My Side Dish Dilemma

During the summer months there are so many options for side dishes and typically they contain veggies from your garden.  I struggle with coming up with side dishes during the colder months.  Since I regularly just cook for two, it’s really easy for me to make a main dish and forget about a side.  I recently purchased a new cookbook at Sam’s Club (guilty again!) called The Side Dish Handbook that contains just recipes for vegetable side dishes.  I’ve also seen this cookbook at Williams & Sonoma.  I thought I would share a few new favorite vegetable side dish recipes.  Each of these recipes has my own spin on the original found in this cookbook.  I admit I have a hard time sticking to a recipe!

The carrots and the butternut squash recipes would be great recipes to consider for holiday meals and both recipes pair well with a variety of meats.  The cauliflower is great if you like curry and it makes a good side dish for Indian or Asian inspired meals.  And the corn makes an excellent side dish for Mexican inspired meals if you want something other than Spanish rice and beans!

Enjoy!

-Em

Sweet-Hot Roasted Carrots (see photo on the cover of the cookbook)

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into sticks 1/2 inch thick

1 TBSP olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 lime

1 TBSP honey

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I added a little more for extra heat!)

Pre-heat the oven to 400° F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine the carrots, oil, and salt.  Toss to coat the carrots.  Place carrots on the baking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes making sure to turn the carrots over half way through the roasting time.  Meanwhile, grate the zest from the lime and combine with the juice from the lime, the honey, and the cayenne pepper in a very small sauce pan. During the last few minutes of the carrots roasting, heat the sauce over medium heat and stir until hot and bubbly.  Remove carrots from the oven and drizzle the sauce over the carrots.  Serve immediately.

Butternut Squash Puree with Sage

3 generous cups of peeled and cubed butternut squash

3 TBSP unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable broth

Salt

1 TBSP chopped sage (I used 1 teaspoon of dried sage.)

Combine all the ingredients in  large saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil and make sure the butter is melted.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 15 minutes.  I used a potato masher to blend the ingredients.

Curried Roasted Cauliflower

1 large head of cauliflower

3 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp  Curry powder

3/4 tsp salt

Pre-heat the oven to 400° F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.  Cut up the cauliflower into evenly sized florets, removing the core and leaves.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss until the cauliflower is coated.  Spread the cauliflower out on the parchment.  Roast for 35-40 minutes until the edges are browned.

Creamed Corn with Chipotle and Queso Fresco

4 cups frozen corn (unthawed)

2 TBSP butter

Salt

2/3 cup cream (I used whole milk)

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced

1 lime

3 TBSP queso fresco, crumbled

1-2 Green Onions, chopped (My own addition to this recipe!)

Melt the butter in a large sauté pain, add the corn and salt. Stir for 1 minute until heated through.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cover for 8 minutes.  Stir in cream (or milk) and chile then bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Squeeze juice from 1/2 lime into the pan.  Serve immediately topped with queso fresco (and green onions).