Category: Side Dishes

Olga Bread

 

 

As a teenager, many of my friends worked at the fast food Greek restaurant Olga’s. On of my favorite things about this place was their bread. My best friend forwarded me the recipe found on food.com and my daughter absolutely loves it. You can use it as a wrap with meats or vegetables or just eat it plain like her, enjoy.

Ingredients;

1  cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup margarine ( I used butter)
1  teaspoon salt

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 pkg.)
1/4 cup warm water

1  teaspoon sugar

4  cups flour, divided
1 egg

  • Directions;
  • Scald milk, remove to large bowl. Add honey, margarine and salt to milk, stir until margarine is melted.
    Set aside to cool until lukewarm. Combine yeast, warm water and sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
    Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour to lukewarm milk mixture and beat well. Mix in egg and yeast mixture.Add remaining flour, a little at a time, until sticky dough is formed. Turn out on a floured surface, knead about two minutes. Place dough in oiled bowl. Turning once to oil whole surface of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm place until doubled in bulk.
  • Punch down dough; divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece to a thin rough circle about 8-1o inches in diameter.
  • Heat a large dry skillet over medium-high heat; do not use any oil.
    Bake 15 seconds, flip and bake about 10 seconds on other side, until mottled brown spots appear.
    Cool and store in a plastic bag. Makes: 16.

Corn Bread Muffins

 

Corn bread is a great side to serve with BBQ. Make some honey butter to spread on them and it’s even better. This is another recipe from America’s Best BBQ cookbook and the restaurant these delicious muffins come from is Branks BBQ & Catering in Sumner, Washington. They fall apart easily if you don’t let them cool as directed.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 to 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 11 TBS butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter 12 muffin cups. Combine all dry ingredients then sift into another bowl. In a separate bowl mix the buttermilk and egg together with a whisk. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until incorporated, do not over mix. Pour into muffin cups and bake in middle rack for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

Potatoes Au Gratin (Gratin Dauphinoise)

Breast of Chicken with Duxelles Stuffing

This is another recipe that I tried in my professional chef app; The Culinary Institute of America’s textbook.  Potatoes with cream, cheese, and butter; how could you go wrong? The recipe calls for a 10 serving dish but you can cut it all in half if you don’t want to make 3 pounds of potatoes.

Ingredients:

  • 3 lb chef’s potatoes
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 quart (4 cups) milk
  • freshly grated nutmeg, as needed
  • salt, as needed
  • 12 fl oz (1 1/2 cup) heavy cream
  • 4 oz (1/2 cup) butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (I added this, it is not in the original recipe in textbook)

Directions:

Scrub, peel, and thinly slice the potatoes using a mandoline or electric slicer. If you have to use a knife like me it will work. Put the garlic in a medium saucepan with the milk and bring to a boil. Season the milk with nutmeg, salt, and pepper and add sliced potatoes. Bring the milk to a simmer and cook potatoes until halfway cooked, 8-10 minutes, taking care that the milk does not boil over. Discard the garlic.

Transfer  the potatoes and milk to a buttered pan, pour cream over the top, dot with butter and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown and milk has been absorbed, about 45 minutes.

Allow the potatoes to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Sweet Potato Puree with Brown Sugar and Sherry

This is an intriguing recipe I found in my epicurious app and adapted a bit with marshmallows. The thing I absolutely loved about this dish is the hint of sherry. This is the second sweet potato dish I have placed on the website. You might be able to tell, I love sweet potatoes. If you don’t use 4 pounds of potatoes, reduce the amount of Sherry.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds medium-sized red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
  • 2 pounds medium-sized tan-skinned sweet potatoes
  • 10 TBS (1 1/4 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 5 TBS dry Sherry
  • 1 bag mini marshmallows
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pierce all sweet potatoes with fork and bake until tender, about 55 minutes. Cool slightly. Using spoon, scoop potato pulp into large bowl. Add butter and brown sugar, using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Beat in Sherry. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking pan and cover with one layer mini marshmallows. Bake for 6-8 minutes at 400 degrees or until marshmallows are tanned.

Chicken Chow Mein

 

My daughter told me her favorite meal is now chow mein so I thought I would give the homemade version a try. I looked through my Jamie Oliver Food Revolution cookbook and sure enough he had a healthy version of chow mein. She liked this dish so much that she asked me to make it every night…success! I changed a few things to our liking from the original recipe. Also, you can omit the chicken for a vegetarian version.

Recipe found in Jamie’s Food Revolution cookbook.

Ingredients:

  • • 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
    • 2 cloves of garlic
    • ½–1 fresh yellow chilli, to your taste
    • 1 large skinless chicken breast
    • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • Small bunch of fresh cilantro
  • • Peanut oil
    • 1 heaped teaspoon cornflour
    • 2–3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 baby bok choy
  • 4 shiitake mushrooms (optional)
  • 4 ounces chow mein noodles
  • 1 lime
  • 1 8 ounce can of water chestnuts (i omitted this because I don’t like water chestnuts)


Directions:

Put a large pan of water on to boil. Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Finely slice the chili. Slice the chicken into finger-sized strips and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cut the ends off your onions and finely slice. Pick the cilantro leaves and put to one side, and finely chop the stalks. Halve the bok choy length ways. If adding the mushrooms, either tear into pieces or leave whole.

Preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and once it’s very, very hot add a good lug of peanut oil and swirl it around. Stir in the chicken strips and cook for a couple of minutes, until the chicken browns slightly. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli, cilantro stalks, mushrooms (if using) and half the onions. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, keeping everything moving round the wok quickly. Add your noodles and bok choy to the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, no longer. Meanwhile, add the cornflour, water chestnuts and their water to the wok and give it another good shake to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.

Halve the lime, squeeze the juice of one half into the pan and mix well

Drain the noodles and bok choy in a colander over a bowl, reserving a little of the cooking water.

Stir in the noodles and bok choy with a little of the cooking water to loosen if necessary, and mix well.

Have a taste and season with more soy sauce if needed.

Use tongs to divide everything between two bowls or plates, or to lift on to one large serving platter. Spoon any juices over the top and sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

Serve with lime wedges.

Fried Rice

 

This is my own version of fried rice adapted from the Food Network and courtesy of Tyler Florence.

My daughter came home from her friends and said she loved fried rice. I had never made it before so I found a recipe online and served it to her. She said “yuck peas”, so a couple weeks later I tried again, but this time I replaced the peas with mushrooms, which she loves. This version turned out great but I took the cabbage and shrimp out of Tyler’s recipe. The nice thing is you can add whatever veggies you like and include or omit shrimp and/or chicken.

Ingredients:

  • 6 Tbs peanut oil
  • 2 shallots
  • 1 (2in) piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 cups cooked rice, preferably cooled.
  • 3 Tbs soy sauce
  • ¼ bunch scallions, sliced for garnish
  • ½ cup chopped peanuts, for garnish

Directions:

Heat 2 Tbs of the peanut oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium high. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the shallots and ginger stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 2 more Tbs of peanut oil, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, sauté mushrooms until tender, set aside.

Add remaining oil in wok and when hot, crack the eggs into the center. Scramble the egg lightly, and then let it set without stirring so it stays in big pieces. Fold the rice in and toss with egg until well combined.  Return all other ingredients to dish and season with salt and soy sauce, heat through. Garnish with scallions and peanuts.

 

Dawn’s Tri-tip Marinade and Seasoned Red Potatoes

 

 

My best friend, Dawn, was watching my children one day so that I could go to work and I came home to this delicious meal. My response was “when can you move in?” She is a fantastic cook and creates delicious meals without recipes. These are both her creations and as far as measurements, you will have to add to taste.

Dawn’s Tri-tip Marinade

Ingredients:

  • Montreal steak seasoning
  • Olive oil
  • Soy sauce
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Red wine vinegar

Directions:

Cut tri-tip into 1 inch slices and marinade for a couple hours in fridge. Grill or bake to preference.

Seasoned Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb red potatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Dried thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper or anything that you fancy for seasoning
  • Seasoning salt

Directions:

Cut potatoes into bite size  pieces. Put in bowl and stir in olive oil and seasoning to taste. Spread in one layer on cookie sheet and sprinkle seasoning salt on top. Roast for 30 minutes at 450 degrees. Broil last few minute to crisp and brown tops.

Roasted Red Potatoes

 

Try this simple potato dish that has been a favorite of my parents the few times I’ve cooked it for them. The skins of the potatoes are left on leaving all the flavor and the cheese gets crunchy on top.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound small red potatoes
  • 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:
Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Toss with oil. Place in a single layer in a greased pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until tender.

Sweet Potato Puree with Streusel

This recipe, found on epicurious.com, is the sweet potato dish I have been making with my Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for the past couple of years. It is delicious and very sweet, if you add marshmallows on top of the streusel. Look out sugar rush.

Ingredients:

  • 5 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, such as Louisiana, jewel, or garnet yams
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
  • 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

Directions:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Butter 9- by 13-inch baking dish or 2-quart casserole. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Pierce each potato with fork and transfer to baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes. Cool until easy to handle.

Meanwhile, make streusel: In medium bowl, combine flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 stick butter. Rub mixture between fingertips until blended and crumbly. Set aside.

Halve potatoes lengthwise and scoop out flesh into large bowl. Add remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar and 3/4 stick butter and mash with potato masher or, for a smoother purée, handheld electric mixer. Spread mixture in prepared dish and cool completely. (Streusel and purée can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated, separately, covered.)

Sprinkle streusel over potatoes. Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (Completed dish can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour before reheating and let come to room temperature. Bake, loosely covered with foil, until heated through, about 25 minutes.)

Variation:
Sweet potato purée with marshmallows: Omit streusel. Spread purée in baking dish, cover with foil, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle top with 3 cups miniature marshmallows and broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

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