Hello friends, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Per tradition, we had roast turkey, a couple of classic sides, and pumkin pie on Thanksgiving day.  For our annual Friendsgiving party, though, we had French and Wisconsin cheeses side by side on two tiers, crowned by the luscious Rush Creek Reserve, smoked salmon, pumpkin and sage galette, onion consommé, and pork sausage rolls with Stilton cheese (inspired by our favorite pie stand at Borrough Market in London called The Ginger Pig).  In addition there was an assortment of fresh and dried fruits, nuts, French macarons and chocolate truffles.  We sipped on a favorite new pink bubby from Illinois Sparking Wine Co. then Calvados and absinthe into the wee hours of the morning.  November and December are months for fine eating and drinking.  I was going to post some pictures of everything we had during Thanksgiving but I could only stand to look at the salads!

Watermelon Radish & Lemon Salad

I felt like I cheated when I made this simple watermelon radish and lemon salad.  All you need is a mandolin to slice it uniformly and thinly, then sprinkle with lemon juice.  The radish is gorgeous on its own.  I felt like I was plating precious prosciutto.  It’s is great alternative to crackers for eating cheese or as a refreshing palate cleanser between the richer items.

Green Pea Hummus

This green pea hummus was also easy to make, according to Keith.  Take 3 cups thawed green peas, 1/4 cup olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, 1 garlic clove, salt, black pepper, fresh or dried mint to taste and puree in a food processor.  Decorate it to your liking.  The dried chive blossoms and mint were from the summer garden.

Kale, Apple, Walnut, Sumac-Onion Tabbouleh

This kale, apple, walnut, sumac-onion tabbouleh is a mouthful to say but it is my absolute favorite salad this winter.  I like it so much, I’ve eaten it for breakfast.  It is that good.  Click on the recipe here from Tasting Table.  If you do not have sumac, use onion and a little paprika in the onion marinade.  Sumac grows everywhere in Wisconsin.  Keith and I gathered quite a bit late summer for use this winter.  Normally they taste exactly of lemon but the ones here taste of plums and lemons. Even better!

Happy Eating and Happy Holidays!!

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