Imperfect Women

Three Easy Make Ahead Holiday Side Dishes

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For me, the best part of the holidays is cooking a fabulous meal for my family and friends. I enjoy the planning, the cooking, the setting of the table and all of the good fellowship that goes with it. I don’t much care for the shopping. Crowds in the grocery story make me crazy, so you will find me in the isles of the supermarket before the sun is up. It’s just me and the folks stocking the shelves. In other words, it’s food store heaven.

I think a big part of enjoying the day is getting some of the prep work out of the way before the big day. One thing I always do a couple of days ahead is the cranberry sauce; it actually tastes better after a day or two in the fridge. Homemade cranberry sauce is one of those recipes that seem like it’s a lot of work but really isn’t. My family used to just like plain old cranberry sauce. They turned their noses up at any of the fancy stuff, until I started making a Cranberry Relish, which is old school, but with a couple of little twists that up the flavor. cranberry sauce ingredients

cranberry sauce cooking
Place all ingredients in a saucepan.
cranberry sauce
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes and you’re done!

Cranberry Sauce

I also like make-ahead Mashed Potatoes. Making the delectable spuds isn’t hard, I just don’t like dealing with the peeling of potatoes and last-minute mashing on the big day. The make-ahead mashers that our family has come to love is made with leeks. Leeks? Yes, leeks! Now before you stop reading and head to another blog, the leeks just add another layer of flavor without messing around with good old traditional mashed potatoes. Give it a whirl, you’ll be glad you did.

Saute leeks in butter. White and pale green parts only so you don't get a funky color in your spuds.
Saute leeks in butter. White and pale green parts only so you don’t get a funky color in your spuds.
When making the mashers for a special occasion I will put the leeks and cream in the blender to make extra smooth before adding to the cooked potatoes.
When making the mashers for a special occasion I will put the leeks and cream in the blender to make extra smooth before adding to the cooked potatoes.
Spread potatoes in a large shallow casserole cover with tin foil and keep in fridge. When ready to heat dot with remaining butter cover and place in oven
Spread potatoes in a large shallow casserole cover with tin foil and keep in fridge. When ready to heat dot with remaining butter cover and place in oven

With the last recipe I am going to share with you today, you can’t make it ahead of time. It pretty much needs to be made just before serving. But I promise they are the Best Brussels Sprouts Ever. Even the person who swears they will never let the lowly sprout touch touch their lips goes for seconds of this fabulous dish. To keep it simple do the chopping and measuring the day before your holiday meal. The french call it “mise en place” which means to have everything in place and ready to cook. The French are smart that way. Basically you are making your own “kit” to pull from the fridge and whip up just before serving.brussels sprouts

Saute all ingredients except lemon juice in pan until tender 5-10 minutes
Saute all ingredients except lemon juice in pan until tender 5-10 minutes

yummy Brussels sprouts

 

Amazing Cranberry Relish
Ingredients
  • 12oz fresh cranberries
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 cup apple juice ( If you like boozy berries replace half the apple juice with Grand Marnier)
  • 1 apple peeled and chopped
  • ¼ cup cider vinegar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 large slice lemon
Instructions
  1. Stick the cloves into the rind of the lemon and put in a large sauce pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Put in fridge until ready to serve. Remove lemon and cinnamon stick before serving.

 

 

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
  • 3 pounds Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes
  • 6 leeks washed well and sliced. (Use the white and palest part of the green only or your potatoes will have a green color)
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup cream
Instructions
  1. Put peeled potatoes in a pan of cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender – about 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, in a pan, cook leeks with 6 tablespoons of butter on low heat until very tender. Do not brown the leeks. Add salt and pepper and an optional 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves. Thyme goes really well with turkey and gravy! Add in the milk and cream and bring back just to the boiling point..
  3. Drain potatoes and return to empty pot. Add the milk and leek mixture and mash to your desired consistency.
  4. Spread the mixture in a large shallow baking dish. Cover with tin foil and put into fridge for one day.
  5. [br]
  6. To serve:
  7. Preheat oven to 350f
  8. Dot potatoes with remaining butter and bake, covered, in preheated oven until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through. If your dish isn’t deep it should just take about 20 minutes.

 

Best Ever Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
  • 1.5 to 2 pounds Brussels sprouts
  • 2 thinly sliced shallots
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ¾ cup dried apricots chopped or 1 cup fresh sliced (dried cranberries work great too)
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoon brown sugar
  • ¼ cup lemon juice (Go for the fresh stuff and Squeeze a lemon!)
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions
  1. Shred the Brussels sprouts in a food processor, or slice thinly.
  2. Melt butter in large fry pan over medium heat.
  3. Add shallots and cook for 2 minutes, add sprouts, apricots, and water.
  4. Sprinkle in sugar.
  5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Cook to your desired doneness.
  7. I usually cook for between 5 and 10 minutes
  8. They don’t take long to cook and you don’t want them to turn to mush!
  9. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Serve!

 

 

 



Comments

  1. All the recipes above sound delicious-but I am especially intrigued with the Brussel Sprouts one! I happen to love brussel sprouts and this sounds like a good way to make them just a little different!

    Reply

  2. I have never made my own cranberry sauce and this looks really good and the potato recipe…Yum! I love potatoes and will be making some this week.

    Reply

  7. Waving back Pattypie!! You know this cook here is always expecting a huge crowd, been cooking and baking for a couple of weeks, the freezers are full of good things. I am going to make your cranberry sauce, changing things up here this year! Had a couple of extra requests this year along with the traditional menu, cabbage rolls! I don’t think I could sneak leeks in the tator’s tho. 🙂 Excited to see all of my family, about 35 here and we always take carry out to elderly neighbors, they are our city Grandparents. Hope everyone at IW and all the posters have a wonderful day.

    Reply

  8. LOL Snickers! I want to come to thanksgiving at your house!

    Funny thing about leeks in the tators is …you don’t really think “hey there are leeks in these spuds” It’s just a nice mild flavor! However I have a feeling you have the mashed potato thing down, so there is no use messing with perfection!

    I love cabbage rolls but haven’t made them in ages.
    Speaking of cabbage rolls I promised some friends my recipe for perogies..I just need to make them again and measure the ingredients so I have a recipe to give!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Snickers! 😉

    Reply

  12. I love making my own cranberry sauce. I made it last year for the first time and it was so good. Going to try it with the lemon and apple this year.

    Reply

  15. My family and I Absolutely LOVE cranberry sauce and I have never actually made it!!! Thank you for the good tutorial and inspiration. I am going to give it a go this Thanksgiving!! (But I will have the cans too, just in case) lol

    Reply

  16. I’m going to try the make ahead mash potatoes! Those are the one thing I dread making every holiday season!

    Reply

  19. I can imagine how good that cranberry relish smells cooking on the stove.

    I don’t have to put any of my delicate little fingers near the stove on Thanksgiving. I am merely my mom’s lackey on that day. But, I am looking forward to trying out your mashed potatoes. They sound absolutely delish.

    Reply

  20. I really really don’t like cranberries but my whole household does. I think they would love this Cranberry Sauce, as opposed to the can I would simply dump in a dish. Great recipe!

    Reply

  23. You mean cranberry sauce isn’t supposed to come out of a can? That’s what we do every year lol. This does sound delicious and I like that it can be made ahead of time!

    Reply

  25. leeks in the potatoes… interesting! I’ve never been a cranberry fan, but I always made the dressing before for my dad. I was just thinking about an hour ago about when I should plan to make my pumpkin pie! Preparing before the day can save so much stress!

    Reply

  27. We usually host a lot of people for Thanksgiving so I try to cook as much the day or two beforehand as possible. I’m definitely hanging onto your cranberry sauce recipe! I have a similar make-ahead mashed potato recipe that I love. Also, can’t wait to try your unique twist on brussel sprouts.

    Reply

  29. I actually used to hate cranberry sauce until I made it one year from scratch. I can tell you that making it yourself is easy and it bears no resemblance to the taste of the stuff in the can.

    Reply

  30. I love that you could prepare these in advance in order to prioritize your cooking time at the last minute. My husband loves Thanksgiving with all the trimmings so he would love all these recipes.

    Reply

  35. Every year at Thanksgiving I have cranberry sauce from a can and have never tried it fresh. Curious to try but I am sure the difference in taste would be greatly different.

    Reply

  44. That cranberry sauce looks great! I love cranberry sauce and I’ve always wanted to try making my own! Thanks for posting!

    Reply

  47. I make a cranberry relish like yours.The only difference being that I chop up a large Chinese pear instead of the apple.Yours looks very delicious though and thanks for posting all the other make ahead recipes.

    Reply

  48. Oh My Gosh, the cranberry relish looks delicious… my daughter would love that. I think I’ll make it to go with Christmas dinner! Thank for sharing these wonderful tips and recipes!

    Reply

  53. I like the recipe for Cranberry relish… I have never made it myself, but this looks good enough to try. Thank you.

    Reply

  54. I like the make ahead recipes! I saved the whole thing to my favs rather than print because I know I will be using several of them. brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes for sure. thanks!

    Reply

  60. Thanks for sharing the recipes and how to make them ahead. I am going try this. It will save a lot of time. I have always worked production jobs and am always looking and trying different ways to make things go faster.

    Reply

  61. I’ve never been really into cranberry sauce before, but that recipe makes it sound so yummy! I’ll have to try it next Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

    Reply

  63. Ok, my mouth is watering….I’m getting really really hungry! lol
    I am going to have to try some of these recipes, especially the cranberry relish. Thanks for sharing and have a very Merry Christmas 🙂

    Reply

  64. I love make-ahead meals. It makes the day of so much less stressful and enjoyable. I really like the brussel sprout recipe. I am going to make something similar!

    Reply

  66. All of these recipes are wonderful! I especially love the Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes, great idea to save time 🙂

    Reply

  67. Nothing is better than homemade cranberry relish. IT really adds to the turkey itself, I think! This is a great twist on my usual recipe. It sounds delicious

    Reply

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