Sick of the same old sides

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for signing on today. I was at work reading the latest holiday issue of Buonappetite magazine and there was a side dish that struck me as interesting.  It was a parsnip, potato, and turnip puree with toasted panko breadcrumbs on top.
When I was a kid I was traumatized by the big chunks of turnips floating in chicken soup made by my well intentioned mother at the onset of a cold.  I remember thinking how offensive and unnecessary these big white carroty looking things were to MY soup...blech..gross...Ahh good times.
But as I've gotten older and my diet has changed, so has my palette. Primarily vegetarian, I've become more open minded to using different vegetables in different ways. So eating differently has forced me to think outside the box. I worked at a restaurant that used to serve parsnip puree, so naturally when I saw this recipe, I was right on the band wagon. One can only eat so many plain mashed potatos. The addition of roasted parsnips and turnips really elevated this to a new level for me and the texture of the toasted panko definately gave it  more modern twist. I really like this recipe. Im adding this to my catering menu. You can check out some of my other menu items on my website http://www.allisonsedibles.com/

I didn,t exacty follow the recipe from the magazine, but thats the wonderful thing about cooking. You can switch things up according to your taste and improvise (as opposed to baking which is an exact science)
Here is an approximation of my recipe

Turnip Potato and Parsnip Puree with Panko Breadcrumbs

1 1/2 pounds of turnips
1 1/2 pounds or parsnips
1 1/2 pounds of yukon gold or russet potatos
1/2 cup finely diced vidalia onions
1 clove garlic
3 tbls olive oil
1 cup(maybe a little more) or vegetable stock
Half &Half
1 stick of butter
salt and pepper
1 cup of panko bread crumbs

I roasted my turnips and parsnips in the oven at 400 degrees untill tender, while my potatoes were boiling.  I heated up the olive oil in a pan and started sweating my onions until they were tender. Then I smashed the clove of garlic and put the whole clove in the pan. I tranfered the veggies into the pan and added the vegetable stock and brought it to a boil them simmered until some of the liquid was gone. I drained my potatos and started to mash them. I added half of the butter. I then added the veggies and continued to mash adding the rest of the butter and the half&half. I seasoned to taste with salt and pepper and then used my hand mixer to make it extra fluffy. I then transfered it to a square pan. I melted a pat of butter in a pan and put a cup of pank breadcrumbs and stirred until they were slightly brown. I sprinkled on top of the puree and then baked it in the oven until brown.