More sides to the turkey (or vegging out, almost)

Recipes: Kale salad, Wilted spinach salad, Bread stuffing

Ah, the poor turkey. He (or she) gets upstaged by the vegetables every Thanksgiving, at least at my table. Not that we don't give thanks for the turkey. We just pay more attention to the side dishes that back that bird up.

Last week we talked about some wonderful vegetable sides: Cauliflower sformato, candied sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce. This week we're going to hit a few more. As always, if you're cooking for two this Thanksgiving, plan carefully and don't try to make everything. This previous post on Balance might be useful to you. My advice is to roast a small bird, or a turkey breast, and add two vegetable sides, plus possibly a potato dish, and cranberry sauce. That, along with a bit of pumpkin or apple pie for dessert, will give you a bountiful feast plus leftovers. And you won't kill yourself cooking or eating (too) excessively.

If, on the other hand, you're having the entire family and assorted friends over for the big feast, then carry on. Roast a medium turkey and make as many sides as you can manage. Assign specific dishes to someone else if you can. For my feast, at which there will be seven hungry adult diners, I've assigned a light appetizer, pie, and bread stuffing to others. My friend Mary, for instance, who is making the stuffing, has a recipe that I adore (you'll see it later in this post), and I have plenty to do. So why not give up some control and let others help? It's more fun!

Curly kale

Here we go, the salad choices. I never make both these salads - it's one or the other. This year I think I'll make the kale, but I've made the spinach in years past to rave reviews. Both salads are simple, delicious, and deep-greens healthy. The kale has an advantage in that it has to be made at least an hour ahead to be good, while the spinach must be finished at the last minute. The advantage of the spinach is that not everyone thinks they love kale, although they should (lo-cal, cancer protection, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, antioxident, on and on). A non-kale-eater might be surprised at how good this salad is.

Kale Salad

• 1 bunch dinosaur or curly kale
• a slice of good white or whole wheat bread (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• a lovely fresh lemon
• red pepper flakes
• salt

Strip the leaves off the kale stalks and cut them in strips. Wash and spin them in a salad spinner.

Cut and tear the bread (optional) into rough bread crumbs. I say this is optional because one of the guys at my feast is gluten intolerant, and bread adds gluten. Of course if you use gluten-free bread, you can still include it.

Chop the garlic fine.

Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large salad bowl. Add the garlic and mash it with a fork. Add the juice of the lemon, a half teaspoon salt, and a half teaspoon of the red pepper flakes. Mix with a fork.

Add everything else - the kale, the Parmigiano, and some of the bread crumbs. Toss well.

Cover and let the flavors meld and mellow in the fridge for at least an hour. Before you serve your kale salad, toss it again and sprinkle some more Parmigiano and the remaining bread crumbs on top.

Wilted Spinach Salad

This salad is wilted in the sense that you toss it with a hot (warm) dressing, so some of the leaves wilt. It could really be called a partially wilted salad, as many of the leaves stay unwilted. Wilted or not, it's scrumptious.

• 3 thick slices bacon, cut in pieces
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion, or 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or unflavored rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound fresh spinach, stemmed and torn into pieces (about 8 cups). I prefer regular spinach over baby spinach for this salad, as it stands up to the dressing better.
• 1 hard-cooked egg, chopped

Wash well and spin the torn spinach dry in a salad spinner.

In a medium skillet, cook the bacon pieces until they are crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and hold it on paper towels to drain.

To the bacon drippings in the skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat over medium heat, and add the onions. Cook, stirring, until the onions are soft. Turn off the heat.

Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. (You can make the salad up to this point in advance, and then finish it just before sitting down for dinner.) Reheat the dressing over low heat until it is fairly warm but not sizzling.

Put the spinach in a large salad bowl. Add the dressing and toss very well. Sprinkle the top with the bacon pieces and the chopped egg. Serve as soon as possible.

Bread Stuffing

Here's Mary's bread stuffing. It couldn't be simpler, which I think is a key to fabulous stuffing. The only controversy is whether or not to stuff the bird with it. Stuffing the bird does inhibit the roasting process, since it eliminates the open space that helps circulate heat. The result is the turkey might not be done sufficiently, or you can roast it extra and then it's all dried out. Raw turkey is really not appetizing, nor is dried-out turkey. I usually bake the stuffing in a dish right next to the bird in the oven, sidestepping that whole issue, and then I put a little extra chicken stock in halfway through if the stuffing looks dry.

• 20 slices bread, torn into small pieces and dried in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes. You can use gluten-free bread if gluten is an issue.
• 1 1/3 tsp. each sage, thyme, and rosemary
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 8 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/3 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you're baking alongside the turkey, you can use the same temp as the turkey, which is usually less than 400, and bake it a little longer.

 

Mix it all up and put it in a buttered baking dish or, if you wish, stuff the bird. If baking in a separate dish, cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes until golden. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.