Spinach doesn’t need cream or bacon to make it a good side dish. It’s fine on its own, simply steamed or sauteed with a little lemon. That’s how I typically make it.

But…

If you do happen to mix cream and bacon in with spinach – and maybe some aromatic onions and garlic too for extra savory flavor – well, you’re going to wind up with a pretty excellent side dish. This Creamed Spinach, inspired by a recipe I found on the side of a package of frozen spinach, isn’t the extra thick kind I’ve had at steakhouses in the past. Here the sauce is thinner – just the cream or milk alone absorbing into the spinach rather than a flour-thickened bechamel. It’s a little bit lighter without sacrificing flavor. That works for me!

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© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/creamed-spinach-with-bacon/

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It came as a surprise to many of my friends that I had never cooked artichokes until a few weeks ago. Here in California artichokes are kind of a staple, like avocados. In fact, nearly all artichokes in the U.S. are grown in this state (I just learned that). However, my parents were raised in New York so we just never really got into them at our house when I was growing up (avocados too, for that matter).

So, yes, I’m new to cooking artichokes. For my first foray into preparing them I followed Elise’s guidance in this post on Simply Recipes and steamed them with garlic and lemon. It was so much easier than I’d imagined – I just trimmed all the little leaves with my kitchen shears, rinsed ‘em and steamed ‘em. I also love her suggestion of eating them with balsamic mayo, just the right sweet-acidic touch.

After successfully preparing them Elise’s way twice, I felt confident enough to venture out into another artichoke prep method: slow cooker. As with many slow cooker recipes, it’s a real no-fuss option. You just dress the artichokes in garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and let them braise in white wine for four hours. The balsamic vinegar in this recipe actually brings out quite a bit of sweetness in the artichokes. The garlic, after slow cooking, also becomes sweet, like when it’s roasted. I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to try artichokes, but better late than never, right?!

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© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/slow-cooker-garlic-artichokes/

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I’ll try almost any recipe that has “balsamic” in the name. Balsamic vinegar is like this magical elixir that dials up the flavor of anything it touches. I’ll never forget the first time I tried strawberries with balsamic vinegar – how in the world did it make them so sweet? And, of course, you can’t beat the mouthwatering tang it brings to vinaigrettes and marinades.

It hadn’t occurred to me to try balsamic vinegar on potatoes until I saw the suggestion on a mesh bag of potatoes. I found some pretty colorful fingerlings at Whole Foods and thought the balsamic approach might be a great way to punch up the flavor of this otherwise rather waxy variety. Using vinegar also allowed me to cut back a little on the salt without sacrificing flavor.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2011. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/balsamic-roasted-fingerling-potatoes/

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Yes, it’s unofficially “Zucchini Week” on Cooking On the Side. The other day I brought you a sweet treat – Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Bread. Today we’ll step over to the savory side, with Zucchini with Walnuts & Chives.

Evidently when you plant zucchini in your garden it grows like crazy (you have to see the size of the one my friend Karen grew!), or so I’ve gathered from the many food blog posts I’ve read with suggestions for how to use it up. As you already know, I’m not much of a gardener. However, I’m pleased to report that I did manage to grow a plant this summer! Yes, those lovely little sprouts you see in the photo to the left actually germinated on my watch. My daughter received a little flower seed kit as a birthday party favor so I had to at least give it a try for her sake. Fortunately, it’s basically a Chia – it may have grown on its own whether I watered it or not. Still, I’m basking in some combination of pride and relief.

Even if you don’t have a garden that’s bursting with zucchini right now, the farmers in your area most likely do. I saved this Zucchini with Walnuts & Chives recipe, which I found inside a package of fresh chives, for just this occasion. It’s a super-easy, flavorful side dish, with a pleasant crunch from the bread crumbs and walnuts. Now’s the time of year to give it a try!

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© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/zucchini-with-walnuts-chives/

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Do unusual fruits or vegetables catch your eye in your produce section and leave you wondering what they’re like? For me, it’s been the multicolor carrots lately. Despite the fact that I’m not the biggest carrot fan in the world I couldn’t resist the opportunity to put those beautiful colors in a dish. I finally picked up a package to see if they had a recipe on the back and, sure enough, there was this simple-yet-flavorful and oh-so-pretty Chilled Dill Carrot Salad.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2010. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/chilled-dill-carrot-salad/

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Despite being almost two years old, my daughter still prefers her sweet potatoes in the form of baby food purées with nothing else added. I suspect this has as much to do with the appeal of the natural sweet potato flavor as it does with the entertainment value of practicing the transfer of bright-orange mush from jar to mouth with her new spoon-wielding skills. If you’ve ever tried sweet potatoes just on their own you know they’re naturally pretty sweet. But if you’ve ever tasted streusel topping you also know that it pretty much makes anything even better.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/roasted-sweet-potatoes-with-cinnamon-pecan-crunch/

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I’ve struggled in the past to make mashed potatoes with the texture I really like – the really fluffy, smooth, creamy kind. Maybe I’d been using the wrong kind of potatoes or I wasn’t cooking the potatoes for long enough or I could have benefited from a tool like a potato ricer…but I think the real reason I wasn’t getting the result I wanted is that I was reluctant to use enough of a few key ingredients. Namely butter and cream.

Well, I’ve gotten past that now.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/bacon-sour-cream-chive-mashed-potatoes/

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I previously said that it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving at my house without classic pumpkin pie. Well, I guess I’d also add Green Bean Casserole to that list. To be fair, is it the best vegetable side dish I’ve ever had? No, not really. But it’s loaded with tradition and nostalgia – and on Thanksgiving, that counts for a whole lot.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/green-bean-casserole/

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I’m an adult now (and have been for some time) so I shouldn’t really need excuses to eat my vegetables. But I still kind of do. It’s not that I don’t like them…but I don’t necessarily jump for them either. That is, unless they’re made in an especially tasty manner. This Creamy Broccoli Soup definitely qualifies.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/creamy-broccoli-soup/

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It doesn’t come much simpler than this: broccoli tossed with olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper and roasted until that telltale caramelized crust forms. Nothing fancy – just the fresh taste of the vegetable, with a bit of its natural sweetness brought out to the forefront. Everyone needs an easy vegetable side dish recipe like this in their arsenal to serve alongside roasted chicken, pasta, steak – or even just a plate of it all on its own.

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© Cooking On the Side, 2009. | Permalink: http://cookingontheside.com/roasted-broccoli-with-lemon/

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