"Crudite Basket" for "Thanksgiving"

the table was set when I arrived.

My Crudite was for Cocktail Hour before the Dinner.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner at our friends John & Jonathan's home in Greenwich Village.

This past Summer I made a vegetable basket for John's Birthday Party. I guess they liked that contribution, so they asked me to make a Fall Version of that for this occasion. 
It all depended on what I could get at the green market the day before. Mainly I looked for what looks good and will stay fresh for a few hours.
The things I bought on that morning were,Orange Cauliflower, Purple Broccoli, Watermelon Radishes, Rainbow Chard,  Persian Cucumbers, Small Carrots in Yellow Orange Red and Purple, Peppers, Japanese Radishes, and Radicchio...

Vegetables I've got for the Basket. 

The hardest part of making a "Crudite Basket" is washing those Veggies, after that you have to do only peeling and cutting, if necessary. Somethings I keep in the cold water for couple hours to get clean. Of course you have to keep them pretty as much as you can.
If food looks good, you are almost there to succeed making a great appetizers. 
It is all about presentation. If you made it beautiful, taste will be better already. 
I think I'm very good at it, and I enjoy doing it !
Making things pretty is my specialty.  Mind you, that takes practice and you needs to have good eye to find things in the market. What colors of vegetables make people say "What is this?" or "Where can I get this veggies?". 
I've been going to the Farmer's Market for long time. I know which vender to look for what, and what is available each time of the year.
If you need to make "Vegetable Basket or Platter" for the Party, look for the Colors. Everybody expected to see Green and Red and White, so look for other colors, Bright Colors !
Keep stems with them if you can. Because that makes different from the platters you will get from the Super Market. Keep everything eatable on the platter.  Use Bell Peppers as containers for dips. Use leaves for liners instead of Plastic Wrap.

"Broccoli & Cauliflower" 

cut into bitable florets then keep in the water.

dry them well just before putting into the basket.

 

"3 kinds of Dips in Bell Peppers, and Japanese Spiced Salt."

Yogurt Dip, Miso &Bblue Cheese Dip, Tahini & Sesame dip.

This was for 19 people, I could have used a smaller Basket, but it is always a good things to have more than you think enogh, specially for Big Holidays.  Besides, it is always good to have left-over vegetables to make Turkey Soup the next day...
I made 3 dips for the vegetables this time, not including Japanese Spiced Salt which contains "Yuzu-Kosho", "Black & White Sesame Seeds" ( this one is good for Japanese Radishes, and Green Mangos in summer.)
Miso & Blue-Cheese Dip has very saturated flavor and people love it.  Greek Yogurt with Small Pickled Red Pepper is a new invention of mine for Vegetarians who doesn't like any cheese in their diet.  When you make things for parties you have to think about those people. These days, many people are becoming vegetarians therefore we can't forget about them.
Tahini & Sesame Dip, I also created this time. Which is mixture of Ground White Sesame Seeds and Sesame Oil and touch of Soy Sauce and Agave and Tahini. 
I thought those 3 dips would go with hardy fall vegetables.
By the way, you have to cover the basket with Damp Paper Towels to keep vegetables fresh during transport. Keeping vegetables fresh is crucial !

"Baby Turkeys and Baby Pumpkins" 

keeping eyes on my "Crudite Basket" 

This is how my "Crudite Basket" looked before gusts started devouring.
Although, it stayed as was for while until John picked one Carrot. Because nobody wanted to destroy my edible composition. Taking off the cap of  Bell Pepper did help...
Guests liked best "Tahini & Sesame Seeds Dip" in a Red Bell Pepper. The most surprising New Vegetable for guests was "Watermelon Radish".  Nobody knew there is such a vegetable and it looks so pretty. I recommended them to try it without dip for the first bite. They kept asking me "It's so sweet, where can I find them?".  
My answer to that was, "Don't you know where I go every Saturday Morning to meet John & Jonathan ?"
What a lovely evening it was...