Ben Starr

The Ultimate Food Geek

Category: Side Dishes

  • MasterChef Green Chili Cornbread

    This recipe is adapted from my grandmother’s cast iron skillet cornbread, which is made in true Texas style…course and savory, not cakey and sweet.  I love the flavors of roasted corn and green chilis and onion and cheese in my cornbread, so I overloaded this recipe with good stuff.  I made this on MasterChef, and…

  • Mashed Root Veggies

    Mashed potatoes are tasty, but are almost entirely empty carbs.  I’ve developed this PHENOMENAL recipe for mashed root veggies that tastes WAY better than mashed potatoes, and it’s healthier for you, too. 1 large rutabaga or 2-3 small turnips 1 bag parsnips (these look like white carrots) 3 sweet potatoes 2 potatoes 1 whole bulb…

  • Meemaw’s Cornbread Dressing

    I know it may be traditional to “stuff” the Thanksgiving turkey, but a food scientist will tell you that it can be dangerous to do this.  Stuffing soaks up uncooked turkey juices, and unless you get the stuffing to the right temperature (165F), you risk a harmful buildup of bacteria.  (And you’re never gonna get…

  • Meemaw’s Skillet Buttermilk Cornbread

    My maternal grandmother Meemaw and her mother, Granny Proctor, and her mother, Granny Williams, all used cast-iron skillets to cook the majority of their meals, and they did it right on the top of a wood-fired cast-iron stove.  Mom still makes cornbread in the cast-iron skillets she inherited from Meemaw, who got them from Granny…

  • Benny’s Legendary Cranberry Sauce

    Feed this to your family alongside the Thanksgiving turkey and they will never, ever, ever go back to canned cranberry sauce as long as they live.  This stuff is AMAZING.  Make a double batch, because the leftovers are brilliant served warm or cold over ice cream, as a filling for crepes or on top of…

  • Indian Stuffed Yeast Breads

    I ran across some recipe for yeast bread stuffed with curried veggies about a decade ago and over the years the recipe has morphed into my own.  My friends LOVE these, and it’s a great introduction to Indian food for those who are nervous about it.  These are individual rounds of crusty yeast bread stuffed…