Turkey is the classic Thanksgiving dish, but you cannot live by turkey alone. What's your favorite holiday side dish? Comment for a chance to win a free book. Below you'll find two reader-favorite recipes from the first Five-Ingredient Mystery, By Cook or by Crook. The dishes are suitable for Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners. I'm also sharing a simple herb stuffing recipe. To view the recipes, click Read More below.
 
Leave a comment about your favorite holiday side dish to enter a drawing for the Five-Ingredient Mystery of your choice or an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of the upcoming sixth book in the series. To comment, click on the word Comments in the column to the left of this post. 
 
Note: I can ship only to U.S. addresses. Last day to enter: Sunday, December 16, 2018. I'll contact the winner by email and announce the results in this blog. Just Small Potatoes
Serves 6
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

6 medium potatoes
¼ cup flour
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons melted butter

Pour the melted butter into a glass baking pan (13 x 9 x 2 inches). Combine the flour, cheese, and salt in a plastic bag. Peel the potatoes and cut each into eight pieces. Dip the pieces in cold water, put them in the plastic bag a few at a time, and shake. When the pieces are coated, put them in the pan, flat side down, nestled in a single layer. Bake for an hour, turning them after half an hour to brown another side.

You serve the potatoes in the baking pan. Garnish with parsley. 


​Easier-Than-Pie Apple Crisp 

​This recipe is a nut-free version of the apple crisp recipe in By Cook or by Crook.

Serves 6-8
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

5 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (about 5 medium or 3 large apples)
¾ cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup white sugar (less if the apples are not tart or you prefer less sweet desserts)
½ cup softened (not melted) butter

Butter a shallow square baking pan (9 inches) or a small rectangular one (7x11 or 8x10 inches).
Combine the flour, cinnamon, and sugar. Add butter in pieces, mixing with a fork or the fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Spread the mixture over the apples.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven when the topping is golden brown and apple layer is bubbling.

Cool the apple crisp for at least 30 minutes before eating. Serve warm or cold. The crisp goes well with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.


Herb Stuffing
Serves 10-12

As the designated holiday dinner makers in our family for the last 25 years, we've experimented with different types of stuffing, starting from scratch or using various stuffing mixes. We've settled on a 5-ingredient one as the favorite, a modified version of the recipe on the Pepperidge Farm® Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing package.  

1 stick of butter
2 cups of chopped onions (approximately 2 large onions) 
2 cups chopped celery (4-6 celery stalks)
2 cups boiling water (or low-salt chicken broth)
1 14-ounce package of Pepperidge Farm® Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing

Melt half the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions for five minutes or until tender. Add the celery and cook for another 3 minutes. Melt the remaining butter in the skillet with the vegetables. Stir in the stuffing mix. Add hot water or broth slowly, mixing it with the stuffing until moist, using less liquid if you prefer stuffing on the dry side.

Stove-top stuffing: Cover the skillet, remove it from the heat, and let it stand five minutes. Fluff the stuffing with a fork and serve.
Casserole stuffing: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spoon the stuffing into a 2-quart casserole. Bake 30 minutes or until hot. 
For in-bird stuffing: Loosely spoon the mixture into the turkey or chicken cavity before putting the bird in the oven. Don't overfill the cavity. A stuffed bird takes longer to cook than an unstuffed one. Put any remaining stuffing in a casserole dish and bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.