Homemade Thanksgiving Sides

Chef Debra Queen has some great recipes to help spice up your Thanksgiving dinner. Cous cous stuffed pumpkin and homemade cranberry sauce.

Sweet & Savory Stuffed Pumpkin with Cranberries & Cous Cous

Set up Parchment Lined Cookie Sheet to Clean & Deseed 2 Sugar Baby Pumpkins, save seeds to hull and roast with a little oil, sugar & salt for later snacking ! Boiling 1 Cup H2o with ½ tsp Kosher Salt and ½ Cup Israeli Cous Cous, Cover & let simmer for 15-20 minutes; may take longer and require more water depending on the size and brand of cous cous. Transfer cooked product to large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, Combine ½ # Sliced Mushrooms of choice (Cremini * Shitake) with 2 diced stalks of celery, 1 Med. Diced onion and 1 Tbls. EVOO with a Cinnamon Stick and 3 Allspice beads, cover and simmer till softened approx. 8-12 minutes, remove allspice beads and Cinnamon Stick if desired. Season with Salt & Pepper.

Next cube 2 slices of hearty whole grain bread and toast in toaster, remove crusts and cut into cubes 1/8th”, 1 Clove Crushed Garlic, Zest of ½ an Orange & juice of whole orange, 1/8th cup slivered almonds (toasted) ¼ cup Black Currants, ¼ cup Golden Raisins (plumped), ¼ Cup Dried Cranberries, 2 Tbls. Pom Syrup, ½ tsp. Kosher Salt, 1 tsp dry Sage or 1 Tbls. Fresh Sage, ½ tsp. Thyme, ½ tsp ¼ tsp Fresh Cracked Pepper, ½ tsp. Poultry Seasoning , 1 Tbsl. Fresh Chopped Italian Parsley & 1 Med. Carrot Shredded.

Combine everything together with the cooked cous cous, stir fluff and correct seasonings if needed. Stuff the pumpkin with the cous cous and bake for 20-25 minutes covered inside the sugar baby pumpkin. Open at the table for a fragrant and unusual Vegetarian Entrée. Can be Tripled and made to stuff a full pumpkin if desired. May add fresh roasted chestnuts and butternut squash or various root vegetables such as beets, carrots and turnips, fennel also works well.Butter is optional as well as the salt. Top with Pepitas!