Tantalizing twists on a pair of traditional holiday dishes.

Holiday dinners represent some of the best eating of the year. Family and close friends pack in around undersized tables, upon which dish after dish is displayed, covering every square inch of surface. It’s an awesome sight not only because of the sheer quantity but also because of the effort and tradition that is involved in putting it together.

Most kitchens run at least a couple of generations deep at Thanksgiving and Christmas, if not in actual physical presence than by way of recipes that are proudly shared among family members — and are tweaked ever so slightly with each exchange. It’s for that reason that the dishes consumed at holiday dinners may feel familiar but different.

In the spirit of giving, I’d like to share a couple of my favorite holiday side dishes. They’re classics that I’ve updated with my own twists.
 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Walnuts, Caramelized Shallots and Garlic

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

3 shallots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup walnut pieces

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

We make this fairly-easy-to-prepare dish at my store. To give you an idea of how popular it is, I sell a couple thousand pounds of it between September and March.

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Next, remove the exposed (cut) end of the sprouts. Then, cut them in half and place them in a bowl, mixing them with an eighth of a cup of olive oil and salt and pepper.

From there, spread the sprouts out evenly on a baking sheet. If they are bunched together, they will steam instead of roast, and you’ll lose the beautiful flavor because the sprouts will not caramelize. Put them in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. It’s okay if the outer leaves turn brown.

The shallots and garlic really make this dish. While the sprouts roast, heat an eighth of a cup of olive oil in a skillet. Then add the shallots, chopped thyme and garlic and sauté the mixture until it begins to soften and turns translucent. 

Once you remove the sprouts from the oven, add them to the garlic-and-shallots mixture. Check the seasoning before serving.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Butter and Pumpkin Seeds

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1/2 stick of butter

2 tablespoons pureed chipotle peppers

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

My mashed sweet potatoes are a little different from the marshmallow-and-brown-sugar kind that anchor many Thanksgiving tables. Sweet potatoes, to me, are sweet enough. Brown sugar and marshmallows are overkill. I prefer, instead, to spice mine up a bit with chipotle peppers.

If you’ve never had chipotle peppers, they are not five-alarm spicy. I like them for this dish because they add a nice smoky flavor — with a slight bite. And I use pumpkin seeds because they offer a perfect contrast in texture.

If you’re truly not a fan of spicy foods, substitute the chipotle peppers with one vanilla bean and a tablespoon of vanilla extract.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then, place the sweet potato cubes in a pot with water and a tablespoon of salt. Let it simmer until the cubes soften.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a separate pot and then mix it with the heavy cream and chipotle puree. 

Once the sweet potato cubes are ready, strain them. My trick for mashed sweet potatoes is to bake them in the oven for about five minutes. This dries them out a bit and allows them to better absorb the butter-and-cream mixture.

After you remove the cubes from the oven, put them back in the pot you simmered them in, add about half the butter-and-cream mixture and start mashing. Add small amounts of the mixture as you go so that you can control the moisture. You don’t want the potatoes to become too soupy.

Prior to serving, sprinkle them with pumpkin seeds.

New Hope-based chef Jamie Hollander is a rising star on the Greater Bucks County culinary scene with his popular gourmet shop and catering business. Jamie invites readers to email questions about these recipes to him through the Web site www.jamiehollandergourmet.com.