Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Bacon-wrapped Green Bean Bundles

Everything is better with bacon, right? I was happy to run across the Williams Sonoma recipe for Bacon-wrapped Green Bean Bundles, just in time for thanksgiving!
 

 

Wrapped with a strip of bacon, these green bean bundles add an elegant touch to the Thanksgiving table. To get a head start, you can trim and blanch the beans a day in advance, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ingredients:

  • 8 thick bacon slices
  • 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 3/4 tsp. roasted garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and blanched
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a large nonstick fry pan over medium heat, cook the bacon in batches until the slices are just beginning to brown along the edges but are still very underdone and pliable, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool, then cut each slice in half crosswise.

In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, salt and garlic powder.

Divide the green beans into 16 equal portions, about 6 beans each. Gather each portion into a neat bunch and wrap a half slice of bacon around the center to hold the beans together. Place the bundles on the prepared baking sheet with the loose ends of the bacon underneath. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bundles and drizzle with the butter mixture.

Roast until the bacon is cooked through and browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the green bean bundles to a warmed platter and serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10.



Miss L was able to enjoy a full turkey dinner this year with us!
Last Thanksgiving, we had to stuff a blanket behind her to fit in the highchair.

Final product...delicious! And good for any dinner - not just a holiday!
Her headband or head looks funny b/c of the shadows...anyhow - Happy Thanksgiving!
Our Thanksgiving Day begins with a light breakfast while watching the Parade...followed by various appetizers in the afternoon during football, followed by our traditional feast in the eve.

Below is our cheese tray - Jeremy's fave: Blue, I'm a gorgonzola + honey + pear on a cracker type
J also enjoys the Asiago- he shreds, I like Gouda, we had some sharp cheddar for little girl, summer sausage and some proscuitto-wrapped mozzorella - mmmmm.



Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Only in Minnesota...

Ski Hill & Golf Greens...on our Thanksgiving Day walk

Only in Minnesota...can you golf the course during the day - and ski the slopes in the evening. This is the sight Miss L and I viewed on our walk on Thanksgiving Day. It was a "record-high" temperature of...(you'll probably laugh outloud)...55 degrees! That was exciting news to the locals. When I heard the news reporter tease about record-high temperature for Thanksgiving, my eyes lit up - I'm thinking, "Oh great!" Well, 55 was not what I was expecting...more like 65 or so. But...for November 24 in Minnesota- I will gladly take 55 and sunny (and no snow!)

Saturday, November 26, 2011

A {very} Happy Thanksgiving

We have so many blessings to be thankful for this year. As we reflected at our dinner table of 2, er, 3...we enjoyed thinking about how much our world has changed since last Thanksgiving. The day we learned of our growing family. We are thankful for:
  • Jeremy's new job that has taken us on quite the adventure
  • Our new home that we love and enjoy
  • Our health
  • Jeremy's award trip to Hawaii in March
  • The birth of Miss L
  • The constant, loving support from our families
Our Thanksgiving day was spent exactly how we had hoped - woke up to the aroma of cinnamon bread baking in the bread machine, watched the parade with Miss L STARING at the TV in delight and amusement, Mommy & Miss L went for a walk/jog outside, watched lots of football, enjoyed appetizers then a traditional feast, followed by dessert from The Cheesecake Factory.

Our appetizer spread included a Cheese Tray with some aged white cheddar, gorgonzola and parm-reggiono (sp?), bacon-wrapped potato bites, crab-stuffed mushrooms and blue cheese filled baby reds.

Our dinner feast was complete with these beautiful, hand-made place cards from our sitter and Alexis. I just love how crafty and creative people can be! See below for some photos...
I love  some gorgonzola and honey on a cracker!

Blue cheese stuffed baby reds

Crab-stuffed Mushrooms - surprisingly, Jeremy's favorite app of the day!

Our Feast

Placecards

Our biggest blessing - Miss L
 P.S. - we are super thankful for the record-breaking high temperatures on Thanksgiving, and the fact that the 3" of snow received on Saturday melted already! Yay!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

A Special Surprise

Today was an eventful day for our home.

I had to get to leave the house this morning at 6:15 am to get to work early for a Board meeting, so Jer had to handle drop-off of Miss L to the babysitter. And Jer had a 7:30 am conference call, so this meant he had to wake up, get himself and her ready (and fed) and out the door by 7:10ish.

It was soo nice just getting myself ready and in the car on time (for once!). I find working part-time outside of the house is a perfect balance and truly lets me appreciate my time spent with and without Miss L.

The fabulous part of picking up Miss L from her in-home sitter/neighbor/friend, was the suprise of beautiful artwork that accompanied her. Today, she made her first piece of art to don our fridge! Her little foot prints dipped in paint strategically made the feathers of a Thanksgiving turkey.

It made my day and certainly reassured me that she is just fine while I'm at work, she's in great hands AND the other neighbor ladies long to have coffees together on Wednesdays just so they can play and have fun with my little girl. We are really blessed by such amazingly generous and thoughtful people in our life.

Monday, November 14, 2011

10 Days 'til Turkey Day!

Wow! Where is time going? My baby girl is already 3 months old and we are now just 10 days shy of celebrating our first Thanksgiving together as a family...well a more complete, real family!

Last Thanksgiving was quite eventful for our family of 2! Jeremy left for work at O'hare around 7am. I flew out of bed shortly after he left to take a home pregnancy test. It didn't take very long for the window to turn to a positive sign and for me to be jumping for joy in the bathroom on the 29th floor of our Chicago high-rise. Then, I had to walk to the grocery store, prepare our appetizers and Thanksgiving feast...all while I was lip-locked, waiting for Jeremy to arrive home from work so I could share the exciting news.

For the past four years, Jeremy has had to work Thanksgiving day and we created this routine of our very own intimate, Thanksgiving celebration. This year, we are happy that Jeremy has the day off and our family of three can celebrate the entire day!

Our tradition has become our favorite holiday - we dress up, enjoy the food that we love, watch football and basically share our thanksgiving together. Time to start planning the menu...this year, we will have to have a little family breakfast included in the plans.

World Kindness Day

Last week was World Kindness Day and I think this date has never been more relevant than after the U.S. election and going into the holidays...