You can roast it, grill it, fry it or fricassee it, but at the end of the day it’s still just turkey. On Thanksgiving, the turkey is never the star — or if it is, you’re doing something wrong. That’s why I’m turning my attention to the side dishes. With a little bit of attention, the side dishes can truly soar.
I have taken three of my favorite side dishes and made them better. Fancier. And, to be perfectly frank, I’ve made them more fattening — because that is how they get to become better and fancier.
I started with what is probably the most ubiquitous of all Thanksgiving side dishes: mashed potatoes. It’s hard to go wrong with mashed potatoes, unless you begin with that powdered stuff. If you start with a real potato and mash it with milk or cream, you’re going to have a good dish. If you add butter to it, so much the better. But I came up with a way to make a superior mashed potato. What happens, I wondered, if instead of cooking the potato in water I cooked it in cream? If you’ve ever tried to boil milk, you know what happens: It breaks or curdles. The same thing happens with half-and-half or light cream. But when the level of butterfat in cream is high enough — when you use whipping cream or, better still, heavy cream — you can boil it with success.
But why stop there? If mashed potatoes are good, garlic mashed potatoes are better. So I didn’t just simmer my potatoes in cream, I added garlic to the mix as well. Garlic transfers its flavor best when it is heated in a fat, such as oil or butter. Heavy whipping cream is about 40 percent fat, so it is perfect for imbuing a potato with a satisfying, garlicky taste. The potatoes were superlatively rich and melting with flavor.
For the sake of science, I also made a batch of mashed potatoes the regular way with boiling water. There was no comparison; the ones made with cream were unquestionably better. Are they the best mashed potatoes you will ever eat? Probably. If not, add more butter.
I next turned to what may well be the second-most ubiquitous Thanksgiving vegetable next to mashed potatoes, green beans. Green beans are easy to make and inexpensive, but they are not particularly thrilling. I decided to thrill them up, so to speak.
I began with haricots verts — also known as French green beans — which are thinner, more tender and a little sweeter than ordinary green beans. These I blanched and then shocked in ice water to keep their brilliant color.
Next, I boiled white wine in a pan until it was nearly entirely evaporated. I then used the same wine-scented pan to cook the beans briefly in butter, but not ordinary butter.
Ordinary butter is for the other 364. On Thanksgiving, you want something better than ordinary. On Thanksgiving, you want browned butter, which is melted butter that is cooked a little longer until it turns brown and has a nutty taste. So naturally you want to top it with nuts. Slivered almonds are traditional, but you could also use chopped hazelnuts. I decided to go the traditional route, because I like almonds.
And to make them taste nuttier too, I first toasted them in butter. The result was a side dish that transcends ordinary green beans and becomes a standout part of the Thanksgiving meal.
Finally, I realized I had to tackle the cranberry sauce problem. It’s a problem because I don’t like cranberry sauce. But I do like jam. And a freshly made jam is fancier than cranberry sauce anyway. So I made cranberry jam. This was easy. Cranberries contain a lot of pectin, so the jam sets up like a dream. They are also tart, so it gives you a good excuse to add a lot of sugar. Apple cider provides a welcome tang, and the juice and zest from a lemon and a couple of oranges deliver a subtle citrus kick.
What makes this jam better than ordinary cranberry sauce, other than the fact that it is not cranberry sauce, are the spices. Ginger, cinnamon and cloves combine to give the jam a nice wintery, home-like feel of the holidays. Which makes the jam extra special, because you are sure to have plenty of it left over (the recipe makes more than a half gallon).
Come Christmas time, what better present for your family and friends than a jar of homemade cranberry jam?
Yield: 4 servings
2 large russet potatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
Chopped chives for garnish
1. Peel potatoes if desired and cut into small cubes. Add potatoes, garlic and cream to a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.
2. Strain, reserving the cream. Return potatoes to the pot or a large bowl and add 1 cup of the potato-flavored cream (the rest will make an excellent addition to many soups). With a masher or fork, mash the potatoes well. Add butter and stir until melted. Salt liberally, and taste for seasoning. Serve warm, with chopped chives sprinkled on top.
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
12 ounces haricots verts or green beans
â cup slivered almonds
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (â tablespoon) butter
1/8 teaspoon kosher or flake salt
1. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and add water. Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling and add haricots verts or green beans. Blanche 2 minutes for haricots verts or 3 minutes for green beans, strain, and immediately plunge into the ice water. When completely cool, dry beans on towels.
2. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, tossing frequently, until almonds turn golden brown and fragrant. Immediately transfer to a bowl. Take care not to burn the nuts.
3. Place a medium or large skillet over medium-high heat and add wine. Boil until nearly evaporated. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and melt. Add beans and salt, and saute until beans are completely cooked, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately, topped with toasted almonds.
Yield: 5 pints
3 pounds (48 ounces) fresh cranberries
3 cups granulated sugar
3 cups apple cider
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 oranges, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1. Prepare a boiling water bath at least 1 or 2 inches higher than the height of the jars you will be using. Place lids in a small sauce saucepan, cover with water and bring to a bare simmer. Rinse the cranberries in cold water.
2. In a very large pot over high heat, combine the cranberries, sugar, cider, lemon zest and juice and orange zest and juice. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam on top. Cook 10 to 15 minutes, until the cranberries pop.
3. Add the ginger, cinnamon and cloves, and stir to combine. Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the jam looks quite thick. If it appears to be thickening too much before all the cranberries have popped, add a splash of water to loosen.
4. Carefully ladle jam into jars while it is still hot, leaving about ¼ inch space below the top. Wipe off the inside rims, apply the lids and rings (don’t tighten the rings too tight), and place in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the water and allow to cool. Once they are cool, press each lid in the center; if it pops back up, refrigerate and eat within a few days.