More Please! Thanksgiving Sides Recipes from our Table to Yours
As much as Thanksgiving’s star of the show is the Turkey, sides are sometimes the dish at the table we look forward to the most. From our table to yours, here are a few of our favorite seasonal dishes that share some of the best of our featured products that you can add to your next order today!
The Best Green Bean Casserole
For many of us, we already have a green bean casserole committed to memory that has been shared with us from a loved one, but this variation is sure to impress and maybe start a new tradition at your table!
What You’ll Need
- 2 bags Josie’s Organic Green Beans
- 1 container Yamhill County Mushrooms Organic Crimini Mushrooms, chopped
- 1 cup Alpenrose Organic Half & Half
- 2 tablespoons Alpenrose Unsalted Butter
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, additional salt to taste
- 1 onion, diced small
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 6 ounces french fried onions
How to Prepare
Two of the best things about this dish is how quickly it comes together and the fact that you can make it ahead of time and bake it later.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease baking dish, set aside.
Open your 2 bags of green beans and blanch them: In a large pot, bring 1 gallon of water to boil and season the water with 2 tablespoons of salt. Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until they are a brilliant green, about 8 minutes. Have a large bowl of ice water ready to stop the cooking process when the beans are cooked. Quickly drain the beans in a colander (pro-tip: use a smaller wire strainer or slotted spoon to get the beans from the boiling to chilled water faster.). Once chilled, drain and set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and the diced small onion to the skillet, stirring occasionally. Cook until the onions begin to soften, about 4 to 5 minutes, before adding the chopped organic crimini mushrooms, additional salt and pepper to taste, and continuing to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Sprinkle in the 2 tablespoons of flour and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes until the taste of the flour has been cooked out. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and combine until mixture is smooth. Add 1 cup of half & half and simmer until the mixture thickens, stir occasionally, should take 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove the large pan from the heat and combine the warm mixture with the green beans in the pan. Once incorporated transfer the mixture into the greased baking dish. When ready to bake, top with the breadcrumbs and then the layer of french fried onions. Place in the oven and bake until the top is perfectly crunchy and the casserole is bubbly, about 20 minutes (pro-tip: if your topping starts to brown too quickly, you can cover the dish with foil as it finishes cooking.). Enjoy immediately!
As mentioned at the top of the recipe, you can prep this dish up to two days ahead (just be sure your casserole is tightly wrapped in foil, plastic wrap or an air-tight lid until it’s ready for the oven.). Remember to save your breadcrumb and onion topping until it is ready to cook, so everything stays crunchy!
Avocado and Mandarin Salad
This simply sweet salad is the perfect seasonal side or go-to when you want something light but flavorful!
What You’ll Need
- ¼ thinly sliced shallot or red onion
- 3 to 4 Fruit World Mandarins, juice 1, peel 3 tear into segments
- 1 to 2 ripe West Pak Avocados, sliced into wedges
- 1 clamshell container, Josie’s Organic Baby Arugula
- 1 to 2 tablespoons, olive oil
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
How to Prepare
Start by filling a small bowl with ice water, this is where you will soak the onions or shallots while you prep the rest of the dish. Thinly slice ¼ of a red onion or shallot, add to chilled water to mild the bite.
In a large serving bowl add 1 clamshell container of the arugula and toss with the juice of 1 mandarin and 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Top with the remaining 3 peeled and segmented mandarins, and 1 to 2 ripe avocados, cut into slices. Drain the onions/shallots and sprinkle on top. For an additional crunch try adding your favorite seeds or nuts, yum!
The Most Buttery ‘Spuds!
Let’s talk about taters for a sec—it’s hard to think of a Thanksgiving day spread without them, but like our other side favorites shared above, these Wallace Farms Bagged Organic Yukon Gold Potatoes are great baked, fried, mashed or steamed!
But why is that? Well, did you know that Yukon Gold potatoes have both the most dense and uniform flesh of the common potato varieties?. When cooked, this means they aren’t going to be grainy, watery, mushy or any other unsavory simple kitchen technical mistake that will take down the best potatoes. Their natural buttery flavor also helps to give a creamy butter taste even if you don’t add our favorite, Alpenrose Dairy Butter (of course).
What You’ll Need
- 1 bag of Wallace Farms Bagged Organic Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and quartered
- Kosher salt to taste
- 2 cups of Alpenrose Heavy Whipping Cream or Organic Half & Half (depends on how rich and creamy you like your potatoes)
- 4 tablespoons of Alpenrose Unsalted Butter
- Black pepper to taste
- Additional herbs to taste, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, garlic (all optional)
How to Prepare
Start with filling a large pot with cold water and salting generously, for a flavorful potato, your cooking water should taste salty like seawater, so about a palmful should do. Make sure all the potatoes are peeled and quartered before fully submerging in the water in your pot. Bring to a boil and then reduceing to a simmer. The best boiled potatoes are cooked this way for two reasons; 1) so that they are cooked uniformly from the inside out, without the flesh falling apart, and 2) so that once cooked and salted earlier in the process you won’t need to season as much at the end.
Simmer until just tender, about 15 to 18 minutes. Drain potatoes completely, meanwhile bring 2 cups of heavy whipping cream or half & half to a gentle boil with the black pepper to taste and any additional seasonings you’d like to use. If using whole spices, be sure to strain the cream mixture before combining with the fully drained potatoes and 4 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter. Mash gently to desired consistency and season with additional salt to taste if needed. Best enjoyed fluffy and hot!