Delicious and Easy Make-Ahead Side Dishes.
Oven space is at a premium when making holiday meals so the more you can prep ahead, the better. For my side dishes, I try to do as much as possible a day or two before from toasting bread for pudding or stuffing to sautéing sausage or aromatic vegetables. I mince herbs, grate cheese and zest and squeeze lemon juice in advance. I even make pie crust in advance because it rolls better and is flakier, I find if it has been refrigerated for a day or two.
If you’re cooking in the kitchen surrounded by family and friends, you might want to set up a little “centerpiece” Mis en Place with tiny bowls of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, herbs, nuts, berries and other ingredients prepped and ready to be used.
Savory bread pudding makes a great stand-in for traditional stuffing.
Savory Bread Pudding with Cranberries, Sausage and Cheddar
This delicious side is a crowd-pleaser and perfect to serve alongside a spatchcocked bird. You can prep the ingredients in advance and assemble just before popping it in the oven.
Ingredients:
1 large boule of sourdough bread cut into 1” cubes and baked at 300ºF for 10 minutes on a dry sheet pan to crisp. Toss once or twice while baking.
2 Shallots finely diced
2 T minced fresh thyme
12 oz savory sausage, sautéed and drained a little.
8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 C. dried cranberries
4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
4 T melted butter
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
Method:
Preheat over to 350 degrees F
Butter a 9 x 9 or festive baking dish.
Layer bread cubes, cranberries, sausage, shallots, herbs and 1/2 of the cheese until everything is combined. Mix around in the dish with your fingers to make sure everything is easily distributed.
Mix cream, eggs and milk with about a teaspoon of kosher salt (I use Diamond salt) and a generous grinding of pepper.
Pour the custard mixture over the bread mixture. Poke a few times with a spoon to make sure the custard has made It’s way through the bread mixture.
Top the mix with melted butter distributed evenly over the top.
Top everything with the remaining cheddar.
Bake until the top is brown, the edges bubbly and the internal temperature of the pudding has reached 145ºF. Allow to rest for ten minutes or so to set up. Garnish with minced thyme.
Acorn squash is like the personal pan pizza of holiday vegetables. Easy to make and dramatic to serve.
Baked Acorn Squash with a Spicy Caramelized Rim.
Acorn squash is a wonderful, easy-to-prepare side dish. You’ll need one squash for every two people you’re serving and you can scale the remaining ingredients accordingly.
Preheat oven to 400ºF
Serves 6
Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray it lightly with PAM
Ingredients:
3 small to medium acorn squash, cut in half (around the equator, and trimmed either on top or bottom very carefully to allow for a flat, stable surface on the baking pan)
6 T dark brown sugar
3 T cinnamon
1.5 T ancho chili powder
Juice of 2 lemons
6 T of cold butter (cut in chunks)
Diamond kosher salt and pepper
Fresh thyme or sage for garnish
Method:
Whisk together sugar and spices. Place is a wide, flat dish. Place lemon juice in a similar dish.
First, dip the squash halves in lemon juice then in the sugar and spice mixture making a “margarita glass” rim on the cut edge.
Carefully place squash- rim side up on the sheet pan. Put a 1 T cube of butter in the well of each squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 30 minutes or so, or until the squash flesh is tender when pricked with a fork.
Be careful when removing squash from the pan and onto serving dishes so as not to spill the melted butter.
Garnish with herbs for serving