Saturday, November 17, 2007

The Saturday Seven: Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

For my International readers, next Thursday is the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. It's a day when we give thanks for the blessings we have. Back when the Pilgrims arrived here, they were unprepared for the harsh New England winter; many people died of starvation and sickness. After surviving the winter, a group of helpful Indians assisted the Pilgrims in farming and growing vegetables. They had a successful summer harvest, which prompted them to declare a Thanksgiving Festival to thank God. History of course tells us that later we went on to take advantage of the Indians and steal their land, but they ended up having the last laugh when many years later their descendants built massive casinos to take money from everyone! But that's a subject for another day's post. All this started me thinking about the modern day Thanksgiving holiday dinner. This brings me to another scintillating edition of: The Saturday Seven: Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes
#1: Stuffing: I make it with turkey sausage, lots of mushrooms, fresh herbs and pecans


#2 Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows. My secret ingredient is the Irish Mist for special flavor.

#3 Steamed Broccoli with Cheddar Cheese


#4 Brussel Sprouts: The secret is to boil, then saute in garlic, whole grain mustard and a touch of kosher sea salt.
#5 Cranberry Sauce: Boil the fresh cranberries, add some brandy, a splash of orange juice and sugar (you can even use Splenda as a substitute)

#6 Green Beans: I steam them and saute gently with olive oil, garlic, fennel and toasted almond slices.

#7 Garlic Mashed Potatoes with White Cheddar: 'nuff said.
What are your favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner? I'm not takin' about desserts...THAT is worthy of another whole post! Go ahead, leave a comment, to give thanks, ALL COMMENTS ARE FREE TODAY!
-Rick Rockhill
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22 comments:

  1. Desert SongbirdNovember 17, 2007 at 7:57 AM

    You know, Rick, I adore you, but I seriously doubt even you could get me to eat Brussels sprouts.

    Nuh-uh.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousNovember 17, 2007 at 8:20 AM

    ok, sweet potatoes: CHECK.
    Green Beans: CHECK.
    Broccoli: CHECK.
    But Brussel Sprouts??? BLECH

    ReplyDelete
  3. snowelfNovember 17, 2007 at 9:10 AM

    Whoo hoo!! You picked all of my favorite sides! (although I could never convince my family to make brussel sprouts, but I totally love them!!)
    Stuffing is my #1 too!

    I don't even like turkey, so bring on the sides!! :)

    --snow

    ReplyDelete
  4. Empress Bee (of the high sea)November 17, 2007 at 9:17 AM

    brussel sprouts are my FAVORITE!!! and next is, are you ready??? sauerkraut!!! yup! i think it's pennsylvania dutch, anyway we always have it with turkey!

    smiles, bee

    ReplyDelete
  5. whimsical brainpanNovember 17, 2007 at 11:33 AM

    1. Stuffing
    2. Fresh hot rolls with butter
    3. Cranberry sauce.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 17, 2007 at 2:05 PM

    what about gravy? you have to have gravy!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Durward DiscussionNovember 17, 2007 at 3:18 PM

    Stop by for an interesting cranberry relish. Easy and much better than anything you can find in a can

    Durward Discussion

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rick RockhillNovember 17, 2007 at 3:21 PM

    Thanks Jamie, I appreciate it!

    Snow Elf & Miss Bee- I'll send you some of my delicious brussel sprouts :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. SheilaNovember 18, 2007 at 4:35 AM

    These all look great. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but my two sons and husband always insist on one of those Jello-congealed salads for Thanksgiving and Christmas (Waldorf Crown Salad). So I call it Retro and everything old is new again. We have Creole green beans with garlic, onions and ham. Then the sweet potatoes are baked with orange juice, maple syrup and topped with pecans and brown sugar. No marshmallows.

    It's fun to see how each family develops its own traditions regarding holiday meals. Thanks for sharing yours. I just might try the sprouts.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rick RockhillNovember 18, 2007 at 7:24 AM

    Sheila- your sweet potato recipe sounds really good. I'll have to try it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. MonaNovember 18, 2007 at 9:04 AM

    You make them sound so easy to make...just one line recipes :)

    The cornucopia is interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  12. MonaNovember 18, 2007 at 9:05 AM

    PS> Thank you for being there for me to know you!
    Thank you for providing us this interesting blog to read!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Rick RockhillNovember 18, 2007 at 9:08 AM

    Mona- the feeling is mutual, I enjoy reading your blog as well.

    ReplyDelete
  14. LilianNovember 18, 2007 at 10:29 AM

    My favorite is home made stuffing -yours look phenomenal- with the best ingredients [I'm very picky when it comes to quality, I'm sorry]

    I like food, all of it, perhaps with the exception of Brussel Sprouts :o)

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  15. limeNovember 18, 2007 at 3:26 PM

    mmmmm, i am also a fan of baked pineapple, candied yams, and PA dutch potato filling

    ReplyDelete
  16. CherylNovember 18, 2007 at 6:25 PM

    Hmmm...
    Baked pineapple
    green bean casserole
    sweet potatoes with marshmallows
    jello mold

    Yum to it all.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Stephen R.November 18, 2007 at 6:53 PM

    Paula Deen's Corn Casserole, baby! It's simple to make and always a hit at every potluck I attend!

    ReplyDelete
  18. CRUSTY MOM-ENovember 18, 2007 at 7:06 PM

    1. Baked Corn Casserole
    2. BUttered crusty rolls
    3. green and orange jello carrot mold
    4. rudabega (Sp?)
    5. baked Pineapple
    6. mashed potatoes butter whipped
    7. more Baked corn

    Always,
    Crusty~

    ReplyDelete
  19. Real Live LesbianNovember 19, 2007 at 6:12 AM

    YOU already have all of my favorites! What time should we come over?

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kerry and RachelNovember 19, 2007 at 6:36 AM

    I love Brussel Sprouts! Yours look delish.

    Another side, mushroom and fontina casserole. 3 kinds of mushrooms sauteed in butter and garlic and baked with layers of fontina cheese. So good!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Canadian flakeNovember 20, 2007 at 2:28 PM

    holy cow I am totally hungry now. I always like American thanksgiving...I think I must have been a pilgrim in a former life..lmao.

    ReplyDelete
  22. NaomiNovember 23, 2007 at 1:35 PM

    Thanks for explaining the origins of Thanksgiving Rick. That was an interesting read. Great recipes! It made me feel hungry just looking at them!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you kindly.