Celery Root, Apple, and Fennel Soup

I always make soup for Thanksgiving, and it's usually of the butternut squash or cauliflower variety.  As I mentioned before, this year I was really trying to use as much of my CSA share as possible for my Thanskgiving meal and make only a few supplemental purchases from the Carroll Gardens and Union Square Greenmarkets, which meant I had to be strategic about my menu planning.

My CSA share didn't provide us with cauliflower this year or the last (although though they do grow it at the farm) and I had already planned to make butternut squash ravioli and was making a kabocha squash cheesecake, so I didn't want to overdo it on the squash.  What else could I use for an autumnal soup?  The big celery root staring me in the face answered that question.

Butternut Blondies

I’ve never been a fan of blondies. They’re usually just overly sweet little blobs packed with white chocolate chunks (which I do not at all care for) and maybe some nuts. There’s no real flavor there, at least not in any of the blondies I’ve ever eaten to date, and, as a result, I’ve never been compelled to make my own.

That is, up until last week, when I somehow stumbled upon a recipe for butternut squash blondies. The recipe looked weird, though – strange proportions and the inclusion of those dreaded white chocolate chips – so I took the basic idea and set about crafting my own recipe.

Mizuna and Pear Salad with Goat Cheese Croquettes

Ever since I joined my CSA, I’ve been forced to cook around the ingredients I get each week instead of coming up with ideas and then shopping for them. I’m usually fine with this, as I always cook vegetarian and therefore use tons of vegetables, but some weeks have proven challenging – like the ones where all I get are leafy greens.

Last week was another greens-filled week. Among the bounty was mizuna, escarole, and bok choy, and I had gotten Swiss chard and romaine lettuce the prior week (half of which is still in my fridge…thankfully CSA/greenmarket produce is so fresh that it lasts longer in the fridge than supermarket produce, which is already many days, if not more than a week old by the time you get it). I transformed the escarole and bok choy into a stir fry (along with some green beans – another CSA share item – and tofu) but the mizuna stayed in the fridge. It’s still there, as Matt and I were away last weekend so there went a good four meals through which I could’ve used up a lot of last week’s haul. And let’s not talk about the huge bag of apples and pears that is going to turn into mush any second now.

Baked Figs with Honeyed Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Here’s another one from Thanksgiving – I know I’m totally behind, no need to remind me.

Since I’m feeling lazy (which is not really news, I’m generally fairly lazy, I don’t quite understand how I can be both lazy and hyperactive, but I am), there’s no story on this. It just sounded like a good idea at the time, and it worked out really well (phew).

Cranberry, Pear, and Almond Frangipane Tart

So it’s January and I’m still posting my Thanksgiving recipes…..

Anyhow, this one was actually a last minute addition to the Thanksgiving menu. There was a total of 15 of us and I realized that one apple pie and one pumpkin cheesecake would be just enough for everyone, and, of course, just you don’t want just barely enough of anything you’re serving – you want to make sure there’s plenty to go around. I wasn’t quite sure what to make that would be Thanksgiving-y, and it occurred to me that I should use cranberries seeing as how they weren’t on the main menu.

Honey-Glazed Bartlett Pear, Gorgonzola, and Walnut Salad

This is the first course I served for my Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a salad I’ve been making for years, but this year, I made it a little better by using gorgonzola dolce, which is aged for less time than regular gorgonzola cheese, making it milder and softer; it goes especially well with pears.

Lavender Pear Bear Cupcakes

As you can see over on the right side of this page, I am a member of the Foodie Blogroll. The creator, Jenn, has a wonderful site of her own called The Leftover Queen. In addition to recipes and photos, she hosts a forum and a monthly culinary competition that goes by the name of The Royal Foodie Joust. Each challenge requires entrants to use three ingredients in any which way they please, and the winner chooses the three ingredients for the next month's challenge.