apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Anyone have good Thanksgiving recipes or ideas to share? I had some great mashed potatoes with carrots and a bit of ginger while I was on vacation. It would make a yummy alternative to having plain old mashed potatoes over the holidays...

i made a butternut squash risotto the other day that would make a really nice side dish. it was easy and deeeee-licious! i got the recipe from epicurious, and didn't really change a whole lot... of course, i don't really know, since my family eats indian food for thanksgiving!!

wende, cache creek lavender doesn't sell in sf, but here's their website and phone number: cachecreeklavender.com, 800.323.0063.

One of my favorite side dishes is a real snap: in a mandoline or with a sharp knife, cut a crisp green apple and a fennel bulb into slivers. Mix with the freshly squeezed juice of one lemon. Sprinkle with tarragon, fresh if possible. Serves two-three.

one of my favs is sweet potatos roasted with garlic just like you would roast regular potatos..... it is great and so much better than those yams with the marshmellows on them.

seema - I'd love to get that recipe for butternut squash risotto!

Hey aquarabbit - maybe we can all arrange to meet up during your visit for a Happy Hour somewhere. That would be fun!

anne - it's here from epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/13081.

mmmmmmmm!

Thank you, me (tfo)! That's closer than I've gotten yet. (Teaching conflicting with all farmer's markets for me this weekend.)

I will also commence the mysterious Chai Masala Shortbread project either tonight or tomorrow.

To give mashed potatoes a little kick, I like to add some cream-style horseradish while beating them. I can't wait to try the other ideas in this post - green apple and fennel sounds like an amazing combination! I bet that butternut squash risotto adds a nice punch of color to any plate - thank goodness I'm not on Atkins.

I'm going to check out that risotto recipe too... Yum.

I made a pumpkin cake with maple cream cheese icing a couple weeks ago, and it was fabulous. As much as I love pumpkin pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving, the cake was a nice twist. I used fresh roasted sugar pumpkin and the cake had a nicely complex flavor. The recipe is from leitesculinaria.com.

leaving the subject of food for a sec, who do you have to know in this town to find a creative, reasonably priced interior decorator? i'm looking for someone who i would pay hourly and doesn't care whether i spend $10,000 or $100,000 on furniture/lighting/accessories/window treatments, etc.

any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated. email to dashdotcom(at)yahoo(dot)com.

thanks!!

speaking of giving mashed potatoes a kick
early on in dating the boy, he asked me a question i couldn't believe no one had asked before
why doesn't anyone serve curried mashed potatoes?
so, we've been experimeting with this idea for the past two years
it is AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING
for simple curried mash, bloom your curry powder in your milk, cream or melted butter so it doesnt taste gritty
for seriously fancy schmancy curried mash, consider the following:
- onions caramelized with curry butter mixed in
- or, the above plus paneer and peas
thats the ultimate, its like creamy, silky, yummerific saag paneer
oh man, i'm so hungry again! ;-)

ps - i found the box wine this weekend at tribeca wine merchants -- its tres yummy too!

I'm hoping AT can help me make (or not make) a big decision...I have a sofa on hold for 24hrs at Century Modern in Dallas. Since I'm in Portland, I've asked the salesperson to sit in a couple of the sofas to get some feedback, but otherwise, I'm making this purchase decision in absentia. Check out this sofa here http://www.centurymodern.com/danm.html
and let me know if you think it's "hot or not." I'm drawn to its uniqueness. I've been looking at sofas in the style of the Wormley Dunbar sofa (also on that site)but find myself abandoning those plans in light of this vintage Danish one. I like the Wormley one, too, although I think it's too dark for my dusky amethyst rug. HELP! Thanks in advance!

Brooke--it's definitely unique. Your neighbors won't have one, that's for sure. I'm getting a bit of a Tiki-Formal vibe, which may or may not be a good thing for your space. Seems like the cushions ride kind of high, but it's hard to tell from the photos. It's also hard to judge the color, but I'm not diggin' what I see. Without seeing your space, it's tough to make a recommendation, though. I do, however, like it a *lot* more than the Wormley.

I like these more: http://www.centurymodern.com/kns.html
http://www.centurymodern.com/gs.html

Unless you have a really big room, the couch dominates the space and sets a tone for the style of the room. So, I think a couch trumps a rug and in any squabble, the rug should be sent packing.

I like the gray sofa more than the Knoll, of the two Scientist recommends (the leg placement on the Knoll is weird, though the overall shape of the sofa is great). I also like the one you have on hold; it's distinctive. I don't like the back cushions on the Wormley.

So my advice: either yes on the one you got, or go for the gray one recommended by Scientist, or just go to another store... there have to be options in Portland, even if they aren't gen-u-wine vintage, where you can actually physically see what you're buying.

pdx--
The only person who can answer the "hot or not" question is you.

But if you are even asking for a second opinion, it sounds as if it's not quite "love" yet, so my advice would be to keep looking.

Anne --- that's a great idea! I'd love to meet some of the mysterious faces-behind-the-names while I'm out your way. We'll have to work on a West Coast-East Coast happy hour. :)

Re mashed potatoes - my friends are joining my folks and me for Thanksgiving. I specifically asked one of them to bring his now famous mashed potatoes. He cooks the spuds with celery root and mashes them together, adds cream cheese and a variety of other artery-busting goodies along with spices. I am a potato fiend and I have to say these are some of the best I've ever had (and I think they'd make great potato patties the next morning if there was ever any leftovers to experiment with!). This is now on my list of "if-I-ever-have-to-choose-a-last-supper-menu" along with his wife's lavendar chocolate cake... yum... I'm getting hungry....

I second the suggestion of adding (or topping them with) caramelized onions to mashed potatoes. oh. my. GOD.

And while not very traditionally Thanksgiving-y, I think the best thing on earth to add to mashed potatoes is Wasabi.

aquarabbit--
Try to stay at the coolest place you can within your budget.. but the boutique hotels of NYC are part of the whole visiting experience...(imho)

I was thinking "carry-out" but now, after reading all these posts, I'm going to Whole Foods and get a bunch of ingredients and COOK. So far I have mashed potatoes and risotto recipes to work on. Um, maybe too much starch.

Seema - I saw 2 risotto recipes. One for butternut and one for roasted butternut. Which one did you use? (not that it really matters)

Yeah, and then we'll all meet you in the bar of one of those boutique hotels for martinis!

I used the regular butternut squash recipe, though it does call for the squash being roasted anyhow. deee-lish!

pdx - why not try to win the Daily Show sofa:
http://www.comedycentral.com/events/tds_couch_sweeps/

...that sounds like a spectacular idea. Right now my budget is looking pretty paltry, but if I stick to nothing but peanut butter sandwiches until January I can probably save up for something boutique-y. And you probably don't even want to know that I don't own actually own a coat...

Well, you're gonna need a coat in Jan. in NYC. Go to a flea market or the Sal. Army on Mission and get a cheap one for the trip.

There's a quaint little bed and breakfast that I've walked past a couple of times in my neighborhood. Now I can't remember what street it's on but I'm trying to find it so I can get information on it for someone else. I'll let you know what I find out.

Scientist, Miranda, P(too) and Anne,
Thanks for your feedback on my sofa quandary. The frank feedback, Scientist, is just what I needed. I think I was considering throwing to the wind my original plans not only because the Danish sofa was unusual, but because I knew this would be sitting in my living room far sooner than a custom ordered sofa and with the holidays around the corner I guess I found myself subject to a tad bit of desperation! Not pretty! Also, I did find myself questioning how I would work around its style. My hope is to find a great tuxedo style sofa and some fabulous wood trimmed barrel chairs, but we'll see if that vision wins out. I've had a hard time sticking with one plan and therefore my living room is still not finished. Oh well, maybe I should just try for the Daily Show couch!

Today is the last day to try for the Daily Show couch. It comes with a trip to NYC and money so go for it.

Brooke--I think you made the right decision. You don't want to wake up with a bad couch hangover. Remember, when the guests leave, it's just you and the couch--together for a long winter. :) Believe me, I'm going a bit crazy myself preparing for out of town visitors, but I'm trying to limit myself to buying inexpensive stuff to dress up the place.

I tried the regular butternut squash risotto recipe last night (the spinach in the other one kind of put me off), and though it was labor-intensive, it was absolutely delicious.