Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone. I’m a little frustrated at not having found the time to pre-blog the menu and some of the recipes, but things have been pretty hectic at work and at home. We did have a good dinner. Here’s what we ate:

Roast Turkey with Sausage Stuffing and Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Green Been Casserole
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Pine Nuts
Pumpkin Cheesecake

The turkey was good. My stuffing doesn’t vary from year to year — it’s essentially a bag of Arnold’s herb stuffing, a stick of butter, chopped celery, chopped onion, and a pound of Italian sausage meat. The cranberry sauce recipe was pretty simple too: two bags of cranberries, two cups of sugars, two cups of water, the peel of one orange, and a cinnamon stick. The mashed potatoes were just plain ol’ mashed, the roasted sweet potatoes were chunks tossed with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme leaves. The green bean casserole was the standard Campbell’s mushroon soup/French’s onion rings deal, but I did use fresh green beans. And the brussels sprouts were cooked in a little water first, and then finished in a pan with olive oil, minced garlic, and a handful of pine nuts.

Dessert was a fabulous pumpkin cheesecake that Jim made.

I drank way too much coffee today but I’m relaxing now with an after-dinner cordial (Cuarenta Y Tres). Thanksgiving was good.

Okay, I admit it. Salad isn’t my favorite thing to do with pasta. In fact the phrase “pasta salad” immediately reminds me of those godawful concoctions of elbow macaroni, diced celery, and mayonnaise that we’re occasionally forced to endure at a potluck picnic. But this one is really good, I promise.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. rotini (I used tricolor, but that is purely optional)
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
• 1 jar pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 jar roasted red peppers
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar

While the pasta is boiling, prep the jarred veggies. I should note here that I don’t use the entire jar of any of these things — add the ingredients in the proportions and amounts that suit your personal taste. I halve the olives, slice the sun-dried tomatoes, chop the artichoke hearts, and slice the peppers about 1/4 of an inch wide. Add the drained pasta to the rest of the ingredients, and add just a couple tablespoons of your best olive oil, followed by a splash of balsamic vinegar. It really doesn’t need any seasoning.

I served it for lunch today with a couple slices of fresh mozzarella, and it was really tasty. It reminds me of a hot pasta dish I used to make fairly often. I think I need to practice that one and post the recipe. In the meantime, this makes for a very nice lunch. A piece of crusty bread would go nicely with this, too. And even a slice or two of salami. It’s a bit like an antipasto, so anything in that same spirit would do well here.