domestic dilettante, humorless feminist shrew

So if you’re anything like me, you hit about twenty-four hours before any Big Deal Supper, and then you start to think to yourself that hey, maybe I should figure out what we’re eating/what I’m taking. For you last minute decides, I have twenty relatively easy side dishes that would be fantastic with the traditional Thanksgiving turkey–and best of all, they can probably be made without (yet another) trip to the store.

I’m not the only one who ends up at the store a dozen times the week before a holiday, am I? They’re closed on holidays! What if I need something?

• Succotash: Sautee one chopped onion, three minced cloves of garlic, and, if you have it, one chopped red pepper (or roasted red pepper) in two tablespoons of butter. When onion is translucent, add one package each frozen sweet corn and frozen baby lima beans, plus 1/3 cup water. Simmer, covered, about ten minutes, then remove the lid and cook for several minutes more, letting the water evaporate. Stir in a pinch of sugar, plus salt and pepper to taste.
  
  

• Creamed spinach: Thaw two packages of frozen, chopped spinach. Drain them well. Sautee half an onion, chopped, and two minced cloves of garlic in a quarter cup of butter. When the onion is translucent, add a quarter cup of flour and cook until the flower is lightly toasted and the mixture is smooth. Add a cup of milk, mix well, and then add your spinach. Let cook for a few minutes to thicken the sauce, then add either a half cup of parmesan cheese or four ounces of cream cheese. (Or, if you’re really gilding the lily, both.) Stir well to incorporate the cheese, add salt and pepper to taste.
  
  

• Roasted cauliflower: Take a head of cauliflower and chunk it up into florets. Toss it with a few tablespoons of olive oil, plenty of chopped garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 until the cauliflower is browned and tender, about 20 minutes in my fiery furnace of an oven, probably 30 minutes for people who have ovens that actually regulate heat.
  
  

• Sauteed apples and onions: (Optional first step: cook three or four slices of bacon. When it’s cooked, remove the bacon from the pan and use the bacon fat to cook the apples and onions. If you do this, disregard the butter that’s called for, and crumble the bacon back into the dish before serving.) Heat a tablespoon or two of butter. Slice tart apples and onions in a 1:1 ratio–say three apples, three onions. Add the onions to the butter and cook until they’re good and caramelized. Add the apples to the pan, and cook another ten minutes, until the apples are soft and slightly brown.
  
  

• Roasted carrots: Skip the too-sweet brown-sugar glazed carrots that often show up at this sort of gathering and go with these instead. Just clean some carrots, toss them with olive oil and plenty of garlic, then roast at 400 for about twenty minutes.
  
  

• Creamed corn: Thaw two packages of sweet corn. Make a roux of three tablespoons each butter and flour, then add two cups of milk, a teaspoon of sugar, half a cup of parmesan cheese, and the corn. Let it simmer until the sauce thickens and the corn is cooked through, then add salt and pepper to taste. If you want to fancy it up, pour it into a casserole dish, sprinkle it with parmesan, and run it under the broiler for a minute before serving.
  
  

• Cheese-stuffed mushrooms: Clean a package of mushrooms, reserving the stems. Heat a tablespoon of oil and sautee minced onion (and/or minced garlic) with the chopped mushroom stems. While that cooks, arrange the mushrooms on a cookie sheet. Place a small piece of cheese (I’ve used brie and mozzarella with great success, but you could use anything that strikes your fancy) in each cap. Top the cheese with the cooked stem mixture and some breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 for ten to fifteen minutes, until the mushrooms are warm and the cheese is melty. Alternate idea: cook some bulk sausage with the mushrooms and onions, skip the cheese in the caps, and mix some grated parmesan into the sausage mixture. Fill and bake as directed above.
  
  

• Lemony green beans: If you’re a heathen who’s not making green bean casserole, these are pretty tasty. Thaw a bag (about a pound) of green beans. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a skillet, and sautee some chopped garlic in it. (I use a lot of garlic, like, half a head. You may love garlic less than me.) Add the green beans and cook them until they’re starting to brown in areas. Sprinkle with the juice and zest of half a lemon.
  
  

• Roasted squash with sage butter: Cut a squash in half and place it cut side down in an oven-safe dish. Add a half cup of water to the dish, then bake at 400 until the squash is cooked through, about 45 minutes–a fork will easily pierce it. (If you’re pressed for oven space, you can cook the squash in the microwave: put in a pan with a bit of water, cover with cling film, microwave for ten minutes and then in two-minute bursts until it’s done.) Remove from the oven and cool. Cut the squash into cubes. In a pan, melt a stick of butter. Cook the butter until it’s just starting to brown, then add a teaspoon of dried sage. Cook another minute. Remove the butter from heat and set it aside. (You can do the recipe to this point the day ahead–just microwave the butter to liquify, and, if the squash is refrigerator cold, microwave that to heat it a bit.) To serve, heat the squash for several minutes in a skillet with a bit of oil. When the squash is hot, pour the butter over it. Sprinkle with parmesan, if you want.
  
  

• Roasted grapes: Take two pounds of purple or red grapes and remove them from their stems. Combine 1/4 cup water or white wine with 2 Tbsp sugar, and either a sprig of rosemary leaves or about an inch of a vanilla bean. Put both the grapes and the water mixture into an oven-proof pan. Roast at 400 for about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with crumbled blue cheese and either bread or crackers.
  
  

• Salad: Spinach, [some sort of fruit], [some sort of allium], [some sort of nut or seed], and dressing make a great and easy salad. For the fruit, you could use dried cranberries or cherries, chopped apples, or even raisins. The allium could be roasted garlic, red onion, chives, or green onions. For the nut or seed, toasted pecans or walnuts would be delicious, as would sunflower seeds or even sesame seeds. A simple vinagrette (oil plus vinegar plus a bit of sweet) covers you for dressing.
  
  

• Deviled eggs: Hard-boil a dozen eggs. (Hint: Put eggs in a pot, add enough water to cover + an inch or two. Let the water come to a boil, then let the eggs simmer a minute. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and walk away. In about thirteen to fifteen minutes, your eggs are perfectly cooked.) Peel the eggs and slice them in half. Pop out the yolks and toss them into a bowl with about a half a cup of mayonnaise, a splodge of yellow mustard, and about a tablespoon of pickle juice. Mash this all together. Taste it–add salt, pepper, more mustard, or more pickle juice as needed. Put the filling into a ziplock and cut off a corner, then use the bag to pipe the filling into the eggs. Dust with paprika.
  
  

• Braised onions: Sometimes it’s nice to have something to cut the richness of all the holiday fare. Take a pound of pearl onions; trim and peel them. (Or use frozen ones and just thaw them. Much easier.) Sautee the onions in a bit of butter until they’re lightly browned, then add a pinch of sugar and chicken or vegetable stock to cover. Simmer, covered, for about thirty minutes. Remove lid, raise heat, and let the remaining liquid boil off.
  
  

• Rice pilaf: Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. When hot, add a small diced onion and cook until the onion is tender. Add two cups of white rice to the pan and stir it in, coating the rice with oil. Cook, stirring often, until the rice is browned. Pour in approximately four cups of broth or stock. If you’d like, you can use white wine or apple juice for part of the liquid. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pan. After ten minutes, remove the lid and stir quickly, then recover. At fifteen minutes, check the rice. If the liquid’s been absorbed, taste the rice to see if it’s cooked. If it is, you can fluff and serve. If it’s not quite done, add another quarter cup of broth and let it cook another five minutes, then check it again. Before you serve, it’s nice to mix in some raisins and toasted almonds or pine nuts.
  
  

• Mushroom casserole: This is one of the few recipes on here that isn’t mine–my uncle gave it to my mother a few years back, and I have adopted it. (The other recipes that aren’t mine are the roasted grapes–also my uncle’s–and the creamed peas.) Grease a baking dish. Fill with two pounds of sliced mushrooms. Dissolve a chicken bouillon cube in a quarter cup of boiling water, then make a paste with the water and 3 Tbsp flour, then mix it with a cup of cream, a quarter cup of parmesan, and some black pepper. Cook the sauce over low heat until it thickens, then pour it over the mushrooms. Mix a small bag of stuffing mix (seven or eight ounces) with a half cup of butter; spread over mushrooms. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake ten minutes longer. This is embarrassingly delicious. It’s seriously so good that I’d happily skip the rest of the meal and just eat this. Stop judging.
  
  

• Couscous: Sautee half a finely minced onion in a tablespoon of olive oil, then sprinkle in between a half teaspoon and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Combine one cup of dried couscous with a little more than a cup of boiling stock or broth, stir in the onion mixture, and let sit for ten minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving. If you want, sultanas or other dried fruit can be stirred in when the onions are, or the couscous could be topped with toasted nuts before serving.
  
  

• Creamed peas: This one’s from my grandmother. I feel a little weird including three types of creamed veggies, but whatever–no one’s going to make all three. (I hope.) Cook six slices of bacon in a large skillet. When they’re cooked through, remove the bacon but leave the grease in the pan. Cook a medium minced onion in the bacon fat. When the onion is soft, add two tablespoons of flour and stir it into the fat. Rinse and drain two cans of peas, then add them to the skillet. Add a can of milk and stir gently to incorporate the roux. Let simmer until the sauce thickens, then crumble the bacon back into the dish. Salt and pepper to taste.
  
  

• Macaroni and cheese: Cook a pound of macaroni according to the package directions. Drain the macaroni and remove it from the pot. In the pot, melt two tablespoons of butter and mix it with two tablespoons of flour to make a roux. Add a cup–yes, just a cup–of milk. Put the macaroni back in the pot. This is where you start adding cheese. Freshly grated cheese is the best, and you want at least a pound of it. Cheddar is traditional, obviously, but if you feel like you have to add some other stuff to fancy it up, go ahead. Just make sure that you’re using at least mostly cheddar. Mix the cheese in well. Maybe you want some more cheese! That’s okay. Add some more cheese. Maybe you’re staring at me in horror, wondering why on earth I’m using a pound of cheese. That’s–well, that’s less okay. Maybe you’ve never had good macaroni and cheese before. It’s not something you eat every week, guys. If you have an oven-safe pot, stick the whole thing in the oven. If you don’t, put the macaroni in a casserole and put it in the oven. Bake until the top is delicious and golden brown, maybe thirty minutes.
  
  

• Roasted veggies: Maybe this is cheating, but it’s so easy it needs to be mentioned. Put whatever vegetables you have in the veggie drawer on a cookie tray, toss them with garlic and olive oil, and roast the hell out of them. This is basically delicious with anything: sweet potato, onion, garlic, peppers of all stripes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini… Stay away from cucumbers and leafy greens, but other than that, pretty much anything goes. If you would like to increase the deliciousness, try throwing some rosemary in there.
  
  

• Stuffed apples: Remove the core from each apple, leaving the bottom intact. In a separate bowl, mix (for every two apples) 1/4 cup rolled oats, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp butter, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and a dash of ginger. Spread the filling evenly amongst the apples. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes. (Other things that you can add to the filling: flaxseed, dried cranberries or cherries, raisins, sultanas, pecans, walnuts. It’s pretty flexible.)

If you’ve got any great last-minute suggestions, throw them in the comments!