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Thanksgiving side dishes with an artistic twist include this turkey made from a variety of colorful vegetables.
Thanksgiving side dishes (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Have fun with your Thanksgiving side dishes.
Food editor
Thanksgiving side dishes with an artistic twist include this turkey made from a variety of colorful vegetables.
Thanksgiving side dishes (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Have fun with your Thanksgiving side dishes.
Thanksgiving is just days away and the clock is ticking. Are you planning a traditional feast? You know … turkey, dressing, mashers, gravy, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie?
Roasted turkey, of course, is a given, but how about the sides? Want to have some fun this year? For starters, try switching up side dishes.
We got some creative ideas from a couple of local cooking teachers for taking good old standby dishes to a new level of culinary elevation. For instance, Janon Bourgeois, a personal chef instructor, shrugs off store-bought marshmallow fluff (marshmallow crème) for her sweet potato casserole and uses homemade marshmallow fluff instead.
“I’m obsessed with classics from scratch,” she said. “So, for sweet potato casserole I top mine with marshmallow fluff I make. It just can’t be beat. Especially now that I steam the sweet potatoes first in the Instant Pot with cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise.”
And what would a turkey dinner be without cranberry sauce?
Again, Bourgeois is a fan of the ruby red sauce but says, “Real cranberry sauce. I was raised on the wobbly canned concoction, so same point as with the fluff. Once you make your own sauce, there’s no going back to canned sauce.”
As for a made-from-scratch cranberry sauce recipe, simply use the one printed on the back of the bag of Ocean Spray cranberries. The recipe is reliable and we have used it for years without fail. To level the sauce up a notch, add a whole split Madagascar vanilla bean. With the point of a paring knife, split the bean down its length to expose the tiny beans inside. Add the split bean to the cooking cranberries. This allows the vanilla bean flavor to bloom in the sauce. A pinch of salt brings up the sweet flavor too.
Next up we talked to Cortney Smith, co-owner and chef instructor of Gather Food Studio & Spice Shop.
“Really, I feel like the meal for Thanksgiving is all about the sides,” Smith said. “Turkey is great once a year, but it’s still just turkey. So, for me it’s really the sides that make the meal.”
She suggests people should try at least one new side dish each year. However, she points out that this is everyone’s once-a-year meal. So, to stave off a revolt, don’t just make the green bean casserole disappear from the table.
“I like to add new sides that are reminiscent of the originals, but with small changes,” Smith said. “I like to think about sides that can be prepped ahead of time so that there isn’t so much to do on the actual day.”
One of her ideas involves preparing a vegetable platter for snacking before the meal is served. The veggies can be prepped beforehand. She puts a fun spin on an ordinary crudité platter by artfully arranging the cut vegetables in to the shape of a turkey.
Colorful celery, carrot, red and yellow pepper sticks are shaped in a half circle fanned-out to look like a turkey tail. Then slices of radishes and cherry tomatoes are added to the base of the tail. She uses a scoop of hummus sprinkled with black sesame seeds in the center for a head. For the face she cuts off the end of an orange bell pepper. The beak is made from a yellow bell pepper . The eyes for the turkey pictured with this article are black beans, but olive slices would work too. The turkey body is raw cauliflower and cucumber slices. Smith adds a couple of dips for dunking the vegetables.
As for other Thanksgiving sides, Smith offers a few of her favorite recipes: roasted sweet potatoes with cranberries and candied pecans, chorizo and cornbread stuffing, and shaved Brussels sprouts salad with bacon vinaigrette.
“You can make the sweet potatoes and the stuffing the day before and just reheat it for Thanksgiving,” she said.
For the Brussels sprouts recipe, you can slice and prep them for the salad and throw them in a Ziploc in the fridge overnight. Then warm the bacon fat to make the dressing right before serving.
“I’m all about removing the stress of making a big meal so that I can also enjoy the day,” Smith said.
She also plans out what oven space she needs ahead of time.
“So that I don’t suddenly get to making the big meal and then realize that I have 10 things that all need to go into the oven at the same time,” she said.
For example — the roasted sweet potatoes need to cook on multiple sheet trays. But once they are cooked, they can fit in a 9-by-9-inch pan or dish, which frees up valuable oven space.
“Successful side dishes are all about the planning,” Smith concluded.
So, this year cut loose. Put some levity in the Thanksgiving Day meal with an upscale spin on traditional side dishes. Who knows, the updated dishes my become your go-to for future festive November feasts.
contact the writer: 636-0271.
contact the writer: 636-0271.
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette
Yield: 6 servings
For the salad:
10 ounces Brussels sprouts, stems removed, sliced thin
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds, toasted or candied
3 bacon slices, diced
1 cup Irish or white cheddar, shredded
For the dressing:
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ tablespoon. apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons warm bacon fat
Procedure:
In a skillet over medium heat, render bacon until crispy. Set bacon aside and reserve the bacon fat for the dressing.
Place Brussels sprouts in a bowl and add the pumpkin seeds. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the brown sugar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and apple cider vinegar. Mix together well. Slowly add in the hot bacon fat while stirring constantly. When the dressing is made, add the crumbled bacon and taste for salt and pepper. Toss as much or all of the dressing into the Brussels sprouts and toss well.
To serve, garnish with Irish or white cheddar over the top.
Source: Gather Food Studio & Spice Shop
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries & Candied Pecans
Yield: 8 servings
For the sweet potatoes:
4 large sweet potatoes, diced small
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup candied pecans
¼ cup candied ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, syrup and rosemary. Add sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Pour out onto baking sheets in a single layer. Season with salt & pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until roasted. In last 10 minutes of cooking, sprinkle cranberries over sweet potatoes on pan and let warm.
When sweet potatoes are done, place in serving dish and top with candied ginger and pecans.
Source: Gather Food Studio and Spice Shop
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries & Candied Pecans
Yield: 8 servings
For the sweet potatoes:
4 large sweet potatoes, diced small
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup candied pecans
¼ cup candied ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, syrup and rosemary. Add sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Pour out onto baking sheets in a single layer. Season with salt & pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until roasted. In last 10 minutes of cooking, sprinkle cranberries over sweet potatoes on pan and let warm.
When sweet potatoes are done, place in serving dish and top with candied ginger and pecans.
Source: Gather Food Studio and Spice Shop
Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
Yield: 12 servings
3 cups cornbread
½ pound chorizo, browned
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
2 teaspoons rosemary, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
2 large eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut the cornbread into 1” pieces, place in a single layer on a baking pan and toast for 10-15 minutes or until browning and starting to dry (browning will depend on the sugar content in your cornbread). Turn as needed. Once brown, remove from the oven and let sit out until it begins to dry out slightly.
In a sauté pan, brown the sausage. Remove and set aside, keeping the sausage fat in the pan.
Add the butter to the pan and let it melt. Add onions, celery and carrot and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and herbs and sauté until fragrant.
Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add the eggs, salt and pepper. Gently mix in cornbread and sausage. Then add chicken stock as needed for moisture.
Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through.
Source: Gather Food Studio & Spice Shop
The holidays are a time to cherish our closest family and friends. For many, this includes our beloved four-legged companions.
Food editor
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