If you've been following Gourmet Meals for Less for any amount of time, you'll know that I'm not big on sharing recipes unless they are accompanied with lots of pictures. Unfortunately I was not blogging this time last year and alas have no pictures of the wonderful recipes I am getting ready to share with you. This will be changing.
You can rest assured this Thanksgiving and Christmas every dish that is served at the Patterson table will be well photographed. There may be no pictures of my children at Thanksgiving and Christmas but by golly there will be of the food! I mean really, who's the star here...the reluctant teen who put on a nice shirt but refuses to wear anything but torn skinny jeans...or the meal! I'll give you one guess.
Therefore, I am asking my dear readers to forgive my lack of beautiful photos of golden mashed potatoes, glistening cranberries and crisped to perfection dressing and trust that these recipes are delicious dishes worthy of your Thanksgiving Table.
We have been serving these recipes at our table for years. In fact, I had to promise my better half that I would "not mess with thanksgiving this year just because you are writing a food blog now." sigh. Doesn't he understand the need to indulge my creativity?! A promise is a promise though. So every recipe I share will be one I have made myself and perfected. Many of our recipes that have been passed from generation to generation as well.
Today I will share with your the side dishes...my favorite part of Thanksgiving! Tomorrow the turkey, gravy and my special cranberry sauce. And last, but most certainly not least the desserts!
One other note, before you ask, yes we serve all of these side dishes. We are foodies. We love food. We eat. A lot. Especially at Thanksgiving. And Christmas. We do not apologize for it either. Grin.
You can click on each recipe link to take you to a printable version! Isn't that handy!
Up first. My sister at Southern In My Heart served this to us years ago. We licked the bowl, I swear it is so good. Should probably be in the dessert category, but we have enough of those so this gets a prominent spot with the main meal!
I shared a link to this recipe the other day from Better Homes and Gardens. This is the brussels sprout dish I make EVERY Thanksgiving and Christmas. I will warn you it is rich, but it will make a fan out of any brussels sprout hater. It is that good! If you've always wanted to make brussels sprouts but you weren't sure which recipe to try. This is it. If you want a simpler kid friendly recipe you might want to try my Sprout Skewers from my At the Kid's Table Series instead. We will be making the one below though!
Up next a family classic. I agreed when I accepted my husband's proposal of marriage that I would immediately learn to make this dish. If I ever left this off the Thanksgiving menu, I believe he would boycott dinner in protest. Actually not really....he likes his turkey too much...but he might threaten to. So to avoid any Thanksgiving drama (cause there's usually enough of that around here anyway...have I ever told you about Thankgiving 2008?? Remind me to sometime it's a good one!) I make this dish every year for my sweet man. He asks so little, I can certainly indulge him with this.
Ah, now onto my son's favorite. I often double this so he can have several servings all to himself. This is a recipe passed down from my husband's grandmother. I will warn you it has Cheez-It's in it. I know, I know. But when else can you get away with serving Cheez-It's on something if it's not Thanksgiving. So, if you can't bear to put Cheez-It's on your food, than please just don't make this wonderful dish. It won't be the same. Besides, it only takes a cup of Cheez-It's which leaves you the whole rest of the box to stash away for yourself and eat while drinking your "everyone has left, I have piles of dishes I'm ignoring, and I actually survived another Thanksgiving dinner" glass of cheap wine or shot of Bourbon take your pick.
Now this next one may freak some of you out. Especially if you aren't from the south. I personally had never made it let alone eaten it until a few years ago. That was until I learned a little family secret. My father-in-law grew up eating and loves Oyster dressing. His mother (the one up above responsible for Celebrity Broccoli fame) made oyster dressing every year. It had been years since it had been made for him and when I learned this I was bound and determined to recreate this dish. Unfortunately, I did not have access to her recipe but when I opened my November 2008 issue of Southern Living I was so excited to find it featured in there. Made with cornbread of course! It was such a hit, that I made it last year as well. So Bob...if you are reading this get ready for some more oyster dressing!
And last but certainly not least. The tried and true Thanksgiving side dish. The one that is just expected to show up at the table. The dish I make turkey gravy for.
Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes
These are my families favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. They have a special place of honor every year at the Patterson table. If you've been looking for some inspiration this Thanksgiving as you prepare your meal plan, or if this is your first time preparing Thanksgiving dinner then give one or more of these a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Many can be prepared the day before as noted in the recipe, which can make Thanksgiving day that much less stressful! Let me know if you try any of these Thankgiving side dishes or have any questions about them. I would be happy to answer!
Stay tuned tomorrow for the star of the show! When I will share with you my citrus glazed turkey!
Enjoy!
