As we gear up for the peak of the entertaining season (how is it already November?!), it’s the perfect time of year to pull out some easy hacks to make hosting less of a chore and more of a party! I shared a few of my go-to tips for getting organized and prepared for the holidays in the December issue of Family Circle Magazine. I’m sharing a few of the ideas below, and be sure to check out the issue on newsstands now for more holiday prep ideas!
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Apple picking is always at the top of my autumn bucket list, and on the first cool fall weekend this year I got my family into the car on a mission to find an orchard. It ended up being a challenge – the first orchard we visited was closed, and the second one we arrived at didn’t actually have apple picking, it was just a farm stand with apples for sale. I promised Jane apple picking and I was so bummed out when we couldn’t find an orchard for our fall weekend excursion.
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I shared a hearty cornbread-sausage stuffing on the blog to kick off my new Thanksgiving recipes, and this stuffing is a swing in a totally different direction: Mushroom, Shallot Brioche Stuffing. It’s lighter and fluffier — almost like a bread pudding texture — and the flavors are much more earthy with shallots and mixed mushrooms and loads of fresh thyme. I’m always a fan of having one classic, basic stuffing on the table to stick to tradition, and then one stuffing that is a little bit more gourmet and different. This version definitely fits the bill for the latter category! Get the full recipe below, and check out all of my Thanksgiving recipes here!
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I am feeling all of the fall flavors lately and finding ways to work the season’s best ingredients into every dish I make. This salad is bursting with those seasonal notes, combining roasted sweet potatoes, pepita-coated goat cheese bites, dried cranberries and a simple pumpkin vinaigrette made with pumpkin puree. The key to any good salad though is the base that it sits on – the greens! I build this harvest-inspired salad on Little Leaf Farms Red & Green Leaf Mix, which is grown locally in a greenhouse facility in Devens, Massachusetts!
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I polled my readers a few weeks ago to figure out what people were looking for in their Thanksgiving menu research and overwhelmingly there was a call for fresh takes on vegetable dishes. I think that people were generally looking for healthy vegetables but on a day like Thanksgiving I find it quite hard not to make even the poster-child of healthy veggies — cauliflower — a bit indulgent. Cauliflower is such a great ingredient because it can take on so many different flavors depending on how it’s prepared (see my garlic and herb cauliflower mash for another good example). This version starts with roasting the cauliflower for a nutty, caramelized flavor and then gets topped off with a quick sauce made of brown butter, a splash of bourbon and sweet maple syrup. Then it’s all tossed together with chopped walnuts and fresh parsley — it’s simple but so flavorful! Get the full recipe below, and check out all of my Thanksgiving recipes here!
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I am so excited to be kicking off all of my Thanksgiving recipe content today! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and stuffing is my favorite Thanksgiving food — so of course that’s where we’re starting with our new recipes! This sweet and spicy sausage cornbread stuffing evolved as I was testing it, and I’m happy to report where it ended up was right at the corner of delicious and delectable. The stuffing gets a bit of spice from the hot Italian sausage crumbles, and a bit of sweet from the apple cider used to deglaze the pan and the dried cranberries dotting the top of the dish. It’s also full of seasonal flavors, like fragrant celery seed and fresh sage, all wrapped up in those tasty cornbread crumbles. The best part? You can make it all in a cast iron skillet and serve it in there too — one less dish to wash at the end of the night! Get the full recipe below, and check out all of my Thanksgiving recipes here!
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Please note: This post was created in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All opinions, images and content are my own.
I took on one of my hardest projects yet in my most recent bake for my “be a better baker challenge” in collaboration with my friends at Chase Freedom Unlimited! Croissants have been on my to-bake list for ages; they’re one of my favorite French pastries but have always felt way too challenging to manage making at home. I started to feel a bit more confident after some of my bread baking and pretzel-making experiments, and a laminated dough felt like the most logical next step to continue to challenge myself.
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We had some friends over this past weekend, so of course a cheese board was on the menu. I’ve been experimenting and getting creative with all sorts of themed grazing boards lately, but sometimes I just like to go back to basics and create a simple, classic board with my favorite ingredients. It was also a great chance to try out my new set of cheese knives by Forseti Steel!
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My very favorite treats are the ones that are a little bit salty and a little bit sweet! I worked with my friends at Family Circle Magazine to share some festive Halloween ideas in their October issue, and one the treats I made for the display was that perfect combination: popcorn balls! This recipe for popcorn balls is made with Sugar In The Raw®, honey, and a touch of butter. The natural molasses in the golden crystals of Sugar In The Raw® provides a great base when combined with the honey to keep the popcorn balls together.
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When we moved into our house we upgraded our bed to a queen size and I ran out that day to grab some plain white sheets to use. They were fine — it was just a simple set to hold me over until I found the perfect new bedding to design a room around. I hunted and hunted for inspiration and never quite landed on a look that I love, so I just put it off — for FOUR YEARS. Until recently when our duvet cover started to rip (like, it’s been washed so many times it’s basically disintegrating) and I realized it was probably time to get that hunt started up again. My friends at Serena & Lily (who just opened the most gorgeous store in Boston!!) offered to help me with a big bedding refresh and I jumped at the chance to finish what I started 4 years ago.
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