Thanksgiving Side Dishes

[cakewalk]

@Nyleve Baar, very nice recipe, but what does the apple jelly at the end do in that dish? 

[Nyleve Baar]

It just adds a bit of sweetness and glazing to the dish. You could definitely leave it out if you don't have it. I always add it but that's just me.

[TicTac]

Just now, Nyleve Baar said:

It just adds a bit of sweetness and glazing to the dish. You could definitely leave it out if you don't have it. I always add it but that's just me.

 

Most likely because of the pectin  content it also thickens the liquid as well. 

 

Recipe sounds great.

[Nyleve Baar]

Thanksgiving is completely and psychotically cast in stone at our house. NOTHING CAN CHANGE EVER. Since we're in Canada, Thanksgiving is a long weekend so we always have a houseful of guests from Saturday to Monday and even the other meals - Saturday lunch right through to Monday lunch before everyone leaves - must remain completely intact and unaltered. Snacks can change (as if we need any snacks) but the meals are untouchable. It's sort of weird when new people join the table and don't understand our craziness. But it's our craziness and we stand by it. The red cabbage is going on 40 years now.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Nyleve Baar (log)

[gfweb]

57 minutes ago, Nyleve Baar said:

Thanksgiving is completely and psychotically cast in stone at our house. NOTHING CAN CHANGE EVER. Since we're in Canada, Thanksgiving is a long weekend so we always have a houseful of guests from Saturday to Monday and even the other meals - Saturday lunch right through to Monday lunch before everyone leaves - must remain completely intact and unaltered. Snacks can change (as if we need any snacks) but the meals are untouchable. It's sort of weird when new people join the table and don't understand our craziness. But it's our craziness and we stand by it. The red cabbage is going on 40 years now.

 

Sounds like our Christmas. I occasionally try swapping out a usual dish and always hear about it.

 

But that's kind of nice too.

Edited October 28, 2017 by gfweb (log)

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, Nyleve Baar said:

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage and Apples

My recipe is quite similar. No onions, no red wine and red currant jelly at the end 

Edited October 28, 2017 by Anna N
Typo (log)

[cakewalk]

Well, I had everything but the apple jelly so @Nyleve Baar's recipe is happily simmering away on the stove. Will get back to yas. Thank you!

[chromedome]

9 hours ago, cakewalk said:

I bookmarked that recipe because I think it looks great (thanks @Shelby), but I won't use it for TG because it has dairy in it, and since I keep kosher and we're having a bird, it's a no go. (No meat and dairy together.) 

I had a friend years ago who wanted to name his band "The Kosher Cheeseburgers," but he didn't think enough people would get the joke (starting, first and foremost, with his bandmates). 

[cakewalk]

Okay, I know this stuff doesn't photograph so well, but I really like this dish. I can see that the apple jelly would turn it into something else, and I want to give that a try. I used an extra tablespoon of sugar because I knew I wouldn't be adding the jelly, but it's still a bit more tart than sweet, which I prefer. I might leave out that extra sugar next time. I think this will find a place on my TG table, thank you @Nyleve Baar! 

[gfweb]

1 minute ago, cakewalk said:

Okay, I know this stuff doesn't photograph so well, but I really like this dish. I can see that the apple jelly would turn it into something else, and I want to give that a try. I used an extra tablespoon of sugar because I knew I wouldn't be adding the jelly, but it's still a bit more tart than sweet, which I prefer. I might leave out that extra sugar next time. I think this will find a place on my TG table, thank you @Nyleve Baar! 

 

 

I think that if you cook it less and with a very little bit of acid it will stay purple and look better

[cakewalk]

2 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

 

I think that if you cook it less and with a very little bit of acid it will stay purple and look better

Interesting, thanks. It lost the vibrant purple fairly quickly. I wonder if the jelly helps with the visual. (It does look better in "real life.") But very little acid means more sweet and less tart - I like the tartness. And while this had a nice tartness to it, it was definitely not overwhelming. I think this is where the jelly comes in.

[Anna N]

8 hours ago, gfweb said:

I think that if you cook it less and with a very little bit of acid it will stay purple and look better

 There is acid in the recipe but I think it’s added a bit too late in the game. I add my acid in the very beginning to help retain the color of the cabbage. 

[rustwood]

Here are a couple of things we have added in recent years:

 

Crispy Brussels Sprouts Hash
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

 

We like them both, but even though the latter makes a big bowl that serves 10, it goes fast on our table.

 

 

 

 

[kayb]

Thanksgiving is VERY traditional at our house. The side dishes MUST include:

 

-- Cornbread dressing. I order mine from a local diner. Mine is very inconsistent. Theirs is not.

-- Cranberry salad. 1 pound cranberries, 1 tart red apple, 1 green apple. 1 orange, 1 cup pecans, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 small box raspberry jello, 1 cup water Chop all the fruit (either zest the orange or chop peel and all) (core but don't peel apples) in food processor, toss in a big bowl. Heat 1 cup water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and whisk in jello. Pour over fruit and stir to combine. This is NOT a congealed salad; the jello makes a kind of thick syrup. It is one of the two dishes in my repertoire for which I use a Jello product.

-- Sweet potato casserole. Boil about three or four big sweet potatoes until tender. Allow to cool, and peel. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, a beaten egg and a half-stick of melted butter; combine well. Turn into baking dish. Top with a streusel of 2/3 cup each of flour and brown sugar, 1 cup chopped pecans, , 1/2 stick melted butter. Bake at 350 until bubbly.

-- Either mashed potatoes or mac and cheese for the kids.

-- Yeast rolls.

-- A green thing. Think this year it will be the sauteed brussels sprouts with farro. Sometimes it's green beans. Sometimes it's roasted broccoli. Sometimes it's asparagus.

 

Dessert, which no one ever eats because we're all in food coma, will be pumpkin cheesecake.

 

[Nyleve Baar]

14 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

 

I think that if you cook it less and with a very little bit of acid it will stay purple and look better

This is a braised dish so I don't think it's possible to retain the bright colour while still having that long-cooked blending of flavours. It does lose its brightness very early in the game - the acid (vinegar and wine) change the colour somewhat but it's not exactly back to the original purple anyway. It's just one of those things that you cook forever and it looks like it but tastes divine.

 

As for the jelly, there is really so little in the recipe compared to the volume of cabbage that it doesn't do a whole heck of a lot to the appearance. Your cabbage dish looks very much like mine.

[cakewalk]

I also think the long braising is what gives the dish most of its sweetness. The apples do as well, but not so much. There's very little sugar. I see many dishes like this that call for 1/2 cup or more of sugar. I used 2 Tbs because I knew I wasn't adding the jelly, but next time I think I'll go back to the original 1 Tbs. I've made similar recipes, but I usually just wing it. For TG I want a "known quantity" on the table. Who knows, I may be using this for the next 40 years!! (God willing)

[gfweb]

My red cabbage braises for up to an hour and is quite purple.

 

Edited October 29, 2017 by gfweb (log)

[BeeZee]

My Mother is hosting, I will likely bring mushroom stuffing, which is moist and reheats really well. I've made it every time I've hosted, so I'll call it a Thanksgiving "regular" at the table. I also do "make ahead" turkey gravy using roasted turkey wings, since my DH eats gravy with a spoon and Mom didn't have enough one year and he was pouting.

[IndyRob]

On 10/28/2017 at 12:21 AM, quiet1 said:

Does anyone do something other than turkey? Or in addition? I'm all for turkey because tradition, but other members of my household don't care for it terribly much.

 

My family tends to stick to tradition even though we'd never think to eat turkey at any other time of year.  But I discovered my in-laws didn't really care, so I was able to do a nice rib roast one year.

 

Someday I'll do a big porchetta.

 

It also strikes me that mushrooms could play a larger role than they generally do.  Either sauteed or as a sauce.

 

[btbyrd]

People think they don't like turkey because:

1) They suck at cooking turkey

2) They buy garbage turkey with no flavor.

3) The turkeys they make, or their family makes, are dry and flavorless because of (1) and (2)
4) They cook turkey once a year - at most - because they think the crappy turkeys they make are the best that can be done. Which is why they suck at cooking turkey.

 

These people typically also enjoy deli turkey, which is almost always a low-quality abomination.

 

My extended family is full of such people, bless their hearts. Last year, they all brought about a billion side dishes "because Thanksgiving isn't about the turkey -- it's about the sides." I, of course, was in charge of the turkey. It was well prepared. Several people said it was the best they ever had. Only half of one breast was consumed.

 

Americans.

[Anna N]

21 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

Several people said it was the best they ever had. Only half of one breast was consumed.

Possible, that like me, they don’t like turkey no matter its pedigree or its treatment?

[btbyrd]

No. 

[IndyRob]

21 minutes ago, btbyrd said:

People think they don't like turkey because:

1) They suck at cooking turkey

2) They buy garbage turkey with no flavor.

3) The turkeys they make, or their family makes, are dry and flavorless because of (1) and (2)
4) They cook turkey once a year - at most - because they think the crappy turkeys they make are the best that can be done. Which is why they suck at cooking turkey.

 

5) They note, with some interest, the distinct lack of 'Turkey Houses' to compete with 'Steak Houses', 'Fried Chicken Shacks' or 'Pork Palaces'

6) They just don't like turkey.  Just like they don't really like venison.

[lindag]

I l-o-v-e turkey when it's well cooked. And I have actually  done that!  However the best part of turkey is the dressing and the gravy, but that still won't make up dry, tasteless cheap turkey.

 

posted while enjoying a White Russian!

Edited October 29, 2017 by lindag (log)

[kayb]

15 hours ago, btbyrd said:

People think they don't like turkey because:

1) They suck at cooking turkey

2) They buy garbage turkey with no flavor.

3) The turkeys they make, or their family makes, are dry and flavorless because of (1) and (2)
4) They cook turkey once a year - at most - because they think the crappy turkeys they make are the best that can be done. Which is why they suck at cooking turkey.

 

 

I was astounded at the difference the first time I cooked a farm-raised, local, never-frozen turkey. I only cook one a year, so it's well worth it to do it right.