Appetizers and Sides
Appetizers & Sides
This is our go-to side vegetable dinner at Chez Briggs-Parsons. Asparagus goes with just about everything: chicken, beef, pork, whatever and it only takes 5 minutes to prepare and then cooks for 20 minutes . We roast ours in our toaster oven on a timer so we can focus on our main dish.
Plantains can be a desert or a side dish depending on the sugar content. As desert, the warm, caramelized plantains are a perfect topping on a good vanilla ice cream (similar to apple à la mode). As a side dish, a less sweet version of plantains are the perfect compliment to the spicy jerk seasoning in many Caribbean recipes, including jerk chicken.
Another simple vegetable side dish. Spend a few minutes prepping the Brussel’s sprouts (cutting, truffle oil and seasoning), transfer to a skillet and throw them in the oven for 35 minutes. That’s it!
This broccoli side will go with just about anything. Simply preheat your oven, follow the steps for prepping the dish, then just toss it in the oven. Set a timer for 20-25 minutes and forget about it while you get the rest of dinner ready. Check it after about 15 minutes to make sure you’re not overcooking it. You’ll want it to be just a little but crunchy.
This is my favorite vegetable side to cook. It’s not like the asparagus and Brussels sprouts recipes, where you can prep them, put them in the oven and forget about them until the timer goes off. But this is so easy to cook, we make it all the time. Just sauté the corn in butter for about 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve
Growing up, green beans were my least favorite vegetable. My mother served them boiled from a can, and they were just awful. In culinary school we spent a week just cooking different vegetables as side dishes. The recipe I learned for green beans is below. Now I make them for my mother during the holidays.
These rustic potatoes are a great companion to any of the dinner recipes listed here. Full of flavor, and easy to make. Goes well with chicken, beef and pork.
I found this recipe on a blog called “Host the Toast.” You have to try this. More work than many of the other sides listed here, but worth the effort. Since it bakes for an hour, make these before you start your main so they will be ready on time.
Katie learned this dish while living in Spain for 15 years. There's always that moment of truth, when she has to turn it by flipping it onto a plate (otherwise it's more like a frittata). She makes it as an appetizer, pre-sliced with toothpicks for serving.
I make this basically for every gathering of my family or friends. It’s a great munchie during the holidays, and is perfect when watching football games with our friends. It literally takes 15 to make and will taste better than any appetizer your friends will show up with.
I don’t get into this whole North vs South cornbread debate thing. I went to college in the land of corn (Iowa), so I know what good corn bread is. When in a hurry, I frequently just use the Marie Callender just-add-water quick mix. But if you have the time, this recipe is worth the effort.
I found this recipe while researching gem pas recipes for my new collection of gem pans. I serve this with any of my lamb recipes. For this recipe, I used my G.F. Filley #10 11-cup gem pan.
Katie makes this all the time. Tough to beat garlic shrimp for an appetizer. Quick, easy and yummy.
I’ve always loved mussels, but there’s nothing quite like the French classic Mussels Provencal. I first cooked this at le Cordon Bleu. Ina Garten’s published a great recipe for it in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook. Tough to improve on this, so I’m just posting her recipe with no improvements. If three pounds of mussels is too much, you can half the recipe and cook and serve the muscles in a large cast iron skillet if you like.
