Cooking with Sam: Serve these side dishes for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope all our readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving with good food and family gathered around telling stories of years past. It’s good to be thankful for the things we enjoy every day and hopeful that we can make someone else’s life better.

Sometimes our side dishes don’t include a green vegetable, so here are a few we made and served at Mallory Manor Tea Room.

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

1 tablespoon of olive oil

6 quarts of water

1 pound of fresh onions

1 pound trimmed fresh green beans

1 tablespoon of butter

1 teaspoon of fresh dill

½ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of black pepper

Lemon wedges

Bring water to a boil in a large pot high heat. Add onions and boil one minute. Transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice-bath.

Return water to a boil. Add beans, and boil six minutes. Drain.

For onion, trim stem ends and pinch to remove skins. Halve any large onions. Pat onions and beans dry.

Heat oil and butter in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown, about five minutes. Add beans and cook, stirring until heated through, about three minutes.

Stir in dill, salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

Being from the South, I always add about a ½ cup of cooked country ham, just to flavor the dish.

Maple-Dijon Brussels Leaf Salad

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed

¼ cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 cup sweetened cranberries

1 cup cinnamon-roasted almonds

Core Brussels sprouts with a paring knife, reserving cores for another use if desired. Peel layers apart, separating each sprout into individual leaves. Put in a large serving bowl.

In a small jar with a screw-top lid, shake together maple syrup, vinegar, oil and mustard until well combined. Drizzle over leaves. Add cranberries and toss to coat.

Salad can be made to this point up to four days ahead and chilled covered. Add almonds and toss again just before serving.

Roasted Garlic-Lemon Broccoli

2 heads broccoli, separated into florets – about 10 cups

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 lemon cut into wedges, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss broccoli with garlic, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl, then spread evenly in a 10×15-inch baking sheet.

Bake until broccoli is tender enough to pierce stems with a fork, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with lemon juice. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Sometimes I made a simple side dish: just open a can of English peas with pearl onions heat in microwave for three minutes and crumble about four slices of cooked bacon over the peas.

Lima beans with ham are simple and take about 20 minutes to prepare. Cook canned or frozen lima beans in water on top of stove with ham. If you do not want the flavor of ham, use olive oil or a pat of butter plus salt and pepper to taste.

In addition to the flower festivals I mentioned last week, here a few more options across the country – and even one hosted by our neighbors to the north:

• Rochester Lilac Festival, Rochester, N.Y., May 12-21.
• Mackinac Island Lilac Festival, Mackinac Island, Mich.
• Peony Festival, Oschawa, Ontario, Canada, June 9-10.