Food-Side Dishes
All side dishes
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Arancini
Usually when i made risotto for dinner , i always ended up making too much for our little family . It is family of three after all . And then nobody wanted to touch the risotto the next day because truth is .. who really wants leftover risotto ? Risotto is always the best when it’s just got done being cooked , overnight ? not so much .. So that was the story last night , i cooked risotto , with seared scallops , and of course by the time we finished , there was no scallops left LOL .. just risotto and there it went to the fridge ,…
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Baked Beans
I was in charged to bring side dish , originally was going to make potato salad , but changed my mind , and tried making baked beans . You could always get canned baked beans , such as Bush’s baked beans , but what fun is that ? So i decided to try it , i like baked beans but in my opinion , home made is better than canned . With their sweet smoky flavor .. i couldn’t resist but to try .. I was right .. everyone at the gathering loved the baked beans , someone even said ” it’s not 4th of july without the baked beans…
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Chocolate Orange Loaf
how to make chocolate orange loaf
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Ayam Rica Rica
How to make easy ayam rica rica , and sambal goreng kentang , fried diced potatoes in spice chili paste and coconut milk
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Lemper Ayam
Sticky Rice with chicken filling , called as Lemper Ayam is a traditional snack in Indonesia . I remember me and my mom walked to the market and stopped by after grocery shopping to buy this snack . This was her favorite , wasn’t so much for me . She really liked this , it was all wrapped up in green banana leaves . I never wondered how they made this .. i never thought i would have to try to make it myself . But living oversea pushed you to do things that you never thought you’d do . Even my mom never made lemper ayam herself , she…
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Roasted Asparagus
Asparagus is one of our favorite vegetable . They’re widely available during early spring time , once spring is over , chances are , it’s be hard to find any fresh asparagus in the market . I never really cared about canned asparagus , just like any other vegetables , i like them thousand times better than having them straight from the can . That’s why i always get vegetables when they’re in season , if not , then find something else , that way , you don’t need to eat veggies from can . So , since asparagus is one of our favorite , i found a super easy…
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Parmesan Crackers
how to make delicious parmesan crackers
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Edamame Succotash
how to make edamame succotash
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Sweet Potato Casserole
I love sweet potatoes ! Period .. unfortunately they come only during the holidays .. i wish we can have more sweet potatoes even during regular days . I am more into sweet potato than regular potatoes . This particular recipe , almost tastes like a dessert than a side dish . I think it’s because of the pecan brown sugar topping , although without the topping i can eat it just fine !! Direction : 3 large sweet potatoes , about 4-5 cups of cubed sweet potatoes Add water and bring to boil , until it’s all cooked , and soft enough to be mashed . Once it’s done…
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Green beans w/ Caramelized Onion
This is my favourite way to cook green beans during special occasion . Because it has a really yummy flavor , i would love to make this more than just for special occasion !! They’re super easy , the key is to blanch your green beans and not to overcook it , or it will lose it’s crunchiness and all the good stuff in it . Then caranelized the onion slowly , and don’t forget to add the bacon .. for the extra flavor . Direction : 1 lb of green beans , ends removed , washed and drained Bring water to boil , then blanch the green beans for…
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Chinese Broccoli ( Gai Lan ) w/ oyster sauce
We were shopping at the korean market today when i ran across chinese broccoli , i remember my mom used to make chinese broccoli ( gai lan ) , except i don’t quite remember how it looks like . So i was happy when i ran across the vegetable and it said gai lan . I bought them , and cooked them for dinner . Turned out to be super yummy .. i miss this thing and looks like i’ll be buying more and more of this stuff everytime we make a trip to the korean market . Direction : 1 bunch of chinese broccoli 5 garlic cloves 1 inch…
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Fried Potatoes with Caramelized Onion
The recipe was called McAlister Potatoes , i don’t know why they call it mcalister , but i like to call it fried taters .. 😀 I’ve made this a while ago , the only thing with this potatoes , you need to choose some small gold yukon potatoes . I love yukon potatoes , it’s basically the potatoes that i usually buy , either red or gold yukon . I don’t care so much for russet potatoes unless i need to make potato salad . Otherwise , boiling , steaming , baking , to me , needs to be red or yukon . Mashed potatoes gets boring after a…
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Blackened Tilapia with Corn Stuffed Poblanos
I love anything blackened , be it , fish or chicken or whatever , blackened spices has a really great taste . I usually use it for chicken , using boneless chicken breast or thighs and flatten them up with the mallet , and then i would sprinkle / rub it with blackened spices .. then i would grill it . Perfect ! This time i bought tilapia , and i mixed my own blackened spices and this was a super quick easy dinner , you can always serve this with rice or potatoes or other veggies , i happened to serve it with corn stuffed poblanos . They’re not…
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Buttermilk Cornbread
I usually just buy store cornbread , Kroger has a really yummy corn bread i must say . The other day i thought about trying this , i have everything on hand , even the yellow cornmeal that’s been sitting since i used it not too long ago . I had to corn meal for something , but i only ended up using it very little . So yellow corn meal was in the cabinet , waiting to be used sometime . And that time was finally came .. although i still have plenty leftovers . Corn bread is not really hard to make , from what i heard ,…
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Collard Greens
I never had collard greens , though i’ve heard that southern people like collard greens . But living in Indiana , you hardly seen greens being sold at the groceries , other than green beans , lettuce , corn , spinach , those kind of stuff . Even kale is sometimes hardly available , let alone mustard greens , collard greens .. I guess living down south has its own advantages , such as , plenty and cheap vegetables ! So i took that advantage today too , by trying collard greens . I thought how hard can this be to cook anyway ? It’s vegetable , couldn’t be any…
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Cheese Crackers
Normally i would just use parmesan cheese for these home made cheese crackers , but the other day i saw Edam cheese was on sale at the grocery store . I picked up Edam cheese , i hardly use Edam cheese . The only thing i know that they don’t have stinky smell like most cheese does , and they have a slight nutty flavour , similar to Gruyere cheese , and usually we use Edam cheese for dutch cheese cookies ( Kaastengel ) . I though it wouldn’t hurt just to try using Edam cheese for these crackers . Turned out i have probably few tbsp left for the…
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Mustard Greens w/ chicken bites
How to cook sawi hijau , mustard greens
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Swiss Chard with Bay Scallops
Never tried swiss chard before . But according to a friend of mine , swiss chard is really delicious . I remember everytime i went to the farmer’s market , the next day when he found out , he would ask me , if i saw swiss chard because he’s been looking for it . So .. these past couple weeks , i saw swiss chard at the grocery store .. not to be mistaken with rhubarb btw .. since they both have red stems . Swiss chard comes in 2 colors , white and red . The red one looks pretty , so that’s what i picked up ..…
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Deep Fried Yellow Squash
Alright , first of all , i don’t usually cook using Paula Deen’s recipe , since i don’t like using overload of butter or mayo or cream cheese like she does . But this one looks pretty delicious , reminds me of vegetable tempura on food stall . So i thought i should give it a try , super easy and if you like squash or don’t like it .. you will still like it . As they all say ” everything is good fried ! ” You need : About 4 yellow squash , cut about 1/4 inch thickness 3 large eggs 1/2 cup of buttermilk Beat eggs and…
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Fiesta Chicken Fajita Salad
This would be a great meal for hot summer days . And that’s what we had tonight , it’s super simple and easy . It requires salsa , if you do want to make it even easier , you can always get a jar of store bought salsa , but i made my own , since they’re not hard at all and you can adjust the taste to your preference . Other than that .. just a can of black beans and sweet corn and chicken breasts , and you’ll be ready for your salad ! For home made salsa , you need : (if you buy store bought ,…