Sweet and Crunchy Sautéed Haricots Verts

Haricots Verts are thin, mostly straight, French Green Beans. Not to be confused with the French cut Green Bean. The French Cut is done to make the thicker Green Bean resemble the slimmer Haricot Vert.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

We don’t eat enough purple food! Just seeing this side dish is enough to make you smile – it’s just so… so purple! This isn’t a kind of Kraut, sour or otherwise. Of course you could make Sour Kraut with Red Cabbage, but then it would be Red Sour Kraut. While Kraut has a snap or least a bit of a crunch, all of the vegetables and fruit in this dish are just barely recognizable. I like to layer flavors here; just pay attention to any cooking show on television – it’s a big deal, and really works to add dimension to foods, but there’s no layering here. All of the individual ingredients have given up their distinctive tastes for the good of the dish.

Carbonada Criolla

Translated literally, Carbonada Criolla is Creole Carbonada... not much help, eh?  Well, let’s see what we can figure out here, and if I’m way off base, I welcome your assistance. Since this dish hails from Argentina, this usage of “Creole” probably refers to people born in the colonies with predominately unmixed Spanish descent.  Carbonada is most likely in reference to cooking over a wood fire to char the meat, signaling to us that there’s a substantial flavor treat ahead. So the first generation Spanish Colonial residents of Argentina made a popular dish that centered around nicely browned meat. I think we should thank them!

Fluffy, Lumpy Mashed Potatoes

Remember your Grandmother’s mashed potatoes? Those stiff peaks of potato-ey goodness with a dollop of butter melting in the crater on top! Then came Mom’s whipped potatoes… just shy of the wallpaper paste that nestled in the tinfoil corner of a TV dinner. What happened between those two generations? Convenience food happened, electric mixers happened! Love ya Mom, but whipped potatoes? No thanks!

Sautéed Kale

Kale or borecole is in the cabbage family with green or purple leaves and is one of the healthiest vegetables on Earth! Kale’s health benefits are directly attributed to the high concentration of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K as well as sulphur-containing phytonutrients.

Besides being incredibly healthy for you, it is also a delicious side dish vegetable that you are sure to like after trying this recipe!

Beef Stew with Roasted Root Vegetables

Beef Stew is one of the most loved comfort foods, especially during the cold winter months ahead of us. Nothing satisfies a hearty appetite like a steaming bowl of savory beef stew accompanied by slices of crusty buttered bread.

Awesome Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

 
Brussels Sprouts have had a nasty reputation for all long as I can remember. Kids (and many adults), will turn up their noses just hearing the words. The Pancetta and Chicken Stock are the special ingredients that make this vegetable side exceptional and will have them asking for seconds!