Recipes

Thanksgiving

Elke and I are not only team single, we are also both very much into Barry and we share the same love for America. And so for Thanksgiving, the most important holiday of the year in the USA. And while my time in America may be history, I certainly won't let Thanksgiving pass me by. So this year, I'm putting that turkey in the oven here in Amsterdam, from which I can actually eat for a week (turkey sandwiches, my American friends know what I’m talking about), I’ll be cursing in the kitchen tonight because I can't get my gravy thick enough, and I’ll be plopping down on the couch in fat pants with my bestie.

Do you also want to bring some America into your home this weekend (I mean: why skip a party?), then I have a nice and healthy menu for you. And you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen for it.

Main course

Instead of a turkey, take an organic free-range chicken. It's much easier to prepare than a turkey (read: no hours of baking time in the oven) and almost just as tasty.

Preparation:

Clean the chicken and place it in a baking dish. Mix a generous chunk of butter with fresh herbs of your choice (I use rosemary, thyme, coarse sea salt, and fresh black pepper) and stuff this in small amounts under the skin of the chicken. Place a few lemon wedges and about five cloves of garlic with the skin still on in the cavity. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the chicken for about an hour until done.

Sides

Sweet potato salad with roasted cauliflower and pomegranate

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes

1 cauliflower

2 bags of salad

1 pomegranate

white balsamic vinegar

olive oil

maple syrup

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes into large wedges and place them in a baking dish. Drizzle the sweet potatoes with olive oil, sea salt, cinnamon, and fresh black pepper. Bake the sweet potatoes until done in about 60 minutes.

Cut the cauliflower into slices and grill them back and forth in a hot grill pan.

“Oh yes, so put on your fat pants, because that’s part of Thanksgiving.”

For the dressing:

Mix 60 ml of white balsamic, 20 ml of good olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup together. Place the salad on a large platter, distribute the pomegranate, the warm sweet potatoes, and the cauliflower over the salad. Drizzle the salad with the dressing.

Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and hazelnuts

Ingredients:

500 grams of small Brussels sprouts

150 grams of bacon, sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove of garlic

1 onion, chopped

75 grams of hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Clean the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Then place them in a large baking dish. Add the bacon and chopped onion and mix everything well together. Add the oil and a crushed clove of garlic and make sure everything is well mixed. Then sprinkle it with salt and pepper and place the baking dish in the preheated oven. Check after thirty minutes if the Brussels sprouts are tender. Place the Brussels sprouts in a nice dish and sprinkle them with the roasted hazelnuts.

Dessert

I already gave you that yesterday, but if you missed it, take a look here. Oh yes, and so put on your fat pants, because that’s part of Thanksgiving.