Thanksgiving side dishes

So many choices!!  Why do we feel like we need 20 or 30 different food choices on the table at Thanksgiving?  I admit I'm guilty -- I love side dishes!  The more the merrier hahahaha!  And why do we cook enough food for 50 people when we know only 5 are showing up???   Hmmmm...  Anyways, these are the side dishes I cooked this year, and bonus, the recipe for the sweet potatoes in the picture because they look really yummy.... Those of you who have seen me cooking before would have asked yourselves, "what is she doing with those measuring cups???"  I guess you can think of these as approximate amounts...   :P

MASHED POTATOES:

Brown or red potatoes - 5 lbs.
Butter - 1 stick (or more)
Milk or Half and Half - 1 1/2 to 2 cups
Salt and Pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut them into uniform size, either sliced or cubed.  That's so the pieces all cook in the same amount of time.  Rinse them and boil them in salted water until they fall apart easily when you poke them - maybe 10 or 15 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, put them back in the pan, add the butter and a little milk and start mashing.  Add the milk a little bit at a time, as you are mashing them, so they get creamy.  Mash the sh-t out of them until they are really creamy.  (The butter gives them flavor and milk makes them creamier)  Add salt and pepper to taste.

COLE SLAW:

Cabbage - 3/4 head
Carrots - a little, just to add some color - 6 baby carrots
Mayonnaise - 1 cup ("Best Food")
Sugar - 1/4 cup
White vinegar - 2 tablespoons
Salt and Pepper

Shred the cabbage into shreds and grate or shred the carrots, and put them all into a big bowl.  In a separate bowl, use a wire whip to mix together the mayo, sugar, white vinegar, salt and pepper; that's your cole slaw dressing.  When it is well mixed, add just enough dressing to the cabbage and carrots to coat the veggies (you don't want the cole slaw sitting in a puddle of dressing).  If you have too much dressing, you can save it and make cole slaw again later in the week.

SAUTEED APPLES WITH BROWN SUGAR AND CINNAMON:

8 Apples - peeled, sliced, and core removed
Butter - 1/2 stick
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon (maybe more)
(Lemon juice if needed)

Get a big bowl of lemon water and put it at your work station.  As you are preparing the apples, put the slices into the lemon water so they don't turn brown before you can get them into the pan.  When you have all the apples sliced, melt the butter in a big frying pan or wok.  Drain the apples and put them in the butter to start them cooking.  When the apples get a little soft, add the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Keep cooking them, stirring them gently to saute.  Don't let them get too soft, or they will fall apart and turn into apple sauce, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  If you want sauteed "sliced" apples, stop cooking them when they are cooked through but still hold their shape.  These are really yummy!  Like apple pie without the crust!

FRUIT SALAD WITH COCONUT AND MARSHMALLOWS:

Mandarin orange slices - 2 small cans, 11 oz each
Pineapple chunks - 1 large can, 20 oz.
Little marshmallows - 1 cup
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Sour cream - 3/4 cup

Someone once told me they made this salad by using one cup of each ingredient.  I don't know about that, a whole cup of coconut sounds a bit much...  Anyways, drain the fruit really good by putting them in a strainer for a few minutes.  Then mix everything together in a bowl.  Stir gently because the mandarin oranges are very delicate!

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES (pictured above):

6 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
½ cup butter
¼cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon grated oranges zest
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

1. Place sweet potatoes in a large pot of boiling water, cover, and boil over a medium heat for 20 – 30 minutes, or until fork-tender.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan.

3. Stir in orange juice, brown and granulated sugar, orange zest, and nutmeg and simmer over medium-low heat until sugars are dissolved, stirring frequently to prevent sauce from sticking.

4. Spoon 2 tablespoons of cooking water from sweet potatoes into sauce, stir, bring sauce to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, until thickened.

5. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

6. Drain sweet potatoes.

7. Peel and cut in half.

8. Place in an 8-by-12-inch rectangular baking dish and pour sauce over the top.

9. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until slightly browned.