Today we are hosting our very first Thanksgiving in our new place. I’m not a traditionalist when it comes to this meal. Turkey never impresses me and since I am now in charge— I declared it a turkey-free Thanksgiving! Although this declaration was met with resistance (mostly from Bryan) I am confident that I will be able to convince everyone that we can still give thanks without killing a turkey (instead we will kill a cow). We’ll still have a really lovely meal, just minus the bird. I’ll tell you a little more about the feast once I have cooked it, but for now I wanted to share these delicious little cheese straws that will accompany cocktails and wine at the start of the meal.

I love this time of year. I know that it portends some seriously bad weather ahead, but for now I don’t care. I like putting on a scarf and walking around our beautiful new neighborhood amazed by the colors that a tree can produce. I am also pretty enamored with the foods available at the market right now: baskets of apples, and squash and especially concord grapes.

No time for dinner means we have to get creative with what we eat. We still want delicious food, but it needs to be ready in about 15 minutes. A while back I saw a recipe for baked feta, and although I lost the recipe- I remembered the idea. Who could forget feta?

After my success with the quick refrigerator pickles, I was eager to pickle anything I could get my hands on. I pickled some red onions, which Bryan and I enjoy on everything from salads to quesadillas. Then, I came across this recipe of Molly Wizenberg’s for pickled peppers and immediately went to my farmers market to get some mini bell peppers.

I decided to make focaccia for dinner at about 7pm on a very hot night in Chicago. Maybe not the best decision I have ever made. Three hours later we were both starving and very hot.  Luckily this focaccia was worth the wait. It is wonderful. We ate almost all of it in one sitting and I was truly sad to see it go.

I love pickles. All forms. All vegetables. Pickled onions, turnips, cucumbers, peppers. Bring. Them. On. Until last week the only thing I pickled on a regular basis was red onions, which I love on salads and on top of tacos and other Mexican dishes. (I love this recipe for quick pickled onions) Then I found this super fast and easy recipe for spicy dill pickles and am currently on my second jar of them in less than two weeks. They are perfect.

Montreal was an amazing place to eat, but after a trip in which I ate poutine, croissants, fried pork, steak and more bacon than I care to admit, I was in need of some serious dietary improvements. I came home craving fruits, vegetables and whole grains. This is pretty much the state I am in at the end of all travels. Too much enjoyment of the local cuisine and I feel a strong desire to balance things out. The first thing I made for us was this very simple brown rice pilaf with green olives, lemon and a sprinkle of goat cheese.

The barbecue that I started writing about in my last post had a pretty amazing first and last course, both of which you need to try.

A couple of weekends ago we barbecued with our friend Katie in the suburbs (well, technically the outskirts of the city). This might not seem newsworthy to you, but for apartment dwellers without access to a grill it was a very special and eagerly anticipated event—the opportunity to perform an important ritual of summer and try out a couple of the grill recipes I have been collecting. I am still kind of amazed that we are now people who grill-out, not just the children of people who grill. It seems so adult. I guess we are also buying houses, having babies and opening our own businesses- so maybe grilling shouldn’t be such a surprise.

The day started off with rain and grey skies, but as we pulled into her driveway the clouds parted and we were awarded the perfect summer day—hot in the sun, cool in the shade with blue skies and big fluffy clouds. It was a BBQ miracle and the perfect early summer evening.

I seem to either make desserts or party food. I just reviewed my recipe index and find that I offer you guys very few recipes for entrees. I think I gravitate towards things like side dishes, appetizers and spreads because fairly often we piece together a meal using these foods. Some delicious artichoke-olive spread on a baguette with a nice robust salad or a serving of Mac & Cheese and some fresh fruit and I am happy. It is the way we eat. I also find that many people will only cook new recipes for special occasions and like many of you I find myself most excited by special spreads, appetizers and sweets. Little treats. And so, to continue the recipe tradition, I present: Charred Onion Dip.