Take your broccoli salad up a notch two ways: with bacon and by roasting. Roasted broccoli has a unique flavor that makes this salad simple and irresistible
Side Dishes
Crispy Oven Baked Artichokes
Fresh artichokes are really tasty, especially when you get down to that delicious choke in the center, but they are a lot of work. So you’d think that canned, or jarred, artichokes would be a suitable substitute? Not really. It’s not as bad as fresh asparagus vs. canned asparagus, but […]
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
As side dishes go, Quinoa is the gift that keeps on giving. Here I give it a little Mediterranean flair with leftover pine nuts and olives. This dish follows the basic side dish formula of: Starchy Base + Something Crunchy + Something Herby + Something Acidic + A Little Bit of Oil. Though […]
Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic and Bacon
Brussels Sprouts have been quite the turnaround vegetable the past few years. Quickly rising from bad childhood memories to the Number 1 side dish on nearly every restaurant menu in America. In these Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts, I use a two temperature cooking method to get them tender in the […]
5 Different Ways to Cook Quinoa
For the last couple of years, Quinoa was the standout kitchen grain. Now overexposed by the food magazine and foodblog world, it’s been displaced by trendier grains like Freekeh, Amaranth and Farro. So if you still have pounds of quinoa in your pantry, here’s a roundup of a couple my […]
Quinoa with Corn and Black Bean Salsa
I love quinoa, and I love salsa, but never had I thought of combining them in the same dish until attending a Chicago media event to preview upcoming menu items at the Corner Bakery. One of the dishes they served was a quinoa salad made with a corn and black […]
Farro Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichokes
Farro is one of those grains that I normally pass over in the bulk section, opting instead for the old stand-by’s like brown rice, quinoa or Israeli cous-cous. How foolish I have been. And then one day, there was this huge bag of Farro at Costco tempting me with promises […]
Hasselback Potatoes in a Cast Iron Pan
Hasselback Potatoes are a great way to use a large quantity of potatoes and feed a large crowd. It’s also a visually stunning dish that will look great, served in the cast iron pan, directly to the table if you’re serving up family style. In this case of when I […]
Garlic Bread with Cheddar and Parmesan
There are two great things about day old baguette. One is croutons. The other….garlic bread. It’s stupid easy and will make you wonder why you ever bought something like this pre-made and frozen. For every foot of baguette, you’ll need 2 Tablespoons of butter and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. […]
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Orange
Some time ago, we swapped out sweet potatoes for white potatoes when it comes to all things mashed. You don’t need me to tell you about all of the nutritional reasons for this switch, but I would like to share some ideas based on our favorite way to make mashed […]