Thanksgiving Recipes - Side Dishes

It's time to think about the Thanksgiving Day meal (because I'm the Carb Diva, T-day is my favorite holiday). Obviously, this year will be different. We won't be gathering a dozen or more people under our roof (unless you already all live together). 

But we still have much to be thankful for. Let's plan on creating sweet and savory memories from the kitchen and creating loving memories around the dining table. 
Here are a few of my favorite recipes from my recipe file for side dishes.

Carb Diva's Potatoes Delmonico 

Here's a link to my recipe as featured on the website Delishably.

Parsley Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds new (white, red, or Yukon gold) potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Add 1 inch of water to a large saucepan with a lid. Cover and heat to boiling over high heat. Add the potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling, reduce the heat. Cook covered 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drain and return to the pan.
2. Drizzle butter over the potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir gently to coat potatoes.

Apple, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Salad

Ingredients for Salad

• 6 cups baby spinach leaves, washed
• 1 small-sized tart-crisp apple, cored and sliced thinly (Granny Smith is an excellent choice for this)
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup glazed pecans
• 1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort

Ingredients for Raspberry Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons raspberry-flavored vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl. Do not add the dressing until you are ready to serve the salad.

Carrot Souffle

This is not your typical fluffy, eggy, light-as-a-feather souffle; it is dense and rich. If you like Stouffer's Spinach souffle, you will enjoy this.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the carrots, onion, water, and thyme in a saucepan with a lid. Cook 20 minutes or until the carrots are very tender. Drain.

(3) Puree the carrot/onion mixture in a food processor. Add eggs, flour, and seasoning and pulse until well blended.

(4) Pour mixture into a lightly-greased 8-inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups Brussels sprouts
• 1 large bunch of Tuscan kale, center stems removed
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Juice and zest of 2 lemons
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Thinly slice the Brussels sports with a sharp knife or food processor.
2. Thinly slice the kale.
3. Whisk together the cheese, olive oil, nuts, Dijon, lemon juice and zest, and salt and pepper.
4. Add the Brussels sprouts and kale and toss to coat the vegetables.

Zucchini Fritters

"In mid-summer if zucchini do not surreptitiously appear on your front porch in the hours between dusk and dawn, you have no friends." Anon

Apparently, we have many friends or the few who love us have green thumbs indeed. One shelf of our refrigerator is devoted to zucchini. We've done the zucchini bread, and we have eaten zucchini in soup, salads, and vegetable trays.

Today, in the midst of summer, I made zucchini fritters. However, if you find this hub in winter, spring, or autumn, you can still make this recipe. Zucchini is always available at the market. If you like this recipe as much as did we, you can make it any time of year.

Photo courtesy https://www.eatwell101.com/zucchini-fritters-recipe

 

Zucchini Fritters (makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated zucchini, (see note below)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon olive oil

NOTE—When grating the zucchini for this recipe, I suggest that you remove and discard the seeds. That seedy interior part of the squash is very wet.

Instructions

1. First, prepare your zucchini--cut the stem and blossom end off of your zucchini. Slice horizontally into two halves. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard the seeds.
2. Shred the remaining zucchini—one large squash should yield about 2 cups.
3. Place the grated zucchini in a bowl. Add the eggs, Parmesan, parsley, flour, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Spoon zucchini batter into pan (about 1/4 cup for each fritter). Sauté for about 5 minutes. Carefully turn over and continue cooking over medium heat for about another 5 minutes or until the centers are cooked through and the edges are crispy.

What makes this recipe work?

• Parmesan cheese adds a creamy richness as it melts, and binds everything together. If you don't like Parmesan, another melting cheese would do--Cheddar, Swiss, etc.
• Zucchini is rather bland. Flat-leaf parsley provides a green herbal note.
• If you want to turn this into a meal, stir in 1 cup of minced cooked ham. I prepare the ham by pulsing it a few times in a food processor.