CLEVELAND — If you are looking to spice up your Thanksgiving side dishes, Loretta Paganini with the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking has you covered.
She showed 3News' Maureen Kyle how to add different ingredients to your mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and stuffing.
Check out the recipes below.
Pear & Apple Cranberry Sauce
Serves 8
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 orange, zested and juiced
- 2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
- 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 (12 ounces) bag fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (about) sugar
Whisk apple cider, orange zest, orange juice and brown sugar in heavy large saucepan. Boil over high heat add pear pieces, apple pieces and cranberries and sugar. Cook until cranberries begin to pop, about 10 minutes.
Stir over medium heat until heated through. Transfer compote to bowl and serve warm.
Kale Mashed Potatoes
Serves 8
- 4 russet potatoes
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 bunch of kale, stems removed and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters. Boil the potatoes in water. When the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the heat and drain immediately. (Note: If under-cooked, the potatoes will be lumpy; if over-cooked, they can be gummy, so keep a close eye on them.) Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl and whip with a whisk. Heat the kale and cream and add it to the whipped potatoes. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Finish with the butter.
Chestnut Stuffing
- 1/2 lb. fresh Italian sausage without the casing, cooked
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs\
- 10 fresh, peeled chestnuts
- 2 tsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
- 2 lg. eggs
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a bowl, mix together the crumbled sausage, the breadcrumbs, the chestnuts, the thyme, and the parsley, working the mixture together. Mix in the eggs thoroughly with your hands, then season with salt and pepper. Sauté a teaspoon of the stuffing and taste it for seasoning. Adjust if necessary.