Holiday Feast Side Dishes

Did you see the deeeeeelish, juicy Maple Dijon Glazed Ham?!!  Did you?!  If you didn’t, go look.  Or we can’t be friends anymore. 

Besides…without seeing the main dish, how are any of these side dishes going to do you any good?  Hmmmm.  You know I’m right.  :)

This should be a post about three side dishes, but I’ve deemed the Scalloped Potatoes unworthy of any further discussion.  Except to tell you that if you think parboiling the thinly sliced taters before mixing them with the sauce and baking them sounds like a good idea I’m here to tell you that it’s not.  Food Network recipe FAIL.  The slices all fell apart.

But it’s OK because we rocked the Maple Carrots and Dijon Braised Brussels Sprouts.  Oh yes.

Easy Peasy Maple Glazed Carrots

I read like 500 carrot recipes before deciding that it didn’t need to be rocket science.  Really, as long as they aren’t overcooked you’re golden.

1. Bring chopped carrots to a boil in lightly salted water.  When boiling, reduce to med-high heat and cook at rolling simmer for 7-9 minutes (or more if you have a huge quantity of carrots) until just soft enough to poke with a fork or sharp knife.
2. Turn heat off, drain carrots and return them to the same warm pot over still-warm element to “dry” any remaining water.  Add large pat of butter and drizzle of real maple syrup.  Stir to coat and keep hot.
3. To be a real fancypants, stir in a handful of chopped parsley and sprinkle with cracked pepper right before serving.

For the Dijon-Braised Brussels Sprouts take a trip on over to SmittenKitchen and follow her recipe.  I followed it to the letter and it was a huge hit!  Again, the trick is to make sure your sprouts aren’t over or undercooked.  Totally delicious.

So there you have it.  A holiday meal complete with glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, and carrots.  We added bakery fresh rolls and hazelnut cheesecake and called it all pretty amazing.  Family dinner WIN.

Me: I’m so shocked I pulled this shiz off!  Woah.