A Thanksgiving Feast To Remember

The Early Show And Top NYC Chef Elizabeth Karmel Share Recipes, Tips To Put Your Dinner A Cut Above The Norm

(CBS) 

SEXY SIDES

Many dishes are staples at the Thanksgiving table. Why not delight everyone by jazzing up some of these sides? The addition of an ingredient or two can make a big difference, adding extra flavor. Elizabeth showcased her secrets to sexy brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, cranberries and green bean casserole.

She demonstrated some easy ways to upgrade, update and up the flavor of these dishes.

For the most part, these updates are very simple, and make use of ingredients that most home cooks already have around the house, or ingredients that are very easy to run out and buy Thanksgiving morning.

Making these sides a little "sexier" won't make them unfamiliar to your guests, just a tad bit more delicious!

Sweet Potatoes

Elizabeth makes mashed sweet potatoes. But there are a handful of secret ingredients: bourbon, dark brown sugar, and molasses. Once she mashes all of these together, she then cooks the mixture on the stovetop for another 30 minutes. That enables any hard potato parts you missed in the initial mashing to break down.

Green Bean Casserole
We all know this one, complete with cream of mushroom soup. Elizabeth supplements that soup with some fresh sliced mushrooms and shallots. She says you'll also get better flavor if you use frozen green beans instead of canned.

Brussels Sprouts
Granted, this green vegetable may not be on everyone's Thanksgiving table, but it is a staple for many. How to jazz it up? Add chopped bacon, some of the sweet/spicy pecans that Elizabeth served at appetizer time. Finally, she tosses the dish with just a bit of maple syrup for sweetness.

Cranberry Sauce
For this dish, she essentially follows the recipe that's on the back of the cranberry bag, then adds some chopped apples and -- ready for this? -- port wine!

RECIPES

Sweet Potato Bourbon Mash

8 large Garnet sweet potatoes, roasted in the grill or oven
1 pint heavy cream
1/2-3/4 cup drinking Bourbon (Hill Country uses Makers Mark)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
3 dashes of Tabasco
Freshly grated nutmeg, optional

Make sure to prick the potatoes with a fork before roasting. When done and cool to the touch, peel potatoes and cut them in quarters. Put in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add cream, Bourbon, sugar, molasses and salt to potatoes. Simultaneously, mash potatoes with a large fork or potato masher and mix all the ingredients together. If the potatoes need more liquid, add a little water. Stir until smooth.

Simmer covered, for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are so soft that they resemble a rough puree. This second cooking makes the potatoes foolproof since any hard pieces of sweet potato have a chance to cook down before serving. When potatoes have cooked down, add the Tabasco and nutmeg if using and taste. Adjust salt as necessary. Serve immediately and refrigerate any leftovers. The mash re-heats very well.

Serves 8-10

Green Bean Casserole with Durkee Onions

1 28-ounce bag of frozen green beans, cut or french style, thawed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped shallot
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
Kosher salt
1 can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup white Cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cans Durkee fried onion rings

Pre-cook green beans for ½ the total cooking time, about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve. In a skillet, melt butter and a pinch of salt, stir and sauté shallots for about 5 minutes or until translucent and beginning to color. Drain shallots and reserve for later use. Add olive oil if necessary to the skillet to sauté mushrooms. Heat oil and add mushrooms; saute until golden.

Stir soup and cream together in a large bowl, Add shallots and mushrooms and stir to combine. Stir in the cheddar cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in green beans and toss until well combined.

Transfer to a buttered 9x13x2 casserole. Top with fried onions and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Double-Smoked Bacon Bits and Candied Pecans and a Foie Gras Vinaigrette

3 pound brussles sprouts, cleaned and trimmed
Olive oil
Kosher salt or sea salt
1 cup smoked bacon cubes, cooked
1 cup candied pecans, crushed
1 T maple syrup

Clean and trim sprouts. Toss them in olive oil and season with salt. Place on a rack set into a sheet pan and roast in a pre-heated 325° F oven for 20 minutes or until brown and crispy on the outside and crisp tender. Cover with foil and keep in warmer. Place in a cast-iron casserole dish and sprinkle with the crispy bacon cubes and the candied pecans. Drizzle with the syrup and serve.

Candied Pecans (OR, use the pecans Elizabeth made as an appetizer, earlier in the show)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
3 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 pound pecan halves
1 egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoons water

Preheat Oven to 300°F

Mix together sugars, salt, cayenne and cinnamon; set aside. Beat egg whites until frothy but not stiff, add water and stir until combined. Add nuts and stir to coat evenly with the egg white foam. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture and stir until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with a SilPat or parchment paper-you may need to put mixture on 2 cookie sheets.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally as needed. Remove from oven and separate nuts as they cool. Let cool for at least hour before storing in tightly closed container.

Cranberry Sauce with Port Wine
4 quarts fresh or frozen cranberries, cleaned
3-1/2 cups granulated (white) sugar
Zest of three orange
1-1/4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups port wine
1 teaspoon salt
3 granny smith apples, chopped

Rinse cranberries discarding any over-ripe berries. Set aside. Mix sugar, orange zest and liquids in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, add a pinch of salt and stir. Add cranberries and apples and bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
Simmer for 20-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when thick and cranberries are popping. Do not stir until completely smooth, you want some texture.
Cool completely. Refrigerate and serve cold or at room temperature. Best made the day (or days) before.

Yield: 3 quarts