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Category: Side Dish
Let’s start the week with everyone’s favorite Chinese soup – wonton soup. I am going to prepare this soup using my new Uno sous vide device from Creative Cuisine by Grant. This nifty device allows you to use an analog rice cooker or crock pot as the water bath while it controls the temperature for you. In talking with Bob Lamson of Creative Cuisine about sous vide cooking and how their device changes the paradigm, he challenged me to to use sous vide precision to prepare a soup. I was intrigued by the concept and of course, I accepted the challenge. So here we have a fairly simple dish that benefits from gentle cooking to meld the flavors of the broth, but needs an…
I know, I can hear it now… “What is this ‘More habits’ dish?” Basically, it is red beans and rice. A Caribbean style red beans and rice – in the style from the Dominican Republic (or so I read). This dish was an experiment in trying to scale the dish down to cooking for one, while still keeping the flavor and texture that makes this dish the staple it is. Overall, my effort tasted fine (maybe it needed a bit more salt for the amount I made) and the texture was close (the rice was slightly overcooked). Since it was an experiment and we all know I eat my experiments, I added 8 oz of linguiça – a sausage popular in Portuguese…
Tonight I made one of my standard side dishes – roasted brussel sprouts. It is a recipe so easily upgraded with the addition of a few additional ingredients. One of my favorite ways to make this dish is with bacon or pancetta. The smoky, sweet flavors really combine well with the caramelized sugars in the roasted brussel sprouts. But alas, that is not the recipe I made tonight. I opted to toast some roughly chopped hazelnuts and slivered garlic and tossed it together with some balsamic glaze to bring vibrant flavors to the dish. This side dish is easy and pairs with many main dishes – steak, chicken, fish, etc – which is why I keep variants of this dish in regular rotation. So without further ado, let…
Ahhh, the joys of comfort food. There is something about homemade macaroni and cheese that is so satisfying and it is so easy to make. This recipe will show you how to make a delicious macaroni and cheese in about the time it takes to boil the pasta. So pick up some tasty cheeses and let’s get busy making one of the classic comfort foods! Save Print Macaroni and Cheese Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 20 mins Serves: 2 Ingredients 6 oz shell or elbow pasta 2 oz bacon, sliced (optional) 1½ oz gruyere cheese, cubed or shredded 1 oz gouda cheese, cubed or shredded 1½ oz fontina cheese, cubed or shredded 1 oz…
Today I am sharing a recipe I received via a friend for oven baked crispy french fries. Much like mashed potatoes for one, I bet french fries are something most people do not make at home, especially if you are cooking for one. The myriad of problems with deep frying at home to get the desired results are just not worth the effort. That’s why I jumped on this oven baked option. And of course, I have twisted it slightly based on the most delicious french fries I can recall ever eating – the togarishi french fries at Redfin in Seattle (that unfortunately has since closed). I challenge you to try this recipe… and even create your own special fry seasoning, sharing your results in…
Here’s a quick, delicious way to prepare broccoli, that pairs perfectly with Veal or Chicken Picatta (and I’m sure other dishes as well!). The simplicity of this dish is in roasting the broccoli at a high heat, producing tasty caramelization. Adding the parmesan after roasting keeps the cheese from potentially burning, yet still melts nicely from the residual heat. I think it is time to roast some broccoli, don’t you? Save Print Roasted Parmesan Broccoli Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 25 mins Serves: 1 Ingredients 6 – 8 oz broccoli flowerets and sectioned stems (bite size). 2 tbsp olive oil ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional) salt and pepper to taste 1 tbsp…
Remember when I teased a few weeks back about experimenting with a macaroni and cheese recipe? Well, today I am going to share the results of the latest effort. I shared the results with a group of friends and it received overwhelming positive comments (i.e. everyone raved about it!). This recipe takes a little bit of effort, but then sometimes you have to make the effort to get the optimal results. I thinks this recipe could be augmented with additional lobster in larger chunks if desired where I opted for smaller pieces more likely to be in every bite. Either way you decide to make it, I suggest just making it! Let’s fire up a burner or two and get the oven hot, it’…
This morning I made popovers. To be honest, I had forgotten about these delectable, crispy, airy with a slight custard inside cousin to a Yorkshire pudding until I read a post about them while drinking my coffee. They are simple to make and versatile as you can ‘dress’ them with any jelly or jam (like the fig jam I made recently!), leftover cranberry sauce (like this orange cranberry sauce), butter, or honey for a tasty, simple, sweet breakfast. Heck, you can make these to go with a nice soup! I will admit the best results are achieved in a popover pan, but a muffin pan will work in a pinch. The straight sides of the popover pan and open structure help the popover ‘pop’…
Have you ever wanted mashed potatoes, but thought… how can you easily make it for just yourself? With the traditional cooking method you peel, quarter, boil, drain, mash/whip, add ingredients (butter, cream, herbs, etc) and serve. Doing that for one potato would give you half a serving by the time you deal with amounts of potato lost to the cooking and preparation process. Making 2 potatoes may be a solution, but then it can become a portion control issue. Well, I want to let you in on my latest experiment – sous vide mashed potatoes for one. I think this experiment will make it possible for any single diner to enjoy mashed potatoes (without having a lot of waste or extras or having to rely on…
Here is a throwback recipe I created as a challenge after a ‘Best of the Worst’ Bourbon tasting party I coordinated last year. With several slightly unpalatable bourbons left over, I accepted the challenge of creating recipes to use the leftovers in new recipes as an incentive for attendees to take the leftovers home with them! Here is the first recipe I created – a simple and flavorful bourbon baked beans. Save Print Bourbon Baked Beans Ingredients ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup bourbon ½ onion, diced 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil ¼ tsp cloves 6 slices bacon, cut in strips 1 15 oz can of pinto, great northern, or kidney beans (or equivalent amount of dry beans, soaked…