Looking to elevate your Thanksgiving spread with some classic side dishes that have an extra stamp of culinary approval? We’ve tapped on three local professional chefs to provide their favorite Thanksgiving recipes. On the following pages, we’ve provided the steps to re-create chef Allison Davis’ homemade yeast rolls, chef Tammara Hall’s broccoli casserole and chef Wyatt Sarbacker’s corn pudding, from the comfort of your own home.
Caroline’s Corn Pudding
Photo by Theresa Stanley
Chef Wyatt Sarbacker. Photo by Theresa Stanley
Recipe by Wyatt Sarbacker, chef/owner Favor Kitchen
Ingredients:
• 8 ears corn
• ½ cup cream
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ cup sugar (or ¼ cup, if you prefer it less sweet)
• 1 heaping tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, optional (can substitute 2 teaspoons dried herbs for fresh)
• 2 pinches white pepper, optional
• Pinch salt, optional
• Dash cayenne, optional
Tools:
• 2 medium-size bowls
• Box grater
• Whisk
• Pie pan or soufflè dish
Method:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter your baking dish along the bottoms and sides. Chill the dish until ready to use. Grate corn into one bowl (be sure to keep all the liquid). Add cream and milk to corn.
In another bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and any seasonings. Mix well. Grab your chilled baking dish and make sure the oven is heated. Combine the dry ingredients with the corn, whisking lightly until just combined and there are no lumps.
In the now-empty bowl, crack two eggs and whip until combined and lightly aerated — it’ll take a minute or two of whisking. Moving quickly, pour the eggs into the corn mixture and lightly whisk to combine. Pour into the baking dish, and place in the center of the oven.
Bake time will vary depending on the oven but should take about an hour, maybe a little longer.
When lightly colored on the edges, test the center with a poke of a knife to see it it has set.
Broccoli Casserole
Photo by Theresa Stanley
Chef Tamara Hall. Photo furnished
Recipe by Tammara Hall, chef/owner Josanne’s Homestyle Kitchen
Ingredients:
• 3 pounds frozen broccoli
• 1 pound Velveeta cheese
• ½ stick unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 packs Ritz crackers
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 ½ cups of whole milk
Instructions:
First, melt Velveeta cheese and milk together in a saucepan. After melting cheese, add cream-of-chicken soup and cream-of-mushroom soup.
In a separate pot, bring three cups of water to a boil. Add broccoli along with unsalted butter, seasoned salt and pepper and boil for three minutes (note: If you boil too long, broccoli may overcook when the casserole bakes). Thoroughly drain water from broccoli in a colander, and place broccoli into an 8x12-inch baking pan. Stir in cheese sauce mix until broccoli is completely covered. Bake in a heated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Remove casserole from the oven and crumble Ritz crackers, spreading them across the top of the dish. Broil in the oven until crackers appear golden brown with a crisp texture.
Homemade Yeast Rolls
Photo by Theresa Stanley
Chef Allison Davis. Photo by Theresa Stanley
Recipe by Allison Davis, chef/owner Wild Thyme Cooking & Catering
Ingredients:
• 2 ½ cups warm water
• ¾ cup butter flavored Crisco
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 package (or 2 ¼ teaspoons) of yeast
• 1 ½ tablespoons of salt
• 7-8 cups all-purpose flour
Method:
Dissolve yeast in warm water with ¼ cup of sugar and allow to bloom for about five minutes. Set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan, melt the butter flavored Crisco until mostly melted through but not bubbling hot (meaning, just melt the majority and let the rest be softened enough to easily work into the dough…if it gets so hot it’s bubbling, it could kill the yeast).
In a large separate bowl, add the flour, remaining sugar and salt. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture and melted Crisco. Mix until it is well combined and knead a couple of times so all of the flour has been mixed well with the wet ingredients. Place dough back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or flour sack and allow to rise for one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
After the initial rise, roll out the dough to about ½-inch to ¾-inch thickness. Cut out yeast rolls using a round cutter (same as a biscuit cutter). Place in a pan close together or on a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment, and spray the pan well with nonstick cooking spray to keep rolls from sticking to the bottom. Melt a stick of butter and brush the tops and sides generously – frankly, slather those beauties with as much butter as your heart desires. Season the tops of the rolls with salt and pepper.
The rolls need a chance to rise again for about 30 minutes once they are in the pan. Allow your oven to heat to 400 degrees, and then after the second rise, they are ready to go in and bake. Allow the rolls to bake about 20 minutes or until brown and crisp on the outside and perfectly cooked through in the center. Remove from the oven, brush with more melted butter and add a scant more salt and pepper to the tops. Let them sit as long as humanly possible before devouring them all at once.
Thanksgiving meals (and rolls) are for purchase at wildthymecooking.com.