Thanksgiving-dinner hosts might get hot and bothered about how the turkey will turn out — Is it browning too fast? Am I basting it enough? — but many of their guests sweat another detail: Will the side dishes be good?
For any number of folks who feast on the fourth Thursday in November, side dishes are an obsession surpassing the bird. Be it cornbread stuffing or sausage dressing, your aunt’s yellow-squash pie, yams candied or not, or an old-school green-bean casserole complete with crispy fried onions, go-withs make the day.
And why not? Thanksgiving is the only day most of us encounter said goodies. Miss out, and it might be another 12-month spin around the sun before you get another shot at them.
Here at Side Dish HQ, we have assembled a range of classics and contemporary recipes to help make your Thanksgiving dinner a memorable one. No, you don’t have to cook all of them.
But try slipping one or two of them into your Thanksgiving rotation. It won’t be heretical. And you just might find yourself with a new food tradition.
William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or
Grilled Yams With Chipotle-Orange Glaze
I created this recipe about a dozen years ago because I wanted a Southwestern-style alternative to traditional Thanksgiving yams. But it’s good any time of the year and pairs as well with pork as it does poultry. I often chop any leftover yams and mix them with black beans as an enchilada filling. Recipe by William Porter. Serves 8-10.
Ingredients
6 yams, peeled and sliced about ¾ inch thick
1 stick butter
1 small can chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce
1 large navel orange
Cumin to taste
3-4 sprigs cilantro
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts, optional for garnish
Directions
Put the yams in a large pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes, then remove. The idea is to just soften them to quicken the grilling. (If you don’t want to grill, you can prepare using the same steps in a 350-degree oven.)
Melt the stick of butter in a small saucepan, then spoon in 6-8 tablespoons of adobo sauce, along with 1-2 minced chipotles. Cut the orange in half and squeeze in all the juice. Add the cumin. Stir all this together. It will be your basting sauce.
Arrange the yams on a cookie sheet — use one with raised sides so the sauce doesn’t run off. Using a basting brush, swab the yam slices with the sauce. Using a spatula, transfer the yam slices to a grill on low heat, basted side up. After 4-5 minutes, flip the slices and re-baste. Do this one more time until the yam slices have nice chargrill marks on them and a fork or toothpick can easily pierce their center.
Using a spatula or wide fork, transfer the yams to a serving bowl or plate, arranging so they overlap each other. If you have any sauce left over, pour it over the yams. Garnish with cilantro and, if you wish, toasted pine nuts.
Squash Casserole
I have had this recipe since 1980. I forget its origins, but I have encountered variations of it ever since. This version is as good as any and better than most. Serves 10-12.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups sliced yellow squash, ends removed
1 medium onion, diced
2 eggs
1 generous cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, coarsely crushed
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add squash and onions and cook until tender and the onions are just translucent.
In a large mixing bowl, add eggs and lightly whisk. Add cheese and milk and whisk into egg until blended. Add cooked squash and onions to egg mixture and stir well. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet used for the squash and onions. Add to squash casserole mixture. Stir well to combine.
Coat a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in squash casserole mixture. Top evenly with crushed Ritz crackers. (They just need to be squeezed once in the hand.) Place in preheated oven and bake 45 minutes, or until top has lightly browned and the casserole has set and doesn’t jiggle when you gently shake the dish. Let sit 5 minutes — this makes it easier to spoon out while serving.
Potato and Fennel Gratin
This is a family recipe from cookbook author Beth Hensperger. Fellow author Rick Rodgers included it in his new book, “The Big Book of Sides.” (Ballantine, $30.) Serves 9.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus softened butter for the baking dish
1 large fennel bulb, about 1 pound
1 medium red onion, sliced into thin half moons
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups heavy cream, plus more as needed
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into very small dice.
Directions
Place a rack in the center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Butter the inside of an 11½-by-8-by-2-inch baking dish. Butter a sheet of aluminum foil to cover the dish.
If necessary, trim off fennel stalks and fronds. Cut the fennel bulb vertically into ¼-inch slices and trim out the thick core from each slice. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium. Add fennel and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer it into a bowl with the red onion.
Heat cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until steaming. Remove from heat and stir in the blue cheese. The cheese does not have to melt.
In a small bowl, mix the salt and pepper. Spread one-third of the potatoes in the baking dish. Top them with half of the fennel and ½ cup of the cream mixture, then season with one-third of the salt mixture. Repeat. Top with the remaining potatoes, cream mixture and salt mixture. The vegetables should fit snugly into the dish and be barely covered with the cream; add more hot cream if needed.
Cover the dish with the foil, buttered side down. (The gratin can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 hours.) Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for 1¼ hours. Remove the foil and use a bulb-style baster to baste the potatoes with the cream mix. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking, uncovered, until the top is golden brown. If the top browns too quickly, tent it with foil. Remove and let gratin stand for 10 minutes. Serve hot. (The gratin can be cooled and covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Reheat, covered, in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, removing the foil during the last 10 minutes.)
Cranberry Sauce
This recipe comes courtesy of my mother-in-law, Wanda Galiani. It’s a big hit whenever she serves it. She recommends making it a day in advance to deepen the flavors. Takes about 25 minutes and makes about 5 cups.
Ingredients
¾ cup sugar
1¾ cup orange juice, preferably with pulp
1 12-ounce bag whole cranberries, washed
1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup golden raisins
Directions
Combine the sugar and orange juice and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the cranberries and simmer over low heat until the berry skins crack. (They make a popping noise.) Add the mandarin oranges and break them up a bit with a spoon as they cook.
Add raisins and simmer until plump. Let cool and refrigerate, which will thicken the sauce. Place in a bowl and serve.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Bacon and Maple Syrup
This recipe comes from Rick Rodgers’ just-published cookbook, “The Big Book of Sides” (Ballantine). It’s a colorful addition to the table. Serves 6.
Ingredients
3 slices bacon, preferably thick-cut
1¼ pounds Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise if larger than a walnut
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably Grade A Dark
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once until it is crisp and browned. Transfer to paper towels to drain and cool. Pour the rendered bacon fat into a small bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Add the sprouts and cook until they turn bright green, about 3 minutes. Drain, rinse well under cold running water, and drain again. Pat dry with paper towels.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Toss the sprouts and bacon fat in a large bowl until coated. Spread sprouts on the prepared pan. Bake the sprouts, turning occasionally, until they start to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Drizzle sprouts with the syrup and stir to coat evenly. Return the sprouts to the oven and continue baking, stirring once or twice, until the syrup has reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes more.
Season the sprouts to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer them to a serving dish. Sprinkle with coarsely chopped bacon and serve.
Creamed Pearl Onions
Denver resident Albert Greuter shared this recipe with me in October. It was passed down to him on his mother’s side of the family — thank you, Preussner clan — and serves 6, though it can easily be doubled. Greuter makes it a day in advance to let the flavors set up.
Ingredients
1 10-ounce bag of fresh pearl onions
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons white flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Cut both ends off of the onions and remove the skins. In a large pot bring salted water to a boil. Add onions and cook just until the end “pops” out of the onions. Turn off the heat and set the pot of onions aside.
In a second large pot make a roux of the butter and flour: Melt the butter in the pot over medium heat. When melted, add the flour one tablespoon at a time and whisk until you have a thick paste and the butter and flour is thoroughly mixed.
Gradually add the milk, stirring until fully incorporated and there is a smooth consistency. Ladle in water from the cooked onions into the mix until it is a consistency of a thick gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the cooked onions.
Pan Dressing With Sausage
This is a classic Southern pan dressing, simple as can be. Recipe by William Porter. Serves 12.
Ingredients
1 medium white onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
Half-stick butter
1 pound Jimmy Dean sausage, preferably the sage variety
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup1½ boxes Pepperidge Farms seasoned breadcrumbs. (Cube style, not shredded, is best.)
Directions
Saute the diced onions and celery in 2 tablespoons butter until translucent. Set aside and crumble the sausage into the same pan, stirring and chopping until the meat is crumbled and about 80 percent cooked.
While this is going on, combine the soups into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Warming the soup makes for easier mixing with the breadcrumbs.
In a large deep bowl or stock pot, combine all the ingredients except the butter and stir thoroughly with a sturdy spoon or your hands. This will take a while. The mixture may appear dry but there is plenty of moisture in there, so trust the recipe.
Pour everything into a greased 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Press and pat the dressing mix, which should feel dense and fairly moist, to evenly fill the dish. Distribute 6-7 pats of butter atop the dressing. Cover with foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. During the last five minutes remove the foil and let the top brown a bit.
