I am usually what I like to call a Thanksgiving “orphan” — relying on the kindness of friends to include me in their turkey day celebrations. Which means that though I’ve never cooked a turkey (Capon, yes. Turkey, no.), I have made lots of side dishes over the years. My criteria are simple: it needs to be something that I can make ahead of time and put together at the last minute, and it needs to be light since so many of the traditional Thanksgiving sides are not.
Here are 3 of my tried and true favorites:
Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Shaved Parmesan
(serves 6-8)
3-4 Sweet Potatoes or Yams
2T olive oil
1 large onion
Parmesan
In NOT a non-stick pan, heat your olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, stir to coat and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the onions until they begin to brown, stirring occasionally, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Puncture each yam a couple of times with a fork, place on a baking sheet and roast until tender (45 minutes to an hour). Remove from the oven. Scoop the flesh out of the skin, add salt and pepper to taste and mix with a fork. My mom likes to also add a dash of cream. It’s your call.
You can make both the onions and the yams a few days ahead of time and refrigerate separately. Once you are ready to assemble, re-heat the yams and onions in the microwave, place the yams in a pretty serving dish. Top with the onions. Shave parmesan* over the top and serve.
*Both a cheese shaver and vegetable peeler work well for this.
Blanched Asparagus with Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette
Asparagus
Baby tomatoes
World’s Best Salad Dressing
Depending on how many people you are serving, buy the asparagus accordingly. Generally, I find that one bunch serves 3-4 people. Cut off the tough ends and use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer dark green part of the stalk on the bottom 2″. This isn’t required, but it looks pretty and makes the asparagus taste sweeter. However, this only works if the stalks are relatively thick. If they’re thin, just cut off the bottom 2″ and call it a day.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the asparagus and cook for about 3 minutes. You want them crisp, but a fork tine should be able to slide easily through the stem. Remove from heat into a colander and run under cold water until completely cool. Lay them on a towel to dry. You can make these the day before, place in a ziplock bag and refrigerate. When ready to serve, bring the asparagus to room temperature. Place on a platter. Top with some halved cherry tomatoes if you can find good ones, a hearty dollop of the world’s best salad dressing, a sprinkle of sea salt and serve.
Celery and Mushroom Salad with Shaved Parmesan
1 bunch celery
White button mushrooms
Parmesan
World’s Best Salad Dressing
Cut the bottom off your celery bunch and throw out any cracked or nasty looking stalks. Clean your remaining stalks and dry completely. Again, the amount will depend on the number of guests, but figure a stalk per person. Lay your celery flat edges down on a cutting board, and cut down and away from you on the diagonal into 1/8″- 1/4″ slices.
Cut the stems off your mushroom, and slice to the same thickness as your celery (although not on a diagonal). In general, I like twice as much celery to mushrooms. When ready to serve, toss the celery and mushrooms with the world’s best salad dressing. Taste for salt. Top with shaved parmesan and serve.
