It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving weekend is right around the corner, but here we are! If you are hosting this year, it is time to start making a firm menu and handing out assignments for those that want to contribute. Today we are rounding up 30 of our favorite recipes to help get your menu started. We love starting the afternoon off with a festive cocktail and lots of good appetizers. Our list includes everything from fried turkey to buttermilk biscuits, creamy brie mac and cheese to deep dish apple pie. There is something for everyone coming to your table in this roundup. We have also included the ever-important “day after” recipes for those of you looking to refresh some of your leftovers. Don’t miss the Thanksgiving Hangover Breakfast Sandwiches…. that is one of our favorite recipes in the list!
We were having dinner one night at home and started talking about our travel credits due to cancelled trips from the pandemic. We jokingly said we should use our credit to go to San Francisco for a night and have dinner at Atelier Crenn to celebrate our anniversaries. The joke kept going for several weeks until we started looking at flights and realized that we could actually pull this trip off. We were waiting by our computers for reservations to open on Tock, and just like that, our anniversary dinner dreams came true.
Atelier Crenn had been on our bucket list for a long time now thanks to an episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix. Dominique Crenn is the first woman chef in the United States to receive three Michelin stars, and we were insanely excited to finally try out her menu. We arrived at Atelier Crenn for our reservation at 6:00 PM. The outside of the restaurant is very understated and almost unnoticeable with the other bright and loud restaurants near by. We made sure to take our obligatory “we are at a 3 star Michelin restaurant” photo before we headed in for dinner.
We were greeted by a host who knew exactly who we were before we said a word. He welcomed us to the restaurant and we were seated immediately. The restaurant itself is simple but special in décor. All of the art was made by Chef Crenn’s father. If you have watched the Chef’s Table episode on her, you will know how important and special her relationship was with her dad which is reflected all throughout the restaurant. We kicked off our dinner with a champagne toast (thank you mom and dad!) and were taken through the most amazing 15 course dinner.
Atelier Crenn’s menu is always presented by way of poem leaving both a whimsical and mysterious nature to the dinner. The menu is now fully pescatarian, a change they informed us was implemented within the past few years in an effort to be more sustainable. Chef Crenn draws influences from her home in France and the bay area, weaving a delicious menu combined with traditional French techniques and modern coastal cuisine. Many of the ingredients are sourced from the restaurant’s farm upstate in the Napa Valley. We enjoyed dishes like geoduck clam, abalone with cabbage, trout mousse, and a playful spin on “oysters and rose”. We ate the most beautiful tomato dish comprised of 6+ types of tomatoes and were beyond indulged by a seasonal white truffle course that was irresistible. We don’t like to spoil the experience by sharing what each dish was but can tell you that between the four of us, we each walked away with different favorite dishes because everything was just that creative and memorable.
10/10 we would recommend this unique experience to anyone who finds themselves (or purposely goes out of their way) to be in San Francisco. It was such a special and memorable way to celebrate our anniversaries together and cross another Michelin starred restaurant off our never ending dining bucket list.
We decided to splurge for our anniversaries this year and treat ourselves to dinner at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. With busy schedules to consider, we ended up booking flights to have just about 24 hours in San Francisco before we needed to get back home to Denver. We were not going to let any of those hours go to waste, and set upon making a Google Map of all of the restaurants we were hoping to hit during our day in the city. We will give a play-by-play of everything we ate in 24 hours so that if you happen to have a quick stop in San Francisco you can retrace our footsteps.
Stop #1: Breakfast & Irish Coffees at Buena Vista
The Buena Vista is a restaurant located near Fisherman’s Wharf that has been around since the early 1900s. They are credited with making Irish coffees a world famous beverage and have been in institution for over 100 years. We started our morning with a round of Irish Coffees and some breakfast essentials to fuel us for walking around the pier.
Stop #2: Chowder In A Bread Bowl
After walking through Ghirardelli Square and down Fisherman’s Wharf we stopped for a quintessential San Francisco dish, clam chowder in a bread bowl. We went to Boudin Bakery, which is a little bit touristy down by the wharf but an excellent choice for getting in and out without having to commit to a sit down meal. Their sourdough is top notch and they have lots of outdoor seating to enjoy the pier.
Stop #3: Caffe Trieste
We walked from Fisherman’s Wharf back to our hotel, which was located closer to the Theater District area of town. On the way back down Columbus Ave you’ll start to see red, white, and green flags on all of the poles, showing that you have clearly stepped into Little Italy. There are dozens upon dozens of restaurants to chose from along this walk, but we settled for an afternoon pick me up iced cappuccino at Caffe Trieste. It is a cute little mom and pop shop that has been open since 1956. They also have lots of outdoor seating to sit and enjoy a coffee before continuing the food adventures.
Stop #4: Dim Sum in Chinatown
No stop to San Fran is complete without some dim sum from Chinatown. We could have spent the entire day sampling dumplings and noodles from various restaurants around Chinatown, but due to our limited eating window we settled for getting dim sum at just one place: Yank Sing. We sat down at a table and ordered potstickers, xiao long bao, and sticky green beans. The XLBs were some of the best we have ever had and we only wish that could have ordered significantly more of the menu to sample!
Stop #5: Dinner at Atelier Crenn
Dinner at Atelier Crenn was our primary reason for going on this trip to San Francisco and it did not disappoint! Dominique Crenn is the first woman chef in the United States to win 3 Michelin stars. Her menu is inspired by the similarities of her hometown of Brittany, France and San Francisco. The menu consisted of 15 courses of fresh, coastal seafood with many ingredients grown on their their farm further upstate. We will keep the details brief in this post as we will have a full rundown of our experience on a post later in the week. Spoiler alert: it. was. amazing.
Stop #6: Breakfast at Tartine Bakery
Is it possible to be hungry for breakfast after 15 courses of fine dining the night before? Yes, it turns out. We believe that no trip to San Francisco is complete without a trip to Tartine Bakery, even if that means waiting in line for pastries at 8 am after a big night out. The smell of buttery croissants while you wait makes the minutes standing in line worth it. If you go to Tartine croissants are a must. We ordered a pain au chocolate, ham and cheese, and almond croissant as well as a gougere and croque monsieur. The mix of sweet and savory was just what we needed before heading out to the airport and back to Colorado.
After just a few days of chilly weather, we are ready to pack it in and fully commit to soup season. There is something so comforting about a big bowl of soup or chili waiting on the stove top come dinnertime. We particularly like soups that have enough components in them to count as a complete meal. This chicken enchilada soup is one of our favorites and checks all of those boxes. Ultra comforting and flavorful broth? Yes. Protein from chicken and quinoa? Yes. Loads of veggies? Yes again! This soup is a complete meal all in one bowl and is great for dinner as well as a meal prep recipe for weekday lunches. You can top it with any of your favorite enchilada toppings for a delicious savory and spicy dinner.
A comforting and filling soup that checks off all the boxes for a rounded, complete meal.
Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2/3 cup shredded carrots
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs tomato paste
2 chicken breasts
2 tbs taco seasoning
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce
32 oz chicken broth
4 cups packed kale
1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, carrots, and garlic to the pan. Cook until the onions start to become translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook another 3 minutes.
Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and the taco seasoning mix. Add the chicken to the pot and cook for about 3 minutes per side. Make sure that any of the taco seasoning that didn’t end up on the chicken ends up in the pot. Add the pinto beans, quinoa, corn, enchilada sauce, and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
After the 20 minutes, remove the lid from the pot and remove the two chicken breasts. Add the kale to the pot and cover with the lid. Use two forks to shred the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken and heavy cream (or half-and-half) back to the pot and cook uncovered another 5-10 minutes. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into each of 4-6 bowls and top with your favorite enchilada toppings. We like shredded cheese, scallions, sour cream, or avocado.
You may see this post and think “are they serious? More dessert on Halloween?!” Our short answer is YES! While the kids are out trick or treating, we like to have this easy and elevated dessert for the adults. It is wild how a simple step of browning the butter completely changes the taste of a traditional rice krispie treat. The desserts have a slightly nutty taste that compliments all of the sweet marshmallowy goodness inside. We particularly like that these treats can be made ahead of time so that there is less to prepare on Halloween day.
Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray on both sides with cooking spray.
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter for 5-7 minutes until it is browned. The butter will initially boil and bubble and then will settle down as it starts to brown. Monitor it closely during this time and lower the heat when it starts to have a nutty aroma.
Add the marshmallows and stir consistently with a spatula until the marshmallows are melted and full incorporated.
Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Turn off the heat.
Stir in the rice krispies until the cereal is fully coated in the marshmallow mix. Pour the mix into the greased baking dish and spread/pat evenly to form a single layer. Let cool and cut into desired shapes. Serve immediately or store in a tightly sealed container and save for later.
One of our favorite childhood memories of Halloween is having a special dinner of mac and cheese and “octopus” hot dogs. We would slam down that dinner and run out the door to start trick or treating. In honor of that tradition, we created this recipe for pumpkin mac and cheese. It is an adult twist on our childhood favorite, made even more festive by serving it in a large pumpkin. The mac and cheese has layers of delicious flavors, from the punch of sharp cheddar and nutty gruyere to the woody flavors of fresh thyme. The star of the show, however, is the pumpkin. We have combined canned pumpkin with some fresh pumpkin that is roasted from the serving vessel for the ultimate savory treat. We serve this family style so that people can nibble on it throughout the night while waiting for trick or treaters.
An adult spin on our favorite classic Halloween dinner.
Ingredients
1 medium pumpkin
1 lb orecchiette pasta
3 tbs olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
pinch of chili flakes (optional)
2 tbs flour
2 tbs butter
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups whole milk
8 oz grated sharp cheddar
4 oz grated gruyere cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Use a sharp knife (or a pumpkin carver) to cut an 8 inch circle into the pumpkin to remove the stem. Scrape the seeds and stringy pulp from the top and out of the pumpkin until the inside is smooth. Discard the pulp and seeds. Use 2 tbs of the olive oil to rub the inside of the pumpkin and inside layer of the stem. Put the pumpkin in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin has started to soften and the outsides are brown. Set the pumpkin aside and reduce the heat in the oven to 400 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions, about 13 minutes, and drain the pasta after it has finished cooking. Set aside.
Reheat the pot that the pasta was cooking in over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbs olive oil, the onion, and garlic to the pot. Stir and cook until the onions start to become translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the thyme and red pepper places and cook for another minute.
Add the flour and butter to the pot. Whisk well to combine. Let the roux cook for about 2 minutes, or until it starts to become thick and bubbly. Add the pumpkin puree and milk to the pot. Whisk well to combine and let the liquids come to a simmer for about 3 minutes so that the flavors combine. Add the cheese 1 cup at a time, mixing well so that the cheese is melted into the sauce before adding more. Reduce the heat to low and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
Use a spoon to gently scrape out some of the pumpkin (1/2 – 3/4 cup) from the inside of the cooked pumpkin. The pumpkin is the serving vessel, so make sure that the side walls of the pumpkin are still thick enough for serving. Add the pumpkin to the sauce and stir to combine. The texture of the pumpkin should be soft as if it were pureed.
Add the pasta to the sauce. Gently toss to coat and put the mac and cheese back into the pumpkin. Cover the top of the pumpkin with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Uncover the foil and gently drape with the cooked pumpkin lid to serve.
We lived in Nashville while Ryan played baseball for the Sounds in 2017 and loved every minute of it. Since living there, we are often asked for recommendations about where to eat and what to do when friends and family have visited for a weekend. We went back a few weeks ago for baseball and got to familiarize ourselves with what has changed in the last few years. With this new information we were inspired to write our list of recommendations once and for all! Without further delay, here is everything you should know about planning your trip to spend two jam packed days in Music City.
Nashville City Neighborhoods
If we have one complaint about Nashville, it is that it isn’t the most walkable city. There are cute neighborhoods and pockets throughout the city, but getting from A to B on foot isn’t always easy or convenient if you are short on time. When planning out an itinerary, it’s important to note which neighborhoods you plan to go to so that you aren’t going back and forth and spending more time transporting than you are actually experiencing the city. Here is a map courtesy of Nashville Guru so that you can familiarize yourself with Nashville’s neighborhoods.
Day 1 – Welcome to Music City!
Most people that we know are headed to Nashville for some version of a bachelorette party or friends getaway. If dancing, music, and drinks are your thing, you’ll want to stay as close to the bars downtown on Broadway as you can. If you are looking for a weekend that is a little more low key, try to find a place to stay in Germantown, 12 South, or near the Vanderbilt campus. When introducing anyone to Nashville, we like to start with a morning of shopping and eating in The Gulch followed by a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Gulch has plenty of breakfast options – Milk & Honey and Biscuit Love are our favorites – along with stores for window shopping. The lines at both of these restaurants can be insane so make sure you get to them early in the day (ideally before 10 am). While you’re waiting in line make sure you take a picture in front of the famous angel wings. From The Gulch it is an easy walk to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Hall has a number of rotating exhibits and has a little something for anyone that loves country music.
Being extra in front of the angel wings in The Gulch
From there take a quick walk to Assembly Food Hall, which is a newer eating establishment right downtown and something that was desperately needed for foodies near Broadway. They have two of our favorite hot chicken spots – Hattie B’s and Prince’s – as well as a dozen other food stalls. There is everything from donuts to Thai, Indian to pizza, and sushi to cheeseburgers. If you’re traveling with a group and can’t narrow in on a cuisine, this is definitely the place for you. They also have live music going most of the day and night, which is one of our favorite things about living in Nashville. There is a lot to see in this area, including the Ryman Auditorium and the Gibson Garage, for any guitar buffs.
The famous Prince’s Hot Chicken, now located in the Assembly Food Hall
For those looking to continue walking around and exploring the city, hop in an Uber and head to 12 South. There you will find a number of cute stores including Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James and imogene + willie. There are a bunch of restaurants on this street as well, including Bar Taco and Epice, which is a delish Lebanese restaurant. If you need an afternoon sweet treat stop at Five Daughters Bakery or the famous Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Music lovers can also visit the Gruhn guitar showroom just a few blocks away.
Sampling the goods at Gruhn guitar showroom
A Little Ditty About East Nashville
East Nashville is not one of the areas we would recommend you spend a ton of time, particularly during a quick weekend trip. There isn’t much to do there in terms of tourist attractions, however, you will find some of the best restaurants in the city in this neighborhood. If you are like us and pretty much plan every meal on vacation before you’ve even booked your flights, then this is a neighborhood you need Uber over to. Most restaurants are on Main Street, Gallatin Ave, or the intersection of the two. Grab a coffee and giant slice of coffee cake at Slow Hand Coffee + Bakeshop, brisket tacos at Red Headed Stranger, and dinner at Pelican & Pig, our favorite restaurant in all of Nashville. If you’re still hungry for more, Butcher & Bee is an excellent Mediterranean spot for dinner or weekend brunch.
Wild Nights In Nashville
Almost anyone we know visiting Nashville wants to check out the bars and night life on Broadway. Walking along the bars on Broadway can feel like walking the streets of Vegas. Bars have live music most hours of the day and there is an atmosphere for any type of bar goer. We particularly like to go to the bars that have rooftop options, and luckily most places there have them. If you’re looking for traditional country music check out The Stage and Tootsies. If country isn’t your thing head towards the rooftop at The Valentine or FGL House, which plays a nice mix of many types of music. During the day we like the live music at Assembly Food Hall and ACME Feed and Seed, a smaller food hall that also has fun weekend events like rooftop yoga and boozy jazz brunches.
Rooftop at LA Jackson in The Thompson hotel
Day 2 – A Grand Ole Day in Nashville
Country music fans will know that Nashville is home to the Grand Ole Opry. Opryland is about 10-15 minutes outside of the city, but well worth a visit if it’s your thing and you have a half day available. The official tour of the is well worth booking and a great look into the history of the Opry. You get to see the main theater and each of the themed dressing rooms backstage. If you book a show there, you never know what famous artist might show up for a surprise performance! The Opryland Resort is very Disneyesque and worth walking around as well. They have immaculately manicured gardens, restaurants, and a huge mall to check out while you are there.
Posing at The Grand Ole Opry
Sports! Go Sports!
For travelers that would rather be in the city, make sure you check out some of the athletic events happening around the city. Between the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, the Vanderbilt teams, and our beloved Nashville Sounds, there is almost always a team to root for year round. The Nashville Sounds play in Germantown, and in addition to a great stadium there is also a sports bar in the outfield from which you can watch the game and anything else on TV. Our favorite type of multitasking.
Our Favorite Restaurants, By Neighborhood
You know that eating is by far our favorite activity on any vacation, and usually the driving force behind our trip planning. Below we are highlighting all of our favorite restaurants by neighborhood so that you always have a recommendation no matter where you find yourself in the city.
The Dutch Baby from Sixty Vines
Germantown
Henrietta Red – oyster bar with a farm fresh feeling menu. Great for dinner or brunch. Reservations recommended.
Butchertown Hall – Tex-Mex and bbq vibes. They have a great food and drink happy hour!
City House – a little Italian, a little southern. Reservations recommended.
Rolf & Daughters – modern American with Italian highlights. We still talk about the squid ink pasta from four years ago.
The Gulch
Milk & Honey – great coffee and breakfast shop. Arrive early to avoid the lines!
Biscuit Love – another classic for breakfast. Arrive early and order the bonuts.
Chauhan Ale & Masala House – Indian inspired brunch and dinner.
LA Jackson – rooftop bar at The Thompson Hotel. Our favorite spot to start off a good night.
Broadway & SoBro
Assembly Food Hall – a little bit of everything, Prince’s Hot Chicken & Hattie B’s Hot Chicken in particular
Sixty Vines – wine bar on the upper floor of Assembly. Reservations recommended, great for brunch.
Husk – Sean Brock’s flagship restaurant for all of your southern favorites.
Peg Leg Porker – classic, delish bbq.
Pinewood Social – bowling alley meets summertime pool spot meets a weekday lunch or weekend brunch.
12 South
Five Daughters Bakery – donuts and cronuts…. need we say more?
Bar Taco – one of the only chains on our list but a great spot for a margarita and tacos.
Edley’s Bar-B-Que – another great bbq spot across town.
Epice – really delish Lebanese food for when you’re over hot chicken.
East Nashville
Slow Hand Coffee & Bakeshop – biased because Jamie worked here; not biased because the cream cheese sugar cookies will change your life.
Red Headed Stranger – the brisket tacos are a must… you won’t be disappointed.
Two Ten Jack – ramen and izakaya dishes. One of the only restaurants we ate at in Nashville twice.
Butcher & Bee – great Mediterranean for dinner or weekend brunch. Reservations recommended.
Pelican & Pig – our fave restaurant in Nashville! Order the ribeye and lots of vegetable side dishes.
This recipe came to be from a blissful kitchen mix-up when Jamie accidentally bought ingredients for two separate recipes she planned to cook. The original recipe we wanted to make was for sweet potato and pineapple tacos. We knew all of that starchy sweetness needed salt and spice and the first thing that came to mind were the ingredients in bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers. If all of this is sounding a bit weird to you, we get it. It’s a weird sounding recipe!! Trust us when we tell you that somehow it all works. There is a little bit of everything in this recipe – roasted sweet potatoes and pineapple, charred jalapeños and onions, salty thick cut bacon, and a cilantro lime crema. The flavors all meld together to create these deliciously unique tacos that simultaneously taste sweet and bring the heat. This recipe is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon watching football and the perfect way to bring in fall flavors.
We love the combination of sweet and spicy in this unique taco recipe.
Ingredients For The Tacos
2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced in half and then quartered lengthwise
2 cups pineapple, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
6 slices thick cut bacon
4 jalapenos
8 taco sized tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
cilantro leaves, for garnish
1 lime, cut into segments, for garnish
Ingredients For the Cilantro Lime Crema
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbs mayonnaise
1/3 cup packed cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/4 tsp paprika
salt, to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Make the cilantro lime crema. Combine all of the crema ingredients (sour cream – paprika) in a small blender. Blend until the cilantro is evenly distributed in the crema and all of the ingredients are well combined. Season the crema with salt and refrigerate until you are ready to use.
Make the tacos. Combine the first seven taco ingredients (sweet potatoes – coriander) in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Lay three slices of bacon in the center of each of two large cookie sheets. Divide the sweet potato bowl ingredients around the bacon on each of the two sheets. Spread everything into a single layer and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, flip the bacon and give everything a toss with a spatula so that all of the ingredients are equally browned. The bacon should be crispy and the sweet potatoes cooked through when you remove them from the oven. Leave the oven on for later use.
While the bacon and sweet potatoes are cooking, turn on a gas burner to medium-high heat. Using tongs, roast the jalapeno peppers on all sides so that they are lightly charred. When the jalapenos are cool enough to handle, remove the stem and seeds, outside charred layer, and roughly chop the remaining peppers. Add them to the sweet potato mix and toss well to incorporate. If you do not have a gas range, you can replicate this step using the broiler of your oven after the sweet potatoes have finished cooking.
Remove the bacon from the cookie sheets and onto paper towel to drain some of the fat, if necessary. Roughly chop the bacon from both cookie sheets and add it to the sweet potato mix. Combine the ingredients from each of the sheets onto one and tent with foil to keep warm until ready to serve.
Lay the taco tortillas on the open cookie sheet in a single layer (as best you can). Sprinkle the cheese evenly over each of the tortillas and put in the oven to warm the tortillas and lightly melt the cheese. Remove the tortillas and assemble the tacos.
Lay an even amount of taco filling onto each of the 8 tortillas. Top each taco with the cilantro lime crema and additional cilantro, if desired. Serve with lime wedges for garnish.
This is the recipe that changed the turkey burger game for us. Let’s face it, turkey burgers are notoriously dry. The meat is so lean that it often doesn’t lend well to grilling unless you incorporate additional fat like in our spicy turkey burger recipe. Instead of adding chicken sausage, we have incorporated feta and spinach to the burgers, which gives them moisture and adds a Mediterranean spin. The saltiness and creaminess from the feta gives a richness and fat to the turkey and the spinach is an added bonus for those trying to sneak in some vegetables for their kids. The result is a burger that can be served over a Greek salad, as a main entrée at a barbeque, or frozen and heated for an easy weeknight meal. We serve ours with sliced avocado and romesco aioli for a burger that is healthy, fresh, and full of flavor.
A staple Mediterranean turkey burger recipe that you will keep coming back to.
Ingredients for the Burgers
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup crumbled feta
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 hamburger buns
1 avocado, thinly sliced
leaf lettuce
any of your other favorite burger toppings
Ingredients for the Romesco Aioli
1 roasted red pepper, patted very dry if you’re buying it in a jar
2 tbs slivered almonds
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, drained from the oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Make the romesco sauce (roasted red pepper – mayonnaise) by combining all of the ingredients in a blender. Pulse to chop and then blend completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set side or refrigerate until ready to use.
Heat your grill to high, about 500 degrees.
Mix all of the burger ingredients (ground turkey – pepper) in a large bowl until the ingredients are well incorporated.
Form the meat mixture into 4 burger patties. Grill for about 5 minutes per side, or until the meat is completely cooked through.
Serve with sliced avocado and leaf lettuce, or any of your other favorite burger toppings.
Fall is quickly approaching and as the weather starts to chill we are trying to use up our abundance of garden veggies! This dish is simple in preparation but complex with fresh flavors thanks to the incorporation of herbs we grew in our summer garden. We have chosen a gremolata as the “dressing” for this dish, which is an Italian condiment similar to a pesto, but with a chopped consistency and less olive oil involved. It is traditionally used to give some punch to meat dishes but we love how it brightens and livens up this combo of zucchini and burrata. We used a variety of parsley, basil, and thyme and encourage you to use what you have growing at your house when you make this dish. Taste and season as necessary and make sure to use less of the “woody” herbs like thyme and rosemary so that the flavors balance. This dish falls into the “side dishes” category, but really is the star of the show in our book.
A great way to use up those garden veggies as we head into fall weather.
Ingredients
6 – 8 medium zucchini and yellow summer squash, ends removed and cut in half, lengthwise
2/3 cup fresh garden herbs, stems removed (we used a mix of parsley, basil, and thyme)
zest of 1 lemon
1 large garlic clove
1/3 cup olive oil, divided
1 ball burrata, drained and lightly patted dry
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the sliced zucchini, 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Lay the zucchini flat side down onto a baking sheet in a single layer and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes depending on how large the squash is. Flip the zucchini after ten minutes (halfway through) to make sure the zucchini are evenly browned. Remove from the oven after 15-20 minutes.
While the zucchini are baking, make the gremolata. Finely chop the fresh herbs and garlic (this can be done by hand or with a food processor) and put them into the bowl that the zucchini was seasoned in. Use the remaining olive oil (about 1 tbs) to lightly coat the herbs. Add the zest of one lemon and season to taste with salt and pepper.
When the zucchini has finished cooking, remove it from the baking sheet and onto a serving platter. Use your hands to break apart the burrata and scatter it amongst the squash. Drizzle with the gremolata and just a touch of olive oil. Serve immediately.
TUCK & TATE 