Category: Side Dishes

  • A BETTER way to roast Hatch green chiles

    Yesterday I posted this photo of Hatch green chiles flame roasting in my backyard.  A number of folks were VERY concerned about the chiles in the center, which are completely black.  But those chiles look that way intentionally.  Allow me to explain. Some chiles have such a thick skin that they need to be peeled…

  • Beurre Blanc (white wine butter sauce)

    Beurre blanc is a classic French sauce made with butter, white wine, and shallots.  I recently made this sauce at a cooking demonstration to prove how important it is to cook with quality wine, and I promised I’d post the recipe.  It’s a very simple sauce to make, and it goes fabulously with fish and…

  • Bourbon Fig Jam

    You fall into one of two categories of humans.  The first: someone who has to pay an outrageous amount of money to purchase figs at the grocery store when they’re in season…sometimes up to a dollar a fig. If you’re not that person, you fall into the other category.  Either you or a neighbor has…

  • Spicy Pickled Asparagus

    I planted my asparagus patch in my garden about 4 years ago, and it has always been productive, but this year…I guess with the mild winter…it has been rabid.  I’m pulling about a pound a day out of the garden, harvesting twice a day, and have been for more than a month! If you’ve never…

  • Dandelion “Honey”

    Either you love dandelions, or you hate them.  If you hate them, it’s probably because you spend so much time trying to rid your lawn of them.  If you love them, it’s because the big, soft, bright yellow blossoms and supremely blow-able puff balls bring you back to childhood.  Or perhaps you’re one of the…

  • Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

    I’m no fan of chain restaurants.  And I am happy to announce that I’ve NEVER eaten at a Red Lobster.  But any time Red Lobster surfaces in conversation, I’m always puzzled by the response that I universally hear from people who have eaten there. “ZOMG, their cheddar biscuits are SO GOOD!” It’s like Olive Garden…