Simple Holiday Sides

When you’re preparing feasts for the masses of friends and family joining you for the holidays, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. After all, there are picky eaters everywhere — not just kids. Adults have their particular tastes, and that means every host or hostess has to think twice about the side dishes to serve with turkey, ham, steak or other main courses.

Fortunately, there are crowd-pleasing simple holiday items that are guaranteed to tempt the taste buds of most of your guests and. In some cases, they are designed to appeal to limited diets such as gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan. You’ll be the hero of the Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s table with these Harrisburg home improvement tips that focus on what comes out of your central PA kitchen.

1. Plan Expansive Fruit, Cheese, Nut and Veggie Platters

There’s no need to slave over a tray of intricate, cooked hors d’oeuvres. Most guests will be more than happy to nosh on an appetizer course that includes fruits, nuts, veggies and more. Make sure you add exotic options as well as the tried-and-true, such as feta-stuffed olives, foreign cheeses, kiwi or starfruit, tangelos, bok choy, and more. Be creative and serve them with a wide variety of dips. These tend to appeal to people who are restricted in what they can eat, and they’re also nice and filling. Plus, they provide options without necessitating that you do much work ahead of time. You can even get many of the items pre-sliced and ready to go if you’re short on time.

2. Smashed Potatoes With Gravy on the Side

Tired of the same old white mashed potatoes laced with a dollop of dripping butter? Your visitors are probably bored of them as well. Spruce up this classic side dish by leaving the skins on the potatoes and simply “smashing” them by hand after boiling them until tender. Add milk, butter or margarine to taste. Don’t blend your potatoes — you want them to be broken up, but not thoroughly smooth. Add salt and pepper as needed. If you’re really imaginative, get purple potatoes. Their flesh turns a lovely blue when smashed, making your holiday table look even more festive. Serve gravy in a boat on the side. That way, those who crave gravy can pour it on, but those who would prefer not to add it can eat the smashed potatoes without it.

3. Serve a Lovely Dish of Roasted, Toasted Corn

Corn is a much-loved vegetable, but don’t make your corn side as bland as vanilla pudding. Instead of merely pouring out a can of corn, heating it up and then adding it to a serving dish, try toasting the kernels on top of the stove. Just pour a little olive oil into a large frying pan, drain your corn kernels and toss the kernels into the pan. Keep the heat on the milder side and toss the kernels gently until they start to get a bit crisp and browned in spots. This type of stovetop roasting will add texture to the corn dish, as well as bring out the corn’s robust, slightly-sweet flavors. You can add salt if you wish, or simply have sea salt available on the table for your guests.

More than anything else, these Harrisburg home improvement tips should make your life easier — and your meals buzzworthy — this holiday season.

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