CHanging Sides

Any holiday dinner is about the sides. Yes, the main dish is the star but the sides either make or break the entire dinner.  Sometimes these need an added zip to make them more interesting.It just takes a dash of this or a pinch of that to elevate any Thanksgiving meal to the next level.

One of the easiest dishes to change and glam up is mashed potatoes. The homemade kind is good on ts own, especially if you add in milk and butter. However if you have the instant    jazz it up to get rid of that processed taste. Add some bacon bits for a salty smoky twist. Pepper flakes or even a liberal dash of fresh ground pepper can turn a bland dish zingy.Baked potatoes are another blank canvas. You can do restuffed potatoes which is baking them first, and then taking out the  middle. This is then mashed with milk and put back into the potato skin. Paprika or cheddar cheese is then sprinkled over it and the whole thing is placed under the broiler for a few more minutes. Yams can be dressed up too. Most home chefs over sugar them, mixing them with marshmallows and even coconut. This is kind of silly because the yam is a root veggie, not a dessert. They can be turned into fries and sprinkled with pepperoncini as a fun side to usually staid holiday meal. Yams can also be turned into puffs that can be dipped into gravy.

What about the usual suspects? Carrot coins are always served at the Thanksgiving meal.Mix it up by serving them mashed in a nice buttery sauce.Another idea is shredding them and    serving them a cold dish  in the form of a slaw.Make it refreshingly light with just an oil and lemon dressing. Brussels Sprouts, one of the most traditional Thanksgiving veggies is usually served with butter  cheese. Yet they can be made crunchy and fun by turning them into chips.Peel each sprout and put the leaves on an oiled cookie tray. Use olive oil for this and also for drizzling over each leaf. Sprinkled with sea salt and bake for three to four minutes.These also make a neat appetizer.Another idea is a hot salad with Brussels sprouts kale and onions. A Dijon mustard dressing is the best topping but you could also have a lemon lime one as well.

Sides are the scene stealers in any dinner. Make them even more appealing by zinging and zesting them up with different spices or cooked in an entirely different way . If you loved them already changing them up will make you love them even more.