We’re doing baked beans and the ubiquitous Midwest green bean casserole, but I need another vegetable dish, either a casserole or top of stove. Something that could be done ahead of time and then reheated would be great.
Anyone know of any really tasty sweet potato, squash, or corn recipes? Or maybe something with peas or carrots? Exotic ingredients and spices are hard to find around here, so that narrows it down some.
I also wouldn’t mind doing the mashed potatoes ahead of time, but I can’t think of a way to reheat them that wouldn’t dry them out.
As for the mashed potatoes, my wife makes up a huge batch the night before we leave, and packages them in a couple of ZipLock bags. Then when it comes time to serve, she dumps the potatoes into a pot, adds a little half and half to remoisturize, and fluffs them up. Delish. Make sure you add garlic and a little cayeene to the potatoes too. Brightens the flavor considerably.
Cut sweet potatoes into chunks; drizzle on some (olive) oil; sprinkle on curry powder; stir. Roast at 350 until tender. Mash with butter.
Broccoli a la twickster:
Big bag of frozen broccoli; Stouffers Welsh rarebit, softened. Mix in casserole. Bake at 3:50 till bubbly.
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of corn, drained
1 tablespoon of flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of milk
4 tablespoons of butter, softened
Put everything except the can of creamed corn in a blender and blend on high speed for a minute or two till well-mixed. Add the can of creamed corn and lightly mix for a couple of seconds. Spray a shallow baking dish with Pam. Pour the corn mixture into this baking dish. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes or until done. It should get just slightly browned on top.
I would cut into 1/2 inch cubes and place in bowl with a some lime juice, olive oil (regular not extra virgin), tarragon and ground black pepper and roast at 425 degrees for about 18-22 minutes. At the half way point turn over. They should be crisp on the outside and very soft on the inside.
I also find that the sweet potatoes are just a little sweeter than yams though they are a more dull yellowish-orange color compared to the orange of the yams.
I also posted this recipe on another thread about appetizers that you may be interested in:
Roasted beets with Goat Cheese (Betabeles):
1-pound fresh beets (red or gold)
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (evoo)
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Preheat oven to 425. Wash beets well and trim greens. Cut beets in 1/4 wedges. Do not peel. Toss with other ingredients in large bowl and transfer to baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes and then cool. Put on platter and just before serving spoon goat cheese dressing on top. For the goat cheese dressing:
1 cup fresh goat cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 serrano chile, chopped
1/4 cup evoo
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree well. Chill for one hour and spoon on top of roasted beets.
Calabacitas are so easy, to make and to scale up if you need a large batch.
1 tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
4 small zucchini (or calabazas, if you can get them), chopped
1 cup corn kernals
chopped chile, to taste
Cook onions in butter until translucent. Add squash, corn, and chile (if the sqaush is cut in larger pieces, it would be a good idea to cook the squash for a while before adding the corn and chile). Saute until the squash is cooked.
I made a Butternut Squash Thai Curry that was quite memorable and delicious a couple of months back. It was memorable because I added way too much curry paste and some really spicy fresh poblanos, of course you can adjust it to your taste. It might be something different to add to the usual Thanksgiving fare.
DevilK’s Squash Curry
1 large Butternut Squash
1 onion
1 large Poblano Chile (optional; You could also substitute a jalapeno or a bell pepper.)
1 clove of garlic
1 tblsp. vegetable oil
2-3 tbsp. Ma Ploy Brand Thai Red Curry (or to Taste)
1 can of Coconut Milk
2-3 tsp. of Soy sauce or Fish Sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup of water or chicken stock
Peel the squash, cut in half and scoop out seeds. Cut the squash into 1-2 inch chunks.
Slice the onion into half rings or on the bias (no dice). Crush and chop the garlic. Cut the chile into large chunks.
Sautee the onions for several minutes in the hot oil inside of a large, deep, and coverable pot or pan. Get a nice bown caramelized sautee on the onions. Add the garlic and chile along with the curry paste to the onions and sautee for another couple of minutes.
Add the squash and all of the liquid ingredients plus the sugar. The squash should be just covered by the liquid, you may have to add more or less water. Bring to a boil, cover pot and turn down to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender to a fork (about 25-30 minutes). You might want to remove the lid about halfway through to reduce the liquid a bit for a thicker curry.
Normally, I would serve over rice, but it stands alone as a side dish just fine.
Clean and halve a pound or so of fresh Brussels Sprouts, and lay in a single layer in a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them, sprinkle with fresh black pepper and some kosher sea salt, and roast for about 45 minutes at around 400 F, or until they start to carmelize around the edges.
The time and temp is very flexible depending on what else you have in the oven; just keep an eye on the sprouts. Delicious - even my kids like these.
Thanks, good choices. I think I’ll go with the warm pea salad, corn souffle, and Twickster’s cheese-broccoli dish and just skip the baked beans and green bean casserole.
Nobody who’s coming for dinner likes sweet potatoes! I’ve fixed them a few different ways and I’m the only one who eats them. Dammit.
Would you all pity me if I told you that I’d have to drive 50 miles to find a store that might have fresh beets, broccoli, zucchini or sprouts, goat cheese, curry, coconut milk, or evoo?
I’m drooling though. I can get fresh sprouts in the summer, so I’m saving this.
Wow, yes, you are to be pitied! Thank goodness you can skip on the baked beans and green bean casserole (someone brought it with canned beans last year, even though fresh are available - nasty).
I’m a big fan of the cut up, roasted butternut squash, too. If you cut the pieces nice and small, they are creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. We usually throw some onions and potatoes on the pan, too.
Creamed Onions were always a Thanksgiving staple in my family. I use the recipe from Jeff Smith’s Christmas recipe book, but it’s very simple; onions in a basic white sauce, topped with breadcrumbs if you like. I’ve made it with bacon and mushrooms, but most people prefer it with just onions. The linked recipe uses frozen onions, but you can use fresh pearl onions if you prefer. I use bottled onions, but I have to boil and rinse them first; they are packed in citric acid which curdles the milk unless it is rinsed away.
We have a few smallish onions that we took out of the garden before the first freeze – not enough to make a lot, but enough for those of us who love onions (me and hubby).
There are some really picky eaters in hubby’s family. One won’t eat mushrooms, another won’t eat anything with a piece of tomato in it, one doesn’t want giblets in the gravy, and none of them will eat cranberries. I get so tired of hearing “What’s that?” as someone’s pointing to a dish on the table. It’s good food, dammit. Eat!
Hmmm - speaking of mushrooms - are there any good Thanksgiving side dishes featuring mushrooms? I was thinking of a butternut squash crockpot dish for my offering, but I could go for some mushrooms right now.
