Side Dishes

Homemade Rice-A-Roni with Feta and Chives

April 28, 2020

How are you? I hope you are well and happy, and making some sense of this new reality of ours. Are you creating new daily routines? We are setting into our new schedules, bit by bit. We live out in the woods and have traded in our daily trip to the gym ‘in town’ for long walks along country roads. I have exchanged daily grocery shopping trips for attempting to work through the inventory of long forgotten things in my freezer (this has proven to have plusses and minuses). Even though grocery shopping is extremely limited these days, I still cannot resist snooping in the aisles to see what seem to be the items most in demand. One thing is for certain – you are a lucky individual if you can find any pasta or rice on the shelves. It appears that all of our hoarding instincts have zeroed in on those comforting carbohydrates.

If you are someone who has an abundance of pasta and rice, and now can’t stand the thought of cooking either the same familiar way again, here’s a new approach. Here we have a homemade version of Rice-A-Roni. This recipe was developed one night when I realized there wasn’t enough left-over rice for dinner, so a trip to the pantry turned up some spaghetti. After breaking the spaghetti into about 1-inch pieces, I sautéed it in a skillet until toasty and brown, added some broth and other assorted things and cooked till tender. In went the rice and there you have it. Something about the creaminess of the pasta vs. the chewy bite of the rice that makes me keep going back for another bite. Another good thing about this recipe is that it works with either left over pasta or rice, and besides that you can add anything else you like. Oh!! And if you add some feta cheese and stir in just until it melts – let’s just say I had to go lay down after eating almost an entire pan full.

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Roasted Sweet Onions Stuffed with Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding

November 4, 2019

This recipe originated from one I tried several years ago on some unsuspecting out of town guests. During that effort, whole onions were stuffed with breadcrumbs and some cheese and ended up being pretty dry and lacking in the flavor department. Our guests were polite about the whole thing, but I noticed much of this item being pushed around on the plate without being actually eaten. Back to the drawing board to tackle the problem areas, and I think we now have a winner. Whole onions are roasted (super easy but a little time consuming), then cooled, hollowed out and filled with a savory bread pudding that is creamy and cheesy and full of mushrooms, roasted onion and tons of herbs. And because we can never have too much bread pudding, the stuffed onions sit on a nice bed of the bread pudding to boot. This makes an awesome side dish, and one you might want to think about over the holidays. It does take some time and probably needs to be done over two days, but the pieces come together pretty quickly. However…. if you’d rather skip the whole onion stuffing idea, the bread pudding is delicious on its own. The completed dish can be done in advance a day or two before dinner, so all that’s left is to pop it in the oven and serve.

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Mexican Spoonbread with Poblano Chilis & Corn with Fresh Tomato Salsa

September 19, 2019

Do you ever have one of those recipes in your head you’ve heard about and that sounded droolingly delicious, but you’d never even tasted it before? Such is the case with yours truly and Spoonbread. Just the sound of the name made me think of something creamy and most likely irresistible. Spoonbread is a classic dish in the South and is usually made by cooking some cornmeal and milk on the stove top, then adding some eggs and maybe some cheese and baking it into a soft, creamy side dish. I started upon my quest by looking at several recipes, made my own tweaks and came up with this one. It’s my own spin on this Southern classic, with some amped up flavor from the Poblano Chilis and Corn. I also snuck in plenty of jack cheddar cheese to ensure the gooey factor in the equation. And since there are still good tomatoes to be found, stirred together this quick fresh salsa with some jalapeno, lime, and cilantro to top things off. Bake your Spoonbread until it’s just set and prepare yourself…. this one will knock your socks off.

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Old Fashioned Potato Salad For A Crowd

July 1, 2019

Do you have a crowd to feed this 4th of July? Me too. It is tradition in our family that I make the potato salad, and that I make enough for a ton of people so everybody can take some home. This was also one of my dad’s favorite dishes, and since the 4th of July was his favorite holiday, he has been on my mind a lot lately.

I miss my dad. Every single day. He was a prince among men, disguised in a rumpled shirt, reading glasses covered with paint splatters, bits of sawdust and motor oil, and a baseball cap that looked like it had been run over several times.

My dad put training wheels on my first bicycle, and bought me a pony when I was too little for a big horse. He bought my first car, a three speed, 1965 Mustang that had seen much better days. Then he took his life into own his hands and taught me how to drive it. He helped buy my first house, and spent an entire year fixing it up. We fought like cats and dogs during that year, since we each had a different perspective on how the place should look. He favored white, black, and red. I despised them. One day, I was painting the dining room ceiling a vivid rose color (looking back, it was hideous and I eventually did it over in another color). Grandpa Bob walked in, saw what I was doing, and had a fit. Then he stomped out and slammed the door. Thirty minutes later he came back with two giant ice cream cones. That is how the year progressed. We went through a lot of ice cream, and he never gave up on me.

Our dad loved every single moment of his life, had an amazing sense of observational humor, and could sell you the Brooklyn Bridge even if you already had one. He loved to eat, and this Potato Salad was always one of his favorites. He would always ask for seconds, but would caution, “Just a little spoonful. I’m delicate, you know”. Happy 4th of July, Grandpa Bob. I love you. …now let’s get going on this recipe!

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Summer Orzo Pasta Salad with Feta and Lemon & Herb Dressing

June 13, 2019

This summer salad is quick, easy, delicious and loves to travel. What more could you ask for? Perfect for Tailgates, Potlucks, Picnics or whenever you feel like it. This guy loves to be served at room temperature, so no worries about keeping him cold. because that’s when the flavors of the herbs really pop. In fact, I have been known many times to heat this salad and serve as a side dish along with supper. The orzo is bathed in lemon juice and olive oil, and he scent of herbs perfumes the dish and makes it irresistible. Pack some along to your next gathering, or do like I do and stash a bowl in the refrigerator for a supper side dish during those hot days of summer when the thought of cooking just makes you mutter ‘ugh’.

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Mushroom & Barley Risotto with Italian Parsley Pesto

March 28, 2019

There’s still enough of a spring chill in the air to enjoy a hearty, comforting, and cheesy supper. If you’ve been reluctant to make risotto using the traditional Arborio rice, thinking it sounds too tricky, here’s a solution for you: Risotto made with barley is every bit as satisfying and delicious as that made with rice, but much easier to deal with on the cooking end of things. Barley doesn’t need to be constantly stirred and fussed over – it’s quite content just to pretty much bubble along all by itself, with an occasional stirring from the cook just to keep things moving. The end result tastes (and is) wholesome with just the right amount of chewy bite. This version has tons of mushrooms, both sliced and chopped, to amp up the flavor. And as a salute to spring, the finished dish is topped with a fresh, lemony Italian Parsley Pesto that comes together in minutes. Toss on some cheese, and you’re home free without even breaking a sweat.

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Frico – A Parmesan Cracker

March 21, 2019

This quite possibly could be one of the easiest recipes I have ever made, but it never ceases to amaze me and anybody I serve it to. Why? Simple. It tastes incredible, and – it has only one ingredient, which happens to be cheese. It’s really hard to find a cheese hater out there, and even more difficult to find a melted cheese hater. Grate it, bake it, eat it, share some, then hide the rest for yourself.

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Hasselback Potatoes with Fresh Rosemary and Provolone & Machengo Cheese

January 24, 2019

Have you joined the hasselback potato craze yet? I feel as if I am late to that particular party but have finally joined in on the fun. A hasselback potato is just a potato that has been very thinly sliced about 2/3 of the way down, all the way across, then roasted. The slices open up during roasting, kind of like the petals of a flower. This equals to a crispy crust and soft interior, looking quite handsome and tasting as good as they look. You can add whatever you like to the potato tops, and in this case I thought we’d go for some fresh rosemary and a cheese blend of Machengo and Provolone. They are quick and easy to make, and look like they take a whole lot more effort than they do, which is a big win-win in my book. Check out the recipe below and I’ll show you how it’s done.

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Winter Vegetables with Candied Walnuts and Maple, Butter & Balsamic Glaze

January 10, 2019

I, for one, felt the need to lay off the holiday stuffing of myself for a while. This does not mean that I am willing to give up food that is good for me, looks better than good enough to eat, and that has a few little indulgences thrown in for good measure. Here we have a big variety of winter vegetables that have been either steamed or roasted (and in some cases both), then heaped up on a platter and topped with plenty of sweet & salty candied walnuts. The whole works is then drizzled generously with a glaze made with butter, maple syrup and balsamic vinegar. This is coincidentally the same mixture that is used to candy the walnuts, so we happily cut down on some effort there. The result: a beautiful, healthy, and just a tad bit sinful way to jump on the new year. And before you say anything – yes, I have gone overboard with the variety of vegetables here and don’t expect many people in their right mind to do the same, but this can give you many options to think about. How about choosing just one, maybe two, or maybe even three? The variety of tastes and colors can do nothing but make your day a happier, and healthier one. You can think about it this way…the more vegetables you use, the more candied walnuts and buttery glaze you get…I like to operate under those types of principles.

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Toasted Orzo with Spinach & Feta

March 2, 2018

Here’s an easy side dish I developed pretty much by accident due to the fact that I stepped away from the stovetop while attempting an orzo risotto recipe. Orzo is a little pasta shape that looks a lot like big grains of rice. When I returned to the stove, I saw that the orzo was super toasted, and there was no way that was going to cooperate into giving off its starch to becoming a creamy risotto. “Rats”, I thought, but then decided just to go with it and see what happened. The result was this happy surprise. Toasting the orzo until just a tad past golden brown gave it a nutty, more developed flavor, and didn’t make the pasta clump up – not one bit. The addition of some wine, then chicken broth, further popped up the flavor. But being one who can’t leave well enough alone, I grabbed a couple of handfuls of baby spinach and tossed them in until just softened, then finished the whole business with some crumbled feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, and roasted garlic. Yowza.

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