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Posts Tagged ‘Thanksgiving’

The softer, orange-fleshed variety of sweet po...

This is actually a YAM and not a Sweet Potato

I said I wasn’t going to post another recipe today because I am supposed to be preparing my own culinary contributions to the Thanksgiving Day dinner and so I’m not.  However, I just noticed in the New York Times that Mark Bittman wrote an article extolling the virtues of sweet potatoes.  In my 9 days till Thanksgiving recipe posting, I included two recipes for sweet potatoes.  His article is listed below.  Sweet potatoes-Thanksgiving and beyond!

 

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English: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and ...

Sweet potatoes, onions and garlic

This is the last of the BEST Thanksgiving Side Dishes because tomorrow I will be preparing the foods I’m bringing to our dinner.  I made this dish one Thanksgiving spent at my parents house when they lived in Florida.  Trust me, it is yummy.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES and ONIONS with ROSEMARY & PARMESAN

2  3/4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in 1 ” cubes

8 TBS Canola oil

3 garlic cloves minced

2  1/2 tsp salt

1  1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1  1/2 lb red onions (3 medium), halved lengthwise, cut crosswise in 1/4 ” slices

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Set on rack in center oven and one on lowest position.- preheat oven 375 degrees

Line 2 large baking sheets with foil.  Place sweet potatoes on one; drizzle with 6 TBS oil.  Sprinkle with garlic, 1  1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.  Toss to coat, then spread in single layer.

Place onions on second baking sheet, drizzle with 2 remaining TBS oil, sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.  Toss to coat, spread in single layer.  Place potatoes on center rack and onions on lower. Roast until potatoes are tender and onions are tender and brown around edges, stirring every 10 minutes, about 30 minutes total for potatoes and 35 minutes for onions.

Can be prepared 4 hours ahead of time, let stand at room temperature, covered loosely with foil.  Rewarm in 375 degree oven about 10 minutes.  Combine potatoes and onions in shallow bowl.  Sprinkle with Parmensan cheese and rosemary and toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe from Martha Stewart Whole Living

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

 

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Cucurbita moschata 'Butternut'. Original descr...

Butternut Squash

Some where between Sweet Potatoes  and White Potatoes lie the winter squashes and many people prefer squash dishes on their Thanksgiving Day menu.  There are numerous varieties to choose from:  I like Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash and Hubbard Squash.  I have served Butternut Squash Bisque as a first course at a few Thanksgiving Dinners.  You might enjoy including this tasty side dish this year at your annual Turkey Day feast.

WINTER SQUASH BRAISED IN CIDER

1 # delicata or butternut squash

2TBS butter

3 TBS finely chopped rosemary

3 cups unfiltered apple or pear cider

Salt

1 tsp balsamic or apple cider vinegar to taste

Freshly ground pepper

You could peel the squash, halve in lengthwise and slice into half moons OR you could buy butternut squash already peeled and cubed and if you’re like me, there is s a point where my time is worth more than the extra 50 cents  spent in taking the easy way out!!

Melt butter in a 12″ skillet over low heat until foamy.  Add rosemary, and cook over medium heat to flavor butter, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes.  Add squash, cider, and 1 tsp salt.  If squash is not covered by cider, add water to cover.

Bring to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender and cider has reduced to a glaze, stirring frequently, 30 to 40.  Sprinkle with vinegar and season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to warm serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves: 6-8 – recipe courtesy of New York Times (November 19, 2003

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Sweet potatoes Ελληνικά: Γλυκοπατάτες

Sweet potatoes Ελληνικά: Γλυκοπατάτες (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well it’s a week away and I still don’t know what I’m bringing as an hors d’ouevres since that is my assignment for Thanksgiving dinner.  This year we will be sharing the annual feast  with my daughter’s in-laws and other relatives of her husband.  It’s seems like there will be  a lot of famiglia!

But I digress, this post is about delicious and not quite ordinary side dishes.  I really wish I was supposed to bring one of them instead because most appetizers don’t travel well and it’s a 2 1/2 hour trip!

Since oven space is always at a premium Thanksgiving Day, you can make this dish ahead of time and reheat covered in microwave at dinner time.  

SWEET POTATOES with HONEY and LIME

Preheat oven 450 degrees

1 TBS plus 1 tsp coarse salt

6 sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered lengthwise

6 TBS honey

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1 small fresh red chile pepper, thinly sliced

2 TBS unsalted butter, melted

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 TBS fresh cilantro leaves

Bring a large sauce-pot of water to a boil, add 1 TBS salt.  Add sweet potatoes and boil 4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.  

In a bowl combien honey, lime juice, chile, butter and remaining teaspoon of salt and the pepper.  Add the sweet potatoes and coat with the marinade.  Put potatoes and any excess marinade in a 17″x12″ roasting pan.  Roast in oven 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally, till tender and caramelized.  Garnish with cilantro. 

Serves: 6-8  – Recipe from Martha Stewart Living

 

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With only 8 days left to Thanksgiving, I hope you have ordered your turkey already, made out your grocery lists and then gone over them again because running out on Thanksgiving morning for an ingredient is usually a good way to start a fight with your husband!

Today’s side dish is again an old favorite – like anyone would want to have Thanksgiving dinner without Mashed Potatoes! So of course we are having some and believe me no one savours the flavors of butter and cream more than me (and I have the hips to prove it) so when I found this recipe and tried it, I knew it was going to be a hit with everyone at the table including those who are always on a diet  or watching their cholesterol.  AND read the recipe thoroughly because I’m going to also list the ingredients that make it NOT SO HEALTHY and where to substitute them.  Either way, these are delicious mashed potatoes and actually I think the techniques used are probably what makes the potatoes even better than the recipe ingredients themselves.  And the best part is you can make them a day ahead!!!!

GARLIC-AND-CHIVE MASHED POTATOES

1  1/2  cups skim milk  (1  3/4 cup half & half)

2 garlic cloves smashed   (omit)

3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes  (4 lbs )

3 TBS unsalted butter (4 TBS-1/2 stick)

1/4 cup 2% or 0% Greek yogurt (omit)

1 TBS chopped fresh chives (I always use more)  (2 TBS chopped chives) and (2 TBS chopped parsley)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Garnish: 2 tsp chopped fresh chives  (and 2 tsp chopped parsley)

Bring milk and garlic to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat and let stand.  Meanwhile, place potatoes in a medium pot, and cover with water by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil.  Cook until tender, 10-12 minutes.  Drain, and pass through a ricer or food mill.  Return to pot.

Heat potatoes over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until slightly dried out, about 2 minutes or less.  Strain milk mixture into pot .  Discard garlic.  Stir in butter.  Remove from heat.  Stir in yogurt, chives and 1 tsp salt;  season with pepper.  Garnish with chives. Do NOT garnish if you are storing for a day.

Serves 8 – recipe from Martha Stewart Living

Cook potatoes in cold salted water, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer till potatoes are tender 15-18 minutes. Drain, return potatoes to pot.

Stir potatoes over medium heat until dry, a film of starch will form on bottom of pot. Remove from heat.

In small saucepan, combine half & half and butter;  bring to a simmer over medium.  Pour half of hot liquid over potatoes.  Mash just until smooth, adding more liquid to reach desired consistency.  Stir in parsley and chives.  Season with salt and pepper. Garnish.  Do NOT garnish if you are storing for a day. 

Serves: 8 – recipe from Martha Stewart Every Day Food

NOW here’s the good part.  Put your mashed potatoes into a bowl that you know will sit in large pot as if it were a double boiler.  The bowl must be able to withstand some heat although it will not be in boiling water.  Cover your potatoes tightly with Saran wrap and refrigerate overnight.   On Thanksgiving Day, place the unwrapped bowl of potatoes over a pot of soft-boiling water.  Do not rush the process. Let the potatoes warm through while you go about the other hundred details of a Thanksgiving Dinner.

Martha Stewart, Whole Living, Thanksgiving dinner, mashed potatoes, garnish

Heart Healthy Mashed Potatoes

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Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most people think of Thanksgiving dinner as the ultimate American meal.  After all, wasn’t it first celebrated with Native Americans and the Pilgrims?  Well that’s what I was told in grammar (age-related term) school.

However, this country is a melting pot, a diverse population made up of so many different ethnicities, I wouldn’t begin to try to number them.  I grew up in an Italian family (more about the German side later).  My first husband was also from an Italian family so for the first half of my life, Thanksgiving was tweaked to keep all the paisans happy.  When we celebrated Thanksgiving with my grandparents, the cry at the table was, “When do we eat the turkey”?   I wonder how many of you had to eat your way through several courses BEFORE the turkey made it to the table?  When you walk into most homes on Thanksgiving Day, the savory odor of roasting turkey greets you, or the sweet aroma of an apple pie baking in the oven.  When you entered my grandmother’s apartment, it was the rich simmering smell of tomato sauce that assaulted your nose.  The meal started with Baccala, a dried codfish served with greens.  I think it was served like a salad.  Then we had ravioli; big fat pasta puffs filled with cheese and a bowl of meatballs and sausages on the side.  I guess at some point the turkey came out but I really don’t remember it much.  

Once I was married, the Italian Thanksgiving took on another level of ethnicity.  Now there were side dishes that only would appear on an Italian table.  The stuffing was heavily flavored with grated Parmesan cheese, parsley and garlic.  We had stuffed mushrooms and stuffed artichokes right along with candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and salad with Italian dressing!  

Then came the period in my life where I spent Thanksgiving with my Aunt Marian and my cousins in New Jersey.  Aunt Marian was married to Uncle Henny who was German and so Red Cabbage was always a side dish on Thanksgiving.  The creamed onions, turnips and candied sweets were there and because my cousins and myself were all adults, we made culinary contributions.  Peter insisted on a green vegetable and in those days, the only green vegetable he acknowledged was broccoli so I always steamed or sautéed some.  My cousin Marian liked to bring a lentil salad, cousin Janet baked pies.  I have five girl cousins, all with spouses and some with children.  Thanksgiving dinner was a BIG deal at Aunt Marian’s with about 20 people!

I’m actually half Italian and half German so I fit in wherever we went!  As for my own Thanksgiving meals, I often went for something different, whether it be various stuffings or the  year I tried brining the bird.  I’ve made seasonal soups and  lots of sides.  Earlier today I posted one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes and decided that for the count down to turkey day, I’d post a recipe a day.  I hope you enjoy them and would love it if my readers would send in comments about their favorite Thanksgiving side dish or dessert or ethnic accompaniment.  

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Gone are the days of the green bean and Campbell’s soup casserole, known in my house as White Trash Green Beans.  SOOoooo politically incorrect – my kids named it, not me. 

I grew up with the usual suspects on the Thanksgiving table.  It was Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Turnips, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Stuffing, Green Bean French Onion casserole,  Creamed White Onions,canned jelled Cranberry Sauce.  Not too exciting, but oh so familiar 

I said good-bye, farewell to those dishes years ago!!  And I love side dishes so over the years I have collected a lot of recipes.  If you are making the BIG meal at home, you might find one or two to try out and if you’ve been invited to a feast, why not bring a really special dish?

Old habits die hard so here is a modernized version of the traditional Green Bean Casserole.  It is Green Beans with Carmelized Onions and Tarragon. 

1 TBS plus 1 Tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 large sweet onions such as Vidalia, thinly sliced

coarse salt and ground pepper

2 lbs green beans trimmed

4 tsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 TBS oil over medium-high.  Add onions and season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until softened and just beginning to brown, 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are deep golden brown and very soft, 30 minutes.  (Refrigerate in an air-tight container, up to 1 day.  Bring to room temperature before using).

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook green beans until crisp-tender and bright green, about 6 minutes.  Drain and toss with tarragon and 1 tsp oil; season with salt and pepper.  Transfer beans to a platter and top with onions.

Recipe from Martha Stewart‘s Every Day Food

Green Bean Casserole with French Onions

The OLD Green Bean Casserole with French Onions (Photo credit: Moomettes)

martha stewart, every day food, white trash casserole,

The NEW Green Bean Casserole – Martha Stewart Every Day Food

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Brie on baguettes

Mixed Mediterranean olives

Antipasta plate

Garlic-herb rubbed Turkey roasted on onions and lemon

Herbed bread and sausage stuffing

Green beans with tarragon and caramelized onions

Mashed Yukon Gold potatoes with chives

Roasted parsnips, brussel sprouts and carrots with savory finishing sauce

Cranberry ginger clove sauce

Pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream

Thanksgiving Turkey

 

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Statue of Hemingway by José Villa Soberón, El ...

Image via Wikipedia

It’s a new year full of resolutions, expectations and I hope a new wave of participation from my readers in the weekly Six Word Memoir challenge.  I’m very pleased to have a few faithful contributors and would welcome many more!!!

Think about your life in general, your dreams, wishes, past mistakes and best achievements.  Can you distill your thoughts into just six words, no more, no less.  Channel your Ernest Hemingway and see what happens.

Very grateful for so many things – Gail

Osterperose -Spread the word-FORTEO works – Heide

Well, let’s hope for the best – Weez

Cancer is not contagious, fear is – Me

And from the “book”:

College was fun, Damn student loans – Randy Boland

Semicolons; I use them to excess – Iris Page

God chose, Said no. Now what? – Adam Blackman

Time heals all wounds, not quite – Jonathan Miles

ONE LIFE – SIX WORDS – WHAT’S YOURS?

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Ernest Hemingway's 1923 passport photo
Image via Wikipedia

Blame it on the snow storm (we’ll be using this excuse for at least another week), that’s why this blog is so late.  I only received  three responses this week (blame it on the holidays) and I am pleased to share them with everyone.

Lucky me, my own Peter Pan – Heide

Happy New Year to the Memoiristas! -Gail

Need a better back up plan – Weez

Christmas at last; warm,cozy memories! – Susan Celtic Lady

It’s the drifts that get you.-Me

I know another holiday is coming up and that means a little more time off sooooo won’t you please put on your Ernest Hemingway caps and with the advent of the New Year, commit to summing up this life we lead in just six words, no more, no less.

Happy New Year!!



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