Spanikopita, sometimes called spinach pie, is a classic, easy dish. It can be made with fresh spinach or frozen, with feta or your preferred cheese, with or without eggs, and with butter or olive oil. It can be served warm, cold, or room temperature. It’s not at all fussy to make, and lasts a week in the [...]

Categories: Lunch, baking, entertaining, entrée, mother recipe, side dish, supper, vegetarian
Tagged: baking, entertaining, entrée, Lunch, main course, mother recipe, side dish, supper, vegetarian

Haricots vert sautéed in garlic. Sounds easy, and it is: easy to do well; even easier to do poorly. Some simple alterations will make this dish dairy-free, vegetarian, or vegan. First you have to decide whether or not to remove the tails. As you can see, I chose not to remove them. If you don’t [...]

Categories: dairy-free, gluten-free, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

Whether you’re serving a nice pâté or are putting together a charcuterie platter, want some crunch in your sandwich or just need a quick burst of flavor, a sweet pickle chip is just right! Michael Ruhlman published a recipe for a delightfully simple, wonderfully flavored sweet pickle chip in Charcuterie, a book I highly recommend [...]

Categories: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

A good pâté is one my favorite things–humble ingredients transformed into a culinary delight. I particularly enjoy a nice mushroom pâté with fresh bread and sweet pickles for breakfast. Another thing I particularly like about pâté when cooked en terrine is that it isn’t particularly fussy–a few more minutes in the oven won’t make a [...]

Categories: baking, charcuterie, entertaining, gluten-free, mushroom, side dish, technique, vegetarian
Tagged: baking, charcuterie, entertaining, gluten-free, mushroom, side dish, technique, vegetarian

A couple months ago I had the privilege of hosting Chef Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon for a cooking demonstration at Williams-Sonoma. He prepared a wonderful truffled spinach that inspired this variation. You’ll need one bunch of spinach for every two portions; no need for expensive baby spinach in this dish. Begin by gently sautéing [...]

Categories: Thanksgiving, entertaining, gluten-free, mushroom, side dish, vegetarian
Tagged: creme fraiche, entertaining, gluten-free, mushroom, side dish, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

The most popular side dish in all my classes this year has been whipped sweet potatoes, with Chipotle Whipped Sweet Potatoes being slightly more popular. I got the idea for these from Bobby Flay. Start by baking some sweet potatoes until they’re soft. You’ll probably want to use a sheet pan rather than just putting [...]

Categories: Thanksgiving, entertaining, gluten-free, mother recipe, side dish, vegetarian
Tagged: entertaining, gluten-free, side dish, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

If you’re looking for the Breakfast of Champions, this is it: Buttermilk Cornbread and a mess of greens. I’m currently validating recipes for my Thanksgiving Dinner classes at Kookoolan Farms, so I needed to make some cornbread. The best cornbread is made in a cast iron skillet. This recipe is for a 10″ skillet. Buttermilk [...]

Categories: baking, bread, breakfast, entertaining, side dish
Tagged: baking, bread, breakfast

I love mushrooms of all sorts, and I enjoy using them in all sorts of ways, even in dessert. But I’d never thought about making a savoury strudel until I decided I needed a new side dish for Fall. It’s much easier than it sounds: make duxelles, wrap in phyllo, then bake until done. To [...]

Categories: baking, entertaining, mushroom, pastry, side dish, vegetarian
Tagged: baking, entertaining, mushroom, side dish, vegetarian

Intrigued by the title, I was browsing through Think Like a Chef byTom Colicchio the other day and came across his recipe for pan-roasted carrots. The sheer simplicity of this dish inspired me to do my own version. Chef Colicchio calls for 16 peeled and trimmed carrots, salt and pepper, 4 sprigs of rosemary, 1 [...]

Categories: gluten-free, roasting, side dish, technique
Tagged: gluten-free, roasting, side dish, technique, vegetarian

I’d just finished making ricotta. It was so soft and creamy that I just had to use it for supper.

Categories: Lunch, cheese, entrée, side dish, supper, vegetarian
Tagged: cheese, Lunch, main course, side dish, supper, vegetarian