Elisa wrote:

> Anyone have any tried and true, but awesome (read: not green bean
> casserole) vegetable recipes to go with the Thanksgiving meal?

Simply roasted vegetables can be awesome. Just cut up some bell peppers
(whatever color you like), onions, carrots, and squash, toss with a little
bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and whatever herbs you like, and roast
in a hot (375-400F) oven until they start to caramelize. Serve hot or room
temperature.

If you want something more elaborate, try this recipe (which is awesome, but
very rich) from the _Greens_ cookbook:

White Winter Vegetables Baked in Cream

2 to 3 medium leeks, white parts only
1 fennel bulb
4 to 6 small red potatoes and/or turnips
1 celery root
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt
White pepper
8 to 10 branches fresh lemon thyme or 6 branches thyme, the leaves removed
from the stems
2 cups heavy cream or half milk and half cream
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup coarse bread crumbs

Slice the leeks into 1/4-inch rounds or strips about 2 inches long, and wash
them well. Quarter the fennel bulb, trim away most of the core, and slice
it lengthwise into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Peel the potatoes or
turnips, and slice them into rounds 1/8 inch thick. Cut away the gnarly
surface of the celery root, cut it into quarters, and slice it thinly. If
it is not to be used right away, cover it with water that has been
acidulated with a few spoonfuls of lemon juice or vinegar.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter the bottom and sides of a baking dish,
and rub with the crushed garlic clove. Layer half of the vegetables in the
dish, and season them with salt, freshly ground white pepper, and the lemon
thyme or thyme leaves. Make a second layer with the rest of the vegetables,
and season them as well. Add the cream, or milk and cream, and dot the
surface with small pieces of butter, using about 2 tablespoons in all. Lay
a piece of foil loosely over the top and bake.

Melt the rest of the butter, and toss it with the bread crumbs. Remove the
gratin from the oven after half an hour, take off the foil, and cover the
surface with the bread crumbs. Return the gratin to the oven and continue
baking until the vegetables are tender, about another half-hour. Remove the
gratin from the oven and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE: I've made this with lots of vegetable combinations. I particularly
like to substitute carrots for the fennel; it takes about two carrots to
make a volume equal to one fennel bulb.


Bob