Turkey day side recipe exchange


 
N

Nathan Bauer

TVWBB Fan
My wife usually drags me to the inlaws for Thanksgiving dinner. We get along just fine so it's not a big deal. What IS a big deal is the dried out bird, mushy broccoli with the bland cheese sauce and the canned green beans that are "fancy" because they dumped garlic salt on them. So, I'm taking over this year. Life is too short to be eating bad food on thanksgiving. That being said I thought I better start looking for some new side recipe's and what better place to exchange/find new ones than on here.

I'll go first...Something quick, easy and guarenteed to please!

Mom's sweet potatoes
1 pound sweet potatoes
1/2 stick butter (melted)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix sugars and butter together then add the sweet potatoes, mash together.
Place in baking dish
Topping
1/2 stick butter
3 cups rice krispies
1 cup chopped walnuts

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes


Your turn...
 
I always open with garlic soup. (If I didn't there would be a mutiny.)

I dislike sweet potatoes that are sweetened further. To me, they are more than sweet enough. What I much prefer is to add contrast/complements to their inherent sweetness. This recipe accomplishes that.

If I do green beans I do fresh ones, blanched till barely tender, then finished with bacon or pancetta and a splash of reduced vinegar.

I sometimes make mashed potatoes (use white pepper - not black - and salt for the seasoning) or a make a potato tart.

Stuffing - not dressing - is cornbread plus a little white bread, herbs, diced apple, onion, celery, currants, chopped toasted pecans or walnuts.

Brussels sprouts (shown here) are roasted with shallot, then finished with red grapes and lemon zest.

Cranberry sauce I make fresh, with minced candied ginger and orange.
 
I grew up with "cooked to death" green beans. Bacon grease, and a little sugar. Cook until very soft, reduce until the water is gone, and almost scorch the beans then add a small amount of water. Down home cooking. At least my home. I love them.
Cook about 4-6 hours.
 
I plan on buying whole sweet potatoes, wrapping them in bacon, and then wrapping tightly in foil and cooking at 325-350 for about 1.5 hours. My plan is to
cook them in the WSM while I'm smoking the turkey but you could cook them in the oven. You could use some hickory-smoked bacon for a little added flavor if you like. My wife and I made these a few weeks ago in the WSM while cooking a turkey breast and they were wonderful.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by timothy:
Turkey day would not be the same in my crib without some whipped rutabaga and a tray of my lady's Kugela </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I just read the Kugela recipe to the Wife. Consider it Book marked.
icon_biggrin.gif
 
Think I found it.


I have been making this soup for over 30 years. It is by far the most popular of the hundreds I make. It was always the most requested soup in any restaurant I did it in.

I like to serve it 20-40 minutes before dinners will be served, in coffee mugs with a spoon. (Though the potato and cream give it body it is a thin soup.) That way guests can mill around the house or property while eating it. It is also great on a chilly Sunday late afternoon, on the porch, with a glass of dry sherry alongside.


12 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed

3/4 stick unsalted butter

1/2 c minced fresh parsley leaves (leaves only!--do not use dried)

6 c homemade chicken stock (or use a quality store-bought)

1 scant T minced fresh rosemary (do not use dried)

1.5 t minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1 t dried)

1 large russet potato, peeled and diced

1 c heavy cream (I don't recommend light cream nor half-and-half for this)

a turn or two of the white peppermill

1/2 c freshly grated imported parm or asiago


In a medium soup pot over low heat melt the butter. Add the garlic and turn the heat to very low*. Allow the garlic to sweat, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes, then add the parsley. Continue to sweat another 5-10 minutes.

Add the rosemary, thyme and chicken stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Add the diced potato. Cook at a strong simmer, partially covered, till the potato is very tender. Puree well using a hand blender or a conventional blender, returning the soup to the pot. Add a little freshly ground white pepper and the heavy cream. Heat till hot then serve, topping each portion with some of the grated cheese.

* The problem many make with this soup is cooking the garlic too fast and/or allowing it to brown. The garlic needs to cook very slowly so that it gives up its moisture (sweats), cooks through, but does not brown. This allows it to sweeten nicely.

If your low is not low enough either use a flame tamer or slide your pot so that it is half off the burner and place scrape the garlic-butter mix over to the cooler side of the pot. Stir periodically and, if necessary, move the pot on and off the burner so the heat doesn't go too low. The barest sizzle--if any--tops.

Kevin
 
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