| Recipes |
| • White Castle Stuffing |
| • Cranberry Chutney |
| • Rum and Maple Sweet Potatoes |
Pity the poor side dish. Like an unpopular friend at the prom, the side dish sits and waits quietly on Thanksgiving while you ignore it, instead praising the beautiful turkey, oohing and ahhing as it arrives steaming at the table. But then, after you carve into the bird and discover it to be dry and vapid, the side dish will still be there, waiting for you: not angry, not self-righteous, just ready to help with heaps and heaps of deliciousness. Where the turkey is fickle, the side dish is stalwart and true.
It's a good year for side dishes, too. The most colorful dish on the Thanksgiving table, cranberries, had a bumper crop in 2008, reported Kelly Onanian in Brockton, Massachusetts' Enterprise News. Massachusetts is one of the largest cranberry producers in America, providing a full 25 percent of Ocean Spray's cranberry stock, and cranberries are currently selling for about $60 a barrel — up from $12 a barrel after a cranberry crash in 2000. (Incidentally, if "Cranberry Crash" is not the current name of an Ocean Spray juice, it probably should be). Exact numbers on this year's cranberry harvest won't be in until January, but Robert Beams, vice president of Agricultural Supply Development at Ocean Spray’s Middleboro facility, said that this year's cranberry harvest "was just an enormous crop for Massachusetts."
The cranberry crop isn't the only enormous thing this Thanksgiving. On November 15, Matthew Pleasant of Louisiana's Houma Today reported that a local man, Willie Robinson, grew a seven-pound sweet potato. The tuber is massive — just about as big as Robinson's head — and is especially notable in that it was grown without any special fertilizer. This might seem like a find worthy of the county-fair annals, until you read on to discover that this potato, while large, is a full 74 pounds less than the largest sweet potato ever found. Basically, Robinson's potato is just a baby. The biggest one ever was the size of an 11-year-old child.
Oh, and if you have a picky pre-teen at home this Thanksgiving, here's a way to appeal to him or her: White Castle stuffing. Last week, White Castle issued a press release last week promoting their hamburgers as the perfect stuffing ingredient. According to White Castle, the "White Castle Turkey Stuffing recipe has been a quick and easy favorite delighting Thanksgiving guests for over 17 years," and "Guests at parties have never been able to tell the difference when surprised by their host and this is what has led others to try it themselves." I for one am incredibly curious as to what these guests at parties couldn't tell the difference between — a normal stuffing and the White Castle stuffing, or the White Castle stuffing and the tiny burgers themselves?
I suppose I should note here, before I am considered a blasphemist by Thanksgiving traditionalists, that in my family we always cooked stuffing outside of the bird and considered it a side dish. (And if you're cooking White Castle stuffing, I'd consider that a side-side dish.) Michele Kayal of the Associated Press tackled this topic recently, getting cooks and other foodies to weigh in on whether that bready goodness should be cooked inside or outside of the bird, and whether or not it should be called "stuffing" or "dressing." Some seem to think that stuffing is inside the bird and dressing outside, others prefer using only one term or the other whether it's on the inside or out, and still others think it really doesn't matter all that much.
Me, I think it doesn't really matter. As long as the side dishes are there for me, supporting me in my annual day of overeating, you can call them whatever you want.
Meg Favreau is a writer and comedian living in Philadelphia. She blogs at ihearyoulikestories.com.
| White Castle Turkey Stuffing, from White Castle |
|
10 White Castle hamburgers, no pickles In a large mixing bowl, tear the burgers into pieces and add diced celery and seasonings. Toss and add chicken broth. Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting. It makes about 9 cups (enough for a 10- to 12-pound turkey). Note: Allow one (1) hamburger for each pound of turkey, which is the equivalent of 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound. |
You didn't think I'd leave you without instructions on how to make this treat, did you?
| Cranberry Chutney, from Edward Bottone |
|
In a non-reactive (no aluminum) sauced pan combine the preserves, vinegar, sugar, curry powder, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves with 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Stir to be sure that the sugar dissolves. Add lime and fruits and cook for 5 minutes. Add the cranberries and raisins and cook 40 or until the berries "pop" and the mixture has thickened. Remove the cinnamon. Add the walnuts and allow to cool in a glass or ceramic container overnight. Gets better after a few days or more. In a pretty jar or ceramic container, it makes a very welcomed gift at the holidays. |
Make use of the bumper crop of cranberries with this chutney.
| Rum and Maple Sweet Potatoes, from Edward Bottone |
|
Serves 6 4 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil, divided Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine sweet potatoes and oil in large bowl; toss. Divide sweet potatoes between baking sheets, spreading evenly. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until almost tender, turning occasionally, about 35 minutes depending on size. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand uncovered at room temperature.) In a heavy bottomed saucepan combine Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, maple syrup, lime juice and cinnamon and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Drizzle over sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Roast until sweet potatoes are tender and syrup is reduced to glaze, about 10 to15 minutes. Serve hot. |
Easy and very tasty.Cranberries photo from ReneS via Flickr(Creative Commons), sweet potatoes photo from *elena via Flickr(Creative Commons), White Castle photo from LarimdaME via Flickr(Creative Commons), homepage photo from cmiper via via Flickr(Creative Commons), "Week in Food" photograph from Corbis, "Plate" photograph from FoodCollection/Getty Images.
