Still Thankful

What’s cooking? Side Dishes for Two

Last year, in my traditional marathon of sides for Thanksgiving, I made so many veggies that I had to invite all my friends over to help eat them. That won’t be happening this year. In fact, a lot won’t be happening this year, but we still have many things to be thankful for. Frankly, one of those, for me, is that I don’t have to cook a turkey.

I cooked a turkey last year, and it was terrific. In usual fashion, the Kitchen Goddess took over – starting with spatchcocking the bird. (In which you split open the carcass along the backbone, allowing you to flatten it for more even cooking.) A dry brine for a couple of days, followed by a day without any covering in the fridge, followed by an herb butter that she shoved under the skin of the damn thing. It was an exhausting procedure, which produced an excellent turkey, flavorful and all parts cooked to the right doneness. A triumph, in fact, but it left the KG in... well, a foul mood, if you’ll pardon the pun, and a desire to sleep for a couple of days straight.

This year, my hubby and I are left to ourselves. We’ve got friends coming over for dessert on the porch, but the main meal will be a duet. One son let me know that his girlfriend is researching recipes that are specifically for two. So I thought I’d help out.

Recognizing that many of you will also be doing a Thanksgiving duet, I’ve waded through the past 6-7 years of my “sides marathons,” looking for the ones that – while still tasty – can be easily ramped down to serve 2 or 4. (If you click on the name of each dish, it will link you to the relevant post.)

I start with one potato dish:

Crushed Potatoes with Spiced Oil – notable for the excellent and unusual texture and the speed of the whole process.

More than any other type of dish, salads are easily scalable, up or down. Here are two I really like, and they're both festive:

Fennel-Celery Salad with Lemon and Parmesan – light, fresh, and so lovely I think it belongs on my own table next week. But this year, I’ll take my advice (check the recipe) and add matchstick pieces of pear.

Mâche, Watercress, and Endive Salad with Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette – another gorgeous salad, with more traditional ingredients. This time of year is good for watercress, and if you can’t find mâche, just throw a little more watercress in. Don’t forget the pomegranate seeds – I found gorgeous pomegranates at my grocer this week, and the seeds are perfect for a dash of color.

Two yellow/orange veggie dishes – this is starting to remind me of the 12 Days of Christmas...:

Butternut Squash with Royal Trumpet Mushrooms  – The recipe says it serves 6, but it’s easily halved, and if you have a little left over,... sounds like lunch the next day.

Smashed Carrots with Feta and Mint  – You won’t want to have both the crushed potatoes and the smashed carrots, or your family/friends will think you have a lot of pent-up hostility. Even if you do, it’s better to have more varieties of texture on the plate. But if you aren’t interested in the crushed potatoes, check this out. One of my hubby’s faves.

Two green veggies...

Lemony Green Beans with Frizzled Leeks – fun to say, easy, easy, easy to make; and the frizzled leeks add a nice bit of sweetness to the dish.

Spinach and Sautéed Mushrooms – a classic, dressed up with umami-laden mushrooms, which are in high season.

And a partridge in a no, no, no – a Pumpkin Chiffon Pie. You can’t really make this just for two, but I’ll be layering it in balloon wine glasses for easier, safer serving, and, as I mentioned, sharing it with another couple who’ll be joining us for dessert. I’m also gifting a neighbor with a couple of servings, which leaves the last two for us on Black Friday. This pie is nothing less than amazing, and never fails to please. And I’ll be updating the recipe – with any luck – this weekend. After reading the original post, which was an early one for this blog, I realized that the instructions could be considerably more helpful.

I really need to get a photo of a piece of the pie with whipped cream on it, sprinkled with bits of candied ginger... some day soon.

And now, you may be wondering what the Kitchen Goddess and her prince will be having. Well, ... [drum roll] turkey sliders with cranberry sauce condiment. Using ground turkey. I’ll be testing them this weekend and will let you know on Monday how they turn out.

Stay safe and keep cooking!