Side Dish / Principal Chef

Carrot Souffle

Carrot Soufflé is a great alternative (or addition) to sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. It’s sweet, almost dessert-ish, and it adds great color to any plate. And . . . you get to say you’ve eaten your vegetables! My mother-in-law brings this to our home every Thanksgiving, and there are never any leftovers.

Ingredients

1 lb carrots, peeled and ends cut off

3 eggs

⅓ cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp white flour

1 tsp vanilla

⅓ cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil water, cook carrots for 8-10 minutes, until soft. 8 Minutes

Place all ingredients in a food processor. Puree until smooth.

Pour into baking dish – a 1.5 quart soufflé dish or pan is nice – and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Use the “knife in the cake” technique, if it’s clean, it’s ready. 40 Minutes

Optional topping: Mix 2 Tbsp soft butter, 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar, and 1/2 Cup chopped pecans to the top after you take it out, broil for 3 minutes until brown. This is too sweet for my tastes for a meal, but I still think it sounds awesome!

Spicy Cranberry Sauce

I started working on a spicy cranberry sauce back in 2010, and I really like this recipe that is an amalgamation of many ideas. It’s a hit on Thanksgiving and great with leftovers, and it just takes a little time. It’s not that spicy, and it tames with time. I hope you like it!

Ingredients

12 oz Fresh Cranberries

14.50 oz Can, Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

12 oz Orange Marmalade

1 Onion, Small, diced

1 Apple, peeled and diced

1 Green Pepper, Cored, and Diced

2 diced jalapeños (2 peppers)

1 lime, juiced and zested

Directions

Mix it all together in a saucepan over medium heat.

Cook for for two to three hours, until the consistency starts to feel a little thick and the cranberries have cracked open. 120 Minutes

Refrigerate overnight and you are set!

Dawson’s Roasted Potatoes

These are the best roasted potatoes I’ve had. It’s adapted from a recipe in my favorite cooking magazine, Cooks Illustrated, and its fantastic. My son Dawson loves these and will go for seconds and thirds.

This recipe is not quick. You are making a commitment when you cook them, but it’s worth it so you can achieve hero status.

Ingredients

5 lbs Potatoes (new, Yukon Gold, Red, and Finger Potatoes are all excellent)Or however many pounds you want to cook. I think it's 2/3 pounds per person. Disclaimer: I always make too much food.

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Herbes de Provence or Italian Seasoning

Directions

Start boiling a large pot of water – enough to cover the amount of potatoes your are cooking. Preheat oven to 425.

Cut potatoes into bite size pieces.

When the water is boiling, place potatoes in the water. Let it come to a boil again, then allow to boil for one minute. Drain.

Place potatoes back in the same pot on medium heat on the stove. Stir occasionally for 3-5 minutes. (You are getting moisture out of the potatoes so they will crisp up better).

Add 1/4 cup olive oil, or other fat of your choice. Butter could be excellent here. Cooks Illustrated recommends duck fat. Stir, then pour onto cookie sheet (or two), spreading into a single layer.

Add salt, pepper, and herbes de provence. I’d recommend 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper, and 1 Tbsp of herbs. Here’s the thing, and I’ve said this before, salt is underrated. You will add more later in the recipe.

Place in oven for 30 minutes. Take out and turn the potatoes, return for another 20 minutes. They should be brown on all sides now.

Take out, and put the potatoes back in the original pot. Add about 2 Tbsp olive oil, stir, put back on cookie sheet. You can hold them now until 10 minutes before you serve them. Taste for seasoning and adjust. (I always add more salt!)

Another easier way to do this is to take them out, spray them with olive oil, move them around on the cookie sheet, and cover the sheet with foil until you’re ready to put them back in and finish them.

When you are ready, place potatoes back in oven (still at 425 or for more speed, broil), and cook for 5 – 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Granny Catlett’s Dressing

Granny Catlett was my cousins’ grandmother. I would see her quite often, as we lived just two doors down from our cousins, Kathy, James, Joe, and Helen. My brothers and sister (there were four of us too) were always at their house getting into some kind of mischief. Granny Catlett was kind and wonderful, always quick to smile, and she was a great cook. This recipe came out every Thanksgiving. Actually, there were two versions – this one, and the one with oysters mixed in. It was a bad day when you chose poorly. Everyone in my family who cooks uses this recipe – and this recipe makes no mention of oysters.

I think this is one of the many powers of cooking for people. These recipes are way more than chemistry. They are stories, they are memories of friends and loved ones, and they make us slow down and remember. That, my friends, is a good way to live.

Ingredients

7 cups Cornbread (Make the night before if you want)

7 cups White Bread, slightly toasted

1 Bunch of Celery

1 Onion (Small – Use half if you’re not a big onion person)

4 cups Organic Chicken Broth

½ cup Butter (1 Stick)

4 tsp Salt

2 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Poultry Seasoning

2 tbsp Sage

2 Eggs (Beaten)

1 cup Milk

Directions

Make cornbread the night before. Crumble 7 cups of cornbread and place into large bowl.

Slightly toast 1/2 loaf of white bread. I use my oven for this. Just put the bread right on the racks and heat for 3 minutes at 350. This dries it out. Crumble 7 cups (just break and tear) and add to large bowl.

Sauté chopped Celery and Onion in the butter. Get it nice and soft.

Add all of the seasonings. Give the whole mixture a few gentle stirs to mix it up.

Add onion and celery, and everything else into the large bowl! It should be thick, pouring in large globs. Add broth if it’s too thick. Add cornbread if it’s too runny.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until it’s slightly brown on the top and a little crispy.

Note: You can prepare this the day before (no baking) and refrigerate it overnight. Take out of the fridge one hour before baking.

Macaroni and Cheese

I am asked to bring this dish to parties all the time. It’s such a hit with my family, friends, and co-workers. This recipe takes a little time, but it’s a crowd pleaser, and great for leftovers. Little kids may still like Kraft more, but once they have real taste buds, this takes the cake! It’s an entree, it’s a filling side dish, and it’s always a hit.

Ingredients

16 oz Large Elbow Macaroni

4 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

4 cups Whole Milk, warmed

6 tbsp Butter

6 tbsp Flour (White)

2 tsp Kosher Salt

2 tsp Black Pepper

1 tbsp Chili Garlic SauceMaybe more – People love the zing!

Directions

In a large pot of salted water, boil macaroni. It should be al dente, as it will cook more in the oven. When finished, drain and rinse. Set aside.

Heat up the milk (I microwave it in a big Pyrex measuring cup, but old fashioned stove heating works perfectly too) so that it is nice and warm, almost hot. This will make the cooking go a lot faster. Make a roux by melting butter and whisking in flour. This is quick, so have your milk ready to pour in.

When the roux is thick and bubbly, start gradually add the milk, one cup at a time. Stir with a whisk, until it thickens, then add more milk. When all milk is added, you are done when it reaches it should a pancake batter like consistency. Don’t go too thick – – it will thicken more as it bakes up nicely. Turn off the stove heat.

Stir in salt and pepper, but taste it and see what you like. Add the chili-garlic paste for a little fire. 1 Tbsp is not that much, and people will like it!

Add 3 cups of the sharp cheddar and half of the fresh Parmesan. Mix well until it melts in.

Pour into a baking dish. This should fit into a nice 9 x 13 dish. At this point, you can refrigerate, then take it out about an hour before you are ready to bake it. Or, if you’re ready to go now, go now!

Add the remainder of the cheese on top, and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until the cheese is a little brown and the dish is bubbling. (If you refrigerate prior to baking, cover with foil for the first 15 minutes, then bake for 30-40 minutes.