In a year dominated by disease (mine), death (our beloved dog Jasper), and dysfunction (use your imagination), there still was much for my family to be thankful for. And so I managed to pull it together for Thanksgiving, although apparently no one is going to give a me a gold star for my efforts (my family did say thanks, though).
I got a new wreath to add to my collection of Thanksgiving turkeys:
A few days before Thanksgiving I went to a flower arranging workshop at a local nursery with a few business associates, which helped get me in the Thanksgiving mood:
This was my creation from the workshop:
Inspired by the workshop, I created a pumpkin centerpiece for the table, using coleus from my garden and other plant materials:
I made marbleized mini pumpkins for the table too, intended to coordinate with the colors of the centerpiece:
I knew that everyone was expecting the usual turkey and carb-laden side dishes, so I looked for a new appetizer to make. Having seen how popular Easter and Halloween deviled eggs are, I thought that Thanksgiving deviled eggs might be something to try. I looked around the interwebs, and found a bunch of turkey deviled eggs:
Nah.
What I came up with was a creamy labneh dip. I am currently obsessed with labneh, this brand in particular, which can be found in Middle Eastern grocery stores:
The dip is great with pita chips or even bagel chips. I added it to a sort of mezze platter, and it went over well. It’s really delicious and just different enough to be interesting.
- 1 cup labneh
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon aleppo pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- Optional garnish: drizzle of olive oil, dill, walnuts, aleppo pepper
- Pita chips, for serving
- Place labneh in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy.l. Add dill, garlic, aleppo pepper, lemon juice, and salt, and stir to combine. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Garnish as desired with olive oil, dill, walnuts, and aleppo pepper.
- Serve with pita chips.
The only ‘tude appropriate at Thanksgiving is gratitude