Gastronome

SPICE THINGS UP

Try these gourmet twists to classic Thanksgiving side dishes.

Even though Thanksgiving comes but once a year, it can still be boring to cook the same side dishes every time. Rather than entirely skipping out on family favorites, spice up your stuffing, potatoes and green bean casseroles with some gourmet tweaking that might make the annual turkey dinner more special.

Stuffing can be the blank canvas for experimentation. Toasted chunks of day-old bread—multigrain, rye or even pumpernickel— can be used as a substitute for the standard bread or croutons.

Or, just skip the bread all together and make stuffing with wild rice instead. To either base, add chestnuts, chorizo, chicken sausage, dried cranberries, walnuts or pecans.

Chef Laurent Tourondel, who recently opened BLT Steak (www.bltsteak.com; 202-689-8999) in Washington, DC, turns regular mashed potatoes into a sublime side by using fingerling potatoes instead of Idaho, Russet or Yukon Gold because of their distinctive flavor and starchiness. In addition to blending the boiled, peeled and mashed finger-shaped taters with milk, butter, coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, he also blends in a lot of roasted garlic—two heads for every two pounds of potatoes—plus two tablespoons of olive oil and a touch of sea salt. Tourondel also puts the mashing on hold altogether and serves a potato gratin— another way to switch things up a bit.

Similarly, Chef Eric Klein from Las Vegas’ Spago (www.wolfgangpuck.com; 702-369-6300) freshens up his green bean casserole by making thick, rich wild mushroom soup from scratch and pouring it over lightly blanched green beans. He then seasons it with freshly ground pepper and herbs, and bakes it in a buttered casserole. Instead of canned fried onions, he tops the whole thing off with crackling crisp shallots. And to spice up sweet potatoes or yams, add a pinch of chipotle powder. The smoky flavor of the spice is just the right match for the sweet orange flesh.

All of these recipes will bring something new to the table, without completely skipping out on the classics. —Nancy Davidson

WHAT’S ON THE MENU?

Take a look at what these AirTran Airways’ Crew Members from around the country bring to the table.

EUGENE WENTZ
Pilot, Houston  
• stuffing  
• squash casserole layered with cheddar cheese  
• apple, pecan and pumpkin pies

CYNTHIA HARVEY
Reservation Agent, Atlanta  
• turnip greens  
• corn pudding  
• baked acorn squash  
• cornbread dressing with oysters on the side

DANIELLE THOMAS
Station Manager, San Francisco  
• giblet and sausage stuffing  
• green bean casserole  
• cranberry gelatin mold with cherry Jell-O and shredded carrots

RHIANNON ILL
Gate Agent, Moline, Illinois  
• green bean casserole  
• homemade noodles  
• red-skinned potatoes  
• sweet potato casserole with marshmallows  
• gelatin mold with mandarin oranges or whole strawberries