Category: Side Dish

Asparagus Bundles

If you love asparagus and love traditional green bean bundles, then try this recipe! It is different and so very delicious. I love that the brown sugar sauce, that’s poured over these, includes soy sauce. Seems like a bit of a different flair. A nice flair. A very yummy flair…Trisha Yearwood shares this recipe in her book, Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood.

2 pounds fresh asparagus, ends trimmed
12 slices bacon
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Divide the asparagus spears into 12 bundles. Carefully wrap 1 piece of bacon around each bundle, stating about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the tips. Secure the bacon-wrapped spears with a toothpick. Lay the bundles in a low-sided casserole dish.

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, soy sauce, garlic salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Poor the hot sugar mixture over the asparagus bundles. Transfer the dish to the oven and roast for 25 minutes, or until the spears have begun to wilt and the bacon looks fully cooked. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

Serves 6.

COOKING THE BOOKS, YA’LL!

Mom’s Every Night Cucumber Salad

This recipe comes from Gaby Dalkin’s What’s Gaby Cooking cookbook. I have really enjoyed this simple salad, out of her new book, this spring. Living on the same block, I grew up eating at my friend Lucky’s house quite a bit, and her Memaw would always have fresh cucumbers in vinegar, seasoned with Lawry’s salt. We loved those cucumbers, and when I typed the title of this recipe, all of those wonderful memories came flooding back. Not long after we were through with supper at Lucky’s, my dad would whistle down the alley and that was my cue to high-tail it back home! What fun we used to have!

3 T. olive oil
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
4 Persian cucumbers, sliced

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add the avocado and cucumbers to the bowl and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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Fried Zucchini Sticks

Soooo, I’m working on being healthier…..fried zucchini sticks should help me ease into things quite nicely. I certainly am proud to be including some green veggies into my diet! Yay, Me! And these are delicious, by the way, and would go great with any of your Italian meals or, of course, would be a terrific appetizer or snack. Easy and super yummy. Serve with your favorite warmed marinara sauce. Now, let’s get those veggies in! This recipe is from Mandy River’s cookbook, South Your Mouth Some More!

1 cup grated Asiago cheese, Parmesan cheese will work too
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for finishing
2-3 whole zucchini
2 T. cornstarch
2 eggs, well beaten
Vegetable oil

Combine grated cheese, bead crumbs, and salt in a shallow bowl; mix well. Set aside

Wash zucchini; dry well. Cut ends off zucchini; cut each in half or thirds, depending on how long it is (Mandy says, you want sections that are about 3 inches long). Cut each section lengthwise into 8 sticks.

Add zucchini and cornstarch to a zip-top bag; seal, then shake to coat. Place coated zucchini on a plate, shaking off excess cornstarch.

Dip each zucchini stick in beaten eggs; shake off excess. Dredge each in bread crumb mixture, taking care to thoroughly coat zucchini; shake off excess.

Add 1 inch of vegetable oil to a medium or large pot. (I used my large skillet.) Heat oil over medium heat until temperature reaches 325 degrees. Fry slowly, so zucchini has time to get tender without the cheese burning. Fry until golden brown.

Cook in batches so as not to overcrowd pan. Sprinkle with additional salt right when you remove zucchini sticks from hot oil. Serve with marinara sauce.

Makes 6-8 servings.

COOKING THE BOOKS, YA’LL!

Beef Stew over Potato Casserole

This recipe is Paula Deen’s Old-Time Beef Stew out of her Savannah Country Cookbook. My favorite way to serve it is to leave out the potatoes and pour it over her Potato Casserole. This is insanely delicious! Over the top madness and completely indulgent, when you feel like a major dose of comfort and utterly delicious craziness, go for it! Just do it! Prep your potatoes ahead of time and bake them during the last 25-30 minutes of the stew’s cook time.

2 pounds stew beef
2 T. vegetable oil
2 cups water
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
Dash of ground allspice or ground cloves
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
4 red potatoes, quartered (leave out if serving with the Potato Casserole, recipe follows)
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 T. cornstarch

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots, potatoes, if using, and celery. Cover and cook 30 40 minutes longer or until tender.

To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly. (I generally do not have much cooking liquid left, so I skip the remove 2 cups liquid part and just mix the 1/4 cup water and cornstarch together and add to the meat.)

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Potato Casserole

This recipe is from Paula Deen’s Savannah Country Cookbook. This casserole has to be the Gran and Grandaddy and potato casserole of all potato casseroles! So good on its own to serve with a steak or amazing with Beef Stew poured over the top, everyone is sure to enjoy it!

*2 cups leftover mashed potatoes or 1 (4.7 oz.) pkg. Betty Crocker Creamy Butter instant mashed potatoes cooked to the packages directions.
*1/2 cup sour cream
*House Seasoning to taste (1 cup table salt, 1/4 cup black pepper, 1/4 cup garlic powder), I use a steak seasoning that has those same flavors such as, Bob Tallman’s Steak Dust
*1 small onion, sliced thin
*1 small bell pepper, sliced thin
*8 T. butter
*1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
*4 medium potatoes, cooked (I prefer red with the skins)
*6 slices bacon, cooked crisp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over the bottom of a casserole dish. I use the whole package of instant potatoes, if using. Layer sour cream evenly over top. (Each time you add a layer, sprinkle on a little House Seasoning or your preferred steak seasoning.)

Sauté onion an bell pepper in butter; evenly layer over top of sour cream. Yes friends, pour that good flavored butter over the sour cream as well.

Next, layer with 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Slice potatoes and layer over cheese until top is completely covered with potatoes.

Finally, top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and crumble bacon over the top.

Broccoli, Grape, and Pasta Salad

I absolutely love the classic version of Broccoli Salad with the raisins and sunflower seeds. It just doesn’t get much better in my opinion. But…..this version has swapped out the raisins for the grapes, the sunflower seeds for the pecans, and added bow tie pasta and it is totally delicious! It’s fun for a change and pretty on the table. This recipe is in my Recipe Revival Cookbook by Southern Living.

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 (16 oz.) package farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. table salt
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the pecans on a baking sheet 7 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Prepare the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cut the broccoli florets from the stems, and separate the florets into small pieces.

Whisk together the mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a bowl. Add the broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes; stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir the bacon and pecans into the salad just before serving.

Cooking the books, y’all!