomorrow and feeling the moral obligation to balance out the cholesterol and sugar levels of the office party, this recipe could have been put off for months.
This recipe is so easy and tasty it’s almost ridiculous. It really highlights the fall and winter seasonal flavors that might not be combined in salad form but are absolutely ridiculously good when combined. This recipe calls for one of my favorite seasonal ingredients, pumpkin seeds. Now, if we want to be fancy we’d call them pepitas instead of pumpkin seeds which has a literal translation of “little seed of a squash”. It’s basically the spanish culinary term for a pumpkin seed. I gave the salad a little upgrade by roasting them with paprika before adding them to the recipe. You can find my recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds here and just sub out the salt for paprika. This is one salad where you can really personalize! Next time I might also roast some delicata squash and add it in, or even pumpkin or butternut squash!
This salad is really going to be a seasonal staple for us and will be ever evolved. It makes a great simple, quick meal or healthy and tasty potluck dish! It’s super simple to make the night before and combine when you’re ready to serve. It’s gluten-free, dairy free, nut-free, healthy and easy. Yes PLEASE!
Seasonal Kale Radicchio Salad w/ Poppyseed Dressing
For the Salad
1 head kale, washed, stemmed, massaged and torn into pieces
1 head radicchio, washed and cut and cut in chiffonade
pepitas/ pumpkin seeds
olive oil
paprika
dried cranberries
1 small thinly sliced shallot
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay the pepitas out on non-stick foil and spray with olive oil or other high-heat oil. Dust with smoked paprika and toast for 10 minutes, keeping an eye and adjusting time according to how your oven heats. Once they’re done remove from the oven and let cool.
Meanwhile, thoroughly wash and de-stem the kale.
I wash the kale well, and use a large OXO SoftWorks Salad Spinner to dry kale and I absolutely love it! Add a tiny bit of grey salt and massage the kale in the bowl until it reduces in size and turns a darker color.
Grab the radicchio, peel the outer layer, slice in half and core the halves. Pull apart a few layers at a time, fold and chiffonade. The chiffonade technique is basically rolling the leaves and thinly slicing.
Half and core the radicchio
Rolling up the radicchio
Roll the radicchio leaves
Radicchio roll
Slice the radicchio in thin layers
Successful chiffonade
Place kale and radicchio in a bowl. Add the toasted pepitas and cranberries to taste.
Place all dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake to combine.
When you’re ready to serve, add the dressing to the bowl and toss.
Variations Substitute pepitas for walnuts and add goat cheese and parsley with plain oil dressing
Spiced pecans and dried cranberries with a warm bacon vinaigrette
Mandarine oranges with slivered almonds and a sesame vinaigrette
Roast up some delicata squash, butternut squash or pumpkin and throw it in
It’s that time of year: the lights are sparkling, holiday music is playing everywhere you turn, and gingerbread lattes are readily available! I get so excited to decorate for the holidays, but I do dread the credit card bill at the end of the month. This year, I decided that there has to be some holiday decorating ideas that are chic, classy and personalized without busting my budget.
After sleuthing around on Pinterest and exploring the blogosphere, I was amazed at a multitude of great and incredibly inexpensive holiday decorating ideas. Decking the halls shouldn’t put you in the poor house, so let’s get started!
Set the Mood
You don’t have to purchase holiday music to feel that holiday cheer or set the tone for your gift wrapping, decorating or dinner party. Try making a Pandora station or Spotify playlist and include a few of your favorite artists. You might even find a few new festive songs to enjoy.
When decorating, candles are my go-to, as candlelight always creates such a lovely ambiance. Use various heights of candles in different colors and arrange them in glass mason jars with cranberries around the base of the candle. You can even make a menorah using craft boxes and candles from the dollar store. One fun project is to use old tin cans and make a holiday luminary to decorate the inside and outside of your home, which can be reused year after year.
Snow Men!
Use What You’ve Got
When it comes to decoration, natural elements give a very classy touch. It’s amazing how many uses there are for tree branches and pine cones. Pick up a few extra boughs when you select your Christmas tree and take them home to decorate with metallic or colored spray paint. Make your own wreath or place them on the table with a candle in a glass jar for a festive centerpiece. You can also do the same spray-paint treatment to fruit to use as centerpieces, accent colors in glass bowls or jars, or as place settings for dinner party guests. I just love these little decorative pieces using Christmas tree sprigs and wine corks.
Want to be even more frugal? Use pine cones from your own backyard to decorate your home. You can also spray-paint them like this with metallic or sparkled paint for an extra pinch of pizzaz! The options are endless.
Meanwhile, make holiday cards multitask by hanging a ribbon and getting wooden clothespins to hang the cards as they come. Check out this roundup of festive ways to display your holiday cards.
Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments
Scour the Kitchen
There are quite a few things that are probably already in your house and kitchen that can be used to make amazing holiday decorations. For example, you could make a popcorn and cranberry garland for your tree or banister. For snacking and decoration, try these marshmallow dreidels. You can also float cranberries in water for an unconventional decoration piece like this. Use up festive paper and make paper Christmas trees or felt trees in various sizes. The paper trees also make great table top décor or name cards for dinner parties.
Some of my favorite holiday memories are around baking for the holidays and decorating the house. Mom brought both of them together and had us make our own ornaments one year. It was so much fun and my little angel still hangs on her tree each Christmas! Make your own cinnamon or salt dough ornaments and bring some personalized holiday cheer to your tree. They also make great gifts or even gift tags. You can also use model magic and create some lovely ornaments like these snowflake ornaments.
I love the smells of Christmas as much as the sights and sounds. One of the most common decorations that’s most readily available for any budget is to decorate oranges with cloves, called pomanders, like this. Use a large needle to poke holes and insert the cloves. You can even spell out festive words. Hang them around your house or on your tree or mantle and enjoy the fresh smell of citrus and spice!
Wine Bottle Advent Calendar
D.I.Y.
The anticipation that comes with counting down to the holidays might be one of my favorite parts to incorporate into holiday décor. Try making your own advent calendar using paper bags and string. You could also paint a piece of wood and adhere number painted clothespins and dangle little presents like this advent calendar. If you are feeling festive as a wino, check out my favorite advent calendar of all time.
To make you own tree adornment, get clear glass ball ornaments at a craft store and paint them with festive and metallic paint like this or this. For Chanukah, these felt dreidel pouches can easily be stitched together to stash some goodies.
That should be enough to get your house somewhere near as festive as the Macy’s window in New York! For more décor, baking and holiday entertaining ideas visit my Christmas and Chanukah Pinterest boards.
(Original Publication, feature on Levo League here)
What are some of your tips and tricks for decorating on a budget? Share them in the comments section!
Thanksgiving is in a matter of hours. Are you in denial too!? Okay, now back to the matter at hand. Turkey. Twenty pounds of turkey. Turkey that still needs to be brined. This year we decided that we’d stay put for the holidays so my dear side of the family gets us and the misters cuzzie who’s up to visit from Portland. Mum and I decided that we’ split Thanksgiving cooking so I’m on turkey, pie, gravy and side dish duty! Pie crust, pumpkin pie and pecan pie recipe are already posted but stay tuned for the others!
