I thought I'd hit every base when it came to recipes for Thanksgiving. Apparently not. My son asked to make sure I included some version of sautéed greens, so I came up with this.

It always surprises me how such a big bunch of greens can yield just a small amount of cooked vegetables; I purchased two large bunches of chard, which only yielded 6 cups of finished greens. The walnuts beef up the portion size and bacon adds a festive flavor wallop to the greens —a fine Thanksgiving warmup dinner for two.

Yield: about 7 cups

Ingredients

5 pieces raw bacon

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

2 pounds chard, stems and leaves separated, chopped (see Note)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Instructions

1. Fry bacon in a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat, until crispy. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels; discard all but 2-3 tablespoons bacon fat.

2. Add shallots, chard stems and thyme to the pan drippings and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the shallots begin to brown, 6-8 minutes.

3. Add chard leaves, water and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes. (Note: I used a Dutch oven, and initially the pot was packed. If you don't have a large pan, you may want to use two pans.) Cover and cook until tender, 2 to 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat; stir in the bacon, walnuts and season to taste with freshly ground pepper and kosher salt, if desired.