Side dishes can make the difference

In the past, I’ve roasted carrots with Marsala wine and they were delicious, but I decided to lighten up the recipe a bit and adapted a recipe I found on epicurious.com that uses honey and orange. My carrots were a little larger than I had hoped (about 4-5 inches long) so I blanched them first in boiling water to precook them a bit before roasting them. If you can find small carrots (3-4 inches in length) I’d skip this step.

A nice, subtly sweet vegetable side dish that would work well with any meat or poultry entree. 

 

1 1/2 Pounds Baby Carrots, Trimmed & Cleaned

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Grated Orange Zest

1/3 Cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

2 Tablespoons Liquid Honey

Sea Salt

Cracked Black Pepper

Fresh Thyme

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

If carrots are longer than 3 to 4 inches, blanch them first in a pot of boiling water until they are half cooked, about 5 minutes.

Drain the carrots and place on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet.

Add the oil, zest, and orange juice and toss the carrots to coat. Cover the tray with foil and roast until tender crisp, about 10 minutes.

Remove the foil, add the honey and toss to coat. Roast the carrots uncovered until they begin to brown and are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Transfer carrots to a platter and sprinkle with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and fresh thyme leaves.

Serves 4.

 

 

This green bean recipe is anything but boring, and just a few added ingredients creates a side dish everyone will love.

For this dish I like to use lots of cracked black pepper and toasted walnuts to balance the creaminess of the blue cheese. To toast your walnuts, place them on a baking sheet and bake in 350 degree F oven for about 8 minutes.

 

1 Pound Green Beans, Trimmed

2 Teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 Cup Crumbled Blue Cheese

1/3 Cup Toasted, Chopped Walnuts

Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper

 

Cook the beans in lightly salted water until tender crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the beans and place in an ice water bath and cool. Drain well and pat the beans dry with paper towels.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil, then add the beans and toss to coat with the oil cooking a minute or two until the beans are warm. Season with salt and add the blue cheese and cook a minute or two, tossing continually, until the cheese begin to melt.

Add lots of cracked black pepper, walnuts and toss.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

 

 

For these wedges to hold up during roasting, you really need to use a hard squash without too much water content. Roasting all vegetables does amazing things to them, bringing out their natural sweetness by caramelizing the sugars within them, but this phenomena seems even more accurate with winter squash. 

Roasted winter squash is wonderful, and for me tastes like candied vegetables, but brushing it with just a little maple syrup brings it up to an entire new level.

 

1 Cooking Pumpkin Or Winter Squash of Choice, Peeled, Seeds Removed, And Cut Into Wedges

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/3 Cup Pure Maple Syrup

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss your squash wedges with the olive oil and lay them side by side on a foil lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops with a little of the maple syrup, then bake until fork tender, and beginning to brown, about 20 to 25 minutes depending on the squash variety you use.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4.

 

 

Roasted potatoes of every description are delicious as a vegetable side dish, but this potato dish uses small red skinned potatoes, and after rubbing them in olive oil they are tossed in a seasoned Parmesan cheese and breadcrumb mix before baking. 

The finished potatoes are creamy soft inside with a crisp, golden brown exterior. These potatoes would be a great side for any roasted meat, poultry, or seafood entree. 

 

1 Pound Small Red Skinned Potatoes

3 Teaspoons Olive Oil

3/4 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs

3 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt & Pepper

1 Teaspoon Dried Italian Seasonings

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters depending on the size and toss in olive oil.

In a plastic bag, place the crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper, and Italian seasonings, then add the potatoes and toss to coat.

Place the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and bake from 20 to 25 minutes until fork tender and golden brown, turning the potatoes over halfway through the baking time. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.