The "Dish" on Thanksgiving Part II

Hello again!!

Hope everyone is doing well!! Welcome to the "Dish" on Thanksgiving Part II. I apologize for not getting this post out there sooner, I had a trip to NYC Saturday when I was supposed to post.

I'm sure many of you are wondering what the "Dish" is this week...Starters and Side Dishes!!!

Let's Start with a Starter! My ideal starter dish would be a cheese plate personally. I love cheeses and crackers, fruit...and of course that glass of wine! What kind of cheeses? What will my guests enjoy??

Some good ones include - Classic Sharp Cheddar, Blue Cheese, Goat Cheese, Gouda, Brie....etc. If I were to make a cheese plate for my guests, I would limit my plate to having 3 cheeses. Whichever cheese you enjoy (I like goat cheese, sharp cheddar, blue cheese the best) You don't want to overwhelm your guests with too much or too many choices. Along with the cheese I would put out a few different cracker choices, maybe some fruits such as grapes or pear slices. Perhaps even have some chutney to spread onto crackers and cheese. Yum!! We have a chutney called "old farmhouse chutney" and it has all kinds of fruits in it and whatnot. Apricot is the main one I believe. Very good :) If you're unsure of what kind of wine to serve alongside of the cheese plate, don't be afraid to do some research and maybe attend a wine tasting at a local winery!! You'll have a ton of fun and try new things and learn alot too!!

Shall we move onto a side dish?? Let's take a look at Green Bean Casserole. A classic. I am always in charge of this dish myself!! Everyone knows to use the classic recipe on the Cream of Mushroom Soup label, complete with the onion crunchies ontop. However, this year I am thinking of trying something different. Chex Green Bean Casserole!! (of course I'll put out the onion crunchies for those who can't have dinner without them!)...This recipe looks super easy and is very close to the classic casserole everyone loves. The only difference is instead of the onion crunchies, you top it with Rice Chex cereal!! Sounds fun to me! There's also some grated parmesan cheese too, which I have never used in Green Bean Casserole so that is different for me as well :) There's absolutely nothing wrong with trying something new, do not fret! It just might turn into that fun new tradition that your family loves!!

Another very popular side dish is....Stuffing!! Everyone's gotta have their stuffing!! So Instead of giving you only one way of making it, how about if I give you 50 ideas?!! The FoodNetwork Site has all kinds of ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner! They have a basic recipe for stuffing thats easy and what's more is that they've also given 50 different examples of what you can add to it to make it amazing! Any way you like it!! How fun is that? Make a couple variations if you want to!! They have ideas like Apple-Herb all the way to Oysters! I've never heard of putting Oysters in stuffing but hey! Why not?? While you're at it, why not browse the other Thanksgiving Side dishes that they offer, from Cranberry Sauce to Sweet Potatoes!!

As the holiday gets closer and closer I am getting more excited about it!! I love sitting around the table with loved ones eating great food and having a great time!! That's what it's all about!! I'm Thankful for that!

Until next week's "Dish"!!.....


*These are not my own recipes, I've included links to the correct site where I found them. Also, the photos are from google images*