Host your Thanksgiving Feast with ENA
Get your belly ready because Thanksgiving is coming around the corner. Whether you celebrate this delicious holiday by hosting, cooking, or just eating, ENA is here to help. Compostable cups, plates, flatware, napkins, to-go containers, and tablecloths are the perfect way to keep your Thanksgiving gathering earth-friendly.
So while you’re eating from, with, or on compostable goods, let’s talk about what you’ll be eating. Here are some of ENA’s favorite Thanksgiving tips and treats.
Locally-Sourced Specialties
Depending on where you live, these table highlights will vary, but this Thanksgiving try to pick ingredients for at least one dish that come from your backyard (literally or figuratively). If you do have an at-home garden, hopefully you’ve saved some of your items from harvest to use for Thanksgiving. Or if you have any cold-weather items that are still growing, it’s great to use those as well. For example, we were lucky enough to grow some pumpkins this year in our garden and we’ve been saving them to make the Ultimate Pumpkin Pie. Our version is grain-free and gluten-free, instead opting for ingredients like almond flour and tapioca flour, and sweetening with local, maple syrup, and coconut whipped cream. Instead of pumpkin puree from a can, we use our own made from roasted and pureed sugar pumpkins from the yard. It’s an extra step, but it’s well worth it, and it leaves your house smelling great! Don’t forget to make this pie ahead of time, leaving time for it to cool in the fridge.
We also still have kale growing our garden (kale tends to flourish in our colder weather months here in PA), so we plan on making a delicious Kale, Goat Cheese, Walnut Salad. This simple, yet hearty salad is a perfect compliment to more dense foods often served at Thanksgiving. We use our garden-grown kale, local goat cheese, chopped organic walnuts (or pine nuts), and dried cranberries (great way to get your cranberry in on the Thanksgiving table). For the dressing, apple cider vinegar, lemon, local honey, and sea salt and pepper are all that’s needed. I like to let the dressing sit on the salad for a little bit (maybe an hour) before adding the cheese, nuts, and cranberries, before serving. This helps soften the kale and prevents you from having to massage the kale to soften it.
If you don’t have leftovers from your own garden (or you don’t have a garden), consider the gardens you have around you. For example, we have many farmstands near us in PA that set up shop on the roadside in front of the farm. There you can find the freshest produce, like apples and squash, this time of year. These are great items for Thanksgiving dishes and are the main ingredients for this Roasted Squash and Apple dish. This simple dish is a great way to add some autumn produce to your table. Roast the squash first, with some curry, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter. Then add the apples (with some maple syrup and balsamic vinegar) on top to finish roasting.
For the main dish, turkey, see if your town has any local options. Our town has a rather large farmstead that provides local turkey this time of year. Many towns offer the same. And if that’s not possible for you to find, your grocery store should have some local turkey options as well. Look for a local label, or ask your local grocery store for help with this. Here’s a recipe for Roasted Turkey with Herb Butter. Stuff the turkey with additional produce, like carrots, celery and onion, and top it with herb butter made with some fresh herbs, like parsley, sage and thyme. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours, basting with chicken broth every 30 minutes, until the turkey reaches 170 degrees. For exact cooking steps, follow the recipe above.
Enjoying a locally-sourced Thanksgiving not only tastes good, but it’s good for the earth. Your food spends less time on the road, cutting down on emissions, but also providing you with the freshest option.
Remember to enjoy any of these items served on ENA plates, bowls, and tablecloths if you’re looking for a simple clean up. And/or a great earth-friendly way to share leftovers is to offer your guests leftovers in ENA’s to-go containers. Most importantly, enjoy a delicious, earth-friendly holiday with your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!