Author Topic: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes  (Read 126745 times)

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #50 on: November 30, 2008, 06:35:11 pm »
I did pick up a 20-lb turkey yesterday for a very good price. They needed to make room for the Christmas hams! So, thanks for your recipe, Della!! What do Europeans do when you get a craving for turkey? Do you eat pheasant or sage grouse, perhaps?

Now, we need some side dish recipes here. Common knowledge is that Thanksgiving is all about turkey. Wrong! It’s really all about those super side dishes, as my mother-in-law demonstrated at one of her Thanksgiving feasts. She had so many side dishes that she had to set up a special table to accommodate serving them.

Sweet and sour onions lead the list. These are always a hit, and we rarely go to the trouble of serving them any other time (although with frozen and canned baby onions available now, I may do this more often).
 
Brussels sprouts are often on the table, because they are my daughter’s favorite vegetable. I boil them briefly and then sauté them in olive oil with a splash of lemon juice at the end, often adding bacon bits.

This year I am serving an acorn squash that I will cut into rings, dunk in an egg/milk mixture and then into a cornmeal/ bread crumb mixture and bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes, drizzling with butter.

There really should be some kind of celery to provide a satisfying crunch, but if you have appetizers or stuffing containing celery, then you can omit this dish.

Most people have sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. I occasionally cook them, but often find that the potatoes interfere with the pumpkin dishes, which must be given precedence. I abstain from adding marshmallows or maraschino cherries. Instead, I simply add equal parts butter and maple syrup to mashed sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Same with the green beans. I’ve found that the standard green bean with fried onion ring topping is rarely missed. In my book, green beans are at their best in the summer, when I put them into a nice Nicoise salad.

Cabbage usually finds its way onto the side dish table. I like to make a coleslaw or braised red cabbage with apple, bacon, and maple syrup. Who could resist that? A lighter alternative to coleslaw is a barley and cabbage salad. If you’re looking for something really special to dress up your cabbage, may I suggest cabbage with blueberries, which is as easy to make as it is spectacular looking and tasting. This dish also contains mushrooms, if you’re looking for a way to work mushrooms into the menu.

Other elegant vegetable dishes can be made from carrots, zucchini, beets, cucumbers in yogurt, asparagus, fennel, and leeks.

Let me know if you'd like any recipes!
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #51 on: November 30, 2008, 09:21:38 pm »

Thanks for the ideas on the acorn squash and brussel sprouts.  I'd been wondering how to eat them.  Now I can try your way.  :)

Offline belbbmfan

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #52 on: December 01, 2008, 01:59:43 pm »
I did pick up a 20-lb turkey yesterday for a very good price. They needed to make room for the Christmas hams! So, thanks for your recipe, Della!! What do Europeans do when you get a craving for turkey? Do you eat pheasant or sage grouse, perhaps?

Now, we need some side dish recipes here. Common knowledge is that Thanksgiving is all about turkey. Wrong! It’s really all about those super side dishes, as my mother-in-law demonstrated at one of her Thanksgiving feasts. She had so many side dishes that she had to set up a special table to accommodate serving them.

Sweet and sour onions lead the list. These are always a hit, and we rarely go to the trouble of serving them any other time (although with frozen and canned baby onions available now, I may do this more often).
 
Brussels sprouts are often on the table, because they are my daughter’s favorite vegetable. I boil them briefly and then sauté them in olive oil with a splash of lemon juice at the end, often adding bacon bits.

This year I am serving an acorn squash that I will cut into rings, dunk in an egg/milk mixture and then into a cornmeal/ bread crumb mixture and bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes, drizzling with butter.

There really should be some kind of celery to provide a satisfying crunch, but if you have appetizers or stuffing containing celery, then you can omit this dish.

Most people have sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. I occasionally cook them, but often find that the potatoes interfere with the pumpkin dishes, which must be given precedence. I abstain from adding marshmallows or maraschino cherries. Instead, I simply add equal parts butter and maple syrup to mashed sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Same with the green beans. I’ve found that the standard green bean with fried onion ring topping is rarely missed. In my book, green beans are at their best in the summer, when I put them into a nice Nicoise salad.

Cabbage usually finds its way onto the side dish table. I like to make a coleslaw or braised red cabbage with apple, bacon, and maple syrup. Who could resist that? A lighter alternative to coleslaw is a barley and cabbage salad. If you’re looking for something really special to dress up your cabbage, may I suggest cabbage with blueberries, which is as easy to make as it is spectacular looking and tasting. This dish also contains mushrooms, if you’re looking for a way to work mushrooms into the menu.

Other elegant vegetable dishes can be made from carrots, zucchini, beets, cucumbers in yogurt, asparagus, fennel, and leeks.

Let me know if you'd like any recipes!


Well, if we want to eat turkey, we just go and buy one! LOL

I only prepared a turkey Christmas dinner once.(we always spend Christmas at my in-laws, so I'm not cooking that day) I got one at a butcher who specializes in poultry and game. It came completely prepared and stuffed, the bones were already removed. The bird was a bit flatter than normal because of that but I found it very convenient.  That was very easy, all I had to do was add knobs of butter on top and put it in the oven. And it was delicious.

I can't remember what side dishes we had but I'm sure sauteed Belgian endives and Brussels sprouts were on the menu. I also boil the sprouts and saute them in good butter, and season with salt, black pepper and a bit of nutmeg. I should try your version with the lemon Lee, it sounds very good.
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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #53 on: December 02, 2008, 02:56:37 am »
Lee, those do sound good!

Marge_Innavera

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #54 on: December 10, 2008, 10:56:16 am »
I did pick up a 20-lb turkey yesterday for a very good price. They needed to make room for the Christmas hams! So, thanks for your recipe, Della!! What do Europeans do when you get a craving for turkey? Do you eat pheasant or sage grouse, perhaps?

Someone needed to revive this holiday recipes thread -- the recipes are still great!

For a long time, I didn't think I liked goose or duck -- both birds seemed to be 10% meat and 90% grease. But when I worked at the museum and started using a reflector oven, I discovered that people don't know how to cook this kind of fatty poultry anymore (not people in the US anyway).  What I'd previously eaten had been cooked like turkey: roasted flat in a covered roasting pan, which doesn't work very well as the fat gets soaked back into the meat.

A rotisserie-type arrangement is best for goose or duck, as the fat drips down into a pan. But if you don't have one, a roasting pan will do; the bird just has to be off the bottom of the pan so it can be put up on one of those cooling racks for cakes. Just use a baster to siphon off the grease if there's enough of it to reach the bird.  It's also helpful to prick the skin with a fork in several places before roasting. 

Marge_Innavera

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #55 on: December 10, 2008, 11:01:35 am »
No Brokie holiday can be complete without some variation on cherry cake!  This is a coffeecake recipe with a dense poundcake-like texture.  I developed it when I was trying to use up a batch of cherry jam that refused to jell completely.


Cherry Coffee Cake


1 (18 oz) box white cake mix
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
3 egg whites
1 small pkg vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 tsp almond extract
one pint cherry jam

Grease a 9x13" pan, angel food cake tube pan or Bundt pan (a deep, fluted style of cake pan)

Put jam in a saucepan with about 3 tablespoons water.  Heat slowly, stirring occasionally, till liquid; put aside.

Mix together the other ingredients, beat at high speed for 3 minutes. 

Put about one-fourth of the batter into the greased pan; spoon over some of the cherry mixture.  Add the rest of the batter in three parts, adding the cherry mixture between layers; draw a knife through the batter in short, curved strokes to “swirl” the colors.  End with the rest of the batter on top, reserving the rest of the juice from the cherry mixture.  Bake at  350 degrees for 55-60 minutes for Bundt or tube pan; 40 minutes for sheet cake pan.  Check every 20 minutes.  Cool thoroughly; top with cherry glaze if desired.

Cherry glaze:  Mix the reserved syrup with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.  Beat by hand, adding liquid or powdered sugar until you get a consistency that’s thick but not as stiff as frosting.  Spoon over cooled cake; spread down sides with knife if using a tube or Bundt pan. 

You can make a chocolate variation just by substituting chocolate cake mix and pudding; use whole eggs instead of just egg whites.  Or for an extra-colorful coffee cake, try one of those cherry cake mixes.

(this recipe is also posted over at the Cherry Cake thread)

Offline Meryl

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #56 on: December 10, 2008, 12:47:26 pm »
Wow, that sounds good, Marcia!  And not too difficult.  I may give it a try.  8)
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Marge_Innavera

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #57 on: December 10, 2008, 02:24:12 pm »
This is a good dish for a brunch, though you might want to call it something else in some localities.   ;)  It's a fairly low-maintenance recipe despite the 1-3 hour cooking time: can be started first thing in the morning, with just an occasional check-and-stir to make sure it hasn't scorched or cooked down too much.

Cheese grits


3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked grits
(NOT INSTANT)
1/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
4-6 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Boil the water; stir in the grits and salt.  Lower the temperature and simmer for 1 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until thick and “buttery”.

Add a small amount of the grits to the beaten egg; mix, and return to the pan; add the cheese, butter or margarine and garlic powder.  Mix well until the cheese is thoroughly melted, taking care not to scorch.

Bake in a greased baking dish at 350º, 30-40 minutes.

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #58 on: December 12, 2008, 03:41:58 am »
This is a good dish for a brunch, though you might want to call it something else in some localities.   ;)  It's a fairly low-maintenance recipe despite the 1-3 hour cooking time: can be started first thing in the morning, with just an occasional check-and-stir to make sure it hasn't scorched or cooked down too much.

Cheese grits


3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked grits
(NOT INSTANT)
1/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
4-6 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Boil the water; stir in the grits and salt.  Lower the temperature and simmer for 1 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until thick and “buttery”.

Add a small amount of the grits to the beaten egg; mix, and return to the pan; add the cheese, butter or margarine and garlic powder.  Mix well until the cheese is thoroughly melted, taking care not to scorch.

Bake in a greased baking dish at 350º, 30-40 minutes.



Polenta al formaggio!  :)  it sounds delish!

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Recipes - Main & Side Dishes
« Reply #59 on: December 12, 2008, 01:08:13 pm »
This is a good dish for a brunch, though you might want to call it something else in some localities.   ;)  It's a fairly low-maintenance recipe despite the 1-3 hour cooking time: can be started first thing in the morning, with just an occasional check-and-stir to make sure it hasn't scorched or cooked down too much.

Cheese grits


3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked grits
(NOT INSTANT)
1/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
4-6 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Boil the water; stir in the grits and salt.  Lower the temperature and simmer for 1 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until thick and “buttery”.

Add a small amount of the grits to the beaten egg; mix, and return to the pan; add the cheese, butter or margarine and garlic powder.  Mix well until the cheese is thoroughly melted, taking care not to scorch.

Bake in a greased baking dish at 350º, 30-40 minutes.


OMG, I love cheese grits!  :D
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