'twas the night before Turkey Day

'twas the night before Turkey Day... 

It's been a family tradition of our for the last 5 years to go to our friends Gina and Eric's house for Thanksgiving.  We absolutely love it. And now it's become part of our family traditions... The Holidays at the Nelson-Montet house. 

Every year (and every holiday) I get the lovely job of bringing the veggie tray (in addition to my dessert and sweet treats for the kids). At first I was kind of sad by my contribution. No one eats the veggie tray! But this group does. In fact sometimes thats all the kids ate while they run back and forth from the Wii to the table.  After I realized that my veggies were all the kids ate... I have always tried to make this simple side dish better. I am thrilled to bring the veggies... And 2 years ago when I was pregnant I couldn't be any more  thankful because I couldn't stand to be near food let alone cook it. 

Well... This year thanks to Pinterest and Mario Batalli I have reinvented my veggie platter. Meet Gobbles the Antipasto Platter. I decided to put him together tonight so I won't be so rushed tomorrow. There were things we wanted to do last year with Ainsley and didn't get to it because we ran out of time. Not this year!  

A few weeks ago I was flipping through Pinterest and found a photo of someones veggie plate in the shape of a turkey. And I knew at that moment... This is what I will do this year. 

Gobbles the Antipasto has all the yummy veggie regulars (except tomatoes-which never get eaten), my sweet pickles and black olives favorites, and a few lovely suggestions Mario gave on The Chew (for Thanksgiving Appetizers). I got some salami, pepperoni, and a container of olives from the olive bar. (remembering this is for kids 7 and younger). 

I made his body out of peppers and cucumbers. His feathers: salami, pepperoni, cheese, carrots, celery, sweet pickles, and olives. My favorite part was making the face and legs. He was so easy to make. And I can't wait to see the kids reaction to him. But I have a feeling I'm going to be making Gobbles the Antipasto Turkey again...