Thanksgiving Menu Ideas for 2018

Thanksgiving is next week! Of course I love gathering in the kitchen and around the table with my friends and fam and being all thankful and all that... but I really, really love the menu planning leading up to the event. We went way overboard last year with a trillion different side dishes, which was fun and tasty but overwhelming, so this year we’re cutting it way back and keeping it pretty simple (but still delicious, obv). We're not even doing yams/sweet potatoes! My sister and I both eat various forms of sweet potatoes weekly, so we axed them from the Thanksgiving menu! Controversial! 

Spiced Apple Bourbon Sparklers

What are your favorite holiday cocktails? I love warm mulled wine and bourbon drinks. And I’m a big fan of champagne or sparkling wine during the holidays slash all year long. This year I whipped up a double batch of this eggnog, at my coworker’s insistence. It’s been aging for a few weeks, so we won’t know the outcome until we crack it open the week of Christmas. I’m pretty excited for it though! 

Coconut Nectarine White Wine Spritzers

Summer's not over yet! Sherrie & Renee are hosting a bubbly, sparkly, boozy, fresh, fruity virtual cocktail party, #drinkthesummer! Scroll to the bottom for a complete list of fun summery drinks by other awesome food bloggers! Get your summer drank on!

A Dinner with DRY + Lemony Roasted Chicken Legs with Garlic and Rosemary

I did something fun and rad and I've been keeping it a secret! Picture this: a bunch of your favorite people, a sunny warm spring evening, twinkly candles, and vases full of colorful flowers. A record playing lightly in the background, a well-rounded cocktail in one hand, a crostini in the other, and an enormous cheese plate in front of you. This is basically the PERFECT evening for me. You guys, I am SO almost 30. And I love it.

Tiki Party: Three Dots and a Dash Tiki Drink

It’s tiki week! And the key to a good tiki party is, of course, the drinks! And the key element of a good tiki drink is RUM!

Raspberry & Basil Bourbon Jam Sours

I have this summer fantasy. Not like, a Fabio fantasy…sillies. More like an idyllic summer in the South kind of fantasy. I'm sitting on a porch swing on a sunny, summer day. There are those big hanging trees around the porch—willows?—and probably bluegrass playing off somewhere in the distance, mingling with the sound of the breeze through the trees. I'm kicking back, without a care in the world. It's basically a never ending Sunday in August. Job? What job? Bills? What bills. Cocktail? Yes, definitely a cocktail. 

This fruity, jammy, lemony, herbaceous bourbon cocktail is exactly what I'd be drinking on that porch swing. Can someone just invite me to their porch swing already? 

Jam and booze is such an amazing, perfect combo. I don't know why I haven't been doing this forever. These drinks are sweet and fruity in a not-too-sweet, summery kinda way, with a bit of tang from the lemon juice, and a nice basil and bourbon finish. So good. So, so good. It's my…jam. Yep. Said it.

Until I find that porch swing and endless summer afternoon, my couch, episodes of Fargo, and this cocktail will have to do. 

Raspberry & Basil Bourbon Jam Sours

Makes 2

These look a bit dainty with their pretty pink hue, but trust me, they are strong cocktails, as bourbon drinks should be. Feel free to lighten it up with a splash of soda water. If your jam is pretty sweet, you may not need the honey. 

2 tablespoons raspberry jam/preserves of your choice*

1 teaspoon honey

1 sprig fresh basil (about 4-5 leaves)

Ice

2 ounces bourbon

Juice from 2 medium-large lemons

Combine raspberry jam/preserves in a small dish, and microwave about 15 seconds, just to loosen it enough to easily stir together. 

Add basil to a cocktail shaker, and muddle/mash. Add ice about 3/4 full, bourbon, lemon juice, and jam/honey mixture. Shake shake shake!

Pour over ice, garnish with a leaf of basil, enjoy!

*I used Trader Joe's Raspberry Fruit Spread. 

Coconut Margaritas

My sister and her boyfriend just got back from the most amazing look tropical vacation ever. They went to Turks and Caicos, those jerks! And while I zipped up my raincoat and pulled on my galoshes, she texted me pictures of white sand and bright blue water. Jealousy level max over here. 

Fact: the only possible way to overcome tropical vacation envy, aside from hopping on a plane, is to drink tropical drinks. Bonus points for pink umbrellas. 

Turks and Caicos is all about the rum punch, but I only had one drink of my mind: coconut margaritas! 

Last week my friend LZ and I had these coconut margs at happy hour the other day, and they were amazing! They weren't too sweet or over the top, and since they were made with coconut water, I felt all good and hydrated, something I don't usually feel when I'm drinking tequila! 

So of course, over the weekend I decided to shake up my own coconut margs, and pretend I was somewhere sunny and warm…just ignore that rain sound on the windows. That's just ocean waves. Obviously. 

I'm not trying to brag or anything, but these are the most amazing margaritas I've ever had. A little tart, a little sweet, a little coconutty… tropical perfection! I invited LZ over for taste testing, and we each had a couple tastes. I mean, full-glass sized tastes. Then maybe a couple more. Who was counting, ya know? We certainly weren't. 

Coconut Margaritas, on the Rocks

Inspired by El Borracho Coconut Margaritas
Makes enough for a crowd

Coconut Tequila (I used this brand)

Fresh lemon/lime juice (juice of 2 lemons & 3 limes, mixed)

Ginger syrup (like this, or make your own)

Coconut water (C2O is my favorite, Zico is my 2nd favorite)

1 can coconut cream (different from coconut milk, but that would work as well-PS. how great is Coco Lopez website... from like, 1999)

Toasted coconut sugar (2 tablespoons sugar & 3 tablespoons toasted desiccated coconut, stirred together)

To prepare your glass, add toasted coconut sugar to a plate. Run a lime wedge across the glass rim, and dip rim in sugar and coconut, twisting to coat. Add ice to glass.

For each margarita, fill up cocktail shaker half way with ice, and add:
 

1 oz tequila

1 oz lemon/lime juice

1/4 oz ginger syrup

2 oz coconut water

1/2 oz coconut cream

Shake until combined, and strain into prepared glass. Serve with a lime wedge and pink umbrella! Add a floater of coconut cream if you like it a bit sweeter. 

Cranberry Gin Fizz

Are you guys all ready to have a holly, jolly, merry, bright, drinky, fizzy holiday? I am! Pick me!

Christmas break has begun and it's officially time for some holiday spirit. Holiday spirits, rather.

This cocktail combines three of my favorite things: gin, bubbles, and cranberry. Plus a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. 

A few of these fizzy cranberry and gin drinks and you'll be super jolly. 

Cranberry Gin Fizz

For each drink:

1 ounce (shot) good quality gin (I like Hendricks)

Juice from a quarter or half a lemon

2 ounces cranberry simple syrup (recipe below)

Champagne or prosecco 

Frozen cranberries (on a pick, or otherwise)

Add gin, lemon juice, and cranberry syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake until cool. Strain into glass, then top off with bubbles. Add more lemon or syrup, to taste. Add frozen cranberries to keep cool. 

Note: this a strong boozy drink. To make a little less strong, you can use soda water instead of prosecco, or leave out the gin, and just do prosecco, cranberry syrup, and lemon.

Cranberry Simple Syrup

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, and cool before using. 

Makes about a cup and a half. 

Jarritos + Tequila, To Go!

Oh boy. I remember the days when I was young and crazy and could drink all night and still make it to work the next day, not a hair out of place. Nowadays, one beer after work knocks me out. And a few rounds of cocktails? Fuhgettaboutit. There was even a time in my life when I referred to Cinco de Mayo as Cinco de Drinko. Don’t act like you didn’t call it that too. Oh wait, you still do? Well, in that case…

There’s a bar in Seattle that serves a drink called the To-Go. It’s a bottle of grapefruit Jarritos, topped off with tequila. I mean, c'mon people, that’s genius. It’s essentially a paloma in its own to-go bottle. Perfectly contained. How is that not the most genius drink to serve at a BBQ/picnic/fiesta!? No shakers, no stirry things, not even any red plastic cups, for goodness sake!

The one challenge with making this drink at home: where the eff do you find grapefruit Jarritos!? I tried two Mexican markets, 2 big grocery stores, and 1 gas station. I found lime, pineapple, fruit punch, orange, and even tamarind. No grapefruit. The good news is, the variety of fun flavors also works here, and the colors are bright and festive and just what Dr. de Mayo ordered. But if you’re dying for grapefruit and can’t find it, feel free to sub with another grapefruit soda or fizzy drink like Izze.

Ok amigos y amigas, let’s make To-Gos!

Step 1: Fill a big bowl/bucket/cooler/tub with ice.
Step 2: Wedge a bunch of fun flavored Mexican sodas in said ice.
Step 3: Provide 1 mini bottle (airplane size) of tequila per soda.
Step 4: Open a soda, and take a big swig.
Step 5: Pour a full mini bottle of tequila in the soda bottle.
Step 6: add a lime wedge.
Step 7: BEBER!

PS. How cute are these little cactus fiesta favors!? Check out Camille Styles for the how-to!

Hot & Buttery

You voted and the results are in! Hot Buttered Rum is your favorite hot boozy bev. HBR's are the best because they're basically like dessert in a mug, and they can be made with rum, brandy, bourbon, whiskey (wait, are those the same?)…you name it. You can even leave out the booze and just have a hot buttery virgin mocktail. 

Full of warm wintery flavors like nutmeg and cinnamon, HBRs are the perfect drink for a cold night or a warm fireplace. And, believe it or not, the mix is a total breeze to whip up. Vanilla ice cream, brown and white sugar, spices, and buttah. Lots and lots of buttah. 

When you're mixing it up, you can taste as you go, and add other spices or flavors, like pumpkin pie spice or ginger…and then gift it! Just pour some mix into little jars, and add a tag with instructions. 

PS. My dad supplied the wood pile for the photo shoot. Thanks dad!

Hot Buttered Rum Mix

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter

pinch salt

2 cups old fashioned vanilla ice cream

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1.5 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine both sugars, salt, and butter in a saucepan. Heat over low until butter is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally. Combine warm buttery sugar mix with ice cream in a large bowl (of your stand mixer, if you have one). Add spices and mix /beat at medium speed until smooth. Can be stored in refrigerator or freezer. 

To serve, fill a mug 1/3rd full with HBR mix, add 1 oz. rum, and fill the rest of the way with boiling water. Add more mix (or rum) if desired. And whipped cream… whipped cream is always desired.