Thanks to OXO for sponsoring this post with Thanksgiving recipes from the new cookbook Now & Again by Julia Turshen.
Thanksgiving is a mere two weeks away which means that it is time to finalize your menu and gather all the recipes that you will need. This year, you may be tempted to try a new recipe or two, especially if you have seen the Thanksgiving menu in the new cookbook Now & Again by Julia Turshen.
Turshen’s first book, Small Victories, is beloved by home cooks – including this one – for its time-saving and flavor-enhancing tips. Turshen’s latest book, Now & Again: Go-To Recipes for Inspired Menus + Endless Ideas for Reinventing Leftovers, is as informative, helpful and reassuring as its predecessor. This time, Turshen is helping home cooks become better at entertaining and cooking for friends and family. The recipes are organized into seasonal menus, such as Rosh Hashanah Dinner, Brunch for a Crowd, Steak House Dinner for Vegetarians and, of course, No-Stress Thanksgiving.
One of Turshen’s best tips for a big dinner like Thanksgiving is to do as much of the preparation in advance and embrace dishes that can be served at room temperature. An example of such a dish is the Radiccio and Roasted Squash Salad. This recipe deserves a spot at your Thanksgiving table because it can be prepared in advance and sit at room temperature for hours without ill effect. The salad also features seasonal produce in beautiful hues of purple and orange, making it both eye-catching and delicious.
To help spread the word about Now & Again and get everyone ready for Thanksgiving, OXO sent me a copy of the book and a set of Turshen’s favorite OXO tools. My kitchen was already filled with OXO tools and gadgets – from measuring cups to muffin tins to an ice cream scoop – because they are always smartly designed and easy to use. So, imagine my delight at receiving these new products, including the Mini Angled Measuring Cup, a set of two Chef’s Squeeze Bottles; a Swivel Peeler, a large Greensaver Herb Keeper and the On-the-Go Lunch Container.
The OXO Swivel Peeler made quick work of the butternut squash’s tough rind when preparing the Radiccio and Roasted Squash Salad. The Mini Angled Measuring Cup was perfect for measuring small amounts, such as in the dressing for this salad, which calls for two tablespoons of Dijon mustard and one tablespoon of honey.
Squeeze bottles are one of those products that you will always find in restaurant kitchens but not nearly enough in home kitchens. The OXO set of two squeeze bottles comes with interchangeable lids, one with a narrow tip for adding oil to a pan and one with a wider tip for thicker dressings and sauces. For this dish, I prepared the dressing in advance and stored it in the Chef’s Squeeze bottle until I needed it and then used the wide-tipped nozzle to dress the salad with no mess.
This year, I too plan to make as much of our Thanksgiving dinner in advance and will strive to find more dishes, like this Radiccio and Roasted Squash Salad that can be served at room temperature. What are your tried-and-true tips for a no-stress Thanksgiving?
Reprinted from Now & Again by Julia Turshen with permission by Chronicle Books, 2018
Ingredients
- 3 lb. butternut squash, halved lengthwise, tough skin peeled and ends trimmed and discarded, seeded, and cut into 1-in pieces
- ¾ cup olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 TB Dijon mustard
- 1 TB honey or maple syrup
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 heads radicchio, each about ½ lb, cored and thinly sliced
Instructions
- Position one rack in the center of your oven and a second rack in the top third and preheat to 400°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Divide the squash evenly between the prepared pans, then drizzle each pan with 2 TB of the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss everything.
- Roast the squash, stirring once or twice along the way and switching the pans between the racks and rotating them back to front halfway through the roasting, until softened and browned, about 30 minutes. Set the squash aside to cool down a bit.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, vinegar, and garlic. While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the remaining ½ cup olive oil to make a dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the reserved squash and the radicchio to the bowl and use your hands to combine everything gently.
- Transfer the salad to a serving platter and serve immediately (or within a few hours; it holds well at room temperature).
Full disclosure time: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of OXO. I received a set of tools and a copy of the cookbook from OXO free of charge to create this post. I was not compensated for my work and all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
