We all have a favorite Thanksgiving side. This doesn't mean, however, that we shouldn't mix in new recipes. Now is the perfect time — as we welcome the changing season and celebrate life's joys and inspirations — to branch out (fall tree pun intended) and embrace fresh flavors.

ICE Chef-Instructor Robert Ramsey developed three dishes guaranteed to become menu mainstays.

The first is a sweet potato soup with brown butter, sorghum syrup and sage croutons. It's luxuriously smooth and creamy without being overly sweet.

It’s the garnish, however, that sets it apart. Sorghum syrup, which is made from the sorghum grain, is like maple syrup for Southerners. It yields a fantastic, subtly-sweet flavor. Like its cousin, maple, it’s a perfect complement to the sweet potatoes.

A hands plates yellow sweet potato soup in white ramekins on a white background

For a vegetable side, try southern-style collard greens with black-eyed peas. Making this comforting classic is a great way to enjoy greens in the cold weather months. If you can't get your hands on collards, swap in mustard, turnip or kale. They work just as well, but each have a unique flavor profile.

Finally, grilled Chesapeake Bay oysters smothered in garlicky, bacon-y butter will level up your holiday hosting game. Big, plump, sweet Chesapeake Bay oysters like Rappahannock, Stingray Point or Olde Salt are at their peak during the holiday season, when waters are cooler. At ICE, we grill them in smoky compound butter flavored with bacon and garlic. (Don't worry if you put too much on top — it will drip over the shell into the flames below, creating exceptional smoke and flavor.)

Give one or all of these southern-inspired recipes a try this year. Your holiday guests will thank you.

Learn more about earning a Culinary Arts diploma at ICE.

Ingredients

For the soup:

2 ounces unsalted butter
3 to 4 sweet potatoes, totaling about 2.5 pounds, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
1 quart whole milk
1 pint vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Pinch nutmeg
Salt to taste

For the soup's garnish:

½ bunch sage, leaves picked from stems, minced
4 ounces butter
½ loaf stale sliced bread, crusts removed, diced
1 cup sorghum syrup
Salt and pepper to taste

For the collard greens:

2 bunches collard greens, washed thoroughly, stems removed, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart chicken stock or low sodium chicken broth
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
6 ounces salt-cured country ham, diced
2 ounces unsalted butter
3 springs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
2 medium Spanish onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Salt to taste

For the oysters:

12 Chesapeake Bay oysters
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
1 small bunch chives, thinly sliced into rounds
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Fresh juice from ½ lemon
4 strips of bacon, cooked until crisp
1 small pinch of salt
1 dash Tabasco sauce

Directions

For the soup:

In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat.
Add onion, celery and carrot and season with a good pinch of salt.
Cook, stirring often, until onions turn translucent, 5-8 minutes.
Add nutmeg, brown sugar and sweet potatoes and continue to cook until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
Add vinegar and cook 3-4 minutes to reduce.
Add milk, stock and cream and bring to boil.
Immediately reduce to a low, gentle simmer and allow everything to cook until tender, stirring often, 30-40 minutes.
When all vegetables are tender, carefully transfer soup to blender and purée until completely smooth, working in batches. Reserve.

Note: It’s best to make the soup 24 hours in advance and chill it overnight to allow the flavors to come together.

For the soup's garnish:

Preheat oven to 275°F.
In a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt butter until it begins to foam and turn brown. Turn off the heat immediately and reserve.
Add sage to butter while still hot — it should sizzle and pop a little.
In a large mixing bowl, add stale bread, browned butter, sage and a little salt and pepper to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook croutons until dry and crisp. Reserve.

To serve the soup:

Reheat soup gently, stirring often to prevent scorching. If soup is too thick, adjust with a touch of milk and taste for seasoning.
Ladle soup into warm bowls and top with croutons. Drizzle some sorghum syrup (and crème fraîche, if desired) on top of each and serve.

For the collard greens:

In a large stockpot over medium heat, melt butter.
Add diced country ham and onions and cook until onions turn translucent, stirring often, 5-8 minutes.
Add garlic and thyme and cook one more minute.
Pour apple cider into pot to deglaze the mixture, scraping the bottom of the pan, then increase heat to medium-high and reduce liquid by about three-quarters.
Add collard greens, black-eyed peas, chicken stock and smoked paprika and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and allow to cook until beans and greens are tender, about one hour. (During the simmering process, the beans may absorb a lot of liquid. If this happens, add warm water, about ½ cup at a time, to keep the consistency of a stew. The finished dish should not be dry, nor thin like a soup, but somewhere in between.)
Season to taste with a pinch or two of salt.

Note: This dish is best made a day or two ahead, chilled and reheated gently before serving. This will allow the flavors to come together. Be careful not to scorch the bottom when reheating by stirring often.

For the oysters:

Shuck oysters, being careful to retain as much of the oyster liquid as possible. Leave oysters in the cupped half of the shell and discard the flat half of the shell. Reserve.
Mince cooked bacon until it resembles bacon bits you would use on a salad.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine minced bacon with all remaining ingredients except oysters. Beat mixture together using paddle attachment until well-combined, about one minute on medium speed.
Spoon butter mixture onto oysters, dividing evenly.
Place oysters in shells directly on a preheated grill, using tongs to move them to the hottest parts.
Cook 4-6 minutes or until butter is melted and bubbling and oysters have plumped. Serve immediately.