side dishes – Rosemary and the Goat

Dijon and Bacon Mashed Potatoes

I like mustard and I cannot lie!

I’m sure everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving feast and probably mashed potatoes of any kind is the last thing you want to think about. BUT, this is such a simple recipe and it goes well with fish, beef, pork or chicken.

I eat mustard on almost anything. As a kid, my sister and I would make mustard sandwiches on really soft white bread (light bread we called it) and smash it before eating it. Don’t ask me why because our mother always had plenty of food made for us to eat.

I have some weird eating habits when it comes to mustard though. I’ve only ever dipped French fries in mustard. I have never used ketchup on a fry, never. I love to put a little mustard on the edge of my bowl of white beans and ham and with each bite drag a little into the spoonful of beans and ham. Doesn’t that just make your mouth water and especially if you think of a nice piece of cornbread to go with that bowl of beans. I love fried pork belly sandwiches on some nice soft white bread and lots of yellow mustard.

So when I was cruising the internet, not looking for mashed potatoes, I came across several recipes for mustard mashed potatoes. I added cream instead of milk and topped with some crispy bacon bits and green onion slices and have to say they were quite good to go with our oven baked catfish and then I used the leftovers with our steak and cowboy butter the next night. Recipe for cowboy butter coming soon.

November 24, 2023 By Sherry

Side dish/ Vegetables

Smashed Brussel Sprouts with Pistachios

No chasing these little spheres around the plate!

Seems like Brussel sprouts have always gotten a bad rap in the green vegetable category. Ever wonder why? Well, after some searching I found that it is in your DNA. Either you have the “sprout gene” (PTC) or you don’t. This gene comes in 2 forms – bitter and non-bitter tasting. If you are really interested in why you may be a BS hater, read on here.

The BS’s, for me, have become less bitter and I think that is the way I prepare them these days. A little sweetness from balsamic or adding dates or golden raisins can’t help to elevate this little vegetable to a better place in our vegetable choices. My mother never prepared Brussel sprouts and that’s probably because my dad didn’t like them and back then she cooked vegetables like cabbage and even green beans long past their “done” stage making things a drab color and mushy. In later years all of my mother’s and dad’s cooking changed and green beans were cooked to a vibrant green or cabbage not cooked to death. I personally like my cabbage cut into small pieces and sautéed very quick so it still has a little bite to it and the color resembles more of what it looked like when cut from the garden.

May 16, 2022 By Sherry

Side dish

Eggplant, Potatoes and Peppers

Like eggplant? Try this recipe.

Several months ago our neighbor, Mark, gave me this eggplant from his garden and as usual when I see an eggplant I want to make eggplant parmesan. This time, however, I decided to try something different to go with some steelhead trout we were grilling for dinner.

Over the years I have bought several types of eggplants. The miniature ones I have used for my Baby Eggplant with Pine Nut Salsa which made a cute and tasty little appetizer or side dish. I’ve prepared the graffiti, globe, Japanese, and white ones. I’ve cut very thin, fried and served with a drizzle of honey like we had in Spain, I’ve done stir fries with them, made caponata and of course eggplant parmesan. Aloo Baisan (eggplant and potato) is a recipe I posted by in 2012; this recipe is a different take on an eggplant/potato side dish.

March 22, 2022 By Sherry

Side dish

Potatoes, Broccoli and Cheese

Potatoes, Broccoli and Cheese OH MY!

Who doesn’t love potatoes? Whether they are whipped (not really suppose to whip potatoes though), French Fried, American Fried, hashed, smashed, paved, loaded, twice baked or AuGratined (the list goes on and on and on) there is no wrong way to prepare a potato. I use to eat them raw with salt when I was a kid. Have not done that in at least 60 years. Not sure why not, just never took the time to single out a few freshly cut potato sticks and salt and crunch away for a pre-dinner snack.

Take a look when you have a minute or two at my “side dish” section of this blog at some of my favorite potato dishes. I love my Potatoes Pave, beautiful to look at and fun to eat. One night I was looking for a side dish to go with some steelhead trout we were grilling; I should say GA was grilling. I’m not sure I could even light the grill or start the Kamado Joe smoker. I happened to have a bunch of potatoes left over from Christmas that weren’t used because our holiday was cut short (what a bummer), there was half a bag of broccoli left from a salad I had made on pizza night at the Brewery over Christmas and several packages of cheese that would eventually get used up.

January 24, 2022 By Sherry

Side dish

Lemon Basil Cauliflower Steaks

Cauliflower fan?

(It’s been a while since my last post (if anyone is still there) and my NEXT post I will give a look at what our life was like during the antique show. 12 hour days and most of the time I was too tired to cook when I got home and definitely too tired to try a new delicious recipe for this blog.)

Can’t say I was ever a cauliflower fan in my earlier years. That would be decades ago! I don’t remember my mother or grandmother ever cooking cauliflower. I’m not sure why because my dad had the best garden around and grew just about anything he could think of; even Jerusalem Artichokes and who the heck knew what to do with those things back then.

Over the years I’ve done some delicious things with the funny looking head. My Tomato and Cauliflower Soup recipe is one of those recipes that is pretty to look at and delicious to eat. My Cauliflower Potato Salad is infamous with my friends; although now I add one potato to the mix for flavor and texture. I’ve done Cauliflower Steak and Onions before but I have to say I like this Lemon Basil Cauliflower “Steak” better.

Once I found a beautiful head of purple cauliflower (and purple is my favorite color) and couldn’t resist making my Pasta with Purple Cauliflower and Walnut Cream Sauce . There are many other cauliflower dishes on my blog you can “search” for but before I quit telling what I’ve done in the past you have to take a look at my Winter White Soup which is one of my favorite cream soups.

April 7, 2021 By Sherry

Side dish

Charred Broccolini with Hazelnuts and Raisins

Broccoli gone skinny! Or broccolini.

So, what do you do when you are snowed in or it’s just too cold to get outside? Well, I tend to do one of several things. Wrap up in a blanket, pop some popcorn and start binging on Hallmark movies. Or, I start organizing drawers (after I watched “Tidying Up” series on Netflix); or I start cooking or looking for something new to post.

Well this past week it was cold in Texas; and I don’t mean a foot of snow on the ground and subzero temperatures cold. I have to say 40’s and 50’s (low’s in the 30’s) in Texas can feel bone shilling cold. I’m probably not going to get any sympathy from friends who live in the north. Maybe we’ve lived in Texas so long (30 years almost) that anything below “hot” feels chilly.

While my husband was out building our dry creek bed (I’ll show pictures when he’s done) I was inside looking for something to keep me busy so I didn’t have to go outside.

January 26, 2019 By Sherry