A Rich Con Thanksgiving 2013

Three years ago we began sharing the secret ingredients to the dishes that have made our lives yummy. This year we bring you our best.

From drinks to dessert, we present some delicious side dishes that will compliment any table.

Happy Holidays, Richmond!

DeVille’s Spicy Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs make a great Thanksgiving snack. Photo by: Family.Go.Com

This is an easy to make appetizer and it’s a hit at any Thanksgiving dinner. We have been eating them at the Deville Family Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, so these always remind me of family gatherings and the holidays.-Nancy DeVille

Ingredients:
1 dozen large eggs, hard-cooked and peeled
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 to 4 Tbsp. pickled sliced jalapeño peppers, minced
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt and

Directions:
1. Boil eggs- Note: The fresher the eggs, the more difficult to peel. For ease of peeling, buy and refrigerate your eggs 7 to 10 days before using.
2. Cut eggs in half lengthwise, and carefully remove yolks. Mash yolks
3. Stir in mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spoon or pipe egg yolk mixture into egg halves.
5.Cover and chill at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Oyster Stuffing

Oyster stuffing might sound unusual, but it is a delicious variation of this traditional holiday side dish. Photo by: Google Images

Growing up, she said, she and her mother would go to the seaside fish market in Long Beach and buy fresh oysters. Her mother would use them to make oyster stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner. Now, I know at first some of you may be cringing at this strange combination. I know I was hesitant when my stepmom started talking about it, but she assured me that it was a hit with her family and a growing trend in family feasts. Of course, being a reporter, I had to fact-check this. Sure enough, there were dozens of oyster stuffing recipes out there with great reviews on the World Wide Web. Here’s one I found that had plenty of people raving about it. And, don’t worry, you can pull this one off without having to make that special trip to the fish market.
-Sally Schilling

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 (8 ounce) packages dry corn bread mix
1 (16 ounce) package ground spicy pork sausage
3 tablespoons butter
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
2 (8 ounce) cans oysters, liquid reserved

Directions:
1. Place sweet potato in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, mash, and set aside.
2. Prepare dry corn bread mix according to package directions. Crumble, and set aside.
3. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside.
4. Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat, and stir in celery, green onions, onion, and parsley. Cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Return cooked sausage to skillet, and mix in oysters and their reserved liquid. Allow oysters to cook about 5 minutes before stirring in crumbled cornbread and mashed sweet potato.

Kimchi Potato Pancakes

Kimchi potato pancakes are a unique alternative for vegetarians on Thanksgiving. Photo by: Sukey Lewis

Though I love the holidays and big family and food events, I am not a huge fan of the Thanksgiving meal. As a vegetarian, the appeal of the traditional turkey meal is lost on me. The side dishes for the Thanksgiving meal tend to generally be rather bland, and lacking in either spice or acid.
An avid fermenter, I have been experimenting with making sauerkraut, pickles and kimchi for the past several years, and was always looking for a way to incorporate my goods into the traditional meal in a way that wouldn’t freak out my guests too much.
For the past two years these pancakes have been a big hit at gatherings of friends and family. The kimchi adds spice and acid to the meal, but is subtle enough that most people aren’t sure what they are tasting -Sukey Lewis

Ingredients:
10 Golden Potatoes
3 tsp. Salt
1 16-oz jar of Kim chi (I like to make my own, but if you don’t have three weeks to ferment cabbage in your house, you can pick some up either at an Asian market or most Whole Foods.)
Olive oil
Sour cream (for the top)

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Throw in potatoes for about 7 minutes. The potatoes should still be firm, but the skins should slide off easily. Peel potatoes and grate them into a large bowl.
2. Drain kimchi in a strainer, press to make sure that the liquid is mostly gone.
3. Mix the grated potatoes and kimchi together with salt. Heat a large skillet and pour about 1 ½ tablespoons of oil in.
4. Shape the potato mixture into pancake shapes and cook in the oil until brown on each side. It usually takes about 8 minutes on the first side and 5 on the second side. Monitor carefully and modulate the heat to make sure the pancakes do not burn.
5. Once they are brown, you can keep warm in the oven—it works best if they are flat on a cookie sheet, so the excess oil can drain off and they won’t get soggy.
6. Serve hot with sour cream on top. Some guests will also enjoy ketchup.

Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is a colorful, fun side dish for the Thanksgiving meal. Photo by: HowTo-Simplify.com

In my house, pasta salad is always a must for a pre-Thanksgiving appetizer. My mom has been making it for me since childhood, and if you ask me, here’s is the best, hands down. Now that I am an adult, I have been given the honors of preparing the recipe myself. You can swap in or sub out any veggies that you want for this recipe, but I highly recommend you go with the given salad dressing–it really does make all the difference in the world. Enjoy! –Trenise Ferreira

Ingredients:
1 box tri-color rotini noodles
1 carrot, peeled
1 cucumber, chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 small white onion, diced
1 broccoli, chopped
1 bottle Bernstein’s Restaurant Recipe Italian Dressing

Directions:
1. Chop all veggies to desired portion sizes
2. Boil pasta noodles for about 10-13 minutes
3. Drain pasta, then let cool
4. Add veggies, then slowly add Italian dressing
5. Let chill 30-40 minutes
6. Serve. Eat. Enjoy!

Share your family recipes with us in the comments.