Don’t neglect the side dishes when making holiday dinner
The turkey is golden and steaming. The ham is in the oven. The prime rib is resting on the counter. The goose, so to speak, is cooked.
At your holiday dinner, it is the entrée that is the star attraction. It is what gets the attention and garners all of the obviously well-deserved praise.
But something seems unfair about that. Undemocratic. The mashed potatoes and green bean casseroles do the heavy lifting, yet it is those elitist beef wellingtons that bask in the glory.
We say it is time to stand up to this abuse. Time for vegetables of all shapes and varieties to come together in peas and harmony, and demand the recognition they deserve.
Side dishes of the world, unite!
With this stirring thought, we set about to make side dishes for the holidays that are worthy of the occasion.
Side dishes that are good enough that they can hold their own against the ceaseless bullying of a salt-crusted leg of lamb.
But because the entrées are still the star of the show, no matter what we say, and they demand most of the cook’s attention, I made side dishes that were not too difficult or timeconsuming. Which is to say I did not make Delmonico potatoes.
Delmonico potatoes, named after the legendary New York restaurant that invented them, are potatoes au gratin that are served inside the hollowed-out skin of a baked potato. You can imagine how good they are, and how much effort they are to produce.
Instead, I made mashed potatoes — but not just ordinary mashed potatoes. I made the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made. They are silky smooth and deliriously rich without being too, too calorific. Which is to say they have a lot of butter, but no cream.
A couple of tricks go into making them so smooth and satisfying. One is that they must never, at any time, be allowed to go cold. Another is that, instead of smashing the potatoes with a crude masher, you push them through a ricer or a food mill, for a much finer result.
And the final trick seems to be to that, instead of melting the butter and pouring the milk directly into the potatoes, you melt the butter into the milk and pour the mixture into the potatoes like that.
They are the epitome of mashed potatoes, everything a mashed potato should be. Who needs Delmonico potatoes?
On the lighter side, I made a delightful — and delightfully colourful — roasted beet goat cheese salad.
It’s a classic, and worth bringing out for the holidays. It begins with a base of bright and peppery arugula, which is topped with gemlike diced beets, creamy dots of goat cheese, slices of rich avocado and crunchy bits of toasted walnut.
That is a delicate balance of flavours, and it needs the perfect dressing to make it even better and bring the most out of each ingredient. But that’s easy: the recipe includes a simple vinaigrette that is lightly sweetened with balsamic vinegar and a touch of maple syrup.
Silky Mashed Potatoes Makes: 4 servings
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
Salt
3/4 cup whole milk
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter Pepper
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the potatoes, garlic, bay leaf and a large pinch of salt. Add enough water to cover the potatoes by an inch or so, bring to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes, discard the garlic and bay leaf, and toss the potatoes in the pan for about one minute to dry them out. Remove from the heat.
3. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and butter, and heat over medium heat until the
butter is melted.
4. Meanwhile, transfer the potatoes to a ricer or food mill and process them back into the warm saucepan. Gently stir in the hot milk mixture, mix well and season with salt and pepper.
Per serving: 409 calories;
25 g fat; 15 g saturated fat;
66 mg cholesterol; 7 g protein; 42 g carbohydrate; 4 g sugar;
5 g fibre; 37 mg sodium;
90 mg calcium
Recipe from The Grammercy Tavern Cookbook by Michael Anthony
Roasted Beet Goat Cheese Salad Makes: 4 servings For salad
6 medium beets, scrubbed
6 cups arugula
1 avocado, sliced
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
For dressing
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Wrap each beet in foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast until tender (you can insert a fork or knife through the foil to test), about one hour. Let sit until cool enough to handle, then peel and cut into wedges.
2. Meanwhile, make vinaigrette: In a jar, shake together olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and Dijon mustard until fully combined. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place arugula in a large serving bowl and lightly dress with vinaigrette. Top with beets, avocado, goat cheese and walnuts. Toss gently and add more vinaigrette as needed.
Per serving: 395 calories; 32 g fat; 5 g saturated fat;
3 mg cholesterol; 9 g protein; 24 g carbohydrate; 14 g sugar; 8 g fibre; 170 mg sodium;
100 mg calcium
Recipe from delish.com.