Rounding out the Meal

Thanksgiving is still a couple of weeks off as I write this, but it’s not too soon to begin planning. I still haven’t settled on a main dish but I’m thinking maybe pheasant. I’ve never had pheasant and Fresh Market (an equivalent of Whole Foods) had pheasant last year so it might be a good bet. But whatever I decide on for the main course, I’ll need side dishes and these are a few of my favorites from past feasts.

Glazed Carrots: These aren’t your grandmother’s glazed carrots. Ideally they’re genuine whole “baby” carrots (which really aren’t babies, but simply small cultivar) because they’re beautiful on a plate with a bit of the green stem left on. But if I can’t find them I’ll go with the grocery store baby carrots which are regular carrots that have been whittled down. Butter adds richness, a bit of sugar enhances the sweetness (and makes the glaze), while lemon contributes high notes and fresh mint offers color and a perfect complement to the sweet and tart tastes.

Roasted Beets Dijonaise: If the carrots don’t appeal to you, this is a very similar recipe featuring roasted beets and with the addition of Dijon mustard. In this case honey adds additional sweetness, Dijon mustard provides a lovely spicy note and lemon and mint play the same role as in the glazed carrots providing brightness and herbal notes.

Baked Baby Artichokes: Like “baby” carrots, “baby” artichokes aren’t really babies. Instead regular artichoke plants also produce some much smaller blossoms (in case you didn’t know, an artichoke is a flower). At any rate, sometimes at this time of year you can find baby artichokes at the market and if so they are extraordinarily good baked this way. But if you can’t find baby artichokes I’ve also had success using frozen artichoke hearts in the recipe.

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes: Garlic mashed potatoes were all the rage for awhile and I’ve seen recipes for wasabi mashed potatoes and chipotle mashed potatoes and other similarly spicy additives. But I’ve not run across a recipes for horseradish mashed potatoes. An English friend of mine turned me on to this 15 years ago and it quickly became my favorite. The horseradish adds a bit of heat, but more than anything it adds flavor.

Potatoes Savoyard: A classic French bistro dish, Potatoes Savoyard feature fresh rosemary, garlic, Gruyere, and (my preference) Yukon Gold potatoes. It’s a basic gratin but with cream and goes wonderfully with roasts. Adjust the cooking time to adapt to whatever temperature you’re cooking the roast at. Tip: In general when roasting/baking you can adjust the temperature up or down 25 degrees and adjust the cooking time by about 20 percent longer or shorter.

Italian Sausage Pilau: Stuffing is traditional at Thanksgiving and in some parts of the US that stuffing is based on rice instead of croutons. I came up with this recipe as a stuffing for Cornish hens but since then I’ve quit stuffing birds and instead make it up in a pot. It’s really great with almost any roast poultry and be sure to make enough gravy to be able to add a generous ladle full to the rice.

If none of these strike your fancy, check out the Side Dish section in my recipe index for a bunch of other ideas.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin d weeks | seriously good | side dish

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