Foodie Week: Thanksgiving Sides!

Hey there! I'm Angela visiting from LeMoine Family Kitchen and I am super excited to be here for Foodie Week! Today I'm sharing with you some of the side dishes that I will be serving this year for Thanksgiving. This is going to be the first time we are hosting Thanksgiving and this thrills me because food wise, it doesn't get much better then Thanksgiving! Whats not to love... turkey, potatoes, veggies, pie and the perfect after dinner nap!

Today I'm sharing three of my favorite Thanksgiving sides... Garlic & Chive Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Shallots & Crispy Pancetta and my Sausage & Apple Cornbread Stuffing. 

{You can see the original posts with extra step by step pics by clicking the links}

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Lets start with the stuffing! Sausage and Apple Cornbread Stuffing!!! There is so much that I love about this... well there is the obvious, that I love all things bread! There is the hearty sweet Italian sausage, the sweetness from the apples and onions, then there is the perfectly lightly browned top from being baked in the oven! 

Sausage and Apple Cornbread Stuffing 

serves 8-10

1 lb sweet sausage, casing removed

2 large apples (I used Fuji), peeled and medium dice 

1 medium onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

6 garlic cloves, sliced

3 Tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

3 Tbsp fresh parsely, finely chopped, plus a little bit to garnish

24 oz cornbread stuffing cubes, unseasoned

6 cups vegetable broth

olive oil

Oven at 375 degrees. 

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add a few drizzles of olive oil and the sausage. Using a wooden spoon break up the sausage into medium sized pieces. Allow to cook most of the way through.

To the pan, add the apples, celery, onions, garlic and rosemary. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are fork tender.

Into a large bowl, mix together the sausage veg mix, the cornbread cubes and the broth. Stir to combine then place into a baking pan.

Bake for approx 20 minutes until the top is a light golden brown. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. 

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Next up, my Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes. These are so rich, creamy and full of incredible flavor thanks so a simplified "roasted" garlic.

Garlic and Chive Mashed Potatoes 

serves 8-10

4 lbs yukon gold potatoes, skins on & large dice

1 1/4 cups light cream

1/2 stick melted butter

2 heaping Tbsp "roasted" garlic cloves (see below)

2 Tbsp garlic oil

a bunch of chives, snipped

salt and pepper

Garlic Oil

1 cup olive oil

16-20 garlic cloves peeled

In a small sauce pan, over the simmer burner on as low as it goes, add the oil and garlic cloves. Allow to cook for 40-45 minutes. The garlic will have softened and browned lightly and will be sweet almost as if roasted in the oven. My opinion, this is much easier for almost the same result. 

Starting with a large pot of salted (3 Tbsp) cold water, boil the potatoes until fork tender. Drain and place back into the pot.

Add in the cream, melted butter, garlic cloves, garlic oil, salt and pepper. Mash until creamy with nearly all the chunks out, unless of course you prefer chunky potatoes.

Stir in the snipped chives, leaving a sprinkle to garnish with. Be sure to taste for salt and pepper, potatoes are one of those veggies that sometimes needs a little extra. 

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These Green Beans with Shallots and Crispy Pancetta are super easy to make and it really is wonderfully flavored! The sweetness of the shallots, the crispy pancetta and the tender green beans make this dish a perfect addition to your holiday meal, really it makes a great side to lots of meals! Oh, and one of the secrets to this dish is slow cooked garlic oil we used in the potatoes as well!

Green Beans with Shallots and Crispy Pancetta

serves 8-10

4 1/2 lbs green beans, ends trimmed

4 oz pancetta

2 large shallots, sliced

6 Tbsp garlic oil, divided (recipe above) Cook the beans until just tender in a pot of boiling water. Set aside. Stack the pancetta slices, roll them up and slice. In a saute pan, over medium heat, add 3 Tbsp garlic oil and the sliced pancetta. Pancetta doesn't have much fat so the oil helps it get going. Cook until crispy, using a wooden spoon to seperate the slices. Once crisp, remove and set aside leaving the oil in the pan. To the same pan add in the sliced shallots and sauté until softened and golden.

Toss together the green beans, crispy pancetta, sweet shallots, salt, pepper and another 3 Tbsp of the garlic oil.

If you would like to get this ready the day before simply wait until the day of before adding the crisp pancetta to the green beans.

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Thanks Angela, I can't wait to try some of these side dishes out!  Stay tuned tomorrow for more Foodie Week fun!

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