Category Archives: Sides

Man and woman do not live by main courses alone. Sides are the chorus that makes the meal come together in all its symphonic elegance. Whatever.

Recipe: Fried Calamari with Three Kinds of Peppers

  Three Vines Bistro, an establishment in my town, makes a superb fried calamari with three kinds of peppers: cherry, jalapeño and banana. I didn’t have banana peppers so I substituted some sliced pepperoncini. They were fine but the hot … Continue reading

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Recipe: Giardiniera

Our giardiniera recipe has a perfect balance of tart/salty/a bit of sweet, so please do not change the ratios of vinegar, sugar and salt unless you want to experiment. We were inspired by some aggressive giardiniera at Palm City Wines … Continue reading

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Recipe: Roasted Red Peppers Marinated with Artichoke Hearts

Roasted Red Peppers Marinated with Artichoke Hearts was a happy accident. We roast and marinate red peppers whenever they’re on sale; this time we had extra dressing and found a can of artichoke hearts in the pantry. The artichokes have … Continue reading

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Recipe: Turmeric Cabbage

Turmeric Cabbage is a recipe from The Yogi Cookbook, a paperback in my possession published in 1968. Most old cookbooks can be found from resellers on Amazon or Abebooks, but this one seems to have disappeared into the mists of … Continue reading

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Recipe: Boston Market Creamed Spinach

Boston Market Creamed Spinach has a secret ingredient that’s not really a secret because they tell you on their website: cream cheese. So if you look up a copycat recipe and it doesn’t include cream cheese, it’s bogus. Makes about … Continue reading

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Recipe: Asparagus with Smoked Ham

Asparagus seems to have an affinity for smoked pork…. Bacon, prosciutto or in this case some fine Benton Ham. I added half a preserved lemon but you could also just use lemon juice. Serves 4. Ingredients: 1 lb asparagus, with … Continue reading

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Prep a perfect pickle plate

  Comfort Kitchen, an upscale burger joint in our town, puts together an excellent pickle plate. Browse the pictures in their Yelp listing and you’ll see how it has evolved over time. There’s always a cucumber pickle, always pickled onions, … Continue reading

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Recipe: Turmeric Cauliflower Pickles

Comfort Kitchen, an excellent eatery in my home town, makes a nice cauliflower pickle with the yellow glow of turmeric/curry powder. Here is our interpretation. If you like, add some slices of red bell pepper for color and flavor variety. … Continue reading

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Recipe: Turkey Stuffing Waffle

Turkey stuffing waffles are a thing. Even Kenji is making one. But the recipes you find online have lots of caveats like be sure you spray lots of Pam on the waffle iron, and handle the waffle carefully so it … Continue reading

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Recipe: Everyday Cole Slaw

I was making some cole slaw to go with fried fish the other night and mentioned I was doing nothing special, just everyday cole slaw—actually I needlessly used a four-dollar synonym, “quotidian”, and my wife commented “to me, all cole … Continue reading

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