If it’s the stuffing you like about Thanksgiving as much as the turkey it’s made in, then try making your favourite stuffing for a butterflied pork tenderloin instead, or a chicken, or even a flattened chicken breast, if it’s a dinner for only one or two.

Roll up the pork or chicken around the stuffing, roast it and slice into pinwheels to serve.

Seems like a festive dinner, without the big bird.

However, if you’re serving a harvest dinner to a big crowd, there’s nothing so simple to prepare than a succulent roast turkey with all the trimmings.

Once it’s in the oven and veggies are all prepared for cooking up in the final hour or so, you can relax and enjoy the day.

There’s nothing like preparing ahead of time for allowing you to relax and enjoy company, whether it’s the kids or the neighbours who are coming to visit.

That’s why I like frozen desserts, or ones that can be made the day ahead.

If you have a crowd in town for the long weekend, it’s nice to have some simple, but satisfying lunches available to serve the troops. With sunny autumn weather, even though there’s a nip in the air at night, they’ll be getting in the last few rounds on the links or hiking to spots where it might have been too hot to enjoy in the summer, so a satisfying soup with fresh bread or buns on the side will be most welcome.

Whatever you’re cooking, remember to relax and enjoy preparing a flavourful meal for loved ones. If you find you’re out of one ingredient, substitute something you do have that you feel would be good in that dish. Don’t hesitate to use some of the last of the fresh herbs in the garden to perk up flavours.

Pair it with a bottle of local wine as the annual Fall Okanagan Wine Festival winds down, because I’m sure you’ve taken the opportunity to visit some local wineries to taste what they’ve made from their vineyard for you.

Above all, make use of the bounty of the fall harvest in planning meals. Visit farmers and farmers’ markets to enjoy the best and freshest produce of the season, and give thanks for our abundance of fresh, local food.

Dianne’s Satisfying Soup

This is simple to make, heats up well, can be amended to use up what’s in the fridge and contains lots of filling, hot nutrition for a cold day.

1 c. (250 ml) dried, rinsed lentils

1/4 lb. (100 g) lean ground beef

2 onions

3 carrots

3 celery stalks

2 garlic cloves

tin of stewed tomatoes

splash of soy sauce

4 c. (1 l) beef stock

Prepare lentil beans by washing thoroughly and picking out stones and shriveled beans. Bring them to boiling in a pot of water, then simmer for up to a half-hour on low until tender.

Chop onions, slice carrots and celery and mince garlic.

Brown chopped onions in a drizzle of oil in a deep soup pot over medium heat and add ground beef.

Brown, adding carrots, celery, garlic and lentils partway through, and stirring everything around while it softens and browns.

Toss in chopped fresh tomatoes or a tin of stewed tomatoes and stir well, then add a splash of soy sauce and the beef (or chicken) stock, stirring well.

Bring to bubbling and let simmer, covered, on the lowest possible heat for a couple of hours, seasoning to taste with salt and freshly-ground black pepper just before serving.

To amend this, tried using past instead of lentils, but just add to the soup for the last 15 minutes or so; instead of beef, use bite-sized pieces of chicken, or ground turkey and use a chicken stock instead of beef; add mushrooms to the vegetables, or turnip or parsnip, cabbage or potatoes; or leave out the tomatoes for a quite different flavour. You're only limited by your imagination.

Serves 4.

Pork stuffed with Chorizo & Cranberry

This is moist and yummy and looks good on the serving plate. We served it with the 2007 Wild Horse Canyon Shiraz, which complemented the berry flavours and black pepper in the stuffing, with a nice, round, plummy flavour.

2 pork tenderloins

1 chorizo sausage

1 onion

1 celery stalk

1 c. (250 ml) bread cubes

1/3 c. (75 ml) dried cranberries

2 tbsp. (30 ml) cream

2 tbsp. (30 ml) dry sherry

2 c. (500 ml) fresh spinach

2 tbsp. (30 ml) fresh sage

1 tsp. (5 ml) fresh rosemary

salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Butterfly the tenderloins by slicing lengthwise, about a third of the way down; then turn over and slice lengthwise about halfway through the remaining meat so it will lay flat, three times the size of the original roast. Pound gently to even out the thickness.

Prepare the stuffing by chopping up the chorizo and frying it over medium heat with a chopped onion and celery.

When softened, add the cranberries and bread cubes, sprinkling with the cream and sherry to moisten them slightly. Mix in with chopped spinach leaves, minced herbs and salt and pepper.

Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Season the meat before spreading the stuffing mixture evenly, leaving a bit of a border all around.

Roll up from the long side and tie with kitchen twine in several places.

Roast for about 35 or 40 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160 F.

Let sit for 10 minutes before carefully carving into pinwheels for serving.

Serves 4-6.

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