Rose’s November 2026 Blog - Autumn is Rolling Around Again

Yes, autumn rolls on with a chill in the dawn,
And the huge harvest moon has done her job,
Lighting the fields while the corn and the wheat
Were plucked from the earth in the late day light
And hauled off to the markets and ground at the mills
As autumn has rolled around again. 

Now is the time for the people to dance
To get out our fiddles and lift up our hearts.
The pumpkins are orange like the sun going down,
The kitchen is filled with the fragrance of spice,
And the table is laden with fruitcakes and pies
Because autumn is grateful to roll back again. 

This jingly little poem is designed to sound like the songs some of us sang in childhood, like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “Frere Jacques” (“Are You Sleeping, Brother John?”) These memorable little songs are called Rounds, as they use repetition to move the story forward and unite the singers as a circular chorus. This is how I feel about Thanksgiving. It is always a joy to return once again to this happy holiday, focusing only on gratitude for the food we eat and the family and friends we love. 

 Over our past ten years of blogging, Kathleen and I have provided you with menus and recipes for a variety of traditional and or innovative Thanksgiving meals. I poked around in our archives and chose some of my favorite free recipes for you to consider this year for your family’s Thanksgiving meal. To find these recipes, simply go the home page of myteaplanner.com and click on Blog. This will take you to “Tea and Travels Rose’s Blog”. One more click should take you to the chronological listing of all my blogs since 2016. Use the same process to find the recipes in Kathleen’s blogs, “Cakes and Tea.” 

Let’s start with three classic autumn and winter holiday recipes from Kathleen, a kitchen expert whose creations are simultaneously delicious, practical and visually delightful.

In Kathleen’s November 2018 blog, “Giving Thanks,” you will find the recipe for Curried Turkey Salad, the best way ever to serve leftover turkey during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday weekend. Served in clear glass bowls, this refreshing salad makes a beautiful presentation, combining turkey, chickpeas, yogurt, cucumber, grapes, almonds and spices in a surprising and memorable flavor profile. 

Kathleen’s beautifully photographed November 2021 blog, “In a Brown Palette,” starts your holiday baking off with the recipe for some sweet little brown treats, Molded Spice Cookies. These are the classic cookies that you can bake early and keep in your cookie jar to keep the kids happy even before Thanksgiving and Christmas arrive. They are also lovely in gift boxes and cookie trays. 

The traditionalists among you will appreciate Kathleen’s November 2016 blog, “Stir Up Sunday.” Here you will find the recipes for two of the most famous Old English holiday desserts,Fanny Farmer’s Mince Pie, made from mincemeat you can make yourself, and Christmas Pudding, the steamed and deeply spicy version of English Plum Pudding. 

Before I direct you to my favorite Thanksgiving recipes from my blogs, let me remind you that I shared the recipe for a splendid Armenian Orange Cake last month in my October 2026, blog, “An Autumn Cake Party.” I have always been an advocate for at least two desserts for Thanksgiving, and you might want to serve this lovely Orange Cake along with the traditional Pumpkin or Apple Pies.

My November 2019 blog, “Festive Fall,” contains three autumn recipes that would be appropriate for the Thanksgiving table: Mushroom Sage Crostini, Cranberry Curd, and Lemon Chess Pie. Since family members do not all arrive at the same time, and there is often a lot of hovering around before the turkey actually arrives on the table, Mushroom Sage Crostini make a tasty and healthy snack before the meal begins. Beautifully colored and festive Cranberry Curd can be made in advance and served with savory items instead of Cranberry Sauce or used as a topping for holiday tarts, cookies or cupcakes. You can also add a dollop of Cranberry Curd on top of each slice of the luscious traditional Lemon Chess Pie, which is wonderful for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other season, as fresh lemons are available year-round. 

My December 2019 blog, “Holiday Homage,” includes the recipe for Watsonville Caramel Apple Spice Cake,” a favorite of my brother-in-law, Rudy Pedulla, Kathleen’s father, who is an excellent home cook and baker like his daughter. This rich and hearty cake would be perfect as a Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert, and no one would complain if you served it with Vanilla or Dulce De Leche Ice Cream. Finally, the recipe for Spiced Apple Gelatin, one of my personal favorites, appears in my December 2023 blog, “Joyful Gelatin.” I like to serve this splendid ring molded gelatin, made with Martinelli’s Apple Cider, on Thanksgiving, surrounded by candied cranberries and topped with whipped cream.

My recipe gift to you this November is actually a gift from Kathleen, who emailed this recipe to me recently. Kathleen found this impressive autumn side dish, entitled “Winter Squash and Spinach Pasta Bake,” on the smittenkitchen.com website, although it was apparently adapted from a recipe by Yotem Ottolenghi, co-author of The Jerusalem Cookbook. I liked this recipe immediately as it contains colorful and healthy autumn vegetables that will harmonize with every traditional Thanksgiving menu, including sweet potatoes, turkey and dressing. And the spinach adds greens to a menu that often does not include a lot of green vegetables, and for vegetarians, it includes protein from cheese and the traditional herbs associated with Thanksgiving, including nutmeg and sage. Finally, there are always children at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and I have never met a child who did not like pasta. 

Winter Squash and Spinach Pasta Bake

This hearty Thanksgiving side dish could certainly serve as the entrée for a family dinner. It is easy to assemble and filled with protein, healthy vegetables, flavorful herbs and spices and good old noodles. It can also be made a week in advance and will still be delicious. It is perfect for Thanksgiving, as it can be reheated prior to the meal and will not take up precious oven space on Thanksgiving Day. 

This round, savory cake contains a large number of ingredients, some of which need to be chopped up or broken into pieces, but once you have prepared the ingredients, all you need to do is toss them into a large mixing bowl, stir them up, and fit them into a prepared 9-inch springform pan. One and a half hours later you will have a large round quiche-like creation that can be garnished with fresh parsley and served in wedges. Apparently, the original recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi contained tomatoes, pine nuts, feta and basil for a more mediterranean flavor. The smittenkitchen.com version deletes the ingredients listed above and substitutes fontina, parmesan, sage and extra salt. You can use your own discretion in selecting the ingredients that would appeal to your family and harmonize with the other items on your menu. You can also make this task easy for yourself by using prepared ingredients, such as butternut squash already peeled, seeded and cut into chunks and sold in a plastic bag. You can do the same with pre-washed baby spinach, and even garlic can be purchased peeled and pre-minced.

1 large egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup fontina cheese grated
1 ¼ cups water or broth
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Pinch of grated nutmeg, (optional)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 bag (about 5 ounces) baby spinach, chopped and stems removed
1 bag (1¼ pounds) butternut squash, peeled and pre-cut into cubes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
8 ounces dried pasta, broken into pieces (You can use lasagna noodles if you wish.)
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped for garnish
Cooking spray for the pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F 

Serves: 8-12 wedges 

Special Equipment: 9-inch round springform pan, parchment, cutting board, paring knife, whisk, Rubber spatula, large mixing bowl, aluminum foil, foil-covered baking sheet, wire cooling rack, decorative serving platter or cake pedestal, cake server

1.     Prepare the pan: Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray on the bottom and interior sides. Cut four rounds of parchment to fit the bottom and top of the pan. Cut additional pieces of parchment to fit around the interior sides of the pan. Place 2 rounds of parchment firmly over the bottom of the pan, one on top of the other. Spray again with cooking spray. Secure the additional pieces of parchment firmly to the sprayed sides of the pan. Spray again. Reserve the 2 additional parchments rounds for later. Set aside.

2.     Prepare the vegetables: Cut the butternut squash chunks into smaller slices, chop the baby spinach and remove most of the stems, mince the garlic and sage leaves into small pieces. Break the dried pasta into small pieces. Set Aside.

3.     In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg and ricotta. Stir in ½ cup of parmesan, 1 cup of grated fontina, and stir with a spatula until well mixed. Add the water or broth, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pinch of nutmeg and pepper flakes and stir to combine. Add the reserved garlic, sage, squash, spinach and noodle pieces. Gently stir with the spatula until all the ingredients are well distributed.

4.     Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan, pressing gently and making sure the parchment pieces remain adhering to the sides. Carefully place the 2 remaining rounds of parchment over the top of the mixture. Cover the entire top of the pan firmly and tightly with aluminum foil and place it on an aluminum-covered baking sheet. Place in the pre-heated 350-degree oven and bake for 1 hour.

5.     After 1 hour, remove the pan on the sheet from the oven, do not turn the oven off, and carefully lift off the aluminum foil and parchments rounds and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top of the mixture. Sprinkle the reserved ½ cup of parmesan over the surface, replace in the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.As the cake finishes baking, chop the fresh parsley for garnish.

6.     Remove the baked savory cake and place it on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. If serving immediately, gently remove the cake from the springform pan, removing all the parchment and place the cake on a decorative platter or cake pedestal along with a cake serving utensil. Sprinkle the top with freshly chopped flat leaf parsley.

7.     If you plan to store the cake in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, wait until it is completely cooled, replace two of the parchment rounds on top, leave the cake in the pan and re-wrap it snugly with aluminum foil and refrigerate. When ready to serve, bring the cake to room temperature and re-heat at 350 degrees until warm throughout.