Enrich Your Thanksgiving Side Dishes with These 3 Recipes
Looking for a side dish this holiday season? Check out what we’re bringing to our thanksgiving table!
Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means the start of the holidays — and the tremendous amounts of food that accompany it — are upon us again. If you’re heading to a dinner, hosting a party, or just curious about what you can mix-and-match from our incredible tour partners list, we tried out a few options we’re definitely bringing to the family next week! Read on to find out our sides of choice, and what you can do to give this holiday season a little extra pizzazz with some product from local Monterey businesses.
Elderflower Glazed Brussels Sprouts
We borrowed this recipe from our good friends over at Carmel Berry Company. Give your Brussels sprouts an extra kick by adding half a tablespoon of olive oil, some sriracha, and two tablespoons of elderflower cordial. You can try that cordial for yourself on our Old Monterey Food Tour, and pick up a bottle when we visit the Joseph Boston Store.
Mix everything together over the sprouts and sautée it over medium heat until it’s cooked through. Add a little bit of water and cover the skillet to hold in the moisture. Top it off with some kosher salt, plate it up, and they’re ready to serve!
Pomegranate and Pear Salad
J&P Organics is a Monterey and Santa Cruz County small farm that does something we always love: deliver. They have some great products and services to choose from. The regular veggie and fruit box is all you need to whip up this pomegranate and pear salad, and freshly picked sure does taste great!
Mix in some spinach with some pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, and sliced pear. We recommend drizzling the salad with a Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic Vinegar and a Milanese Gremolata Infused Olive Oil from Monterey’s Tasty Olive Bar. You can also taste those alongside the elderflower cordial at the Boston Store on the Old Monterey Food Tour.
Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are almost always a given, but have you ever tried them with raw milk and goat cheese? Cypress Grove Farm, in our opinion, has some of the best goat cheese to mix in with mashed potatoes. Of course, we also love our raw milk from Schoch Family Farmstead, and when they’re blended together, it’s heaven in our mouths!
We like our potatoes a little buttery as well, and after we add some of that, we top it off with bacon. There’s a reason this is a classic dish, and it will always be one of our favorites!
Wine of Choice: Puma Road 2014 Riesling
What meal would be complete without a good glass of wine? If you’re having turkey and sticking to the white-meat-white-wine rule, we definitely recommend the 2014 Riesling from Puma Road. It’s a dry Riesling, so not sweet like most Rieslings. Trust us, it really isn’t sweet! It has a citrus nose that balances well with the elderflower and pear underlinings in the sprouts and the salad. The crisp finish pairs perfectly with the goat cheese in the potatoes, so it’s an all-around winner.
Plus, here’s the best part — it’s currently 75% off retail price! That’s right, at just $5 a bottle, and $50 a case, this is the most affordable good wine you can get!
