The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

When you make just a few side dishes to accompany your thanksgiving dinner, it’s important to make sure that you have the right quantity. I don’t believe in going crazy but it may be wise to test out a few sides before you cook them on actual thanksgiving so that you can not only make sure that they are as good as possible but also to determine the quantity you will need when serving a crowd. I made the mistake of not doing this and felt that I could have have perhaps made a bit more. At least in the leek department.

I was experimenting with the leeks, knowing how much I love them as an addition to any dinner involving poultry but not quite sure if the rest of my family would be in agreement, and I cold have definitely made a few more. That being said you want to make sure that you have a braising dish that’s large enough to hold the amount of leeks you make in one single layer, without having to stack them.

Creamy Braised Leeks with Garlic, Thyme and Parmigiano – adapted from Fine Cooking

1  teaspoon unsalted butter

Kosher salt

10 medium to large leeks

3 teaspoons of roughly chopped fresh thyme

1 cup of heavy cream

2 large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Heat the oven to 350 f. I put these in the oven as soon as the turkey came out. There’s just enough time to cook these as the turkey rests and if you don’t have any other items that need to go in the oven at the same time its super easy to pull off.

Grease a medium sized baking dish with the butter and sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of salt over the bottom of the greased dish.

Trim the dark green portion of the leeks, leaving only 1 inch of the light green at the end and remove the outer layer of leaves if they look damaged or tough. Shave off the outer layer of the roots leaving enough so that the leeks hold together and slice them in half lengthwise. Wash your leeks well, I hold them under running water and gently separate the leaves to remove any dirt in the layers.Once they are washed and dried place them in the prepared baking dish in a single layer.

In a small to medium saucepan heat the cream and the 2 garlic cloves, bring just to a boil and then turn off the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Pour the heated cream and garlic over the leeks and place in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until most of the cream has evaporated and the leeks are tender when you insert an knife into them.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and sprinkle over the Parmigiano-Reggiano, place back in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Transfer leeks to a warm serving dish.

The second side dish we had was an invention were Maple Glazed Baby Carrots mother made, for which I am still awaiting where the recipe came from. Let me tell you these tasted as amazing as they looked. I love carrots and I thought his was a nice way to do something different while at the same time staying true to the simplicity of the meal. Baby carrots are naturally sweet and I find they don’t need much in addition to their organic flavor. The subtle hint of maple was really delicious and and brought out the earthiness of the carrots.

Maple Glazed Baby Carrots

3 bunches of baby carrots, peeled and cleaned with one inch of stems left on

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 tablespoons maple syrup

5 tablespoons of orange juice

Fresh Parsley, finely chopped for garnish

salt to taste

In a Large frying pan melt the butter. Add the maple syrup, orange juice and carrots and allow to braise on the stove top for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the liquid is almost entirely gone and the carrots are tender but not over done.

Transfer to a serving dish and season with salt to taste. garnish with fresh parsley just before serving.