Wednesday: Latkes

Wednesday was the first night of Hanukkah, so we had latkes. Ben’s parents and sister were in town, so it was really fun to celebrate Hanukkah with them. I made the latkes and Ben fried them.

Thursday: Thanksgiving!

People often ask how we do Thanksgiving since we don’t eat meat, but I can honestly say I don’t miss the turkey one bit. I was always way more into the side dishes even when we had a turkey. And I love that Ben’s family is vegetarian too so I don’t have to mess with cooking a bird.

This year I tried three new things, which is pretty unheard of for me. I made this spinach pie, which I had at a holiday-themed potluck but never made before. And I made this corn and rice dressing, which I had never even tried before! It was delicious though and I think it will be a future staple! I also made a mushroom gravy after hearing Molly Katzen talking about it on the Splendid Table. Ha! It was sooo good and gluten free too, if you’re into that sort of thing. I did have to reduce it a LOT longer than she suggested and added extra cornstarch. I also made mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and cranberries. Ben’s sister made these homemade rolls and Ben’s mom made pumpkin pie and apple crisp (her recipes–sorry I don’t have a link!).

Friday: Leftovers

Best part of Thanksgiving!

Saturday: Date Night Fail

Ben, Rebecca and I all decided to go to the Walkmen concert at Union Market in DC. When we bought the tickets a month ago it sounded super fun. However, what they neglected to mention when they sold us the tickets, is that the concert venue was outside. On the last day of November. It was 30 degrees!! Ugh! But the food was good at least. My first dinner was empanadas from the empanada place in Union Market (indoors!). My second dinner was a grilled cheese and tomato soup from the Ris tent outside. It was really cold–I think I earned that second dinner!

Sunday: Fondue Party

My friend Lorna is moving away from the neighborhood, so a bunch of us hosted a going away party for her. My friend Angie organized and hosted. She provided the cheese and chocolate fondue and the rest of us provided the dippers and wine. Both fondues were AMAZING and the company was even better. I have known these girls since Sam was born and have developed some really great friendships. We used to get together every week when we had babies that would just sit or even sleep quietly. Now it is a little harder to get together, and even harder to get together without our kids, so this was a really fun night.

Monday: Latkes Redux

I really like latkes! This time I made some non-traditional ones. And again, Ben fried. We served these cauliflower latkes with regular jarred applesauce and we served these spanolatkes with a greek yogurt dip from Trader Joe’s. We also had a simple salad.

Tuesday: Mac and Cheese and Roasted Broccoli

The mac and cheese recipe is my grandma’s, except I use whole wheat noodles. Here is a similar recipe. The Roasted Broccoli is from Ina Garten and it is AMAZING.