25 Drinks for your Thanksgiving Table

Although there's absolutely nothing wrong with serving milk, juice, cider, wine, or even water as the beverage options at your Thanksgiving table, sometimes it's fun to mix things up. Literally. Today I'm sharing 25 fall-inspired drink ideas for sipping alongside your turkey, stuffing, and pie. While the majority of them are cocktails, I've also included some non-alcoholic ideas for kids and adults who aren't imbibing.

Why not add a little pizzazz to your Thanksgiving spread this year with a custom drink? I think it would make a fun holiday tradition to set out some fruit, spice, herb, alcohol, juice, and sparkling water options and ask your friends and family to create their own inspired drink, as well. I hope the fantastic drinks below will inspire you!

Fried Apple Hand Pies

It's the second Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time for another edition of the Blogger C.L.U.E. Society. This month we rummaged through our assigned blogs looking for recipes featuring fall fruits, and my assigned blog was Kelli's Kitchen. I had such a fun time rummaging through Kelli's blog in search of the perfect thing to make.

On her about page, Kelli says that she learned all the best things in life from her Nana, so I'm pretty darn excited that the recipe I chose to make this month is one that her Nana used to make—small fried apple pies.

These little hand pies remind of the hot apple pies at McDonald's that I loved as a kid and the kind of little pies that slide out of a little cardboard box (that I always hope will be good but never are). The only difference is, these are MILES better than either of those options. Honestly, I couldn't stop eating them. It was a really bad idea for me to make them in the morning when everybody else was off at school and work. I had to force myself to leave the kitchen just to put them out of view.

Sesame and Chile Roasted Butternut Squash

Well, November just sort of snuck up on me. Today is already the 3rd, and the 3rd just so happens to be my birthday. I've reached that "forever age"—39. Okay, I'm not so sure if ladies still say that. You know, every year when their birthday rolls around, they're 39 again? I don't think I'll do that. I mean, even though 40 is just around the corner, these days, it doesn't seem so old anymore.

Anyhoo, besides celebrating the start of my final year in my 30's, today also kicks off another edition of the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash! If you're not familiar with it, well...it's exactly what it sounds like. For the next 12 weeks, I'll be featuring at least one winter squash recipe every week. This will be my third year joining my friend Joanne of Eats Well With Others in celebrating the versatile winter squash (though she's been doing it for even longer than that).

So, every Monday for the forseeable future, you can pretty much count on a recipe featuring some sort of winter squash. I'm starting today with what I like to call a gateway variety of winter squash—Butternut. I mean, a Butternut squash isn't too scary, right? I mean, you can even eat the peel (though I only recommend it if it's roasted). It's fairly simple to cut when compared to some other varieties—pumpkin, I'm talking to you!

Triple Apple Bread

We've officially broken out the boots and the sweaters. Piles of blankets that were stashed in closets are now draped over sofas, chairs, and beds...and if I'm being honest, strewn across floors. I'm no longer sad that my air conditioner is broken. I just so happen to love it when there's a chill in the air, leaves changing colors, and apples and winter squash all-the-things!

So, it's only fitting that our #twelveloaves theme for this month fits the bill perfectly—it's APPLES! I toyed with making some cinnamon rolls stuffed with bits of tender, spiced apples. Then I thought maybe I'd heat up the cauldron and fry up some apple fritters. Or perhaps I'd go with some apple-filled pretzel bites drizzled in caramel sauce. Apparently my mood took a 180.

Instead of something sweet, I wound up making an unassuming, rustic loaf perfumed ever-so-faintly with the essence of an apple itself. Apple cider, fresh apples picked from a nearby tree, and the rest of the dried apple slices that I brought home with me from my recent trip to Seattle, mingle inside a thick, chewy crust.

Spaghetti Squash w/ Apples & Pistachios {12 Weeks of Winter Squash}

Okay.  I'll be the first to say it.  This dish looks kinda boring.  But if you just give it a chance, it may surprise you.  Sit down and spend some time with it.  It's the unexpected girl that you want to take home to meet your mother.  The one who makes you want to give up all of those crazy one-nighters.

Get my drift?  Of course you do...that was about as subtle as Miley Cyrus at charm school.

Really what made me try this dish in the first place was an attempt to make something other than "my usual" with Spaghetti Squash.  I mean, I could probably eat THIS daily weekly, but variety is good.

Roasted Acorn Squash w/ Parmesan, Garlic, & Thyme {12 Weeks of Winter Squash}

So.  I'm curious - who else watches The Walking Dead?  Can you believe last night's show!?  In.  Tense.  I have not cried that hard in a long time.  I got a bit teary when T-dog was bitten and then sacrificed himself so that Carol could get away.  I liked T-dog.  But I bawled my freakin' eyes out with the whole Lori/baby situation.  I'm talkin', I could barely breathe.  And the thing is - I didn't even like Lori's character.  And I don't care much for Carl's, either.  But the sacrificing herself so that her baby could be born and saying good-bye to her oldest child thing?  Killed me.  And then Rick finding out.  Holy shnikeys.  That was the roughest one since Sophia walked out of that barn.

The Walking Dead reminds me of 24 in that way - nobody is off-limits.  Nobody is sacred.  Enjoy your favorite (and least favorite) character while you can, because they could be dead in a few minutes.  Okay, I just had to air that.  What'd you think?  Did you see it coming?  Because, I totally did NOT.  They have some fantastic writers.

Okay, let's talk winter squash.

Don't you love how just a few, simple ingredients can come together to make one irresistible dish?  I know I do.  That is exactly what's going on right here today.  In the second week of my quest to find new and magical ways to use winter squash, I found something that I believe is going to make its way onto my Thanksgiving table this year.  Of course, I'm saying that about a lot of things lately, but this is a definitely a viable option.

Aside from the soft, squooshy roasted garlic that accompanies it, the dusting of freshly grated Parm is my favorite part.  It adds a sort of saltiness to outside of the squash...and when you shmear your garlic over that and then take a bite of the whole shebang - bliss.


I don't remember if I've ever actually used Acorn squash before.  And that leads me to believe that I probably have not.  I was surprised that it was fairly painless to cut through, plus...I just adore the shape of it.  It's like clouds and rainbows.  And the little girl deep-down inside me finds that utterly irresistible.

Roasted Acorn Squash w/ Parmesan, Garlic, & Thyme

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Keywords: roast side entree vegetarian sugar-free gluten-free squash Thanksgiving Christmas American fall winter

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 medium (-ish) Acorn Sqash
• 8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2-3 Tbs. olive oil
• kosher or sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• small handful of fresh thyme sprigs
• ~2 oz. Parmesan cheese (from a wedge)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut a small slice from the tip and tail of your squash and then cut it in half from top to bottom. Scoop out the seeds. Cut into slices that are a little thinner than 1-inch thick. You should get approximately 6 slices per half.

Set the slices on a baking tray. Set the whole garlic cloves on the tray. Drizzle both the squash and garlic with the olive oil. Season everything with a good smattering of salt and pepper; rub and turn the squash slices over so that they are coated with the oil and seasoning on both sides. Scatter a few sprigs of thyme over the top (one small sprig per slice is nice). Grate a good amount of Parmesan over each squash slice.

Slide into preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tender and golden in spots. Enjoy hot, warm, or even cold.

note:

Although I could eat this as a main dish all by itself, I LOVE (capital letters) it served alongside some fresh pasta in red sauce with Italian Sausage. That's the best combination.

I also recommend smooshing the roasted garlic out of its skin and rubbing it into a slice before taking a bite. Swoon!

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So simple, yet so durn delicious!  Want to see something else delicious?  Head on over to check out what my fellow host and Winter-Squash-partner-in-crime, Joanne made this week, Acorn Squash Boats w/ Quinoa.  Okay, how 'bout you?  We want to know what you've been doing with winter squash in your kitchen this week.  Add your links below...

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1. Squash Boats with Quinoa	2. Roasted Acorn Squash w/ Parmesan, Garlic & Thyme	3. Moroccan Chana Dal Stew with Green Olives & Lemons	4. Mini Squash Bites	5. Warm Wild Rice Nests with Roasted Squash Eggs	6. Pumpkin pie ice cream	7. Pasta with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
8. Butternut Apple Chicken Enchiladas	9. Marbled Pumpkin Ginger Tart

White Hot Chocolate w/ Orange

What a game!!  Yes, as usual, I'm writing this post on a Saturday night...and I have the game fresh in my mind.  This one even more so than usual - because I WAS THERE.  Yes, my boys and I went to the Notre Dame game for my birthday today.  And what an insane game it was.  For a while, ND struggled.  It looked like we might be in for a disappointment for our first game this year (well, first game actually IN the stadium).  Our return game basically sucked.  We missed three field goals (!?).  And with about 4 minutes left, it looked like we going to lose.  We still needed a touchdown plus a two point conversion just to tie it.  And wouldn't you know it, "we" threw an interception in the end zone.

I'm not gonna lie.  At just under 4 minutes remaining, I entertained the idea of truckin' it to the car.  LUCKILY, the boys were with me and they were not ready to call it quits.  That would be luckily because - we held PITT and then we scored our touchdown.  AND our two point conversion.  To overtime it was!  And then to double overtime.  And then to TRIPLE OVERTIME. Whaaaa!?  Our boys decided that it was time to play the way they've been playing the whole year and bring a big, at-home win.  Absolutely insane ending to the game.  29-26.  Notre Dame wins!  Obviously they didn't want to disappoint me on my birthday.

By the way - thanks so much for ALL of the fabulous birthday wishes you guys sent out to me yesterday!  I was absolutely overwhelmed by the love on Facebook.  I'm hoping to have a chance to get over there tonight to thank everybody "personally" before I crash...but if I don't...please know how awesome it felt to hear from so many people.

So the other day, I mentioned how it's holding steady in the mid-40's during the daytime lately.  And once the sun goes down, we're hitting 30's...and I think even 20's tonight.  So you can imagine that while this is fantastic football weather...the bundling...the body heat from sitting shoulder to shoulder in the stadium...the warmth generated from jumping up and down and screaming at the top of your lungs...that yes, it's also pretty darn chilly.  And it calls for hot drinks.  Cozy cups of hot chocolate were definitely in order.

But the same goes for at home.  When I was growing up, after I'd come in from being outside sledding or shoveling...heck, even raking...I always wanted a hot chocolate to warm my bones.  Granted, I think my hot chocolate always came from a little packet.  Often with freeze-dried marshmallows.  And I enjoyed every last drop of it.

I guess my kids inherited that love, because every time they walk in the house on a cold day, the first request?  It's HOT CHOCOLATE.  Now, I may as well say it.  I buy the powdered sometimes.  Usually when it's on sale.  It's quick, it's easy, the kids can make it themselves.  But I also make it from scratch.  And that is the really good stuff because I can make different varieties.  From good old-fashioned hot chocolate to hot chocolate made with Mexican chocolate to Atole to this White Hot Chocolate with Orange, which just so happens to be my oldest son's most-requested, they all warm your body and your soul from the inside out.

I like mine with booze.  Go figure.

White Hot Chocolate w/ Orange (regular or boozy)

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cook Time: 5-10 minutes

Keywords: beverage dairy milk orange alcohol Christmas Day of the Dead Dia de los Muertos Halloween Thanksgiving American fall winter

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 c. whole milk
• 1 c. heavy cream
• peel of one orange, cut into a long strip (or 2 or 3- w/ no pith attached)
• 8 oz. good white chocolate, chopped (or good white chocolate chips)
• 1 tsp. pure almond emulsion (or extract)
• tiny pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Combine milk, cream, and strips of orange peel in a medium-sized sauce pot over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring from time to time. Gradually whisk in the white chocolate until it is entirely melted. Turn off the heat and whisk in almond emulsion (or extract) and the tiny pinch of sea salt. Lift out the orange peel and discard (or just "hold it back" with your whisk when pouring into mugs).

Ladle hot chocolate into mugs and garnish with an orange twist (or some finely grated zest), if you wish.

note:

If you want to make this a nice cup of "grown-up" hot chocolate, add a shot of one of my favorites to your mug: UV Cake Vodka, Cupcake Frosting Vodka, or another similar flavored vodka like Vanilla or Whipped. Or you could go another direction and accentuate the orange with some orange vodka or liqueur. Or yet another direction, add a shot of amaretto to bring out the almond notes.

adapted from Brunch

Shrunken Heads in Spiced Cider

I had every intention of sitting down and telling you a little Halloween story.  Something about how trick-or-treating was so much different when I was growing up than it is now.  But, as things stand, my game just ended...fantastically, I might add...and I have to get something off of my chest.  Here goes.

Empanadas: Apple w/ Almond Paste and Pumpkin w/ Piloncillo & Cinnamon

We're baaaaaaack.  Did you even realize that we were missing?  It's true.  Leslie and I haven't joined forces for She Made, Ella Hace since August (24th - that's over 2 months!) when we baked up a couple of our favorite Pan Dulces.  It's the first time we've skipped a month since we started, but September was a big old ball of life-changing moments for the both of us.  Life, ya know?  Fortunately we're back together this month...and we're making EMPANADAS!

When Leslie suggested we make empanadas this month, I knew I was going to go sweet.  And I pretty much knew that I was probably going to use pumpkin as the filling.  Or maybe apples.  I mean, it's that time of year.  Pumpkins and apple trees dancing in my head.  And when it came right down to it, I couldn't decide.  I wanted both.  So both it was.

The pumpkin filling is spiced with a hint of Mexican cinnamon and sweetened with those beautiful dark, raw sugar cones called Piloncillo.  It's like a decadent little pumpkin pie.  And the apples?  Well, they're caramelized until all golden and sexy.  And then they're combined with almond paste.  I'm a weirdo who eats almond paste from the block.  So I couldn't wait to see how it would combine with the apples.  That heady, creamy flavor of the almond paste is so perfectly mellow against the sweet, tart apple.  I can't pick a favorite.  So don't ask me to.

Since great minds think alike, Leslie had pumpkin on the brain, too.  She made a beautiful batch of Mini Pumpkin Empanada Bites that I know you'll want to dive into.  So pull up a silla (chair) and I'll pour the coffee (or milk.  or booze.  your choice) while you grab an assortment of empanadas!

Empanadas: Pumpkin w/ Piloncillo & Cinnamon and Apple w/ Almond Paste

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 30-45 minutes + 1 hour (unattended)

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast dessert snack vegetarian apples almonds pumpkin cinnamon Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas Mexican fall

Ingredients (~2½ dozen)

for the empanada dough

• 1 lb. (~3¼ c.) all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 6 oz. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cold
• ½ c. shortening
• ⅓-⅔ c. ice water

for Pumpkin w/ Piloncillo & Cinnamon filling

• 1 c. pumpkin puree
• ⅓ c. chopped Piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar)
• ½ tsp. ground Mexican cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. salt

for Apple w/ Almond Paste filling

• 2 Tbs. butter
• 3 (~1¼ lbs.) apples, peeled & diced into ¼"-½" cubes
• 3 Tbs. sugar
• 4 oz. almond paste
• 2-3 Tbs. water
• pinch of sea salt

egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs. heavy cream

Instructions

Begin by making the empanada dough and the fillings. You want time to chill the dough (1 hour) and also to cool the fillings down to room temperature before working with them.

make the dough:

Place flour, salt, and sugar into the bowl of a food processor; pulse to combine. Cut the butter and shortening into small pieces and scatter over the dry mixture. Pulse about 8 times to combine, the fats should be pea-sized (some slightly larger, some slightly smaller). Sprinkle ⅓ cup of the ice water over and pulse a few times. The mixture should start to clump and come together, if it doesn't dribble in a bit more ice water at a time and pulse again. Dump the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gather into a ball. Wrap in the plastic and form into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

make the fillings:

To make the pumpkin filling, stir everything together in a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Once mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat and simmer gently (stir often) until very thick, ~15 minutes. Basically what you're doing here is letting the water in the pumpkin evaporate while the filling concentrates and dries out a bit. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.

To make the apple and almond paste filling, melt the butter in a wide skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to brown, add the apples and sprinkle the sugar over them. Stir often and allow apples to becomes tender and caramelized. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Place the almond paste into a mini-food processor with the water and salt and whiz until you have a smooth, spreadable consistency. Set aside.

make the empanadas:

Remove dough from fridge and cut in half. Re-wrap and return half to fridge. Roll dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a thin rectangle that measures ~12"x16". Cut out twelve 3½"-4" circles. Brush the edges of the circles lightly with water.

Spoon a scant tablespoon of the pumpkin mixture in the center of each circle. Fold dough over the filling and press edges together to seal. Seal tightly by pressing the edges together with the tines of a fork or by twisting into a "rope". Prick once or twice with the fork. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Gather up the extra dough and set it in the fridge while you work with the other half.

Repeat process with second half of dough, adding 1 teaspoon of the almond paste topped with 2 teaspoons of the apples.

If you like, gather up all of the remaining dough from both times and re-roll it. I am able to make about 33 total empanadas, using all of the dough and filling (but the ones only rolled out once are always more tender and flakey). Place the trays of formed empanadas into the fridge or freezer for one hour.

Preheat oven to 425° F. Beat the egg with the cream.

Slide a tray into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes (20 if they were in the freezer) or until they start to get a little color. Remove from oven and brush with egg wash. Return to oven and bake for another 5 minutes or so until golden. Repeat with remaining tray. Best while still warm (but still good later).

notes:

The fillings and the dough can be made a couple of days in advance and kept in the fridge, covered.

The filled and formed empanadas can be frozen on parchment-lined baking sheets until solid. Transfer them to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen (20 minutes, then brush with egg wash, 5 more minutes).

adapted from Fiesta at Rick's

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What happens when two American girls who are both married to Mexican guys find out that although one of them lives in the U.S. and one of them lives in Mexico, they both love eating the same food?  Well, naturally they decide to get "together" the only way they can and cook up the same dishes.  Or perhaps take the same ingredients and talking about them in their own voice or using them in their own way. 

Leslie and I have teamed up to occasionally cook/bake/make a our own versions of the same food.  We want to see how similar (or how different) they turn out.  Other times we will pick an ingredient and use it however we choose...or maybe just talk about it.  Good food knows no borders and we hope to share the food we love with you.  It's not a competition, it's a showcase.  We will post on the same day as each other and would love to hear your thoughts on what we've made and how you make it. 

Join me (here at girlichef) and Leslie in her kitchen (at La Cocina de Leslie) for some delicious food.

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F.O.T.M.C.: Pumpkin