I’ve struggled in the past to make mashed potatoes with the texture I really like – the really fluffy, smooth, creamy kind. Maybe I’d been using the wrong kind of potatoes or I wasn’t cooking the potatoes for long enough or I could have benefited from a tool like a potato ricer…but I think the real reason I wasn’t getting the result I wanted is that I was reluctant to use enough of a few key ingredients. Namely butter and cream.

Well, I’ve gotten past that now.

(...)
Continue reading "Bacon, Sour Cream & Chive Mashed Potatoes" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/bacon-sour-cream-chive-mashed-potatoes/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I previously said that it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving at my house without classic pumpkin pie. Well, I guess I’d also add Green Bean Casserole to that list. To be fair, is it the best vegetable side dish I’ve ever had? No, not really. But it’s loaded with tradition and nostalgia – and on Thanksgiving, that counts for a whole lot.

(...)
Continue reading "Green Bean Casserole" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/green-bean-casserole/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

November is here! And that means holiday cooking and baking season has officially begun on Cooking On the Side. From Libby’s Pumpkin Pie (today’s recipe) to French’s Green Bean Casserole, many favorite holiday recipes originated from food packaging – which makes them perfect topics for this blog! So for the next few weeks I’ll be preparing familiar, traditional Thanksgiving recipes “from the side”.

For me, it’s just not Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie…

(...)
Continue reading "Classic Pumpkin Pie with Maple Cream" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/classic-pumpkin-pie-with-maple-cream/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Ina Garten (aka, the Barefoot Contessa) roasts a chicken every Friday night for her husband Jeffrey when he makes the long drive out to their home in the Hamptons. How homey and inviting that sounds! Of course, Jeffrey is one lucky guy to be coming home to anything Ina makes, but a flavorful roast chicken is just one of those satisfying staples that always seems to please and is pretty easy to pull together. The Herb-Crusted Roast Chicken recipe I’m sharing today isn’t from Ina, but I’m quite sure Jeffrey would find it quite worth the drive home to “the island”.

(...)
Continue reading "Herb-Crusted Roast Chicken" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/herb-crusted-roast-chicken/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Do you have a “baking buddy”?  Mine is my friend Gillian. Since we both love to bake more than we can (reasonably) consume in our respective households we’ve developed this fun tradition of exchanging baked goods via our husbands, who work out together at the gym every week. My favorite items that she sends are some amazing banana muffins with pecan halves on top. Those little pecan halves always seem to make the muffins extra special and inviting. So when I saw the recipe for these melt-in-your-mouth Pecan Praline Cookies – complete with pecan halves as toppers – I knew I wanted to make them. And I made sure to send over a dozen to Gillian too.

(...)
Continue reading "Pecan Praline Cookies" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/pecan-praline-cookies/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I gave you a little preview of these Cornbread Muffins in my Split Pea Soup with Ham post earlier this week – they’re my favorite accompaniment to soup or chili. Everyone likes their cornbread a little bit different. For me, the best kind is on the sweet side and definitely not dry. This recipe, from a box of corn meal, is just that. It comes together so fast that I actually made a second batch while the first was in the oven – I wanted to give a bunch away and freeze some too.

(...)
Continue reading "Cornbread Muffins" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/cornbread-muffins/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Split pea soup can be a little deceptive. With its bright green color, your eyes convince your mouth that it’s in for something really fresh and herby. You go in for the first spoonful and your tastebuds are surprised to be hit with rich, earthy, smoky flavors with a hint of sweetness – the result of having been simmered with smoked ham hocks for upwards of four hours.  Yes, they’re surprised – but they sure are happy.

(...)
Continue reading "Split Pea Soup with Ham" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/split-pea-soup-with-ham/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Like a lot of folks, I look forward to making pumpkin dishes this time of year (like this incredibly moist Pumpkin Spice Cake with pumpkin cream cheese frosting, see above)  – but have you heard about the  pumpkin shortage? I’ve had such a ridiculous time finding pumpkin purée in stores! After numerous canned pumpkin hunting trips over the past two weeks, I can offer these four tips for tracking down this elusive product:

• Check the baking aisle (near the canned pie fillings) – I’d assumed it would be with other canned vegetables, but it was not so at my local Vons. If you find it, stock up!
• Beware of something called “pumpkin pie mix” - the can looks nearly identical to pumpkin purée but it contains other ingredients besides pumpkin (it’s meant for making quick pies); a store clerk was trying to help me and brought me a can of this by mistake – unfortunately, I didn’t discover it until I was already home.
• Ask a clerk for help – Despite my mishap in the above bullet, it’ll probably save you a lot of time to have someone who knows the store aisles by heart find the pumpkin for you – or to let you know if they even have it at all.
• Roast your own - I haven’t tried this myself yet but if I didn’t find the canned stuff it was going to be my next option – Elana from Elana’s Pantry offers 10 easy steps to roasting a pumpkin.

Once you’ve got some pumpkin, you’re going to want to make this amazing cake. The recipe comes from a butter company so you know it’s moist!

(...)
Continue reading "Pumpkin Spice Cake" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/pumpkin-spice-cake/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

As enamored as I become with apples at this time of year, I sometimes forget another favorite sweet treat in season: pears. The ones I love the best come from Harry & David, but until corporate holiday gift season rolls around I’m happy with the pears that are just starting to show up at the grocery store.

Believe it or not, this Spinach Pear Salad recipe actually comes from one of those little packages of fresh herbs – rosemary, to be specific.  Baby spinach leaves, along with rosemary and parsley, are tossed in a red wine vinaigrette and topped with fresh sliced pears, toasted pecans and crumbled blue cheese. The inclusion of the herbs is a bit unexpected (I don’t usually think of rosemary as a salad ingredient) and works really well here. It’s a healthy, fresh-tasting salad that’s quick to pull together – and did I mention it has pears?

(...)
Continue reading "Spinach Pear Salad" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/spinach-pear-salad/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I’m an adult now (and have been for some time) so I shouldn’t really need excuses to eat my vegetables. But I still kind of do. It’s not that I don’t like them…but I don’t necessarily jump for them either. That is, unless they’re made in an especially tasty manner. This Creamy Broccoli Soup definitely qualifies.

(...)
Continue reading "Creamy Broccoli Soup" >>

© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/creamy-broccoli-soup/

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh