"Vegetable Basket for Thanksgiving"

I was assigned to make crudite for "J &J's Thanksgiving Cocktail Hour."

I have been making Vegetable Baskets for their gatherings for more than 10 years.  That's include their Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Party.  And this year is special, it was their 50th.  So I had to come up with something new and special.

I couldn't start thinking what kind of basket I would be making till I saw vegetables at the farmers' market on Wednesday.  
I wake up early to get there before the market gets crowded.  I couldn't get some vegetables I was hoping to get.  But, I found things I didn't expect, such as beautiful bell peppers and miniature yellow cauliflowers.   So they became the focus points for this year's Crudite Basket for very special Thanksgiving.  I'll show you how it came out.

1;  Soaking vegetables in the water

the first thing you have to do is keeping vegetables fresh.

and this will clean them as well.

  

2;  Protect the basket with plastic wrap

3;  Cover the basket with green

Do not discard Carrots' Head, Fennel's Green.

they will become first layer of the basket.

4;  Second layer of green

I did use Tuscan Kale this time. (Rainbow Chard will do as well) 

5;  Place a cleaned Bell Pepper for Dip

I always use a bell pepper as a cup for dip.

I often make more than one dip or special salt.

6;  Placing cleaned vegetables as I planned

At this time I planned to make stripes with

Grape Tomatoes, Blanched Haricots Verts, Purple Carrots,

Orange Carrots, Fennel-Sticks, Watermelon Radish-Chips.

**most of vegetables were splashed with Lime or Orange Juice. 

that keeps vegetable moist for a long time and give them extra flavor.

At The Party

I sat up the basket on the table.

Putting "Miso Sesame Dip" in a Yellow Bell Pepper Cup 

"Matcha Salt" in a Yellow Bell Pepper Lid. 

Let the cocktail hour begin !