Dressing Up Side Dishes for Holiday Dinners

Around the holidays it is always the deserts we fuss over. We want to make grandma’s famous lace cookies and Aunt Hilda’s mince pie exactly the way they did. We give little thought to side dishes of traditional holiday food. We tend to do the classic mushroom soup and French cut green bean casserole to dress up to side dishes. We serve the same mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with added marshmallows for flair. Try some new dressed up side dishes this year and start a new culinary holiday tradition at your house.

Fancy Potatoes Fans

6 Russet Potatoes (about 2lbs)

6 tablespoons of butter

½ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of basil

¼ teaspoon of rosemary

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

Peel and cut each potato into slices about a ¼ of an inch thick. Be careful to cut each slice only ¾ of the way through the potatoes. Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a souse pan on a low heat melt your butter, salt, basil, rosemary and pepper into a souse. Arrange your potatoes in fan fashion in the pan and pour your butter mixture over the potatoes fans. Bake for 1 hour until potatoes are golden and fanned out. You may want to reserve some additional butter and with a barbeque brush keep the fans drying out by brushing them with butter a couple of times during the baking process.

The recipe makes about 6 servings of Potatoes Fans

Crawford County Ohio Skillet Beans

This is a recipe for skillet beans from my Grandmother who grew up in Bucyrus Ohio and is most likely a German influenced recipe. It makes a nice alternative to the cream of mushroom soup green bean casserole.

3 slices bacon

½ cup of sweet onion

1 Large can have cut green beans

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1tablespoon vinegar

2tablespoons of Worstershire sauce

½ cup of catsup

¼ of a cup of shifted flour

1 tsp of dried mustard powder

Fry the bacon, crumble up and put back in the skillet. Do not discard the bacon grease. Add the onion to the bacon grease and bacon. Fry till the onion pieces are wilted or soft clear. Add your remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. During this time slowly fold in your flour. The beans should thicken.

Easy Sweet Potatoes and Apples

1 can pineapple slices
1 lg. can sweet potatoes or yams
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup. Maple syrup
¾ Tablespoon Cinnamon

½ can of unscented apple pie filling

In a large greased casserole dish place your drained canned sweet potatoes and apple pie filling. Mix the two well. Evenly distribute your butter and maple syrup over the casserole. Arrange the pineapple slices on top and sprinkle evenly on your cinnamon. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the casserole for thirty minutes or until it is slightl