Thanksgiving is less than 3 weeks away so it’s time for me to start doing a bit of menu planning. Every year, I tell myself “keep it simple!” but for someone who enjoys being creative in the kitchen, it’s hard not to go overboard when I’m entertaining for people I love. But of course, I want them to be hungry for dinner!
Below are a few ideas I have in mind…
Smoked Salmon with Black Pepper Potato Chips and Lemon Crème Fraîche from Bon Appetit
Blue Cheese and Walnut Spread from Martha Stewart. I think I’ll serve it with Celery sticks and sliced Apples, in lieu of crackers, to keep it light.
And last, my own version of Tomato Olive Tapenade on Zucchini Rounds, inspired by a Vitamix Raw Food Recipe:
- 1 small jar of Sun-dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil (Trader Joe’s has a good one)
- 3/4 cup of Kalamata Olives, pitted
- 1 Tbsp of Capers
- 1 small clove of chopped Garlic
- Fresh Basil leaves (approx. 3 sprigs)
- Juice of 1/2 Lemon (zest the Lemon before juicing and use it for garnish)
- Black Pepper to taste
- Zucchini, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
Place all ingredients except Zucchini into your Vitamix or food processor and blend until creamy (if it’s too thick, you can add a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil, water, or some of the brine from the jar of Capers). Top your Zucchini rounds with the Tapenade and garnish with some Lemon Zest.
I’ll probably make the Blue Cheese Spread and Tapenade in advance for convenience.
Next, what to make for the sides? I’ll keep you posted!
Food Outside The Box 
Oooh now these sound like fancy appetizers!
Hi Kat, thanks for your comment. I took a quick look at your blog and saw a few tasty ideas too!
Kim,
These are wonderful ideas for appetizers. Love your idea for the tapenade on zucchini. Will definately give these a try and follow up with comments about how wonderful they are.
Thanks
I’m so glad you like them 🙂
Yummy- keep it coming