36 Recipes To Make The Most Of The Fall Harvest

Ingredients for Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potatoes

• 3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
• 20 slices of bacon
• 1/4 teaspoon pink salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions for Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potatoes

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
3. Cut your sweet potatoes into thick-cut wedges or fry shapes.
4. Wrap each sweet potato piece with a slice of bacon, slightly overlapping the bacon on itself as it goes around the sweet potato.
5. Place the sweet potatoes in a single layer onto the baking sheet, leaving an inch or two in between each one. Do this in two batches, if needed. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top before baking.
6. Bake the bacon-wrapped sweet potatoes for 35 minutes. The potatoes should be tender and the bacon should be crispy.
7. Serve the wedges with your choice of ketchup, ranch, or aioli – or all of the above! Enjoy!

The Best Recipes From The Friends Thanksgiving Episodes

Sweet Donut Grilled Cheese Recipe

After Monica and Rachel get locked out of their apartment (while the turkey is in the oven. Classic.), the gang has to swap good old Thanksgiving food for grilled cheese. Take this childhood fave to the next level by indulging in brie & donut deliciousness. Don't forget the chocolate and strawberries! (via Brit + Co)

Sweet Potato Stuffed Pumpkins

Who could forget the episode where Rachel invites her co-worker Tag over for Thanksgiving dinner? Monica goes all-out making an extra sweet potato-stuffed pumpkin for him. You can go just as fancy with this creation inspired specifically by the show. (via Feast of Starlight)

Fall Harvest Cider Roasted Chicken With Walnut Goat Cheese and Grapes

Chandler’s refusal to eat turkey on Thanksgiving made having some chicken on hand imperative. If any of your group doesn’t like turkey, this delectable roasted chicken should be a great substitute. You’re going to roast the grapes along with the chicken, giving it an amazingly sweet and fall-like flavor. (via Half-Baked Harvest)

Mixed Berry Angel Food Trifle

Remember the one where Rachel decided to make a traditional English trifle for Thanksgiving… and it was a huge mess due to a recipe mix-up? This one isn’t quite as “traditional” as Rachel’s (thank goodness, because Ross said it tasted like feet), but it’s close enough. And, thanks to the angel food cake and cornucopia of delicious berries, it’s also completely delish, so you won’t mess it up the way she did. (via Natasha’s Kitchen)

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Acorn Squash

In “The One With the Late Thanksgiving,” despite all the confusion over whether or not Thanksgiving will take place at all and WHAT TIME everyone should show up (seriously, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, and Joey!), we spot some Brussels sprouts on the Thanksgiving table. We think Monica would totally approve of this rendition, which also features acorn squash, dates, and walnuts. (via The Healthy Foodie)

Homemade Tater Tots

If you don’t know why we’ve included tater tots on our list, you need to go back and re-watch season one. Joey insists on having some tater tots, and we bet Monica would prefer to serve them homemade style. (via Damn Delicious)

Citrus and Herb Butter Roasted Turkey

Of course, the friends didn’t just enjoy random novelty items. In most of the Friends Thanksgiving episodes, they also had a big, juicy turkey on the table. This super yummy recipe brings out the flavors of your bird with citrus and rich herb butter (we’re talking sage, rosemary, and thyme). (via The Suburban Soapbox)

Best Mashed Potatoes

What would a proper Friendsgiving be without mashed potatoes?! Pretty much just another dinner, if you ask us. Pro tip: Make sure to bring any add-ins (such as cream cheese, butter, cheese, etc.) to room temperature before adding them in. (via A Spicy Perspective)

Low Sugar Low Carb Chocolate Pecan Pie

In “The One With The List,” Monica is determined to make mockolate work. While mockolate (that’s mock chocolate) may not be a real thing, you can in fact sub out traditional ingredients for low-sugar alternatives. Case in point: this low-sugar, low-carb chocolate creation. (via Sugar Free Mom)

Super Speedy Double Chocolate Pie

Chocolate pie was supposed to grace the friends’ Thanksgiving table in season 10, but Phoebe and Rachel forget to pick it up. You can whip it up for your own Thanksgiving celebration in a matter of seconds. Almost literally… the base is made from instant pudding. (via Lauren’s Latest)

Southern Candied Yams

Yams are featured in almost every Friends Thanksgiving episode, and we think Monica would totally approve of this super yummy and seasonally fresh dish. Hearty yams are topped with a nut crumble and baked in the oven. Start with canned yams if you want to speed up the cooking process. (via Pink Owl Kitchen)

Roasted Turkey Legs

You may have missed the food in “The One With the Football,” but Monica serves up turkey legs at season three’s Thanksgiving feast. You’ll be brining these bad boys for a good six to eight hours before cooking them for almost two. They’re insanely delicious and totally worth the wait. (via Vodka and Biscuits)

Apple Pie

Let’s be real — everyone loves apple pie, even the notoriously picky friends. This classic American dessert is a must-have in our book, and Monica has served it in a number of Friends Thanksgiving episodes. (via Audrey’s Apron)

BONUS: Monica’s Leftover Thanksgiving Sandwich

Leftover Thanksgiving Sandwich With Moist Maker

Surprise! Ross would be psyched to know that you too can whip up Monica’s famous leftover Thanksgiving sandwich at home. It even includes the moist maker — an extra slice of bread in the middle that’s soaked in gravy, adding moisture and flavor to the entire creation. Happy Friendsgiving! (via Nutmeg Nanny)

Talking to Vanity Fair for her newest film Lee, Kate Winslet revealed one project she wishes fans asked about more is Iris. The 2001 film stars Kate as a young Iris Murdoch against Judi Dench's older counterpart. And for Kate, nothing was more terrifying than working with such a wonderful actress.

"People don’t really ask me about Iris. It’s such a delicate film," she says. "It was the first thing I had done after having my daughter. Going to work with a baby, I’m playing Iris Murdoch, looking to Judi Dench’s older Iris Murdoch — I was sh—ting myself."

Considering how nervous I get when I meet my heroes, I can only imagine what it was like to meet Dame Judi Dench. Talk about a dream! Another film Kate loves is Revolutionary Road, and not just because she got to reunite with Leonardo DiCaprio.

"The thing that people say is, 'You got to work with Leo again.' Then they go off on the whole Leo tangent, which I totally understand," she says of the film, which follows an ambitious couple who find themselves trapped in the reality of 1950s suburbia. "But Revolutionary Road — f—king hell, it just knocked us all sideways. Unbelievably difficult material. I was very proud of that film and what Leo and I were able to create as Frank and April. It was so brutal."

The process for getting Lee into the world sounds equally brutal, considering Kate started working on it over a decade ago. As producer, Kate tells Vanity Fair she doesn't mind the fact she's done more for the film than if she only had an acting credit. "That has felt very necessary for this film. But it’s also just really important to me," she says. "It’s important to me that people know that it’s out there and might feel compelled to go and see it."

Because it turns out, commercial success or stardom on its own doesn't actually help your movie get made! "It doesn’t matter who you are," she says. "No one’s going to go, 'Oh, I’ll just back that pony because she was in Titanic.' It doesn’t happen that way, and I never expected that. That’s really important to say."

"I've gotten older and I’ve learned more and felt more confident in myself about whether or not I could actually do it," she adds. "It’s not something I would’ve done had I not felt so passionately about the subject, and Lee was just—she wouldn’t let me go."