1 week Ago By Tribune News Service
By Nicole Hvidsten, The Minnesota Star Tribune Everyone has their favorites at the Thanksgiving table, and heaven help the cook who takes one of them away. A colleague summed it up perfectly: “You can always add, but you can never subtract.” That creates a conundrum for ambitious cooks tired of making the same things over and over — and over again.
Related Articles These recipes put a new spin on the traditional meal, from stuffing through dessert. You may still have to make green bean casserole, but with these dishes, consider your culinary creativity challenged. And that’s a reason to give thanks.
Makes about 12 muffins (depending on pan size). These individual stuffing muffins bake up to be crisped on the outside and tender within. Easy to serve, they hold their own on the Thanksgiving table as a side dish or satisfying vegetarian main.
These can be baked up to a day ahead and stored in a plastic bag once they’ve cooled, then reheated in the oven right before serving. The recipe is inspired by my grandmother’s recipe, but if roasting and shelling chestnuts is just one step too many, feel free to leave them out. From Beth Dooley.
Directions Serves 8 to 10. These creamy potatoes, layered with caramelized onions and topped with a crunchy, cheesy breadcrumb crust, is an epic side dish that brings all the best flavors of fall together in one bite. Or two.
Or three. While this dish does have a few different steps, some of them can be made ahead of time (see below), making the day of preparation much easier. From Meredith Deeds.
Directions Serves 8 to 10. If you like your sweet potatoes sans marshmallows and you’re yearning for a slightly more sophisticated option that straddles the savory and sweet line, this is the dish for you. Rest assured, what it lacks in the way of marshmallows, it more than makes up for with its nutty, buttery flavor, infused with fresh sage.
From Meredith Deeds. Directions Serves 6 but is easily doubled. Glazed with honey and sparked with lemon, these pan-roasted Brussels sprouts emerge from the oven finger-licking sticky and tangy-sweet.
Feel free to toss other veggies (cubed squash, carrots, parsnips, etc.) into the pan. To make these a day ahead, trim the sprouts and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Roast them while the turkey rests. From Beth Dooley. Directions Serves 8 to 10.
What’s old is new again in fashion and, apparently, in the kitchen. Recipes for molded salads are making the rounds, but with some important updates. This recipe doesn’t require gelatin (or Jell-O); when the cranberries are cooked right, they can hold their own in a mold.
Speaking of molds, don’t worry if you didn’t hang onto yours. A loaf pan or cake pan will do (we used a Swedish almond cake pan) or hop on the nostalgia bandwagon and use an empty (and clean) soup or vegetable can to get those ridges you know you want. This recipe must be prepared in advance.
Adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown for the Food Network. Directions Makes 12. It’s not even Thanksgiving until an exasperated cook proclaims, “I forgot the dinner rolls!” You won’t have that issue with these biscuits, from chef Thomas Boemer of Revival restaurants — the aroma alone will remind you.
Pop them in the oven while the turkey is resting and serve them piping hot. And on the off chance you do forget, these cheesy biscuits, with all the flavors of fall, make a great vessel for post-dinner turkey sandwiches. Note: How big you dice the apple will determine the intensity of the apple in the bite.
Boemer likes 3/8-inch dice so they don’t cook down too much; we prefer them a little smaller. Directions Makes one 9-inch pie. Pumpkin spice latte has become a ubiquitous fall treat, but most of those super-sweetened coffees topped with a dash of cinnamon don’t do justice to the concept of spice, nor to the earthy flavor of pumpkin.
We sought to marry espresso, warming spices and pumpkin purée for a spin on the classic pumpkin pie (adapted from Bon Appétit). The autumnal pie spices tended to drown out the coffee flavor when we added brewed coffee or espresso powder to the filling, but for those who prefer their holiday extra caffeinated, feel free to add more. Instead, we got our espresso hit from a layer of coffee ganache lining the inside of a buttery crust, and a pile of coffee meringue (both ideas from Erin Jeanne McDowell’s “The Book on Pie”) that added a sweet, creamy toastiness akin to the foam on a latte.
Note: We used a frozen crust from Vikings & Goddesses bakery ($5) in St. Paul, and for espresso powder, we like the Medaglia d’Oro brand, available at most supermarkets. For the crust: For the ganache: For the filling: For the coffee meringue: Directions ©2024 The Minnesota Star Tribune.
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