Or as it’s also known, clean the fridge out mac ‘n’ cheese. Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s new mantra for home cooking, we raided our food supplies to discover what we had lying around to make dinner. My wife hit on the idea of mac ‘n’ cheese with mushrooms and spinach. Add in smoked cheeses that had been maturing for a while and we had ourselves a fantastic side dish.
This side dish was the result of trying something with kale and it backfiring rather spectacularly. I had planned a rice side to go with an aromatic Vietnamese pork dish, thinking that dehydrated kale would make a good rice garnish. I was wrong … really, really wrong. So instead, I threw in some sweet Thai chili and turmeric … which worked together exceptionally well!
With summer well and truly upon us, it’s time to look at another interesting side dish for al fresco cooking and dining. We’d had delicious mac ‘n’ cheese a few times in the USA, so my wife tried to replicate it at home. She excelled herself (as usual), this classic crispy mac ‘n’ cheese beats any we had on t’other side of pond.
A great macaroni cheese, or mac ‘n’ cheese, is something we’ve been wanting to make for some time. There are some inspired recipes out there, we drew on some of those and added some of our own ideas into the mix. The result was an awesome butternut squash macaroni cheese.
It was a late, cold, snowy night when I last returned from Switzerland. On the way home I went to our local fish and chip shop and whilst waiting, talked with the owner about their amazing chips. He revealed that they used Ramos potatoes and sold me half a bag to try out … they made the most amazing home cooked chips and potato wedges we’ve had.
Cold winter evenings demand meals to warm both body and soul. This scrumptious side dish of smokey chipotle beans does just that, and is perfect to accompany a range of main courses. Or served with a baked potato cooked in an open fire.
One of the first blog posts I wrote was “Cooking a Life Less Ordinary” … when meals get mundane, mix it up. This is precisely how today’s dish came about. We had some potatoes left over and I wanted to cook a side dish with a bit of spice to it. Aloo Jeera was the perfect answer.
Make a really tasty and simple side dish at home with this easy recipe.
Continue reading “Aloo Jeera – Potato with Cumin Seeds”
We had this as a side dish last week with Dizzy Pig Peking duck breast. After posting about that meal, I had a couple of requests for the risotto recipe … happy to oblige! This is really tasty, and goes well as part of a main course or a dish in its own right.
Continue reading “Mushroom and Truffle Risotto”
Another simple yet effective side dish. Enhance your everyday potato wedges by cooking them with freshly cut rosemary along with rapeseed and truffle oils. The oil flavour combination subtly blends with the aromatics from the rosemary to create a stand-out side dish.
Continue reading “Potato Wedges with Truffle Oil and Rosemary”
In an effort to make side dishes more interesting, and inspired by seeing a chef sautéing potatoes to go with pork chops, we came up with sautéed potatoes with red pepper and chorizo. A simple, effective and very tasty side that works well with a variety of mains … and breakfast.
Continue reading “Sautéed Potatoes with Red Pepper and Chorizo”
I have been embroiled in a friendly-ish competition with my mother-in-law (who is an excellent cook) to cook the best roast potato. My current method is the culmination of this endeavour, to which a dinner guest once commented:
“he has studied to Heston Blumenthal levels of obsession, [these] were emphatically the finest roasties I have had ever.”
Praise indeed for humble spuds transformed into Duck ‘n’ Dexter Roast Potatoes.
Continue reading “Duck ‘n’ Dexter Roast Potatoes”
The Cook's Digest 