Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chicken with Split-Pea Gravy

Posted on by

This recipe inspires an entirely new approach to gravy. It’s extremely flavorful, the texture is spot-on perfect, and it is impossible to mess up. You should consider it when cooking for company, Friday nights or Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving and other holidays, or any time you want something rich, flavorful, creamy, and cozy, with leftovers guaranteed to keep you satisfied. When my children were elementary school age, it was one of their favorite dinners.

8 chicken drumsticks
1 1/2 cups yellow split peas
3 stalks celery, rinsed and trimmed
4 green onions, sliced
1 quart water
2 large potatoes, each washed well and cut into 4-5 thick slices
2 cloves garlic, peeled

  1. Place split peas, water, garlic, celery, and onion in a large pot.
  2. Cook at least 1 hour, until peas are soft. Blend well with immersion blender until smooth.
  3. Pour into a dutch oven, and stir in the potatoes.
  4. Carefully layer the drumsticks on top, cover, and cook at 325F for 2 hours. Leave uncovered the last 15-20 minutes to allow the potatoes and chicken to brown a bit.
  5. Serve 1-2 drumsticks with 1-2 slices of potato per plate, along with generous amounts of “gravy” on top.
  6. Refrigerate leftovers, and feel free to add 1-2 cups water to turn it into soup the next day if you’d like. Serves 4-6.

Old-Fashioned Gratitude

Posted on by

Many years ago, when I was eleven years old, my parents bought a Corning Cooktop stove, a fancy new appliance whose coils remained white even when they were hot. You simply had to take it on faith — or not. No matter how long I stared at that new stovetop, I could not convince myself that the white coils were hot. And that is why I still remember so clearly, this many years later, the perfectly oval burn on the tip of my right index finger. I touched it only once, but that was enough. It was all it took. I couldn’t take anyone else’s word for it.  Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Autumn Recipes for Pumpkin and Onions

Posted on by

If you are starting to think about Thanksgiving, I’d like to offer up these two recipes. I have posted these recipes once before, and made them many times in the past, though not recently to be honest. But they remain lifelong favorites. If you have been looking for a vegan main course, you may be interested to know that not only does the first recipe taste fabulous, but it also makes a very impressive presentation. The onions are just an unusual, beautiful and flavorful side dish. If you have time, I would recommend that you try to make the onions the day before you’re planning to eat them, because as good as they are, they taste even better the next day. And while these are great recipes for holidays and celebrations, you could also prepare them on the weekend, and then have them for dinner on a chilly Sunday evening. Something about this stuffed pumpkin recipe says love, love, love… Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Thanksgiving Weekend Squash Heaven

Posted on by

Here’s another recipe to share around. Even after you’ve eaten all the turkey and stuffing and gravy and mashed potatoes and cranberries and Brussels sprouts and mac+cheese and pumpkin pie and whatever else your family always makes for Thanksgiving, there is often a squash or two left on the counter. Here is something very special that you can do with that squash, a breathtaking way to elevate it to an honored spot at the table.  

Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Thanksgiving Green Beans and Potatoes

Posted on by

This year is the first time in 40 years that my family will not be joining our friends Duane and Connie for Thanksgiving. Yes, you read that right. We are doing this so as to increase the likelihood that we will be together next year. Connie’s annual feast includes a number of very special, tried and true recipes, and this one for Green Beans and Potatoes is one of the ones that I think about most in the between times. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Walnut Brownies

Posted on by

I have a wonderful recipe for you to make for your kids, your friends, yourself. This might be good for Thanksgiving, too. No big groups this year, of course, so you may end up having to eat it all yourself. Go for it. It will make an amazing breakfast, too, with or without a cup of very good and fragrant black coffee. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Cranberry-Ginger Relish After Thanksgiving

Posted on by
Since I go absolutely ga-ga over cranberries, and I absolutely adore ginger, I consider this a perfect recipe! Eat this cranberry-ginger relish straight off your fork, or drop a heaping spoonful into a bowl of squash soup or a cup of plain yogurt. And it’s a perfect choice for slathering onto a slice of leftover turkey that could use a little more moisture.

Continue reading →