Side Dishes

Spicy Corn Fritters with Raita

Corn, or maize, is a traditional ingredient of comfort foods in my native American South. Although less complete nutritionally than several other grains, corn makes up for this with its versatility. Dried and milled, it’s used for our beloved cornbread, spoon bread, and hoecakes. Processed through the 3,000-year-old technique of [...]

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Roasted Pepper Pasta, Puttanesca Style

Sometimes the best laid dinner plans go awry. For example, how often have you arrived home late after a busy day to find a scenario similar to the following? Junior was hungry and made an afternoon snack of last night’s leftover meatloaf, which you intended to serve for dinner tonight. [...]

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Broccoli with Shiitake Mushrooms and Shallots

My decision about which green vegetables to serve with holiday dinners revolves around what, if anything, is ready for harvest in my home garden. Normally, my fall garden is not quite up to full speed by Thanksgiving day, so I serve my own lightened up, from-scratch version of traditional green [...]

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Mom’s Hot “German” Potato Salad

Let me make a confession. I’m not very good at following recipes. On the rare occasion when I actually have a recipe in front of me while cooking, I feel compelled to tinker with it by adding a pinch of this or a splash of that. Or I transform it [...]

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Fresh Zucchini Pickle, Asian Style

Do you have zucchinis (courgettes) growing in your garden now? Have you reached the panic stage yet about what to do with them all? Most home gardeners I know have a love-hate relationship with this vegetable. They love it because it’s both delicious and productive. And they hate it because, [...]

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Green Chili Cilantro Cornbread

Every culture has its quintessential comfort food staple dish, and my peripatetic career has exposed me to many of them. In many Asian countries, rice is part of virtually every meal. In Kenya, ugali (corn meal mush) rules, as does motoke (plantain mush) in Uganda. Italians are comforted by their [...]

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Tomato, Basil and Goat Cheese Gelatin Salad

I love jello. There, I actually said it. And I’ve never understood why it’s considered déclassé. It’s cool and refreshing in summer. It can be made with any number of fresh fruits, juices, vegetables, or seafoods. It’s pretty and fun to make. And finally, it jiggles. What’s not to love [...]

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Roasted Asparagus with Caesar Dressing

I do my best to eat produce grown locally and preferably sourced from my own organic garden. However, there are several temperate zone fruits and vegetables that refuse to grow in my semi-tropical part of Florida (I’ve tried) and are simply too tempting to live without. Who can resist the [...]

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Feta Dill Bread Braid

Garlic bread, a twice baked bread typically made with store-bought baguettes, is an ever popular side dish at mealtime, but then so too is home baked bread, straight from the oven. As both a committed bread baker and garlic bread devotee, I often find myself puzzling out how to incorporate [...]

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Suzanne’s Perfect Cucumber Vinaigrette Salad

Suzanne, or more properly Huguette Suzanne, has been my mother’s best friend for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always thought of her as my second mom, my Parisian mom. She somehow combines, in that peculiarly French way, bedrock practicality with great style and also a no-nonsense manner [...]

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