The Art of the Side Dish

A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.

A typical American meal with a meat-based main dish might include one vegetable side dish, sometimes in the form of a salad, and one starch side dish, such as bread, potatoes, rice, or pasta.

The best meals require meal planning, timing the sides to accompany a meal is most important. Shown here is a sample menu from one of our family holiday meals. The host, my brother Jack is a chef by trade and this is how he plans a typical meal.

 Notice how Chef's meal plan includes the name, ingredients needed, and time the dish should go into the oven. This method is very effective as it allows the host to make sure you have all the ingredients you need for preparation and can time the sides around the main dish or dishes. This method also makes the most of your available workspace and oven space when planning a meal.

The side dishes that accompanied this particular meal included:

Lobster Mac & Cheese
Pork Empanadas
Veal Brats
Turkey Sausage
Beet Salad
Caprese Salads
Brussels Sprouts
Mushroom Strudel
Roasted Carrots
Stuffed Artichokes
Porcetta
Green Bean Cassarole
Double Baked Potato
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Douphanoise Potatoes

Do you have a method you use to plan your meals and side dishes?

Party Sandwiches

Angie made Hawiian Ham & Swiss Slider party size sandwiches.
She found the recipe on the King Hawiian website

Yes, they tasted as good as they looked.

641.5 S Food That Says Welcome!

Sharon shared with the group a book that she found in the cookbook section of MacDonald Public Library.

She stopped on page 28, when the recipe for a Won Ton Appetizer's caught her eye.

 

In the spirit of cookbook club, she looked and cooked and ...

 

she brought samples for club members to taste. 

They were delicious!

Recipe Variations

Recipe variations were a topic of discussion at the January Cookbook Club Meeting.  Mary Jo created a variation of her brother Jack's  Insalata Caprese. Traditional Insalata Caprese is made with fresh tomato slices, mozzarella, basil, salted and peppered to taste and should only be adorned with olive oil, the best you can afford, with no vinegar of any kind being used in Jack's version.

Mary Jo's variation substitutes strawberries for the tomato and uses balsamic vinegar and a lime infused olive oil. This recipe chosen because caprese can be served as an appetizer or salad.  

Mary Jo's Strawberry Caprese

You will need:

3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt & pepper
3 tablespoons lime infused olive oil
fresh chopped basil (about 1/3 cup)
 8 ounces fresh mozzarella
4 cups fresh strawberries (cleaned and halved)
Caramelized Walnuts (Garnish to taste)

Follow these steps:

Whisk together vinegar, brown sugar, salt & pepper  until sugar dissolves

Add olive oil in a slow drizzling stream, whisking constantly. You will know it is ready when the consistency thickens.

Slice fresh mozzarella and toss with chopped basil in sauce to coat. Can be served in individual portions, on a serving dish or in a bowl.

Garnish with walnuts to taste & serve.



The topic of the "happy accidents" we make while preparing a dish came up as Mary Jo mentioned that she did not notice until it was too late that the olive oil she took from the cabinet and used was infused with lime. Thankfully the caprese did not soak in the liquid too long and as a result had a delightful citrus flavor. Hence the accident ended up being a happy accident.

 A recipe as such is merely a list of ingredients and is not considered to be protected by copyrighted, any little variation gives the recipe your personal touch. The group discussed other recipes they've changed. It was mentioned that this is likely why there is such an abundance of cookbooks available.

Recipes are meant to be shared, feel free to share & enjoy!

Family Recipes

 

Food is the ingredient that ties family memories together. When you think about family gatherings whether they be, holidays, birthdays, Sunday dinners, anniversaries, special events, or reunions the memories you often want to preserve are connected to feel good comfort foods.

Maureen spoke of the importance of preserving family recipes. She brought Crab Dip to share with the group, a favorite family comfort food recipe enjoyed by members of her family. 

Inquiring minds want to know: What are the must have appetizer's that are a part of your family gatherings?