Try this sweet and simple side dish, which is elegant enough for a Thanksgiving party but also humble enough for a weeknight meal.
Annie made this dish for Thanksgiving last year, but we’ve only gotten around to posting it now. They were tuber-rific! I think we scarfed these down even before the turkey came out! My mom, who was visiting us in San Jose then, asked Annie for the recipe so that she could make it for the family Christmas party back home in Honolulu.
Looking for a flavorful side dish for your Thanksgiving or Christmas party? There’s no compromising on flavor with this creamy Winter greens gratin.
Updated 17 Nov 2009
Originally posted 25 Nov 2006
Annie last made this gratin a while ago but I wanted to revisit it because it was such a memorable dish. It was one of two, fantastic side dishes that she made for a Thanksgiving party at our place. (The other was a really wonderful green bean casserole that I unfortunately don’t have very good pictures of – guess we’ll have to make it again soon!)
What do you do when your kid wants mac and cheese and you don’t want to give him that gross boxed stuff? Make it from scratch, and fancy it up!
By now you know that Nate and I love our food. We love to cook / grill / barbecue it, eat it, sample it outside, wander around farmer’s markets and taste what’s in season. We love the textures of food, and the aromas and the visual appeal of foods.
Sadly, most times our two kids are happy to eat junk foods like french fries, chips, and – to Nate’s disgust – the so-called “Hawaiian” pizzas with ham and pineapple. As for our son Daniel, who loves all things cheesy, his most requested meal is…Mac and Cheese. It doesn’t have to be any fancy kind either (he snubbed the truffled mac and cheese at Alexander’s Steakhouse); he’d be super happy if I fed him that Kraft Mac and Cheese boxed stuff everyday!
Ick.
One day, our friend Felicia served this amazing baked Mac and Cheese at her house. She said that she got the recipe from Ina Garten on the Food Network. My son devoured it in a minute flat and came back for seconds even before we adults had started on our meal! It was really delicious, so I decided I would have to try to make it too.
Do you love it because of its sweetness? Do you love it because of it’s symbol of spring? Or are you like Nate, who just recently came to love it because of someone else’s persistence in pushing this vegetable?
I must say that I can’t think of anything that complements asparagus more than shrimp. We had yummy success in the past with our Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Asparagus recipe. So when I came across this recipe in Fine Cooking for polenta with shrimp and asparagus, I had to try it out. Continue reading Garlic Cheddar Polenta with Shrimp and Asparagus