Melty Braised Cabbage with Bacon and Pecans comes together in a good ole 9-by-13 and whose secret ingredient is time—two and a half hours, to be exact, rendering the cabbage ultra-melty and sweet.

Serves 4-6 as side or main

saveur.com

INGREDIENTS
8–10 slices thick-cut bacon (12 oz.), coarsely chopped
1 medium head green cabbage (2 lb.), cored and cut into 8 wedges
2 large carrots, trimmed, cut into ¼-in. rounds
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Coarsely chopped toasted pecans, for garnish
Finely chopped chives, for garnish
Grainy mustard, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. In a heavy-bottomed nonreactive roasting pan (see footnote) set over medium heat, fry the bacon, stirring frequently, until deep golden and crisp, 10–14 minutes. Turn off the heat, then, using a slotted spoon, transfer to a small bowl. Discard all but roughly 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

In the roasting pan, arrange the cabbage wedges cut-side down beside one another, then scatter the onion and carrot over the top, followed by the reserved bacon. Pour in the vinegar and ¼ cup of water, then season with salt and black pepper. Dot with the butter and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour, then flip the wedges and continue cooking until the cabbage is very soft, about 1 hour more.

Uncover the pan and turn the oven to 425ºF. Continue baking until the vegetables are browned at the edges, about 18 minutes more. Sprinkle with the pecans and chives and serve warm with mustard on the side.

Note: If you don’t own a large, heavy roasting pan, fry the bacon in a skillet in step 1. At the beginning of step 2, arrange the cabbage in a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish, then drizzle with the reserved bacon grease and proceed with the recipe.

If you want to make your next holiday feast a success, add a side that’s sweet and refreshingly easy to make. In other words, add this fresh yam casserole.

Serves 8

tastingtable.com

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds of sweet potato, peeled and cubed
¾ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup brown sugar, divided
1 stick butter, divided
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon clove
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup roughly chopped pecans

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and bring water to a boil in a medium-sized pot.

Add cubed potatoes and boil until you can easily pierce cubes with a fork.

Drain and put cubed cooked potatoes into a large bowl, then add milk, vanilla, ¼ cup of brown sugar, ½ stick of butter, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and stir well until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Place the contents from the bowl into a 8×8-inch casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

Slice the other half of the stick of butter into pats (approximately 6) and place pats of butter on top of the potato mixture, then sprinkle the other ¼ cup of brown sugar over the butter.

Sprinkle the pecans on top and place in a preheated oven.

Bake for 20 minutes until butter and brown sugar have melted together, then serve piping hot.

And no sooner are we throwing out the last Halloween candy wrapper, and we’re already dreaming of pumpkin pie, yams, and that sweet carrot casserole side that mom always serves on Thanksgiving — the one with the sweet potatoes and the raisins and the pecan-crusted top.

Serves 6

tastingtable.com

INGREDIENTS
3 medium sweet potatoes
10 medium carrots
¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup golden raisins
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
juice of 1 orange
½ cup pecans

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Rinse and put the sweet potatoes and carrots into a large pot, and cover with water.

Bring to a boil, then lower to medium, and cook for 15 more minutes, until just tender.

Drain, and cool.

While cooling, spray a casserole dish or 9×12-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Peel the sweet potatoes, and slice into ½-inch-thick slices.

Cut the carrots into 1-inch chunks.

Arrange the sweet potatoes and carrots in the prepared pan.

Place the butter, brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small saucepan.

Juice the orange directly into the saucepan.

Heat at low-medium until the butter is melted, stirring to combine.

When the butter is melted, pour the mixture over the sweet potatoes and carrots, and toss lightly.

Top with the pecans.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before serving.