Showing posts with label side dishes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label side dishes. Show all posts
I am always trying to spice up our side dishes a bit, trying to make them a bit more interesting than just boiled or steamed veg. Don't get me wrong, I adore boiled or steamed veg (so long as they are crispy tender and not cooked to death), but every now and then I like to shake things up a tiny bit and add some extra flavours.
Its very easy to do, and it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to add a lot of calories either. Today I added some fresh garden thyme, a bit of honey and some lime zest and juice to the carrots with fabulous taste results. Carrots and Thyme really go well together as does thyme. I was a bit dubious about adding the lime, but with the honey, it went really well. I also added chopped parsley to help pretty them up a bit more as the thyme and lime zest were not showing very well.
These really are delicious and quite adaptable to other flavours as well!
This is a recipe which is very easily doubled or halved as well. I halved it as there are just the two of us, and it worked really well. We had plenty and I still had some to share with Mitzie. She love, LOVES carrots!
Yield: 4
Carrots with Honey, Lime & Thyme
One of our favourite ways to enjoy carrots. These make a great side dish for the holidays. Recipe can be easily doubled.
ingredients:
1 1/2 TBS butter
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into juilienne strips
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried
2 TBS water
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into juilienne strips
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried
2 TBS water
1 TBS fresh lime juice
the finely grated zest of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp honeyinstructions:
Melt
the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots,
stirring well to coat. Saute, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. Add
the thyme, stock, lime juice, zest and honey. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 to 10
minutes until the carrots are nice and tender. Remove with a slotted
spoon and arrange in a serving dish. Delicious!
the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots,
stirring well to coat. Saute, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. Add
the thyme, stock, lime juice, zest and honey. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 to 10
minutes until the carrots are nice and tender. Remove with a slotted
spoon and arrange in a serving dish. Delicious!
Created using The Recipes Generator
Recently I've been working hard on trying to control my portions and I got myself this Deluxe Meal Portion Control Tool. I find it is really doing a great job of helping me with this!!
I had moved to a sandwich sized plate for my meals a few years ago, which was a positive step in the right direction, but you know . . . you can pile things up as high as you like on a sandwich plate without really realising what you are actually doing.
Each section is clearly marked. There are two for fruits and vegetables. One for Starch, meaning potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.
It is surprising just how much 1 cup of vegetables amounts to! I have always tended to load up on the carbs and protein . . . but this helps to balance things out a lot better.
It is much easier to be accountable when you know exactly what you are putting on your plate.
The fourth section is perfectly sized for a portion of protein. As you can see, even a portion of meat with some gravy fits into the protein space, so that you are getting just the right amount, no more or no less.
Now that's what I call a well proportioned plate. As a Type Two Diabetic I really need to watch my portion controls, especially when it comes to carbohydrates. This Deluxe Meal Portion Control is really helping me to do that! I am really grateful for it! It is helping me to organise my nutrition, maintain a healthy diet and control my portion sizes, and it is dishwasher safe, which is great! Do check out the link. There is free shipping within the continental US, and there is only a small charge to ship it worldwide. I had mine within a week of ordering it. At the moment it is also available for $8.99 USD, which is lightly less than half of the normal price. You can't lose! Do check out the link to find out more! Thanks!
One thing the month of August always meant, the whole of my life . . . was that fresh CORN season was finally here! I have always looked forward to it the whole year through. There is nothing on earth as delicious as a hot ear of freshly picked corn on the cob with cold butter and salt. Nothing. Okay . . . maybe there are a few things . . . but fresh corn on the cob is definitely in the top ten of my most beloved tastes for sure! Up until this summer it had been 18 years since I had been able to enjoy this delectable delicacy. My friend Eric however, grows beautiful corn, and has gifted me several times this season already! Let me tell you, each time it has tasted like a little bit of Manna from Heaven to me!!!
He gave me some more this past Sunday, and I decided to treat Todd to real Home Style Cream Corn, which is a bazillion times better than what comes in a can! It can be a bit of work to make, with cutting the corn kernels from the cobs and scraping them, but the taste is worth every bit of extra effort! Just make sure you use a large deep bowl when you are scraping the cobs, or you will literally have it everywhere. (That is the voice of experience speaking.)
You will only want to cut off the kernels about 3/4 of the way through, leaving about 1/4 of each kernel on the cob. Then you just take the back of the knife and use it to scrape the milk and pulp from each cob. This is the messy part, but you really want those bits. Those are the very essence of the flavour of the corn. After that it is pretty easy going.
The kernels, pulp and milk get put into a large skillet with some melted butter and a bit of water and sugar. Keep cooking and stirring until your corn is tender. You will have to keep tasting it to test it for doneness, as the time is variable depending on the size and age of your corn. Smaller younger kernels take a shorter time, more mature corn kernels take a bit longer.
Once your corn is tender you add a roux of flour and water to help thicken the corn juices . . . let it cook for a couple of minutes to cook out the flour taste. Oh, and some seasoning also. Did you know that you shouldn't add salt to corn while you are cooking it? Just sugar. Salt toughens it. True fact. You want to add the salt after it is cooked, just to season it.
Once the flour flavour has cooked out of the roux, you will be adding some single cream (half and half) along with a few splashes of hot pepper sauce and some honey. You could also use milk, but I like the single cream. It is really lovely If you do use milk, make sure it is whole milk . . . full fat milk . . . in for a penny, in for a pound!!
The end result is a dish that is fabulously tasty!! Rich and creamy!
I could eat a whole bowl of this and nothing else . . . glutton that I am . . . corn lover that I am . . .
And why not! Its only once a year, or . . . in my case . . . once in 18 years!!! Thank you Eric!
Yield: 6-8
Home Style Cream Corn
I love tinned cream corn and this is a bazillion times better. I really only make it when fresh corn is in season, so its a once a year kind of a treat!
ingredients:
6 ears of freshly picked corn
65g butter (1/4 cup)
3 TBS water
1 tsp sugar
1 TBS plain flour, blended with 1 1/2 TBS water
1/2 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
180ml single cream (3/4 cup half and half)
few splashes hot pepper sauce
splash of liquid honey
instructions:
Remove the husks and silk from the ears of corn. The easiest way to do this
is to cut the cobs off about 1/2 inch from the base end and peel from
that end down to the tip. You will find that the silk comes off
beautifully. Its simple. Trim off about 1/2 inch from the pointed end
to make a flat end. Make sure you use a large deep bowl. When you start
scraping the cobs the corn and its juices will fly everywhere!
is to cut the cobs off about 1/2 inch from the base end and peel from
that end down to the tip. You will find that the silk comes off
beautifully. Its simple. Trim off about 1/2 inch from the pointed end
to make a flat end. Make sure you use a large deep bowl. When you start
scraping the cobs the corn and its juices will fly everywhere!
Stand the corn, one ear at a time, in the bowl and using a sharp knife, cut
the kernels from the cob only cutting about 3/4 of the way through. Once
you have removed all the kernels, using the back side of the knife,
scrape down the cobs to extract all of the milk and pulp from the corn.
the kernels from the cob only cutting about 3/4 of the way through. Once
you have removed all the kernels, using the back side of the knife,
scrape down the cobs to extract all of the milk and pulp from the corn.
You will need a fairly large skillet. Melt the butter in the skillet over
medum low heat. Once the butter has melted, pour in the corn and all of
the juices/pulp. Add the 3 TBS of water and the sugar. Cook, stirring
frequently, until the corn is tender and cooked. This will take at
least 10 minutes or so. Keep tasting to check. At the end of that
time, stir in the flour which has been blended with the water, salt and
black pepper. Stir this into the corn and cook for a further 2 minutes,
stirring constantly. Stir in the cream, pepper sauce and honey. Heat
through for a few more minutes, without boiling. Taste and adjust
seasoning as required.
medum low heat. Once the butter has melted, pour in the corn and all of
the juices/pulp. Add the 3 TBS of water and the sugar. Cook, stirring
frequently, until the corn is tender and cooked. This will take at
least 10 minutes or so. Keep tasting to check. At the end of that
time, stir in the flour which has been blended with the water, salt and
black pepper. Stir this into the corn and cook for a further 2 minutes,
stirring constantly. Stir in the cream, pepper sauce and honey. Heat
through for a few more minutes, without boiling. Taste and adjust
seasoning as required.
Variation - You can whisk in a TBS of lime juice and add a TBS of chopped fresh basil leaves
at the end for another lovely version as well!
at the end for another lovely version as well!
Created using The Recipes Generator
I really hope you are able to procure some freshly picked corn to make this delicious dish. I think you will agree with me when I say, this is one of the best ways to enjoy fresh corn ever!!! Bon Appetit and Happy Corn Season!
There is no denying it. I am having a long-standing love affair with potatoes. In any way, shape or form, this love affair has been going on for all of my life. My mom always made the best mashed potatoes on the planet. Her secret was to grate a bit of raw onion into them. Talk about small addition that packs a walloping flavour punch. They were fabulous. Love my mom's mash!
And don't get me started on her pan fries. Occasionally she would boil extra potatoes (in the skins) just so she could make us pan fries for supper the next night. I can remember watching her peel them and then she would methodically cut them into thin slices and pan fry them . . . in butter . . . a few slices at a time, until they were golden brown all over. I think they were everyone's favourite!!! There were never enough of them to satisfy our appetites! Just enough to keep us wanting more!
A real treat would be on Saturday evenings when she would occasionally make us weiners and chips. Hand cut, home fried chipped potatoes, with hot dogs added to the fat for the last few minutes . . . the chips all golden brown and delicious, the hot dogs, gilded and crisp. Just the thought makes me salivate.
Rich and creamy scalloped potatoes . . . she didn't make any fancy sauces . . . they were simply sliced potatoes and onions, layered in a dish with salt, pepper, a bit of flour, and some dobs of butter between the layers and rich creamy milk pour over top. Baked until the potatoes were meltingly tender . . . the milk would scald, and a rich sauce would form from the flour and butter between the layers, seriously tasty. Always a treat.
My Todd is a MASH fiend. He quite simply adores mash. Today I amped it up a bit by using some additional flavours . . . with the addition of parsnips and swede (rutabaga to you North Americans) in a mash that gives you a triple whammy of deliciousness!
Mashed together into a fabulous meld of loveliness along with some butter, milk and cream . . .
Mmmm . . . so good, so easy, so tasty, but that is not all, no . . . that is not all . . .
I have added some interest and additional flavours by creating a delicious horseradish bread crumb to sprinkle over top of the potatoes. Oh so scrummy!
These were . . . there is no other word to describe them . . . FANTABULOUS!!!
So fantabulous that I am surprised as much made it to the table as did . . . my fork kept accidentally dipping into them for just one more taste test . . . oh, yes . . . I can be that naughty.
*Triple Mash with Horseradish Crumbs*
Serves 6
Place all of the vegetables into a pot of lightly salted water
to cover. Bring to the boil, then cook at a quick simmer until all of
the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, melt 2 TBS of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once it begins to foam, add the bread crumbs. Cook, stirring, until the crumbs start to toast and brown. Add the horseradish and stir it in, cooking for about a minute longer. Set aside and keep warm.
Once the vegetables are tender, drain well. Return to the pot and shake over the residual heat from the burner until they have dried out. Mash well with the remaining butter, stirring in the milk and cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt as requried and the pepper. Spoon into a serving bowl and sprinkle the crumbs over top. Serve immediately.
Next time you are doing a roast dinner, or simply grilling chicken, chops or steaks, do yourself a favour and try out this most delicious mash. You won't be sorry. I promise. Bon Appetit!
If you are looking for a worthy candidate for a side dish for your Easter dinner this year, look no further. Twice Baked Mash just might be exactly what you are looking for. Its delicious. Its simple. It goes with everything, and everyone loves it!
When I was a child, my mother sometimes made twice baked potatoes. When that happened, we were all happy campers! She would carefully scoop out the potato pulp from the baked potatoes and mash it together with milk, butter, seasoning and chopped onion and then pile it back into the potato skins and bake then in the oven again until the potato flesh got a nice golden crust on it. They were so good and a real treat!
As a grown up, and with more sophisticated tastes, I added extras to them, like cheese and bacon. Spring onions were more available, so I added those as well as their flavour was milder than the regular onions my mother would have used. They mimicked somewhat the baked potatoes and options for topping them that were often available in restaurants.
It wasn't much of a stretch to replace the butter in the old fashioned ones with cream cheese and sour cream, other things that were becoming more readily available, and adding bacon was another treat!
This recipe today is a rif on all of that except that there is no baking of the potatoes, scooping them out, etc. You just simply peel and boil potatoes as if to make mashed potatoes.
Crisp rashers of bacon are crumbled and stirred in along with some minced spring onions and some seasoning . . . you can leave the bacon out if you want to or if you are watching the fat and calories.
For special occasions, like Easter, I go full fat and leave in the bacon. After all it is a celebration meal. Spread it all into a buttered shallow casserole dish and sprinkle some strong cheddar cheese over top and bake . . .
Until all the ingredients meld together in a creamy deliciousness and that cheese melts on top . . .
You simply garnish the finished dish with more chopped spring onions to serve and everyone's a happy camper.
Oh boy but this is some good . . . rich, creamy and delicious. Going well with any roast and in particular roast ham, which is what we have had for Easter Dinner my whole life.
*Twice Baked Mash*
Serves 6
Serves 6
This makes an excellent side dish and goes with just about everything.
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
115g herbed cream cheese, softened (4 ounces)
60g sour cream (1/2 cup)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked until crisp and then crumbled
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
60g grated strong cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
to garnish:
additional chopped spring onion
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
115g herbed cream cheese, softened (4 ounces)
60g sour cream (1/2 cup)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked until crisp and then crumbled
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
60g grated strong cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
to garnish:
additional chopped spring onion
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Butter a large shallow baking dish. (2 litre/2qt) Set aside.
Place the potatoes into a pot of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, partially covered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender and cooked through. Drain well and then return to the pot and mash well with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in the cream cheese, sour cream, spring onions, bacon bits, seasoned pepper and salt, mixing all in until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Spoon this mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese evenly over top.
Bake in the heated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the additional onions on top and serve.
Another plus for this dish is that it is very easily made ahead of time. Just make it up, sprinkle on the cheese and then refrigerate covered until you are ready to bake it, removing it from the refrigerator and bringing it to room temperature prior to baking. Its also a GREAT take-along, so works well if you have been asked to bring a side dish to a friend or family celebration dinner or covered dish supper! This really is a winning side dish. Bon Appetit!
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