side dish tips
Source of Recipe
Los Angeles Daily News
Recipe Introduction
Here are some tips for turning ordinary side dishes into
pretty-looking and great-tasting accompaniments to any special meal.
List of Ingredients
* Fill fresh, whole tomatoes (with the tops cut off and sprinkled inside with a little salt and turned upside down for about 15 minutes before filling) with your favorite mashed potatoes. Place filled tomatoes in nonstick or oiled muffin cups, top with a sprinkling of shredded Cheddar cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.
* For another take on the tomato theme, fill small (not cherry tomatoes) tomatoes with packaged frozen spinach souffle that has been cooked until almost done. Place the filled tomatoes in the oven until heated through. Also fill large mushroom caps with cooked spinach souffle and heat in the oven several minutes until mushrooms are warm
and souffle is done.
* For a different twist on the salad theme, toss mixed greens with orange, red onion and avocado slices and dress with a vinaigrette zipped up with ground cumin, orange and lemon juices, and a dash of honey.
Or how about a pomegranate and papaya salad served atop mixed greens with a ginger-flavored dressing; or a pear, blue cheese and pecan salad.
* For a warm red cabbage salad, cook bacon slices until brown and crisp, then crumble and set aside. Keep a little bacon fat in the pan and add some olive oil, red wine vinegar, a tad of honey, a little minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until blended,
then heat over medium-high heat until warm. Add some finely shredded red cabbage, stirring, until warm throughout. Mix in bacon. Serve topped with coarsely crumbled feta cheese.
* Here's my favorite take on the classic green bean casserole. Mix 8 cups frozen whole green beans (haricots vert), drained and cut into pieces, with a can of mushroom soup, half of a 4-ounce can diced green chilies, 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, and seasoned salt and
garlic pepper to taste. Turn into a casserole or baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes. Sprinkle more shredded Cheddar cheese on top (or canned french fried onions) and continue baking 10 minutes longer.
* Zip up brussels sprouts with tangerine pieces, grated tangerine peel and butter; or serve in a white Cheddar sauce. To make the sauce, simply make a white sauce with butter, flour, milk and seasonings and stir in shredded sharp white Cheddar cheese. Another time, stir in prepared white horseradish or even a little Dijon mustard for a change of pace. Add a few blanched and peeled pearl or
small white onions, if desired.
* Serve creamed onions with some frozen, thawed peas tossed in for color.
* Potatoes of all sizes, colors and varieties can be prepared in dozens of ways -- mashed, layered, in gratins, candied, spiced, with herbs, spices, etc.
* For a beautiful-looking corn dish, cook frozen, thawed corn in a large skillet with a little butter, chopped green onions, chopped green Anaheim chilies, ground cumin, chopped red peppers and chopped fresh cilantro. Toss in a splash of lime juice and grated lime peel.
Stir in a few sliced ripe olives and sprinkle with more chopped cilantro.
* Top steamed broccoli with a little butter, crisp crumbled bacon and coarsely chopped pecan pieces.
* Just-cooked acorn squash halves can also be filled with hot mashed potatoes -- or even mashed yams.
* Vegetable purees transform ordinary vegetables into something special. For example, a pea puree looks and tastes delicious. You can make purees a day in advance and refrigerate because they reheat well. Butternut squash (with orange juice, honey, cinnamon, ginger and orange peel) or carrot puree are other winners along with sweet
potato puree with fresh ginger.
Recipe
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