thanksgiving {last minute ideas}

I know you’ve probably got your Thanksgiving menu planned and shopped for. And most likely you’ve already started brining turkeys, chopping celery and rolling out dough.

But if you’re like me, and are convinced you may not have enough food, then here are some last minute ideas to make sure you have way more food than you’ll ever need. That’s the point of Thanksgiving, right? The leftovers.

I’m not organized enough to have done a special Thanksgiving post. But here is a round up of some easy recipes that work well this time of year. Soups, salads and desserts full of things like quince and apples, cavolo nero and pumpkin.

I’m not quite sure what I’ll be making on Thursday. I used to do a big blow out in Todi every year, with a turkey cooked in our wood burning oven. But this year we’re in Rome, and it’s just Domenico and me, and another couple in our newly empty nest. So this afternoon I’m on the look out for a smallish turkey. 

Or, if that fails, a big one.

Because as I’ve mentioned, the point of Thanksgiving is the leftovers, right?

And just in case you’re wondering: No, Italians do not celebrate Thanksgiving. They do, however, ask me every year, what this holiday is called in Italian. Since the holiday doesn’t exist here, we Americans have come up with the following, which does quite nicely. 

Buon giorno di ringraziamento a tutti! (Happy Thanksgiving to you all!)

Winter Squash Soup

Quince Crostata

Poached Quince

Cavolo Nero Salad

Radicchio and Pear Salad

Baked Apples

Pumpkin Risotto

Pomegranate Cocktail

Crunchy Cabbage and Fennel Salad

Fennel and Pomegranate Salad