Holiday Side Dishes

Holiday Side Dishes: don’t stress out during the holiday season over what to make with your turkey, because these thanksgiving side dishes are easy to make and absolutely delicious!

I made the mistake of smoking some turkeys a few years ago for my in-laws and at the end of the meal my father-in-law asked everyone who wants smoked turkeys every thanksgiving to raise their hand.  They all did, so now I’m on the hook haha.  It’s actually no big deal, just funny now that these smoked turkeys are in demand!

With every great turkey comes thanksgiving side dishes which to me really make the eating holiday much more awesome.  You usually eat things on thanksgiving that you don’t always get to eat like cranberry sauce, candied yams, etc.  I’ve whipped up some pretty classic thanksgiving side dishes like a green bean casserole and a garlic mashed potatoes recipe that are really good.

How to Make a Green Bean Casserole:

The down side to thanksgiving is the mess that is left in your kitchen.  Well thank goodness I’ve got a Franke Chef Center because now I can keep all my crazy prep mess in one spot and man is it glorious!

I have the XL Franke Chef Center which is 42” long and has two amazing side bins that can hide all of your peelings, trimmings, etc.  My Chef Center is also decked out with the Roller Mat, Colander, Drain Board and Cutting Board allowing me to prep in one space and then when I’m done, I simply spray it off with my Franke faucet.

If you’re anything like me and make an absolute mess, the Chef Center is a game changer and man oh man is my wife so much happier that I only trash the sink instead of the entire kitchen hah!

Once you prep up your green beans and mushrooms it’s time to cook!  I cooked up some bacon first and crisped it up and then roasted the mushrooms, onions and garlic in all that goodness for some amazing salty bacon flavor.  Next you add in some cream, cook it down until it’s thick and boom you are good to go!  Combine that tasty mixture with the green beans, add it to a casserole dish, sprinkle on some bread crumbs and off to the oven!

Making the Perfect Mashed Potatoes:

I was told long ago that mashed potatoes should be 50% fat and 50% potatoes, and well yeah I stuck with that again for this one!  The Chef Center was again HUGE when keeping clean while prepping up my potatoes as the compostable bin held all my peelings and I simply sprayed everything off with the faucet.  I can’t say it enough, IT’S AMAZING!

Once your potatoes are boiled up, strain them and mash them with tons of butter, sour cream, olive oil, roasted garlic and cream.  I know It’s a lot, but you’ll thank me later because they are delicious!

I hope these quick thanksgiving side dishes give you some inspiration this holiday season because they are so tasty and are great accompaniments to your main turkey entrée.

Green Bean Casserole

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds of trimmed green beans
• ½ pound of bacon cut into small strips
• 1 ½ cups each sliced button mushrooms cremini mushrooms and shitake mushrooms
• ½ peeled and small diced yellow onion
• 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
• 3 cups of heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente or slightly crunchy. Strain and set aside.
• In a large sauté pan over medium heat add in the bacon and cook until crisp. Set the bacon aside and cook the mushrooms, onions and garlic in the bacon fat for 6 to 8 minutes or until caramelized.
• Next, add in the cream and cook over medium-low heat until it becomes thick like alfredo sauce.
• Combine the mixture with the green beans. Mix in thyme, salt and pepper and transfer to a casserole dish.
• Sprinkle the bread crumbs over top and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Serve hot!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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Ingredients

• 3 pounds peeled Yukon gold potatoes
• 20 roasted garlic cloves
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• ¼ cup of sour cream
• ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• chopped chives for garnish

Instructions

• Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Drain and add to a bowl along with the garlic, cream, butter, sour cream, olive oil, salt and pepper and mash using a hand masher until smooth.
• Serve and garnish with chives.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Franke Kitchen Systems. The opinions and text are all mine.