Thanksgiving Favorites with a Twist

Try a Leaning Ladder Thanksgiving!

When you hear “Thanksgiving,” what comes to mind?  First and foremost, it’s an opportunity to express our thankfulness for the blessings in our lives.  And for many, it’s about the three “Fs”: Family (Friends), Football and…. FOOD!

The holidays are also a time to share treasured stories. We will always remember the one Thanksgiving that we almost burned the neighbor’s house down. Our neighbor, and good friends, were out of town for Thanksgiving, so our mom used their oven to cook the turkey. Throughout the day, our dad would go over, check on the turkey and baste it. After one of his visits, he locked himself out. He ended up breaking the neighbor’s basement window and luckily, Bridget was small enough to be lowered into the basement, and in turn, let my dad back in. The turkey was saved and so was our neighbor’s home!

We all have our Thanksgiving traditions and dishes that are ingrained in those traditions-Granny’s sweet potato casserole, Aunt Jane’s sage stuffing, Mom’s roasted turkey and Dad’s glazed carrots. Among our family favorites lies an opportunity to perhaps put a new spin on the dish or to serve up something totally new and different with the goal of becoming a new tradition.

We have a great cranberry sauce recipe and Chef Melissa shared a healthy vegetable side dish.

Cranberry Sauce

Tangy and sweet, cranberry sauce is a staple on many Thanksgiving tables. This recipe uses fresh cranberries, sugar and one of two of our specialty vinegars.

Ingredients

12 oz fresh cranberries

1 ¼ C sugar

½ C Leaning Ladder Aged Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar OR Leaning Ladder Cranberry Pear Balsamic Vinegar

¼ c water

1 cinnamon stick

I T orange peel, cut into strips

Directions: Mix water, vinegar and sugar in medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and add cranberries, cinnamon stick and orange peel. Partially cover and simmer until berries burst, approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Remove cinnamon stick and orange peel. Cover and serve chilled.

Roasted Vegetable Tian

This is an easy and tasty vegetable dish to prepare on Thanksgiving or with leftovers.

 

Ingredients:

2 onions, sliced

2 potatoes, sliced

2 sweet potatoes, sliced

2 zucchini, sliced

2 yellow squash, sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 eggplant, sliced (optional)

2 T Leaning Ladder Smoky Italian Bread Dip

2 T Leaning Ladder Butternut Squash Seed Olive Oil

2 T Leaning Ladder Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

 

Directions:

Alternate vegetable slices in an upright, standing position in a well-greased baking dish. Combine dip, oil

and vinegar. Pour over vegetables. Allow to roast at 400 for about 30 minutes or until crisp-tender.

 

Happy Thanksgiving from our Leaning Ladder family to yours!

Your friends,

Susan and Bridget