Some Something

Are you doing the cooking Thanksgiving?  Carrying a dish to someones home?  Going to a restaurant?  Sitting in front of the TV by yourself eating a bag of Doritos and a leftover container of salsa from you can't remember when and a jar of Lutfisk? 

Now is the perfect time to incorporate some of your summer's garden produce into Thanksgiving.  After all - garden produce is one of the things we're so thankful for - that and celebrating family and being born in the USA.  Strictly speaking there are several states that may not celebrate being born in the good ol' US of A, but we'll let the political hacks deal with that topic.

Root vegetables are always good with turkey or ham (two meats most popular for Thanksgiving meals in this area.)  Some favorites:

Ree Drummond (www.prairiewoman.com) has a killer recipe for Whiskey-Glazed Carrots (pictured here.)

My daughter, Susan, roasts vegetables on her grill.  The heat turns the starches to sweetness.

Mashed turnips with cream cheese and bacon might just be "to die for."

Pickled (or Harvard as my mother called them) beats are a nice tart contrast to a heavy dinner.  Also, nice to make ahead of time (a must) and include several hard cooked eggs to take on the lovely color.

Rutabaga cut into bite sized pieces, sprinkled with olive oil, shake on Mrs. Dash (garlic variety) and broil.  So lovely. 

We ALL MUST HAVE mashed potatoes in this family - made the same way - in a huge quantity - every holiday - period and always.

We live in a home where onions SHOULD be included in most every meal.  When I cook with onions, someone will always come into the kitchen and say "Something smells good."  A little different and admittedly heavy is onion pie.  Made with two crusts and a custard over the thin sliced onions. 


I really like baked sweet potatoes.  I really don't like sweet potatoes with marshmallows.  I have a southern sweet potato souffle recipe my husband's family (and the entire South) loves.  I'm sure it's all about what you had growing up.  This photo is of Pat & Gina Neely's twice baked sweet potato.

Radishes are pretty and add zip to a green salad.  In this area, they are underutilized.  In other parts of the world, they are considered a delicacy.  They can be cooked like any other root vegetable.

There are more root vegetable ideas according to your gardening traditions, family heritage, and local availability.  What ideas or dishes are on your "must have" list this Thanksgiving?