Side shows — Food Network's Robin Miller offers holiday tips and quick recipes

Last week, when everyone else was thinking about Thanksgiving, Robin Miller of the Food Network's "Quick Fix Meals" was thinking about spring.

She was in Los Angeles taping segments of a new cooking show called "Robin to the Rescue" that will begin airing in March. But in a phone interview that took place during her hair and makeup sessions before taping, she shared advice for cooks in the throes of holiday meal preparations.

Side dishes can add a colorful twist to your usual Thanksgiving dinner, while not upsetting any of the family's traditions, said the nutritionist and cookbook author who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"Every year I try to do one new side dish, so I can keep everything else traditional," she said.

This year she's making a fruit chutney, starting with a big bag of dried mixed blueberries, cherries and cranberries. To that, she'll add about 1/3 cup of water, one cup of chopped onion for every cup of fruit, some chopped apple and Serrano pepper and a little cumin.

"I'll use equal parts or red wine and sugar so they balance each other out, and let it all simmer until its thick," she said. "It's great to serve with the turkey, or beforehand with crackers and brie."

Also, she said, you can quickly jazz up any green vegetable — green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and so on — with a topping of toasted nuts. "You can use almonds, pecans or walnuts. Use a dry skillet and keep shaking them, about 3 minutes over medium heat. The toasting brings out the nutty flavor and makes any vegetable more elegant. It takes it beyond a regular meal to a Thanksgiving meal."

She also likes to sprinkle dried fruit over steamed broccoli to give it more color.

Has she ever had any Thanksgiving disasters?

"I wouldn't call them disasters — you just call them a change of plans," she said with a laugh. "Once, we were supposed to eat at 4 p.m. and the turkey was ready at 1, so I just told everyone stop eating the cheese, it was time for dinner. When the turkey's ready, everything else should be ready."

Miller shared some Thanksgiving side dishes that she's demonstrated on "Quick Fix Meals," which airs at 11 a.m. Saturday mornings: Garlic and Celery Root Mashed Spuds, Dad's Red Cabbage and Sauteed Wild Mushrooms with Spinach.

Why celery root with the mashed potatoes? "I wanted the intense flavor of celery, without the chunks or the stringiness of celery," she said. "The traditional American potato salad has celery in it, and it's just a take on that."