When I was very young and we had Thanksgiving with Mom’s side of the family, Sweet Potato Casserole was always on the menu but I don’t remember ever tasting it. There’s something about a sweet side dish that never made sense to me. And we never have it anymore.
But I know I am probably in the minority in that thinking. I looked at a lot of recipes and they were all very similar. And pretty easy to make as well. Some had a couple of tablespoons of bourbon added, but most were not “fancy.” Here’s a fairly standard recipe if you’re considering it for your Thanksgiving table.
Sweet Potato Casserole
4 large sweet potatoes 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 bag (10 ounce) mini marshmallows
Cook sweet potatoes until soft, either in oven or boiling them (see notes below).
Place peeled sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl and add brown sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, and melted butter. Mix until well blended. Transfer filling to a greased 2 qt baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle mini marshmallows on top. Return to oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
—kwc— This recipe sounds good to me except for one thing: baby carrots are hard as rocks so I think blanching them for several minutes would be a good idea to have them done in 30 minutes while the turkey rests. Otherwise I think it would take a lot longer.
Roasted Baby Carrots
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tbsp maple syrup 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 1 1/2 pound baby carrots Kosher salt Freshly-ground black pepper Freshly-chopped parsley, for serving
Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, combine vinegar, oil, syrup, and red pepper flakes. Add carrots, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Place carrots on a large baking sheet, being to sure not to overcrowd.
Roast until carrots are fork-tender and slightly charred, 30 minutes.
Garnish with parsley to serve.
—kwc— And because you can never have too many carbs to choose from at Thanksgiving, here is one for creamy corn. As an added bonus this is a crockpot recipe so it’ll free up your oven and stove.
Slow Cooker Creamy Corn
8 slices bacon 5 (15-oz.) cans corn kernels, drained 1 cup milk 1 Tbsp sugar Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 8-oz. block cream cheese, quartered 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into tablespoons Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish.
In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, 8 minutes. Drain on a paper towel- lined plate, then crumble.
In a slow cooker, add corn, 3/4 of the cooked bacon, milk, and sugar and season with salt and pepper. Stir until combined, then top with cream cheese and butter.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 6 hours, stirring well after 1 hour.
Garnish with remaining 1/4 of cooked bacon and green onions before serving.
—kwc— Now for something green. You could just roast some asparagus in the oven with salt, pepper and olive oil, but here’s a more fattening version because you are all way too thin and I worry about you.
Cheesy Baked Asparagus
2 lb. asparagus, stalks trimmed 3/4 cup heavy cream 3 cloves garlic, minced Kosher salt Freshly-ground black pepper 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan 1 cup shredded mozzarella Red pepper flakes, for garnish Preheat oven to 400. Place asparagus in a 9'-x-13' baking dish and pour over heavy cream and scatter with garlic. Generously season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with Parmesan, mozzarella and red pepper flakes.
Bake until cheese is golden and melty and asparagus is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
—kwc— How about an easy dessert after all that cooking?
Short Cut Strawberry Shortcakes
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries 1/3 cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice 1-1/2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 store bought pound cake, cut into 1/2-inch slices Mix the strawberries in a bowl with powdered sugar and lemon juice; allow to stand about 15 minutes to form juice. Stir several times.
Place a slice of pound cake onto a dessert plate, and spoon about 1/3 cup of strawberries and juice over the cake. Place a dollop of whipped topping on the berries, and top with another cake slice. Spoon another tablespoon or so of strawberries over the top to serve.
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