A Taste Of Texas For Your Holiday Table

Our holiday table may be crowned with a turkey and ham, but it's those sensational sides that make the meal memorable. This holiday season, we're celebrating our Texas home and some of the fantastic flavors that make the Lone Star State shine. It's easy and quite delicious to add a bit of heat to the traditional cornbread dressing, macaroni and cheese, and even the cranberry sauce with the first bite, you'll be so thankful you get to call Texas your home, sweet home.

Green Chile Macaroni and Cheese

6 ounces macaroni or your favorite tubular pasta, cooked and tossed with a tiny bit of olive oil
3 whole green chilies, roasted, peeled and seeded
2 corn tortillas
3 ounces manchego cheese, grated, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 ¼ cups milk
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 ounces provolone cheese, grated
½ cup green chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 inch by 9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Purée the whole green chilies in a blender or food processor, and set aside. In a food processor, process corn tortillas until they resemble coarse cornmeal. Add 1/3 of the manchego cheese to the processor and pulse until the entire mixture makes crumbs. Set aside to be used for the topping. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion in the butter until just softened, but don’t let it brown. Add the flour, salt, pepper and cumin to the saucepan and stir to combine. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Raise the heat to medium high and continue whisking until the mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Whisk for three more minutes, and then reduce the heat to low. Stir the reserved green chile purée into the sauce. Add the cheddar, provolone and remaining manchego cheeses, stirring until fully melted. Add the chopped green chilies, and stir to combine. Add the cooked pasta, and toss with the sauce until the pasta is evenly coated. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the tortilla and cheese topping evenly over the top. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly. To brown the crumbs, change the oven to “broil” for a few minutes until topping is medium-brown. Serves 4-6.

Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits

1 cup mashed, baked sweet potato, peeled
2/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease a baking sheet and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the sweet potato, milk and butter. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the sweet potato mixture to form a soft dough, being careful not to overmix. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a deep golden orange tinged with brown. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack. Makes 10 good-size biscuits.

Jalapeño Cranberry Salsa

3 cups fresh cranberries
½ medium red onion, quartered
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and halved (use less for milder flavor)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Dash of kosher salt
Sweet potato chips

Place all ingredients in food processor, except for sweet potato chips. Pulse 8 times, until coarsely chopped. Scrape sides of bowl midway through pulses. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Perfect with sweet potato chips, or as a holiday relish with turkey and dressing.

Green Salad with Honeycrisp Apples & Spicy Texas Pecans

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 2/3 cups Texas pecan pieces
1 large Honeycrisp apple
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 head Boston lettuce, chilled, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 head red leaf lettuce, chilled, torn into bite-sized pieces
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place butter on baking sheet with sides. Heat in oven until melted. Stir in pecans. Toss together the salt, cinnamon and cayenne, and sprinkle evenly over pecans. Stir to coat pecans. Bake for 15 minutes or until pecans are aromatic and golden brown. Cool in baking sheet on wire rack. To make the dressing, whisk together the vinegar and Dijon mustard. Whisk in olive oil, salt and pepper, until slightly thickened. When ready to serve, cut apple into thin slices and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine lettuces, apples and feta cheese in large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad. Top with spiced pecans. Serves 6-8.

Cornbread Dressing with Chipotles & Caramelized Onions

1 (6-ounce) package of Martha White Buttermilk Cornbread Mix
3 chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
½ cup fresh (or frozen) corn kernels
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage (fresh makes a difference)
1 egg
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup chicken broth

Follow the instructions on the cornbread mix to prepare cornbread, adding the chipotle peppers and corn to the batter. Let cool, and crumble into a bowl. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet and add chopped onion. Sauté until onions are caramel in color. Stir in sage and remove from heat. Let cool a few minutes, and add onion mixture to crumbled cornbread. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream and broth. Gently combine wet ingredients with cornbread mixture. Pour into a greased 9 inch by 13 inch casserole dish. Bake at 375°F for 30-35 minutes until set.