Last week it was turkey. This week, I’m sharing my favorite side dishes that I use in a perfect Thanksgiving Feast!
Mashies
Mashed potatoes are a definite requirement at any Thanksgiving feast. The easiest way to make delicious mashed potatoes is to cut them into about inch square cubes, and boil them until they’re soft but not yet falling apart. Mash with whatever masher you have on hand, adding in a minimum of a tablespoon of butter per potato in the mix and drizzling in milk or cream (or in my case, oatmilk) as needed to bring them to the right consistency for you. I like my potatoes a little lumpy, but everyone else likes them creamy, so I tend to whip them very fine. Serve them with a slight well in the top, filled with a pad of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. They don’t need anything else!
Bread Stuffing
Stuffing is a constant battle in my household. We have several recipes we like, but I’m going to share my Hungarian grandmother’s recipe, because it’s my favorite. This was named “Song Stuffing” by one of my kids, because it contains parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme… but we adults call it “Heart Attack Stuffing” because of all the yummy fatty goodness inside it. It’s also a great way to get liver into your kids, because they’ll never know it’s there until they’ve fallen in love with it. It’s how my Nagymama got me to eat liver!
Ingredients:
- bread cubes
- eggs
- boiling water
- butter/margarine
- onion, finely minced or shredded
- liver
- herbs: parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
In a large bowl, pour the bread cubes. You can use the pre-packaged stuffing mix cubes, or you can make your own. To make your own, dice up a loaf of french bread into small pieces, and let it sit out for two days on a tray or counter, to become stale and dry. Alternatively, dry in a dehydrator or oven (though it’s not as good that way). You’ll need about a half cup of bread cubes per pound of turkey. To the bowl, add one egg per pound of turkey (yes, you read that right… now you know why the name fits) and about 1 tbsp of butter or margarine per pound of turkey.
You want to add in about 1 fist sized onion per 3 pounds of turkey, and you want it very finely minced or grated. My Nagymama always grated it, and I sometimes will. If you do, invest in a pair of cheap chemical eye protection like they wear in labs, because otherwise you will have problems. Trust me; I know what I’m speaking of. Add the onion to the other stuff. Add in your herbs, about a tablespoon for every 3 pounds of turkey. If your bread cubes are flavored, you may need less.
I use a palm sized piece of beef liver per 5 pounds of turkey, and I also add in whatever turkey liver comes with the bird. You want to mince it up relatively fine, as it’s supposed to basically disappear into the stuffing. You won’t taste it, really, and the odd texture of the liver won’t be noticeable at all. This will be messy, so use a big chopping board and wear an apron. Set the liver aside, and don’t add it to the rest of the ingredients yet.
Boil your water, and slowly add it to the bread cube mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture until the bread cubes start to get mushy. Let it sit for five minutes, and then get in there with your hands. Squish the stuffing mix together with your hands and fingers, until it’s fairly smooth and the eggs are well distributed throughout. Now add the liver, and continue to mix until everything is well incorporated.
This goes into your bird’s cavity, as much as you can jam in there. Get close and personal. Loosen up the breast skin and slide some of the stuffing up in there, too. Yes, it’ll disjoint your turkey as it expands, and yes, it’ll be delicious and your meat will be incredibly tender and well seasoned. Don’t forget to put some in the neck cavity, if you like.
When your turkey is done, the stuffing can be taken right off the breast meat with the skin attached, and cut into bite size pieces, or left in chunks, as you wish. Pull out the stuffing from the turkey cavities, and put into a bowl to serve with the rest of the meal.
The best part about this stuffing is that it comes out like a loaf of bread, almost. The egg and liver hold everything together, so it’s sliceable. If you have leftovers, slice it about the thickness of a piece of bread, and fry it up in butter, salt it, and eat it as is or slap it between two pieces of toast. If you want to get bougie, you can top it with a poached egg and drizzle leftover turkey gravy on top.
Squash
Our kids used to hate squash, but they loved the stuffing we put into it. So we switched it up, and mixed it all together in a casserole. Yum!
Ingredients:
- 1 acorn squash per 4 people
- 1/4 cup cranberries per 4 people
- 1/4 cup golden raisins per 4 people
- 1/4 cup crushed walnuts per 4 people
- 1 tbsp maple syrup per 4 people
Cut each squash in half, clean out the seeds, and turn open side down onto a baking sheet with a rim. Add a bit of water, and bake the squash at 450F for 30 to 45 minutes, until the squash is soft and easy to scoop.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together all the other ingredients except the maple syrup. When the squash is done, scoop it out and mash it well, then add it to the mixed ingredients. Stir it all together, add in the maple syrup, and then pour into a casserole baking dish. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, until the top is slightly browned and it’s hot throughout.
Candied Carrots
This one’s simple. Peel and coin your carrots, and boil them until they’re just beginning to get soft. Drain them, and set them aside. In a large saucepan, melt some butter or margarine, and then add in the carrot coins. Drizzle with either honey or maple syrup, and continue to cook until everything starts to caramelize, but before the carrots stick or burn. Serve immediately.
Green Bean Casserole
Hey, it’s a staple at the Thanksgiving table. We love it, though I have to make it with oatmilk these days instead of milk.
Ingredients:
- green beans, trimmed and snapped in half
- butter/margarine
- mushroom soup (canned or fresh, whichever you prefer)
- 2 large onions, cut into half moon slices
- garlic
Add your green beans to a large saucepan, and add just enough water to cover them half way. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until most of the water evaporates. Add in the butter and garlic, and cook for a few minutes. Add in the mushroom soup, stir well, then pour into a casserole dish.
In another pan, melt a quarter cup of butter and add in the onions. On the lowest heat setting, start cooking your onions. They’re going to start out hard and white, then slowly lose their color, and then they’ll get soft. After about a half hour or more, the onions will slowly begin to caramelize. When you reach this point, you must stay there, because it goes from “caramelized” to “burnt to a crisp” in seconds. You want the onions to be slightly crispy, caramelized, buttery, and still bendable. These get smeared over the top of your casserole.
Put the casserole in the oven or microwave right before serving. It’s already cooked, and only needs to be heated up. This can easily be made a day or two in advance. Remember not to put cold dishes into a hot oven!
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I’d offer a recipe for cranberry sauce, but my family likes theirs right out of the can, with the lines still showing. Bourgeois scum.