Tag: side dish
Val’s Antipasti Salad
Val’s Antipasti Salad
In Italian cuisine, antipasto is looked as an appetizer to prepare the stomach for a meal; dating back to medieval times. Cured meats, seafood, olives, cheeses, and pickled vegetables are some of the many forms of antipasti. Moving forward to modern times, Italian Americans combined these ingredients in pasta salad form with a vinegar-based Italian dressing as the sauce. This particular recipe is my sweetie Val’s personal recipe, which is quite delicious. Other additions you could add to this salad include cherry tomatoes, artichokes, marinated mushrooms, salami, mozzarella, basil; just to name a few.
Ingredients
- 16 oz tri-color rotini or fusilli pasta cooked al dente
- 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese cut into 1/2” cubes
- 8 oz cheddar cut into 1/2” cubes
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 6 oz pepperoni cut into half moon slices
- 1 cup pepperoncini peppers chopped
- 1 cup black olives sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups Italian dressing
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions. Rinse under cold water.
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Cauliflower Gratin
Cauliflower Gratin
Caulifower gratin is a great side dish to substitute for starchy potatoes gratin. The cauliflower gets steamed, then mixed into a cheesy cream sauce. It is topped off by a mix of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and parsley; then baked for 25 minutes. This dish is so tasty, you’ll consider this the main course over the protein you serve it with.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- steamer basket
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
Breadcrumb Topping
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup parsley finely chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Bring a steamer pot to a boil with 2” of water. Add in the cauliflower. Cover and steam for 6 minutes. Drain a set aside.
- Bring 3/4 cup of milk to a slight boil.
- Whisk the remaining milk with the flour and pour in the hot milk. Reduce the temperature to low and whisk until a thickened cream sauce appears. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Whisk in the cream cheese and parmesan. Turn off the heat.
- Stir in the steamed cauliflower.
- Place in a lightly greased baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the breadcrumb topping ingredients.
- Place the breadcrumbs over the cauliflower. Put in a 400° preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Southern Baked Mac and Cheese
Southern Baked Mac and Cheese
Who doesn’t love mac and cheese?! Once you learn how to make it from scratch, you’ll never eat the boxed crap with powdered fake cheese again. Yeah, it takes a little bit more effort to make, but it’s worth it.
Ingredients
- 16 oz boxed macaroni prepared according to instructions
- 1 stick butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 2 cups marble jack cheese grated
- 2 cups gouda grated
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Prepare the boxed macaroni according to instructions; cooking 1 minute shy of being done. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water.
- Grease a 9”x13” cake pan. Pour in the cooked macaroni.
- Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the whole milk, evaporated milk, and all of the seasonings. Continuously whisk over medium heat for 5 minutes until the cream sauce thickens.
- Add in the shredded marble jack and gouda. Whisk until it melts into the cream sauce.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni.
- Top with the breadcrumbs and cheddar cheese. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
