Sides

Simply Festive Fruit Salad, served in a pretty glass bowl, with holiday decorations in the background.

Simply Festive Fruit Salad

This dependable breakfast side dish starts with a couple of tins of canned fruit and embellishes with fresh fruit from the market to make a Festive Fruit Salad that is simply delicious.

Southwest Quinoa Salad, with black beans, corn, red pepper and cilantro, in a white serving dish in the garden.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Colorful and delicious, Southwest Quinoa Salad relies on kitchen staples plus a few fresh herbs and vegetables to create a crowd-pleasing and protein rich side dish for easy entertaining.

Breakfast Grits topped with pepper and Parmesan in a blue bowl beside a checked apron.

A Simple Bowl of Breakfast Grits

To make delicious Breakfast Grits I’ve found that a good splash of olive oil, a little grated parmesan cheese and several grinds of pepper make them both interesting and delicious. Now I look forward to grits for breakfast, but they can also serve as a tasty side dish for lunch or dinner.

Smooth Cranberry Sauce frozen and sliced in an Anchor Hocking pressed glass serving boat beside a pierced silver serving spoon.

Smooth Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Brightly tart fresh cranberries shine in this simple recipe for a smooth jellied cranberry sauce. This version uses less sugar than most to create a mildly spiced adaptation of a Thanksgiving classic.

Bourbon Baked Beans in Casserole with serving spoon

Bourbon Baked Beans with Bacon

Dijon mustard, dark brown sugar and a splash of bourbon give these baked beans a spicy sweet edge.  Baked for a long while, until good and thick, they are the perfect complement for a traditional backyard barbecue.

Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts in a pretty dish from Louisville Stoneware

Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts

Orzo with Spinach and Pine Nuts is a deliciously satisfying pasta side dish. Somewhere between a velvety risotto and a comforting mac and cheese, it has been a family favorite for nearly as long as I’ve been cooking.

Moroccan Chickpea and Barley Salad on a a square plate with antique silver serving spoon.

Moroccan Chickpea and Barley Salad

Ras al hanout is the potent ingredient that makes this salad special. It is a blend of various spices used to flavor meals in the middle east and Africa. Rather than a set blend of a few spices, ras al hanout can have dozens of spices in the mix and which spices it contains varies depending on the source…

Garden Pasta Salad with Fresh Herb Dressing

I love a good salad. In fact salads are the backbone of my summer (and often autumn, winter and spring) menus.  They can be made ahead and at times even improve with advance preparation, leaving me free near dinner time to focus on other parts of the meal or on other things […]

Parsnips and carrots are honey roasted and served in an oval ceramic dish.

Honey Roasted Parsnips

At the heart of a parsnip’s flavor there is a hint of citrus. It complements subtle notes of green grass and fresh herbs. Roasting further develops these appealing attributes lending a caramel-sweet nuttiness. A touch of honey deepens the complexity and adds a glossy finish to Honey Roasted Parsnips. Add a few carrots, if you like, to enhance the visual contrast in this simple side dish.

Black Rice with Gingered Sweet Potatoes served in an asymmetrical white bowl.

Black Rice with Gingered Sweet Potatoes

Interesting and easy to prepare, Black Rice with Gingered Sweet Potatoes is an appealing side dish. Sweet potatoes provide a colorful contrast to the nutty black rice. Ginger brings a touch of sass to the flavor profile. With rich flavor and good nutrition, this recipe is a happy discovery and one that I am eager to share.

A serving of Quick Collard Greens with Cranberries on a white plate.

Quick Collard Greens with Cranberries

I have spent most of my life avoiding collard greens. From early on I took the view that they just didn’t sound good. On the produce aisle, gathered in bunches, dog-eared and dirty, they didn’t look good. In the kitchen, cooked at length until they were ladled out in dark […]