Thanksgiving Sides
In mid-November, I asked friends—new and old, across the miles and next door, vegetarians and turkey lovers—to share a recipe for their favorite Thanksgiving side dish. To my delight, they rallied to the task or promised to do so soon. As part of my own search for holiday sides both classic and reinvented, I visited the website of Jean Carnahan—an author and food blogger in St. Louis who always has something wonderful cooking in her family’s kitchen.
On her website “Good Food St. Louis,” Carnahan introduces herself as follows— I no longer cook daily for a family of 7 like I once did. I cook for one at my condo (in St. Louis), eat out frequently, and entertain family and friends at my farm on weekends and holidays. So I still have a spoon in the pot, so to speak.
Photo credit: Jean Carnahan’s Good Food St. Louis website.
Jean Carnahan was Missouri’s First Lady during the 1990s and the state’s first woman U.S. Senator. Over the past 20 years, she has published 8 books, including a cookbook, Christmas at the Mansion. I love her blogs that are a mixture of travel, photos from restaurants she visits, restaurant reviews, and recipes. We are kindred spirits in our love of sharing food with family and friends and recipes through our respective blogs. Her motto “Eat Well, Travel Far, Laugh Often” speaks to the heart of her love of life and her resilient spirit.
This year, Jean’s Thanksgiving table was groaning with sides to feed the 37 guests who gathered at her family’s Missouri farm. Sides—her favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal—included Garlic-Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Carrots Persillade, Tortellini Salad, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Garlic Cheese Grits, Squash Casserole, Applesauce, and rolls from a recipe she served at the Governor’s Mansion when her wonderful husband Mel Carnahan was in office. Recipes and pictures of each dish can be found on Jean’s November 19, 2022 “Good Food St. Louis” blog.
While perusing Jean’s index of recipes from her earlier blogs, I discovered a rustic “Crispy Lemony Potatoes” recipe from her July 22, 2016, blog. It was from a cookbook she’d bought the prior year from Ruth Reichl—author and former Gourmet Magazine editor—who was in St. Louis promoting her cookbook My Kitchen Year—136 Recipes That Saved My Life. Being of Irish-German heritage, Jean admitted she couldn’t pass up a spud recipe of any kind.
Like me, she is an avid follower of NYT food writer Sam Sifton who almost always includes a potato recipe in his weekend cooking review. Reichl’s recipe for Crispy Lemony Potatoes reminded Carnahan of a Smashed Potato recipe by Sifton that was similar in technique but differs with Reichl’s addition of lemon, cheese, and garlic. Intrigued, I prepared Reichl’s potato side found on Carnahan’s “Good Food St. Louis” blog and shared it with my own family and friends before Thanksgiving.
Crispy Lemony Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 lbs baby Yukons or red potatoes
3 cups chicken stock
Zest of 1 lemon (in thick strips)
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Parmesan, for grating
Parsley for topping
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Put the potatoes in a wide-based saucepan, add chicken stock, lemon zest and garlic. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 8 minutes.
Drain potatoes, picking out the lemon zest and saving it for later.
Oil an oven tray generously. Gently flatten each potato on a chopping board, using the base of a small saucepan.
Place the smashed potatoes on the oven tray, drizzle them with olive oil. Dice the reserved lemon zest and sprinkle atop potatoes.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp, golden, and irresistible.
Sprinkle with sea salt and finely grate Parmesan over the top either before or after cooking in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped parsley for extra color.
Another recipe I received last week came from Laurie Ryan, a dear friend from St. Paul, MN. We met in Buffalo, WY in the summer of 2014 during Longmire Days—a three-day event that brought together fans of award-winning western mystery writer Craig Johnson and the cast of the Netflix TV series based on his Longmire books. Across the years and miles since we met, we’ve shared thoughts on books, politics, food, and family.
Following my recipe request for Thanksgiving sides, Laurie immediately sent three—one for spicy nuts, one for a creamy wild rice casserole and another for roasted Brussels sprouts from Elise Bauer’s food website “Simply Recipes.” Bauer writes, “Even the most adamant sprouts haters will love these roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese.” Bauer’s website also includes a video on how to roast Brussels sprouts for holiday dinners and she shares the secret ingredient for success with roasted or baked Brussel Sprouts. “Salt,” according to Bauer’s sister, “makes the roasted caramelized flavors pop!” Visit Bauer’s food website at www.simplyrecipes.com for recipes and more tips on preparing Brussels sprouts.
Finally, my own favorite holiday side is “Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Red Grapes with Walnuts,” available on The Common Ingredient food sharing website: www.thecommoningredient.com.
What’s not to love about Thanksgiving sides in this season of sharing food and giving thanks!