Thanksgiving with a Blueberry Twist

Thanksgiving side dishes that include blueberries? I’m all in! As a childhood lover of blueberries (long before they became known as an antioxidant-packed superfood immune booster), I remember grudgingly traipsing through the bramble picking wild blueberries with my brother and sisters during the sweltering heat and humidity of a southern summer. But the reward was oh so sweet – summer sweetness directly from plant to mouth and a hard-earned bucketful of plump blue orbs—nature’s candy!

I’m also one who doesn’t feel as if Thanksgiving fare should happen only once a year. With all the thought, planning, and recipe searching that goes on at this time of year, I can’t be the only person who likes to buy at least one additional turkey to freeze and roast for another comfort food feast during the darkest days of winter. So imagine my excitement when an invitation popped up in my inbox for a pre-Thanksgiving feast hosted by Erika Kerekes of In Erika’s Kitchen – especially with the intriguing name of A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving!

Patti Londre, Svetlana Watkins, and Louise Mellor assisting lead chef Erika Kerekes

Thanks so much to the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council for sponsoring this event and opening our eyes to more lovely ways to include these #LittleBlueDynamos at the family table. It also takes a dynamo team to pull off dinner for 20+ guests and Erika and Svetlana Watkins deserve high praise for making it happen.

Here’s a peak at the delectable dishes on the Blueberry Thanksgiving menu:

Pre-feast nibbles included Blueberry mulled cider, Mashed Potato Pops with Blueberry Not Ketchup (five-star favorite!) and Pumpkin Soup Shooters with dried Blueberry Dust.

For our Thanksgiving meal Erika’s beautiful granite counter was dazzling with an array of blueberry accented savory dishes:

Roast turkey breast with blueberry green apple salsa

Pulled turkey sliders with blueberry chutney

Chili-rubbed sweet potatoes with dried blueberries

Brussels sprouts with blueberry balsamic glaze

Blueberry “stuffin’ muffins”

and for dessert: a scrumptious

Pumpkin Bread Trifle with Blueberry Sauce

Butternut squash salad with pepitas, butter lettuce, and blueberry vinaigrette

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Butternut Squash Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

This lovely fall salad with luscious butternut squash and roasted pepitas with a bright blueberry balsamic dressing is the perfect accompaniment to Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings.

Course: Salad

Servings: 8 -10 servings

Author: Priscilla

Ingredients

• ● 1 cup dried blueberries
• ● 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• ● 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil divided
• ● ¾ teaspoon salt divided
• ● ½ large butternut squash
• ● 1 large red onion
• ● 1 large head green leaf lettuce washed and torn into pieces
• ● 1 cup fresh blueberries
• ● ½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds pepitas
• ● freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. First, make the blueberry balsamic vinaigrette. (This step can be done several days ahead. Put the dried blueberries and balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer about 30 minutes, until the vinegar is reduced by about a third and the blueberries are plump and rehydrated. Let the mixture cool a bit, then put it in a blender with 1 cup of olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend until very smooth. If working ahead, store in the refrigerator until you begin the rest of the steps below.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Peel the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler and cut the flesh into 1-inch chunks. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Put the vegetables on a baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt.
4. Roast in the oven until brown around the edges and very tender, 30-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to just warm.
5. Make a bed of lettuce in a serving bowl or on a large serving platter. Mound the squash and onions in the middle. Sprinkle the blueberries and pumpkin seeds on top. Drizzle the entire salad generously with the blueberry balsamic vinaigrette in a zig-zag pattern. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Recipe by Erika Kerekes for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council

Besides those crispy, luscious Mashed Potato Pops, my other five-star favorite was the Butternut Squash Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette which I’m happy to be able to share with you here. And, I can’t forget the surprising play of pumpkin and blueberries in that scrumptious trifle – you can find that recipe on our hostess Erika’s blog (link below).

Pumpkin Bread Trifle with Blueberry Sauce (click for recipe)

These Pulled Turkey Sliders with Blueberry Chutney are perfect for Thanksgiving football fans!

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council tells us that we can look forward to blueberries throughout the winter months because Chile, one of the top 10 producers of fruit in the world, has expanded their blueberry production to 35,000 acres. This big push is a direct result of the U.S. demand for blueberries; because we’re just discovering what Native Americans have known for thousands of years: that blueberries are a superfood and that they have special healing powers – now called antioxidants.

“The blueberry may be small, but it’s no youngster. Botanists estimate blueberries burst onto the scene more than 13,000 years ago!

Blueberries are indigenous to North America and have deep roots in our country’s history. When Europeans arrived on the continent, the Native Americans were already enjoying blueberries year-round. They dried blueberries in the sun and added them whole to soups, stews, and meat, or crushed them into a powder rubbed into meat as a preservative. According to legend, Native Americans gave blueberries to the pilgrims to help them make it through their first winter.

The Native Americans were just as energized by blueberries as people are today, and developed folklore around the dynamic little blue fruit. Tribal elders recounted how the Great Spirit sent “star berries” to ease the children’s hunger during a famine. They called blueberries “star berries” because the blossom end of each berry – the calyx – forms a perfect five-pointed star.” {Source: U.S. Blueberry Council}

The wine pairings for our Very Blueberry Thanksgiving were spot-on and opened our palate to the wonderful wines of Spain, specifically those of Rioja (ree-OH-ha). The wine region of Rioja is located along the Ero River in north-central Spain and bears the official designation of  DOC Rioja. Thanks go to Nina of @RiojaWine for the perfect pairings; the balanced acidity of the Rosado complemented the Butternut Squash salad beautifully, the Tempranillo with its red fruit and spicy black pepper notes and the soft tannins of the Crianza played well with the Turkey Sliders and Brussels Sprouts while the hints of oak and spiciness of the Garnacha with Roast Turkey was divine. I’m looking forward to expanding my vino vision beyond California and French wines to include the Spanish varietals of Rioja.

You might also like the recipe for:

Mashed Potato Pops 

Pumpkin Bread Trifle with Blueberry Sauce