Tag: Sides

Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar

I had cowboy caviar for the first time in a long time at my friend Mari Clare’s river house. She had made a huge batch of it for us all to snack on all weekend. I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to eat it with 

Elote Dip For Everyone

Elote Dip For Everyone

This elote dip for everyone – adults and babies – will be a hit with everyone. It’s a great recipe for a party and there are easy modifications to make it for a baby as well! See the instagram post here Elote dip for everyone! 

Savory Cheesy Sun-dried Tomato Babka

Savory Cheesy Sun-dried Tomato Babka

I love a sweet babka, but this savory cheesy sun-dried tomato babka was next level delicious. One of my favorite sweet bakers to follow is Erin at Cloudy Kitchen. This recipe uses her babka dough as the base, with a few very minor tweaks, and then deviates from there for a savory delicious cheesy bread.

This one takes a little patience with two 1-1.5 hour proofs and one 45 minute chill, but it is SO worth it! Plan ahead for this one – it takes most of the day. Even mixing the dough takes up to 30 minutes. I promise it’s all worth it for the cheesy babka goodness.

Again, this dough is from this Chocolate and Espresso babka from Erin at Cloudy Kitchen and I HIGHLY suggest you make this one too if you have a sweet tooth! She does everything in grams which I also highly highly recommend doing, but I know not everyone has a scale (though you should get one!) so I did my best on rough translations. Seriously though, just get a scale.

This makes TWO loaves! Bring one to a friend! Or eat both.

Babka Dough, adapted from Cloudy Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 250g (roughly 1 cup) whole milk, warm
  • 2 1/4 tsp (1 small packet) active dry yeast
  • 4 tbsp sugar, divided in two
  • 565g (roughly 4 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 stick salted butter, room temp

Start by whisking the warm milk, yeast, and 2 tbsp of the sugar together and set aside for 10 minutes or so, until mixture is foamy.

Add all of the flour, remaining 2 tbsp of sugar, and 1 tsp salt to the bowl of a stand mixer with a bread hook and add in the foamy milk/yeast/sugar mixture. Crack in the two eggs and beat on low until mixture comes together – a few minutes.

Beat for 10 minutes on medium speed.

Reduce speed to low and slowly add in the butter, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Wait until it is mostly incorporated before adding the next. This may take several minutes. Once it’s all added, beat on medium speed for another 2 minutes or so, until dough is uniform.

Place in a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel, and place in a warm spot to rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Sun-dried Tomato Cheesy Filling

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 1 stick salted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), drained and diced finely
  • 1/4 cup of either garlic greens OR green onions OR chives, diced finely
  • 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until whipped and airy – a few minutes. You’ll need to scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through.

Add in the sun-dried tomatoes and the aromatic greens and beat together another minute or so. You want this mixture spreadable!

Assembly

Remove the babka dough from the bowl and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to roughly 24 inches by 16 inches.

Spread the filling across the entire babka dough, all the way to the edges. Top with the mozzarella cheese – the more the merrier!

Roll the dough tightly, find the center, and cut it in half with a sharp knife. At this point I like to line them up and cut the wonky edges off as well, if there are any.

Place the two rolls on a baking sheet and place in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. This will make the next step MUCH easier.

Remove from the fridge and cut each roll down the middle long ways with a sharp knife. Flip one of them around (I have found this always makes for a more even loaf) and twist the two together, with the open side facing up. Do again with the second loaf.

Place the loaves in greased or parchment lined bread loaf pans (mine are a little smaller than a 9×5 size). Place in a warm spot to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while the loaves are on their second rise. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until nice and golden and the insides reach at least 190 degrees (I use my meat thermometer to check).

Brush with olive oil while they’re still warm.

Enjoy!

Whipped Feta and Goat Cheese

Whipped Feta and Goat Cheese

This whipped feta and goat cheese spread is great for party spreads, tomato pies, and eating straight on a piece of toast. I make this any time we have company, and lately I’ve been really enjoying it with tomatoes. Whipped feta and goat cheese combined 

Corn Risotto and Scallops

Corn Risotto and Scallops

Fresh corn in the summer is one of my favorite vegetables. Fresh herbs on top of creamy rice is also one of my favorites. This corn risotto combines the two and it’s amazing. I paired it with seared wild scallops for the perfect summer dinner. 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes

This summer we are growing a whole lot of tomatoes. There is always a point where you have a huge abundance of green tomatoes but no ripe ones. Enter: fried green tomatoes.

I never cared for this dish growing up, but after making it myself, it might be a new favorite!

Ingredients:

2-3 big green tomatoes⁣
1/2 cup all purpose flour⁣
1/2 cup cornmeal⁣
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I toasted some old sourdough and threw it in the food processor!)⁣
1/2 cup buttermilk⁣
Salt & paprika⁣
Oil to fry (I used olive)⁣

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees if you’re making these for dinner and have other things to cook. This will keep them warm while you do everything else!⁣

Get 3 bowls ready: one with flour, one with buttermilk, one with the crumbs, cornmeal, pinch of salt, dash of paprika. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add in enough oil to coat the pan plus some.⁣

Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick. Dunk in the flour, then buttermilk, then cornmeal mixture. Carefully place in the hot skillet. Cook about 4 minutes each side.⁣

We ate them as a dinner side with some ranch! Plus chicken thighs and a salad with arugula, beets, and goat cheese.

Fried Green Tomatoes

A southern classic
Course: Side Dish, Sides
Cuisine: Southern
Keyword: Sides, Tomatoes
Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2-3 large green tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • salt and paprika
  • oil to fry

Instructions

  • Get 3 bowls ready: one with flour, one with buttermilk, one with the crumbs, cornmeal, pinch of salt, dash of paprika.
  • Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add in enough oil to coat the pan plus some.⁣
  • Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick.
  • Dunk in the flour, then buttermilk, then cornmeal mixture.
  • Carefully place in the hot skillet. Cook about 4 minutes each side.⁣
Homemade Chili Cheese Fries

Homemade Chili Cheese Fries

We eat chili a LOT in this house. We also eat a lot of homemade french fries. And even more cheese. One time my husband asked for homemade chili cheese fries, and luckily but no surprise we had leftover chili in the fridge! To make 

Roasted Herby Vegetables with Tahini Sauce

Roasted Herby Vegetables with Tahini Sauce

When plain ol veggies sounds boring, roasted herby vegetables with a tahini sauce should help make it interesting! I roasted carrots and broccoli to go with chicken last night but was feeling fancy so I made this versatile tahini yogurt sauce! See the notes how 

Carrot Pistachio Souffle

Carrot Pistachio Souffle

Carrot Pistachio Souffle

Growing up my grandparents would take us to Picadilly Cafeteria probably once a week. The rolly chairs and long line of food is not something I particularly wish to go back to, but if you’ve ever been, you might remember the carrot souffle. My mom found the recipe and we made it for Christmas. I loved it so much I had to healthy-ish it up and make it again!⁣

I added a pistachio crust because those two flavors are my fave, and the healthy fats help you better absorb all that vitamin A.

Picadilly Healthy-ish Carrot Souffle:⁣

-1 pound carrots⁣
-2 tbsp to 1/4 cup sugar (coconut or granulated works. The original recipe called for THREE AND A HALF CUPS!!)⁣
-1 teaspoon baking powder⁣
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract⁣
-2 eggs⁣
-3 tbsp all purpose flour (GF mix works too)⁣
-6 tbsp melted salted butter ⁣
-1/4-1/2 cup crushed pistachios⁣

Preheat oven to 350. Peel, chop, and boil the carrots until mashable. Mash them with the sugar and then using either a blender, immersion, or food processor, mix the carrots with the remaining ingredients (except nuts). Top with the crushed pistachios and bake for about 1 hour. If nuts are browning too much, cover in foil halfway through!

Carrot Pistachio Souffle

A much healthier take on the side dish you may have had at Picadilly long ago!
Course: Side Dish, Sides
Keyword: Carrots, Holiday, Souffle
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb carrots
  • 2 tbsp cane sugar see note
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbsp all purpose flour or a gluten free 1:1 flour
  • 6 tbsp melted butter
  • 1/4-1/2 cup pistachios crushed

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Peel, chop, and boil the carrots until mashable. Mash them with the sugar and then using either a blender, immersion, or food processor.
  • Mix the carrots with the remaining ingredients (except nuts).
  • Top with the crushed pistachios and bake for about 1 hour.
  • If nuts are browning too much, cover in foil halfway through!

Notes

The original recipe for this called for THREE AND A HALF CUPS! I found it truly works just as well with as little as 2 tbsp, but you can go up as much as you want!
Vegan Cashew Fiesta Dip

Vegan Cashew Fiesta Dip

We make this dish for Placemat meals all the time and it’s always a hit with the guests! This is pretty similar to all the “vegan queso” recipes you see out there – but I don’t like calling it queso. It doesn’t look, smell, or