Thanksgiving plan of action, part three: side dishes.

Even though we call it turkey day, Thanksgiving dinner is really about all the stuff we eat with the turkey, right? For me, the trick with side dishes is trying to balance my desire to try new recipes with my desire to eat the good stuff I really want to make again. Maybe we should have some kind of “half-Thanksgiving” in June (you know, like Christmas in July) so I can make two versions of everything. Can you buy Brussels sprouts in June?

Sweet potatoes and greens with honey-mustard glaze : after two years this recipe is now a TG requirement. It probably wouldn’t please the marshmallow-on-top crowd, but if you’re not bound by the marshmallow-on-top crowd I’d recommend it highly.

Mashed potatoes: the only trick with the mashed potatoes is getting the timing exactly right. I’m always short of space on my stovetop, but I think the trick that has worked the best is mashing the potatoes and then putting them in a bowl over a pot of boiling water and putting a thin layer of milk on top to be blended into the potatoes at the last minute. The milk trick will not work for the vegan version though…perhaps a layer of vegetable broth? Of course mashed potatoes are incomplete without…

Gravy: I often have to cheat with some added chicken broth in order to have enough liquid for an adequate amount of gravy. Might try some version of the make ahead gravy out there, plus a mushroom version for the vegans.

Brussels sprouts: this is a recent addition to my Thanksgiving table and I haven’t quite found the perfect version yet. Maybe it will be Oven carmelized brussels sprouts with autumn fruits? Brussels sprouts with warm lemon vinagrette has the advantage of being vegan so I won’t have to adapt or make two versions. Any favorite recipes out there? Looks like this will be our TG wildcard.

Wild rice stuffing: last year I briefly considered making a savory bread pudding in place of stuffing, but discovered stuffing was non-negotiable for several people. OK, I like stuffing! There is no recipe for this, but it includes the required bread cubes, cooked wild rice, celery, onion, mushrooms, and lots of fresh herbs– Snoqualmie River Ranch, a company I’ve mentioned before, usually puts together a large bag of sage, thyme, and rosemary that’s available just before the holidays. This is normally mixed with lots of chicken broth, topped with melted butter, and baked outside the bird. I haven’t decided if I’ll just make the whole thing with veggie broth and skip the butter, or if I’ll set some aside to keep vegan.

As a side note, I’m really hoping our Fred Meyer has finished their remodel and is back to full stock by the time I’m ready to shop for this meal this year. It’s been a big mess for several months, and stock has been really low–they had very few herbs when I was there last weekend.

Whole-berry cranberry sauce: cranberries, sugar, water, heat, so good. Sometimes I consider doing something fancier…briefly. I do try to find Oregon cranberries though. I was out of luck last year!

Cranberry relish: cranberries, an apple, an orange (with peel) and some sugar in the food processor. I always seem to make too much of this, so maybe I’ll have to figure out some intentional way to use up the leftovers. Last year I dumped the excess stuffing into the turkey soup. I don’t recommend that.

Green bean casserole: Jeff’s mom may bring this, it’s kind of her specialty. Everyone seems to like the standard version of this the best (the thought of adding red peppers to it inspires a gag,) though I do prefer frozen green beans to canned. Fresh green beans have proven unnecessary.

I don’t usually do rolls, even though my Grandma June used to make some clover squash rolls that I loved. In the past I’ve started with butternut squash soup and/or some kind of festive salad, but I think the party will be large enough this year that first courses might be out of the question. There are plenty of other days for salad, right?