Admittedly, Thanksgiving "style" food is completely unappealing to me and for the most part Wilson agrees.  The concept of spending days cooking rich, calorie laden foods so family and friends can spend the day gorging themselves has always baffled me.  The average American consumes 4500 calories on Thanksgiving!  Between learning this statistic and reading a popular thread on Chowhound regarding unappealing Thanksgiving food, I became motivated to stay home for Thanksgiving and make healthy alternatives. 

Thanksgiving dinner consisted of:

Stuffing Bread served with Buche Maitre Seguin and sage cheddar

Horseradish root mashed russets and reds

Wild fresh mushrooms sautéed with wine and fresh thyme

Wild rice with cipollini, cherry, apricot and pecans

Green beans sautéed with shallots

Pumpkin Dip with Gingerbread Cookies and apples

The wild rice with cherries and apricots was our favorite.  This is a very hearty side dish that could easily serve as a whole meal on it's own, as it is very satisfying.

Wild Rice w/Dried Cherries & Apricot

1 cup wild rice*

2 cups vegetable broth

4 -5 medium cipollini

½ cup dried cherries

¼ cup dried apricots, chopped

½ cup pecans, chopped & divided

fresh thyme

parsley, chopped

Prepare the rice by combining the rice and vegetable broth in the rice cooker or stove top in a sauce pan.

Cut the cipollini onions into good sized pieces. Saute in olive oil until nicely browned and caramelized but not to the point of being soft, you want them to maintain their texture and form as they are an ingredient, not a flavoring.

Fold the cipollini onions, dried fruit, ¼ cup pecans and thyme into the cooked rice.  Place in a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining ¼ cup pecans and parsley.

* I used Lundberg Wild Blend Rice