Category Archives: Side Dishes

by | July 7, 2014 · 6:42 pm

Karl’s Santa Maria-Style Beans II

I am making Santa Maria barbecue this Sunday and this needs a special kind of beans. I finally found a source for heirloom Santa Maria pinquito beans. If you live in the South Bay (San Jose, CA area) it is just a short 30 minute drive down to just south of Gilroy to where the 101 briefly becomes a two lane highway. Garlic World is an overgrown roadside fruit stand that specializes in Gilroy’s primary crop—I love when the wind is out of the south in the morning, it smells of garlic. Garlic World also carries Suzie Q’s pinquito beans.

Karl’s Santa Maria-Style Beans II

Karl’s Santa Maria-Style Beans II

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by | July 7, 2014 · 4:22 pm

Karl’s Santa Maria Style Salsa

Santa Maria style salsa is a necessary accompaniment to Santa Maria barbecue. I, of course, could not make it exactly as they do in Santa Maria.

Karl’s Santa Maria Style Salsa

Karl’s Santa Maria Style Salsa

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by | June 23, 2014 · 7:16 pm

Karl’s Fried Tofu and Shiitake Mushrooms

I am making chicken teriyaki, fresh tofu, and pickles for Sunday night. To make the fresh tofu look pretty I had trimmed the slumping sides off. This left me with five thin slabs of tofu. I decided that I wanted to make a Shiitake mushroom dish with them.

Karl’s Fried Tofu and Shiitake Mushrooms

Karl’s Fried Tofu and Shiitake Mushrooms

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by | June 19, 2014 · 5:57 pm

Karl’s Champaigne Pickled Radishes

I am making crab cakes and in looking for recipes, I found one that included shredded radishes as a garnish. The white strips with red tips produced a very pretty effect. Another recipe included Champaigne coleslaw. Since I had already decided on using an herb salad as the base of my dish, I decided to combine these two ideas as a garnish and make lightly pickled radish shreds.

Karl’s Champaigne Pickled Radishes

Karl’s Champaigne Pickled Radishes

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by | June 16, 2014 · 4:20 am

Karl’s Greek Lemon Rice with Pearl Onions

A while ago I discovered the secret to restaurant quality Mexican rice. Like most Americans, I had been putting all of the ingredients into the pot with the raw rice and cooking everything together.  Sometimes the rice would come out perfect, but most of the time it would come out as a sticky mess. The secret is to cook the rice separately and then stir it into the sauce.

Karl’s Greek Lemon Rice with Pearl Onions

Karl’s Greek Lemon Rice
with Pearl Onions

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by | June 16, 2014 · 3:38 am

Karl’s Greek Artichoke Salad

I am making lemon rice to go with my Greek lamb. Starch is not on my son-in-law’s diet. I need a substantial vegetables salad, so he does not go hungry. Throwing out the orzo in my Greek salad and replacing it with artichoke hearts struck my fancy.

Karl’s Greek Artichoke Salad

Karl’s Greek Artichoke Salad

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by | June 12, 2014 · 11:14 pm

Karl’s Barbecued Corn with Garlic Butter

Jan wanted hamburgers and I used a Cook’s Illustrated recipe. If I was going to fire up the barbecue to grill hamburgers I might as well throw some corn on as well. My family generally does not like plain, so I have to doctor them just a bit.

Karl’s Barbecued Corn with Garlic Butter

Karl’s Barbecued Corn
with Garlic Butter

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by | June 8, 2014 · 11:34 pm

Karl’s Rosemary Parmesan Crackers

The kids are not coming over for dinner tonight, so Jan wants cheese and crackers for dinner (AKA deli dinner). She wanted some plain crackers, but I have been testing the limits of fresh crackers. Today’s savory cracker is rosemary Parmesan topped with salt and pepper.

Karl’s Rosemary Parmesan Crackers

Karl’s Rosemary Parmesan Crackers

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by | June 6, 2014 · 12:15 am

Karl’s Sweet Potato Biscuits with PB&J

Last week Jan had a work lunch that had Sweet Potato Biscuits with PB&J. She brought some leftovers home for us to try. She suggested that this would be a good thing to serve the teenagers on their Thursday movie night.

Karl’s Sweet Potato Biscuits with PB&J

Karl’s Sweet Potato Biscuits
with PB&J

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by | June 2, 2014 · 9:45 pm

Karl’s Sichuan Dry Fried Long Beans

Adapted from an Appetite for China recipe

Chinese long bean is one of the vegetables that we were introduced to in our time in Chengdu (25 years ago). They are about two feet long and are thinner, tougher and have a rougher skin than Western green beans. Although most American Chinese restaurants use Western green beans in their dishes—because of availability and American tastes—this is the green bean called for in traditional recipes. Today, you can find them in most Chinese specialty stores.

Chinese Long Bean and Bluelake Green Bean

Chinese Long Bean
and Bluelake Green Bean

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