Thanksgiving On the Side

To most thanksgiving day cooks, roasting the perfect turkey and making the most delicious gravy are the key to a successful celebration. But, because we are vegetarians, showing up to the table with the perfect sides is our goal. When our guests are talking about the vegetables and stuffing as much as the Turkey, we know we won. Besides the mashed potatoes, cranberries, homemade applesauce and salads, the stuffing and corn and winter squash dishes are our family’s favorites. We have yet to find another dish that surpasses the flavors of these two dishes.

The first side dish that we cannot seem to live without on the thanksgiving table is Corn and Winter Squash with Spinach.  This recipe has been adapted from a  Bon Appetit recipe from 1998. The original included bacon and cooking the vegetables in the bacon grease, I changed that and cook the vegetables in olive oil.  This year we added Brussel Sprouts!

Our Country-Bread Stuffing with Vegetables was adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine from 2001. The original recipe calls for pine nuts, and since we have a family member that has a nut allergy, we have omitted the nuts from the recipe. I have included the pine nuts and a few other add in possibilities to the end of the recipe (see below).

 Corn and Winter Squash with Spinach Recipe:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 ½ pounds of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into ⅓ inch pieces
2 cups Brussel sprouts, cleaned and halved

9 ounces of baby spinach leaves (about 1 ½ bags)

16 ounce package frozen corn, thawed

6 tablespoons of chopped, fresh basil

Saute onions, squash and brussel sprouts in olive oil over medium heat until squash is tender, about 12 minutes.  Add spinach and corn and toss until spinach wilts and corn is heated through, about five minutes.  Stir in basil, season with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl and serve.  Option with bacon: omit olive oil, cook nine slices of bacon until crisp about 10 minutes and then add the onions, brussel sprouts and squash, then continue as above.

 Country-Bread Stuffing With Parmesan and Vegetables

Recipe:

2 14.5-ounce loaves country style white or whole wheat sourdough bread, crusts trimmed, bread cut into ¾ inch pieces (about 16 cups)

8 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ cups freshly graded parmesan cheese (can be omitted)

¼ cup (½ stick) butter

2 very large red onions, coarsely chopped 

31/2 cups coarsely chopped celery

2 large red bell peppers, coarsely chopped

8 garlic cloves, chopped

4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

4 teaspoons dried oregano

½ to ¾ cup thinly sliced fresh basil

4 large eggs, beaten

Canned low salt vegetable broth

Optional: ¾ cup raisins 

                                  ¾ cup pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place half of bread pieces in large bowl, add three tablespoons oil and toss to coat.  Optional: add half a cup of parmesan cheese and toss.  Spread bread in single layer on one prepared sheet, repeat above steps with remaining bread and spread on second sheet.  Bake bread until golden, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Cool on sheets, transfer to a large bowl.  

Melt a quarter cup of butter with the remaining two tablespoons of oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions, celery, and bell peppers, saute for about 15 minutes.  Add chopped garlic, rosemary, and oregano; stir one minute.  If using add in raisins and pine nuts, stir two minutes. Transfer that to bowl with the bread, stir half a cup of basil and remaining parmesan into stuffing. Season generously with salt and pepper.  Mix eggs into stuffing.  

To bake stuffing in dish:

Spread mixture into buttered 15x10x2 inch baking dish,  add ¾ to 1 ¼ cups of vegetable broth throughout.  Cover with buttered foil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.  Towards the end, remove foil for crisp, browned edges.  Sprinkle on remaining basil and serve.