It’s that time again! Whether you are having a traditional family gathering with lots of old favorites, or a funky gourmet “Friendsgiving” – I hope that you find some inspiration here. Happy Thanksgiving, my lovelies!
Whether you are having a traditional family gathering with lots of old favorites, or a funky gourmet “Friendsgiving” – I hope that you find some inspiration here. Happy Thanksgiving, my lovelies!
I want to A) introduce you to my “famous” brussel sprout recipe and B) apologize for the terrible photos that I don’t have time to re-take if I want to get this recipe out to you before Thanksgiving. I call this recipe famous, because my husband requests it all the time. My husband who does not like vegetables. *EDIT – Jasper has informed me that he does too like vegetables!* This week he asked me if we could have steak and brussels for dinner, or even just brussels, and I just about fell over in shock. Let’s roast some brussels sprouts!
Trim and halve some sprouts, chop some bacon, and toss them around in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. So far – pretty easy, right?
When they are done, toss in a dressing of balsamic vinegar, honey, and stone ground mustard. The end. Seriously, that’s all there is too it! They are tender and crispy, sweet and savory, and pretty much just all-around awesome. Whether you make these for your holiday spread or a weeknight dinner – enjoy! (more…)
Corn pudding (or spoonbread) is one of my favorite Thanksgiving sides, and I love this recipe in particular because of how easy it is. There is a little bit of sauteing involved, but then everything goes into a blender, and then directly into the baking dish – easy.
Cream, butter, eggs, corn, sauteed onions, and a bit of flour and sugar – what’s not to love?
It is kind of like a corn souffle that’s a little bit sweet, and really buttery. It’s hot and soft and creamy and kind of melt in your mouth. I made it for a friend that had never had it before and totally made a believer out of her. So let’s make this beauty! (more…)
Are you looking for a new side for your Thanksgiving dinner? Maybe something a little more grownup and sophisticated? This gratin with sweet potato, chard, Gruyere, fresh herbs, and lots of garlic may be perfect for you. You could certainly make it for a non-holiday dinner as well, though it does take quite a bit of time with pre-cooking, layering, and baking. Luckily, I was with my dear friend Melissa (Smells Like Brownies), who helped with the prep-work.
Start with a big sweet potato (or two smaller ones) and a whole lot of chard (seriously – a lot)
Peel the sweet potato and slice thinly, then set aside.
Remove the stems from the chard, chop, and place in a big pot with some onion that has been sauteing in butter. Look at those colors! Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; and cook until soft. (more…)
I know this photo is not great – it gets too dark for photos at 5 now, and I’m not profesh enough to make dinner in the middle of the day or make multiples of a dish for photo purposes, sorry! But did you read that title description? DID YOU? Bourbon. Bacon. Sweet Potatoes. Brown Butter. Sage. Need I say more to convince you to try this?
I haven’t actually cooked with Bourbon a whole lot before, and now I am loving it. It lends such rich, smoky, and sweet flavors to a dish – which go perfectly with bacon, by the way. I mean, duh! And the nutty brown butter and crispy, buttery fried sage? Just awesome. And super healthy sweet potatoes make up for all that fat and booze, right? Maybe? Just a little? Plus – since sweet potatoes are more fibrous than starchy, you can whip them into fluffy perfection without worrying about them becoming gummy like regular potatoes.
This would make a perfect Thanksgiving side, and if I were a better blogger I would have told you about them BEFORE the holiday. But they also go really well with pork or chicken, and I have a recipe coming up for each that would be perfect, so I promise to make it up to you.
Bourbon Bacon Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Butter and Sage
adapted from How Sweet Eats
serves 8
4 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
15-20 sage leaves
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp bourbon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Add the potato chunks to a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until they are fork tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the chopped bacon. Cook the bacon until it is crispy and all of the fat has been cooked out.
Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain. To the same skillet, add the butter to the bacon fat and heat it over medium heat. When it has melted and starts to foam, add the sage leaves. Cook until crispy – 1 to 2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. By this time, the butter should have browned (it will smell nutty) – remove from heat and reserve.
Drain the potatoes thoroughly and add them back to the pot. Mash them with a fork or potato masher, then use a whisk or electric hand mixer to whip them. Once whipped, add in the milk, the bourbon, and the brown butter bacon fat mixture. Whip the potatoes again until everything is combined. Taste the potatoes and add the salt and pepper, seasoning more or less if desired.
Spread the potatoes into a dish and top them with the crispy bacon. Crumble the sage on top.
Alternatively (if you are not serving immediately), you can bake them for 25 to 30 minutes at 325 deg F, then remove them from the oven and crumble the sage over top. If you are doing this method, it is best to only cook the bacon 3/4 of the way and let it finish crisping in the oven.
You know, I tried to be good and blog about Thanksgiving stuff before the holiday so that it might actually be useful to somebody. I even made a few dishes in advance, but I didn’t post about them in time. Oh well! Prepare for a lot of Thanksgiving type posts!
Anyway, we don’t have any family where we live so we normally travel for Thanksgiving. But this year we decided to switch it up and travel for Christmas, so we were on our own for Turkey Day. We had originally planned to stay at the Inn at Little Washington (!!!), but Jasper got sick and we had to cancel. So then I had to figure out what to make at the last minute for 2 people – initiate panic mode. But I got my menu together on Monday, went to the grocery store on Tuesday (which was surprisingly not that crazy), and prepped on Wednesday.
I tried to cut it down to just the basics – turkey (breast only), stuffing (half recipe), mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce (bought), and rolls (bought). It was still way too much food for 2 people so there are lots of leftover sandwiches in my future.
First up, the star – turkey. There was no way I was going to roast a whole turkey for 2 people, so I bought a whole breast on the bone. I definitely could have gone with a half breast, but now we have lots of sandwich meat! And guys, I don’t want to brag or anything, but I am SO GOOD at turkey. Brined, air dried, stuffed with sage butter, rubbed with avocado oil, and started at a high temp – this baby was PERFECT. It was juicy and tender with crispy skin and super crazy flavorful. Love it. It’s also really easy to carve – you just cut along the breast bone until the meat is released, then turn it on its side and slice. (more…)
We alternate our Thanksgivings each year between our families in Texas and Oregon. This year was an Oregon year! (Read here for our last visit.) My in-laws live in beautiful Bend, OR – which is such a nice town. Check out the gorgeous mountain view from our hotel room! We stay at the Oxford hotel when we visit, and I definitely recommend it.
We hadn’t seen most of the family in 2 years, and 3 years for sister Kailey! So it was really nice to be all together again.
We had quite the spread, as usual. We were so excited to see each other that we spent all of Wednesday talking and didn’t get any prep work done! So we didn’t end up eating Thanksgiving dinner until actual dinner time, which was fine by us!
Here’s Mom carving up that beautiful turkey! They made sure to get one that was humanely raised.
I’d like to give a special shout-out to this gorgeous salad made by my Chef sister-in-law. It was in keeping with her gluten- and dairy-free lifestyle and it was AWESOME. It had two kinds of raw kale (massaged to remove bitterness), roasted beets, fennel, toasted walnuts, and pomegranate seeds. I need to get the recipe from her for the yummy cashew dressing.
What was your favorite dish this year? Leave a link or recipe in the comments!
