Holiday Recipe Thread - Sides

Post what you plan to serve for Thanksgiving and Christmas here. I'll start.

Thanksgiving Sides for Roast Turkey

Cornbread and Andouille Dressing

4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Laplace Andouille Sausage, finely diced
1 Cup Spanish Onion, finely diced
1 Cup Bell Pepper, finely diced
1/2 Cup Celery, finely diced
2 Tbsp Fresh Garlic, mined
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning (less if using commercial, they have more salt)
4 Cups leftover Cornbread, crumbled (I like half white bread and half cornbread)
1/2 to 1 Cup Chicken Stock
1 Cup Green Onions, finely sliced
1 Egg

Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, add the Andouille, cook until it starts to render then add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, Thyme and creole seasoning, reduce the heat to medium. Sweat the vegetable mixture until they are tender, stirring often. Here is a pic of the Andouille and vegetable mix which is the base for this dressing:

Add the bread and stir well to coat with the Andouille and vegetable mixture, reduce the heat to medium low. Add the stock a little at a time you do not want the mixture too wet or too dry, but bear in mind that you will be adding an egg when the mixture cools. You can always add more stock, but you can’t take it out.

Stir in the green onions, place the stuffing in a dish and cool in the refrigerator, when cool, add the egg, mix well with your hands.

For Turkey I would double this recipe.


Scalloped Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Craisins

1 Tbs unsalted butter
3 tart apples, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 lbs sweet potatoes, also cut into small bite size pieces
1/2 cup craisins
1 1/2 Tbs flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chicken broth, fat free
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 by 13 cooking dish with Pam (or similar).

2. Melt the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over med. heat. Add the apples and stir, cooking for about a minute or two until the apples start to release a bit of juice.

3. Add the brown sugar, then cook for two minutes until the apples start to get soft. Place the apples, sweet potatoes and raisins in the baking dish.

4. Now, place the flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the broth until it all dissolves, then add in the rest of the broth and pour the whole thing over the fruit and into the dish.

5. Cover loosely with foil and bake for one hour, then remove foil and sprinkle in the pecans and bake a few more minutes until the pecans are toasted.


Green Bean and Artichoke Casserole

Please make the effort to use fresh green beans if you can. Please do NOT use canned ones. This makes all the difference between a near-restaurant-quality dish and something you get at Aunt Matilda's house that's only okay. But do cook the beans thoroughly.

If you want to go to the effort of preparing fresh artichoke hearts, do go ahead but frozen ones work very well in this dish. The marinated ones in oil, not so much, but they'll do in a pinch.

Oh okay, and since I'm allowing frozen artichoke hearts, I suppose I will allow you to use frozen beans if you wish, while pointing out that fresh beans are always better.

2 lbs fresh green beans or French haricots verts; OR
You can get away with frozen ones

9 oz. package frozen artichoke hearts
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan and/or Romano cheese
1 onion, finely diced
1 Tablespoon of capers
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste
Italian Seasoning to taste

If you're using fresh green beans and you don't mind the extra labor, split them lengthwise (or use French-style if frozen). Cook the green beans in boiling salted water or steam until just tender. Medium-dice the artichoke hearts.

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil. In a large bowl, mix the beans, bread crumbs, cheese, hearts, and the oil with the onions and garlic. Season liberally with black pepper; salt to taste.

Put the mixture into a 9"x14" baking dish, and sprinkle the top with additional bread crumbs and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes.

Gumbo Pages


Christmas Sides for Roast Pork Loin

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 lb elbow macaroni
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 Tbs powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup finely-diced yellow onion
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 large egg
12 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
1 tsp kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

TOPPING

3 Tbs butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

3. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

4. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

5. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

6. Remember to save leftovers for fried Next Day Mac and Cheese 'Toast' (see recipe).

7. This recipe yields 6 to 8.

Author: Alton Brown


Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

For the topping:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbs panko bread crumbs
1 tsp kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray

For beans and sauce:

2 Tbs plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 lb fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 Tbs unsalted butter
12 oz mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

2. Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

3. While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

4. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

5. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Author: Alton Brown