I don’t know about you’, but I get lots of decorating ideas by looking at pictures – as many as I can find. Hope you are the same, because what I decided to do is to pick 10 centerpiece ideas you can easily use to create your own. Some are more elaborate then others but even if you pick a part of any one of them, it can easily add to your table decor way you may not have thought about.
Here are my favourites:
Hope you have enjoyed this information – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
Yes you can eat light this Thanksgiving – here is a simple menu that includes: Turkey Braised with Shiitake Mushrooms and Chestnuts, Potato and Celery Root Casserole and Squash and Turnip puree. I have added suggested servings along with calorie count. Give it some thought, read the recipes and try eating light this Thanksgiving:
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Turkey Braised with Shiitake Mushrooms and Chestnuts
Ingredients:
12 – 16 dried whole shiitake mushrooms
2 cups of turkey or chicken stock
2 cups of peeled chestnuts
1 bay leaf
1 lb. of boneless skinless turkey breast
1 lb. of boneless skinless turkey thighs
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of ground cloves or allspice
1 bunch of green onions
2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1- fresh sage leaves or 3/4 teaspoon of crumbled dried sage
1/3 cup of dry white wine
Directions:
Soak mushrooms in 1-1;2 cups of water until tender – about 3- minutes.
Reserving mushrooms, pour soaking liquid (without residue at the bottom) into large measuring cup and add enough stock to make 3 cups.
Pour into a saucepan.
Add chestnuts and bay leaf, bring into boil.Reduce heat and simmer until chestnuts are tender – about 20 minutes.
Reserving cooking liquid and discarding bay leaf, drain and then transfer chestnut into Dutch oven.
Remove stems form mushroom caps (save for stockpot) and set caps aside.
Meanwhile, cut turkey breast and thighs into 1 inch chunks.
In a bowl,. whisk together flour, half of the salt and pepper, cayenne and cloves
Toss turkey pieces with flour mixture to coat with all the flour.
Cut white and light gn parts of onions into 1 inch lengths and set aside
Finely slice enough dark green parts to make about 1/4 cup and set aside.
In skillet, heat just enough oil to coat the bottom of pan over medium heat
In batches and adding oil as necessary, lightly brown turkey chunks and with slotted spoons, transfer to Dutch oven.
Adding oil if necessary, saute mushrooms until lightly browned.,
Add white and light green lengths of green onions, garlic, thyme and sage and saute for about 30 seconds
Add wine and cook, scraping up brown bits, until reduced to to about 2 tablespoons.
Add reserved chestnut cooking liquid and remaining salt
Pour into the Dutch oven
On medium heat, simmer for about 1-0 minutes, gently stirring occasionally without breaking chestnuts
Add salt to taste and stir in finely chopped green onions.
Makes 8 servings – about 287 calories each
Potato and Celery Root Casserole
Ingredients:
3 lbs. of potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 celery root, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
2 leeks (white and green parts only), thinly sliced
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1 cup of turkey, chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or butter
2 tablespoons of butter (optional)
Directions:
In lightly greased 10 inch or similar oval baking dish, layer one third of potatoes, one half of celery root and one half of leeks, sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper, repeat and then top with remaining potatoes.
Pour in stock, drizzle with oil and if desired, dot with butter.
Cover with greased foil and bake at 400F for 45 minutes.
Remove foil and continue baking until vegetables are tender – about 30 minutes
Place under a broiler until top is crisp and golden brown – 2-5 minutes
Makes 8-10 servings of about 126 calories each
Squash and Turnip Puree
Ingredients:
2-3 lb. orange-fleshed squash
3 white turnips, peeled and quartered
1 onion, quartered
2 tablespoons of butter
generous pinch of white pepper
generous pinch of nutmeg
salt
Directions:
Cut squash in half, scoop out and discard seeds
Place, cut side down in a baking dish and add water to about 1/2 inch depth
Bake at 400F until soft – 30 to 60 minutes
Remove from pan and let cool
Meanwhile, in just enough boiling salted water to cover, simmer turnips and onion until softened – about 20 minutes
Reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid, drain.
Scoop flesh into food processor
Add turnips and onion, puree, adding a little of the reserved liquid if mixture is too thick to puree.
In a saucepan, heat butter and 1.4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid over medium heat until butter is melted.
Stir in puree, pepper and nutmeg
Heat through, stirring constantly and adding more of the reserved cooking liquid to thin to desired consistency, add salt to taste.
Makes 6-8 servings of about 86 calories each.
Hope you have enjoyed these recipes, please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated.
There is always that block of time when kids can get restless and adults can get bored. I know that there are football games and special movies, but sometime it is a good idea to plan for some creative games – for both the children and the adults.
To plan Games for Adults, here are few you will be able to organize with little effort and enjoy them with your family and friends:
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Pumpkin Bowling
Save ten 2 liter plastic soda bottles and fill with a couple of inches of sand to weight the bottles.
Decorate the bottles by covering them with white plastic (kitchen garbage bags are good for that)
Using permanent black markers to draw funny ghost faces on them, creating your special bowling pins
Get enough small pumpkin gurds to use for bowling bowls. They are not perfectly round and that makes Pumpkin Bowling more fun!
Use blue or green painters tape to mark bowling lanes on your driveway, deck or patio if you want to play outside. Or do the same inside in a room with appropriate surface and space.
You can play this as an individual game or set up teams and give prizes to winners!
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Making Friends
This game works very well as an icebreaker when you have guest attending who don’t know each other.
As each person arrives, they are given an envelope. You can give blue envelopes to the men and pink ones to women, if you want this game to make easier – or just use plain white envelope.
In all envelopes are halves of a picture (tip: cut the pictures in zigzag lines, it’s more fun to match them)– you can use old greeting cards or postcards (ones with flowers work the best)
So each person receives only half of a picture and they are asked to find the missing half.
That allows them to start talking to other guest and get to know each other.
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Thanksgiving Touches
This is a great game when you have number of couple attending your Thanksgiving celebration
You will need as many blindfolds as you have guest, plus a good number of wooden or plastic clothes pins
Give each guest number of clothes pins – 10 is a good idea.
Ask them to place the clothes pins all over their clothing
Blindfold each guest
On your signal, the guest are asked to remove the clothes pins from their partner
The first couple who collects all the clothes pins off each other are the winners
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Hope you have fun with these games and that you have the most wonderful Thanksgiving – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
Here is great recipe for a delicious Thanksgiving dessert your family and guest will love. You may not have thought of using butternut squash to make a dessert, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised at just what a great flavour it brings to this recipe. The addition of cinnamon and nutmeg increases the wonderful aroma of caramel… and for a special treat yet, put some freshly whipped whipping cream on top - you just have to try this one!
Thanksgiving Caramel Custard
Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash (about 1 lb)
2-3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 cup 10% cream
1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch salt
Directions:
Cut squash in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds.
Place, cut side up, on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven for 25 minutes.
Turn over; bake until soft and fragrant, about 20 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes.
Scoop out flesh and place in food processor; purée until silky smooth.
Meanwhile, in small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir 1 cup (250 mL) of the sugar with 1/2 cup (125 mL) water until dissolved.
Reduce heat to medium; cook, without stirring but brushing down side of pan with brush dipped in cold water, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes.
Immediately divide among eight 6-oz (175 mL) ramekins or custard cups, swirling to coat bottoms and 1/2 inch (1 cm) up sides.
Set aside.
In large bowl, whisk together 1 cup (250 mL) of the squash purée eggs, yolks, cream, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and remaining sugar until smooth.
Strain through sieve into large measuring cup; pour into prepared ramekins.
Place ramekins in large roasting pan; pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up sides of ramekins.
Cover with foil; poke several holes in top.
Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until centres no longer jiggle, about 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 5 minutes longer.
Remove from water; let cool.
Hope you will enjoy this recipe, please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
Just like with everything else – you could add cranberry sauce to your shopping list, go to your local supermarket, pick one up
, open the can and serve it. Or – you can make this easy, delicious cranberry relish and treat your family and guests to a totally different taste. That little different taste comes from what you add to fresh cranberries: jalapeno peppers will give your relish a nice kick that will get toned down by the addition of maple syrup. Try this recipe – I think you will never buy another can of pre-made cranberry sauce again!
Cranberry Relish
Ingredients:
1 orange
1 package of fresh cranberries (12 oz.)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
¼ cup of maple syrup
Pinch of salt
Granulated sugar – optional
Directions:
Remove rind from orange.
Chop rind and place in food processor.
Working over food processor to catch juice, cut off white pith; cut between membrane and pulp to release fruit into food processor.
Add cranberries, jalapeno peppers, maple syrup and salt; blend until fairly smooth.
Let stand for at least one hour.
Add up to 2 tablespoons of sugar if desired to sweeten
Hope you have enjoyed this recipe – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
This Thanksgiving, you can do your usual stuffing or you can check out these recipes and try something a little bit different. I have included the basic turkey stuffing – sometimes sticking to the basics is not a bad thing. Just remember that how your turkey cooks will be influenced by a number of factors such as:
If the turkey is partially frozen, it will need longer cooking
The depth and size you the pan you are using will affect heat circulation to all areas of the bird
The use of foil tent for the entire cooking time will slow cooking down
Turkey placed in a dark roasting pans will cook faster than in a stainless steel or aluminum one
When you use the pan lid, it will speed up the cooking
Stuffed turkey will take longer to cook than one without stuffing
The position of your oven rack can affect cooking and heat circulation
If your turkey or the pan you will use is too large, it will block heat circulation and affect cooking
Basic Bread Stuffing:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup butter
4 cups bread cubes
1 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
turkey or chicken broth
Directions:
Sauté onion and celery in the butter until softened.
Combine onion mixture with bread, pepper, eggs, salt, sage and poultry seasoning in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in broth until well moistened.
Enough for an 8 to 10-pound turkey.
Or, bake in a greased covered shallow casserole at 325° for about 35 to 45 minutes.
Take the cover off the last 5 minutes to brown.
Apple Pecan Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups dry wheat bread cubes, about 8 slices
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine chicken broth, celery, onion, butter, and salt.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine bread cubes, chopped apples, chopped pecans, sage, cinnamon, and pepper.
Pour broth and vegetable mixture over the bread cubes.
Gently stir to moisten.
Spoon into a greased 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.
May also use as a stuffing for an 8 to 10 pound turkey.
Bread and Oyster Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 pound white bread slices, dried in a 250° oven for 1 hour, about 10 to 12 cups torn
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups finely chopped celery
2 cups finely chopped onion
1/2 cup milk, scalded
16 ounces oysters, drained
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
In a large skillet, sauté onion and celery in butter until tender.
Tear the dried bread up into a large bowl; sprinkle with warm milk then toss.
Add onion and celery mixture and the drained oysters.
Stir gently to mix ingredients together. Sprinkle with lemon juice, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
Mix thoroughly but gently. Makes enough stuffing for a 14 pound turkey.
This stuffing may be cooked in shallow baking pans, covered with foil, for about 25 minutes at 325°.
Remove foil to brown just before serving.
Hope you have enjoyed this information – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
You do not have to spend a lot of money to make a beautiful and festive Thanksgiving table. Sometimes the question is where to start and how to do it so it best suits your guests and your dinner menu. Here are tips on a number of options – complete with easy directions. Enjoy!
Hope you have enjoyed all the information – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
Thanksgiving is one of the best family holidays – great tradition that everyone looks forward to. Are you going to go with the traditional Thanksgiving feast, or are you looking for something just a little bit different? I have put together a nice list of topics, complete with recipes and instructions to make your decision easier. Here you will find not only the very basic and traditional recipes – you will also find a complete gourmet dinner menu – enjoy!
You can do a lot with your dinner napkins that will enhance your festive table decorating – here are a few instructions you can consider using.
How to Fold Table Napkins
Now that you are planning how you will set up and decorate your Thanksgiving dinner table, having a little help with napkin folding ideas maybe a good idea.Here are just a few step by step fancy napkin folding instructions:
Fan Napkin
Fold the napkin in half
Starting at one end, create accordion pleats about 1 inch wide
Keep folding until you get to the napkin’s half point
Fold the end with pleats in half, ending with the pleats being outside of the fold
Fold the napkin’s unpleated end so that the napkin makes a right angle shape. Best way to do this is to lay the napkin down with open end of the pleats facing away from you. The fold the unpleated section at a 90 degree angle so that the top edge meets the edge of the pleats. The end tail of the unpleated section should be pointing away from the open end of the pleats. This will create “the stand” for the fan.
Fold the tail end under the napkin and turn the napkin so that the fan opens toward the top and stand supports the fan.
Peace Lily Napkin
Fold the napkin in half on the diagonal to make a triangle.
Bring outer edges to the middle and fold
Turn the napkin so that free corners are at the bottom – the napkin will now be a diamond shape
Fold the free corners up to meet the top point of the diamond
Roll the diamond’s bottom corner up until it reaches centre of the napkin
Tuck one end of the rolled up section into the other – this will form the back of the folded napkin
Turn the napkin so that the tucks are in the back
Pull free corners down and to the sides to form a lily shape
Pocket Vase Napkin
Fold your napkin twice to make a square.
With the square’s free corners at your upper left. Fold the top layer back to the lower right so that it doesn’t quite meet the folded corner.
Repeat with the third layer
The final layer will stay up
Turn the napkin over
Fold the side corners back so that they overlap slightly
Turn the napkin right side up again so that the pocket is on top
Press it to help hold pocket shape and insert flowers or your silverware
Hope you have enjoyed these instructions and that they helped you to make you Thanksgiving table beautiful. Please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
Thanksgiving holidays are one the most cherished ones.
Family and friends get together for a great feast and fun – and you want to make everything just perfect and very special.
One of the things is how to best decorate your table – and there is never enough ideas!
I have put together a list of how to and what to – hope that it will help to make your Thanksgiving very special.
You can bring the beauty of the season into your home – use the colours, foliage and colourful fruits of the season – and you will set a spectacular Thanksgiving table in no time!
Making your Thanksgiving table beautiful and memorable doesn’t have to be difficult – here are some ideas that are easy to follow:
Use autumn coloured candles – you can set them in a wooden or rustic metal candle holders and use them for your centerpiece along with fall foliage, wheat springs, clusters of berries, mini pumpkins or even seasonal vegetables.
Use hollowed-our pumpkin instead of vase to put flowers into. You can also enrich this kind of centerpiece by adding berries, wheat or leaves around the base.
Set the table with tablecloth, runner, placemats and napkins – choose fall colours and use prints very sparingly, avoiding making your table look too busy. Always keep you focus on the centrepiece.
You can use napkin rings, keeping in the fall theme in colours and style, or you can fold your napkins into shapes instead of just laying them flat.
Choosing your dishes can go either way – you can use fall colours if you wish personally I prefer using white dishes and focusing colours into the decor.
If you need to make place cards, consider collecting good size leaves, rinsing them and patting them dry. Then you can write each guest’s name on each leave with a black felt-tip pen and place the leaf in centre of each setting.
More Table Decorating Ideas:
It is easy to enhance your table with using season inspired and natural elements – like branches of beautifully coloured leaves.
You may want to take a walk with your children and pick some branches and leaves to use – it is very inexpensive and very effective way to decorate.
Making a centrepiece for your table is easy – and you can use fresh fall flowers that you arrange in a suitable container.
Soak a block of florist’s foam in water, place into the container and create the centrepiece of your own design.
Ideal flowers are dried pink amaranthus, white or coloured asters, deep red or orange roses, black-eyed susans or colour chrysanthemums.
All you have to do is snip the stems equal length and insert them into the soaked foam in your container.
You can create accent with springs of berries or wheat. Placing this centrepiece on your table with couple of candles on each side will look terrific!
If you decide to use leaves as your main theme, consider using a dark coloured tablecloth – it will set off the colour of leaves beautifully.
Use lighter colour napkins, roll them and secure them with fall shaped and coloured leaves.
You can add some richness to your table by using gold coloured candlesticks or candles. And it works very well to use fall fruits or vegetables, like a mix of green and yellow gourds, white and orange mini pumpkins or apples and pears.
Here are some centerpiece ideas I found from other which might to get your creative side going (I know it helped me get started on some of my own designs):
Hope you have found this information helpful – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences, your input is always welcomed and very much appreciated
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