Make Ahead Holiday Sides

In this free cooking demonstration, Anca Soloschi, MS, RDN – a Registered Dietitian Nutrionist with Sound Dietitians, LLC – walks through three festive, nutritious holiday side dishes that can all be prepared in advance, so you spend less time in the kitchen on the day of your gathering. Co-sponsored by Skagit Regional Health and hosted by Stilly Valley Health Connections, this class is part of our free class recordings on healthy cooking.

The three recipes demonstrated in this class:

• Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Stuffing – a layered, grain-based side built on drained wild rice tossed with a ginger, Dijon, and apple cider vinegar dressing, wilted dino kale, and green onions, then topped with oven-roasted butternut squash, cinnamon-toasted pepitas, chopped dried cranberries, and crumbled goat cheese; store the rice, squash, and toppings separately and assemble just before serving
• Apple Quinoa Salad with Curry Dressing – rinsed and fluffy quinoa tossed with cubed apple, golden raisins, toasted raw almonds, and fresh parsley, dressed with a curry powder, lemon juice, and shallot vinaigrette; holds up well in the fridge and can be served warm or cold, making it easy to prep a day ahead
• Garlic Cauliflower Mash – steamed cauliflower and whole garlic cloves blended silky smooth with milk, butter, shredded dill havarti, fresh dill, and chives; can stand in for mashed potatoes or sit alongside them, and reheats well from the fridge in an oven-safe dish

Throughout the class, Anca covers how to adapt all three recipes with whatever ingredients you have on hand, why toasting raw nuts or seeds gives better results than double-toasting pre-roasted ones, and how to store and reheat each dish for the best texture when serving a day or two later.