Harvest Meal/Early Thanksgiving 2024

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 This past weekend my immediate family got together for an early Thanksgiving. Since it was so early, I deemed the menu more "fall harvest." I'd been wanting to do a meal where I provided the full meal and all anyone else had to bring was apps, if desired, for a while and this year I made it happen. 

Of course, it was a weird week for it. Besides the election putting a dark cloud over everything, LeRoy had pneumonia early in the week and I wasn't sure he'd be recovered (or non-contagious) by Saturday. Steroids and antibiotics are great, though. 

Ok, not the best pic with the toaster in here and you can't see the farro, but the best I got.


The full menu had not a single traditional Thanksgiving item and was a mix of my favorite fall dishes and some I hadn't tried before:

  • Meat: 
    • Pork tenderloin roast - EatWell 101
      • I used 3 pork tenderloins for 7 adults and 2 kids and it was plenty. Adjusted the recipe accordingly, and left out the mustard due to Mike's allergy. 
  • Sides: 
    • Roasted carrots - a combo of rainbow and regular
      • No real recipe here, I just roasted them at 375 with everything else until the big things came out, then cranked it to 425 for about 5-10 minutes. Olive oil, herb blend and pepper. 
    • Baked farro with butternut squash - an Ina Garten recipe
      • One of my regular go-to meals, it also works as a side. I use frozen butternut squash or buy pre-cut to save time; cutting butternut squash is such a pain.
    • Baked pumpkin risotto with goat cheese - by Plating and Pairings
      • This is not a very traditional risotto but it's so good. At first, I wasn't sure how I would make this as both the farro and risotto usually go in a Dutch oven and I only have one, but my Made In pots are oven-safe so I made the risotto in that and transferred it to a serving dish. 
  • Dessert:
    • Apple cider doughnut cake - by Smitten Kitchen
      • Ever since someone shared this in the egg allergy Facebook group, I knew I had to make it. LeRoy is a big fan of apple cider and this cake is safe with no modifications. It took much longer to reduce my cider than the recipe stated, so it was an all-night kinda recipe, but so good. I definitely did not make my glaze as thick as the pic and will adjust next time. 
    • Apple pie crumble bars - by Crunchy Creamy Sweet
      • Another go-to. I add lemon zest to the crust, too. The cloves can be strong, so if you're not that into cloves cut them back, but I love it. 
I made both desserts the day before, while I made the rest as my parents entertained my kids before dinner. Two ovens made that timeline possible. 

The only major mishap was this:
My peppercorn grinder exploded and peppercorns got absolutely everywhere. We were still finding them days later. 

Overall, definitely a menu I'd make again. Nothing overly complicated, but felt worthy of a holiday meal.  


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