Thanksgiving Side Dishes 2021

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is in less than a week! I’m excited to reunite with family, relatives, and friends during this holiday season to catch up and get drunnnnnnk. For today’s #tbt post, I’m posting recipes for a few of my essential Thanksgiving side dishes I make each year for Thanksgiving: Roasted Garlic Truffle Mashed Potatoes, Turkey Gravy, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. All so yum and perfect for any feast. I recently learned how to use truffle oil in my cooking and it has been a great addition to my roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Take your Thanksgiving sides game to the next level and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
3 pounds gold potatoes or russets, peeled and cut in uniform pieces
Water
2 heads of garlic, roasted
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of truffle oil
kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Turkey Gravy
1/2 cup turkey fat drippings or butter
1/2 cup all purpose Flour
32 ounces low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
2 lb bag of Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of coarse ground pepper

Steps:

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes – Slice top of the garlic bulb off, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast Garlic in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Press the bottom of the garlic head to squeeze garlic from its paper into a small bowl. Mash garlic into a paste. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook for 25 minutes or until you can pierce a fork in the potato with no resistance. Drain water. Add garlic, butter, milk, truffle oil, and cream to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher and stir until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving tray and serve. If making in advance, reheat in the oven at 350 degrees until hot.

Turkey Gravy – Whisk turkey fat dripping or butter and all-purpose flour until a dark, caramel color roux forms. Slowly stir in broth and whisk. Season with salt and pepper and let gravy reduce for 10-15 minutes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts –Toss Brussels Sprouts in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and ground pepper. Spread on a sheet pan and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until it the Brussels sprouts start crisping up and form a dark char-like color. Shake the pan every 15 minutes or so to ensure the Brussels sprouts cook evenly.