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Ideas for sides for 16-18

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Kris Billiter

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Ideas for sides for 16-18

by Kris Billiter » Tue Dec 02, 2008 11:32 am

Hey guys. I am having all of my youth workers over Friday night. I know we will be serving a crowned roast of pork. I am trying to decide on some side dishes. Here are the parameters: Can't be super difficult to make as I will have my two year old home with me on Friday while I cook. Some work I can handle with her, I just can't spend hours upon hours on small little detail things 2) Can be accessible flavor wise to a wide variety of people. Other than that I am open. I do think I would like to serve some kind of green bean. I've never done a slow simmered county version with pork, so that sounds good. Any ideas there, or for any other sides? Thanks!
Kris
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C. Devlin

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Re: Ideas for sides for 16-18

by C. Devlin » Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:24 pm

Roasted sweet potatoes. Roast about 2 hours in the skin and they get all lovely and caramelized and you don't have to put the usual stuff on them, although you can if you like. About as simple as a thing can be.

Or maybe a big pot of potato gratin with leeks (and gruyere and cumin) which would be lovely with pork. A little more complex, but only insofar as you have to chop stuff. If you're interested in that, I've got a recipe on file and I can email it to you.... I've never been a fan of potato gratins of any stripe, but this one changed my mind.
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Kris Billiter

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Re: Ideas for sides for 16-18

by Kris Billiter » Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:15 pm

I'd love to look at the recipe. Thanks!
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Stephen D

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Re: Ideas for sides for 16-18

by Stephen D » Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:48 pm

I love this recipe for a chilled brocolli salad, which can be made well in advance and chilled:

Blanch broccoli until al dente (2 minutes after the water comes back to a boil) and shock in icebath. Remove as soon as the brocolli is cold. Don't let it sit or they will get waterlogged!

Mix some sour cream with a touch of milk until it has a slightly runny texture.

In a bowl add:

Brocolli
Sliced red onion
Sundried cranberries
Bacon bits, homeade
Pine nuts, toasted
Sour cream mixture
S n P, to taste
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Deb Hall

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Re: Ideas for sides for 16-18

by Deb Hall » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:10 pm

Kris,

Mashed Potatoes are always a hit with the teen crowd and they'll hold perfectly. I have a recipe that I've used for years for Xmas/etc that in Mashed Potoes with chive cream cheese that's made ahead as a casserole if you'd like it. It would be very good with your Crown Pork Roast.

I will say I'm not personally a fan of country green beans. I took Green Beans w/Lemon and Marcona Almonds to my son's Thanksgiving feast and it disappeared. I've posted the recipe below. Vey simple- They hold well and taste wonderful: great warm or at room temp. This is adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine, Nov. '07

Lemon-Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds
Serves 8

Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1 onion, peeled, cut into 8 wedges
Leaves from 6 large fresh oregano sprigs - chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Marcona almonds, or toasted regular blanched almonds

Preparation:
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Combine green beans, onion wedges, and marjoram in large bowl. Drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Toss; divide between prepared sheets.

Roast vegetables 10-15 minutes. Reverse sheets. Continue to roast until beans are tender and beginning to brown in spots, about 10 minutes longer.

Transfer vegetables to bowl. Add lemon juice, grated lemon peel, and half of chopped almonds. Toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining almonds.

Deb
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Paul Mick

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Re: Ideas for sides for 16-18

by Paul Mick » Wed Dec 03, 2008 12:22 am

My grandmother's recipe for country green beans is extremely simple, but surprisingly good. The green bean/bacon ratio could be upped a bit from this recipe and it would still be good, but here's how we always make it.

4 standard cans of green beans. (Sorry, I don't know the exact measurements on how much that constitutes.) We've always used ones we canned ourselves, but any store brand would work fine. In theory, you could also use fresh green beans provided you cooked them beforehand.
1 lb of bacon (I've always used turkey bacon, because its healthier and I personally think it tastes better)
1 to 1.5 packs of onion soup mix
1 medium onion, chopped

First, fry all of the bacon until it is fairly crispy, let it cool, and then crumble it. I personally recommend a George Foreman grill if you're going to use pork bacon. It makes catching all of the grease for later use much easier.

Then lightly brown the onion in a skillet.

Pour all of the green beans in a pot with their juice (or water if you cooked fresh green beans) and add the onion, bacon, and some of the bacon grease if you desire. (My grandmother always added all of the grease, but I can't in good conscience recommend that course of action. If you use turkey bacon, then this will likely be a moot point.) Bring the contents to a slow boil. Add the onion soup mix, and let it continue to slowly boil for about 4 minutes. Then just reduce the heat and let it simmer for about an hour and a half.

Overall, an extremely simple recipe that wouldn't tax your faculties while you were taking care of your two year old.
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."--J.R.R. Tolkien
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Linda B

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Re: Ideas for sides for 16-18

by Linda B » Wed Dec 03, 2008 2:16 am

Kris,

This is a recipe I have made for Thanksgiving, Easter and other get togethers. It is so simple but people just go crazy over it! Below is the recipe. Let me know if you try it!

BAKED PINEAPPLE

2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1—20oz can crushed pineapple in natural juice
1 quart dried white bread cubes

Butter a 2 qt (2.8 liter) casserole.

Combine butter, sugar, and eggs using a mixer.
Fold pineapple and juice in to the mixture (with a spoon).
Mix in bread cubes.
Stir occasionally during baking.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!
Linda Kunz Bayens
Owner of Cooking at the Cottage (502) 893-6700 &
Full time Realtor for Re/Max Associates since 1982 (502) 452-2527

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