Pumpkin up! Thanksgiving is Days Away...

Thanksgiving is every food lover's dream come true- a day that is completely and entirely centered around food. I am personally thrilled about this upcoming holiday not only because I will be cooking delicious food at my ranch with my family, but because for the past TWO years on Thanksgiving Day, I have been too sick to even taste my cherished meal. This year, the holiday is going to be a slam dunk.

In preparation of the holiday, I signed up for a pumpkin recreational class. We had a wonderful time making very festive things. We cooked the classics like pumpkin bread and roasted sliced pumpkin, but we also made very unique dishes such as pumpkin gnocchi pasta with gorgonzola cream sauce. We also made pumpkin chili, roasted mini pumpkins filled with apple stuffing, and pumpkin creme brulee. All of it was so unique and quite easy if you are willing to put in the time and effort. Here are some pictures of the things we made:

*Pumpkin bread (with fennel... interesting touch)

*Roasted Pumpkins with Apple Stuffing

*The finished set up with all of our Pumpkin-y goodness!!!

Overall, I think my favorite part of Thanksgiving day is the moment when all of dishes are finally finished laid out in a beautiful display symbolizing hardwork, gratefulness, and time being spent with those you love. I feel so blessed for my wonderfully big family and how much they have supported me in my pursuit of a career in the culinary industry. I cannot wait to be back in Texas to spend this significant holiday with the people I care most about. I also can't wait to bust out these dishes plus countless others I have been researching over the past few weeks (I'm not obsessed I promise...)

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Eating!!!