Category Archives: Side Dishes

by | February 22, 2013 · 6:54 pm

Karl’s Sweet Potato Latkes with Apple Sauce

I have always struggled with making latkes. I am forced to limit the amount of oil that I cook with because of Jan’s dietary restrictions. As a result, fried foods are not a common occurrence in my household. Without enough oil in the pan to half-deep fry the potatoes the centers of the latkes never quite get cooked before the outsides are nearing burnt. Thank you cooking shows!  I noticed that professional cooks sometimes “finish off” pan-fried dishes to avoid this problem. Ten minutes in a 350° oven insured that they were cooked and did not destroy the crispness of the latkes.

Sweet Potato Latkes

Karl’s Sweet Potato Latkes with Apple Sauce

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by | February 18, 2013 · 3:38 am

Karl’s Oatmeal Scones

Adapted from Sarah on AllRecipes.com

This recipe started life as a blueberry scone but over the last year I have been experimenting and changing it depending on my mood and available ingredients.

Karl’s Oatmeal Scones

Karl’s Oatmeal Scones

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by | February 11, 2013 · 3:31 am

Karl’s Saag Paneer

Adapted from Sinful Curry

My son-in-law, Chris, just got back from two weeks in Shanghai, so he wanted anything but Chinese food for this Sunday’s dinner.  I decided on Indian and I was trying for 5 dishes: Chicken Dopiaza (Chicken and Onion Curry), Chana Peshawari (Piquant Chickpeas), Split Red Gram (lental) Dal, Saag Paneer, and Pulao Rice.  I have never made the first three dishes and they are definitely works in progress to be posted later. Last year I started making my own Palak Paneer. Once you have made fresh palak paneer you will find it hard to go back to any of the commercial imitations that are available.

Saag Paneer

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by | February 11, 2013 · 3:25 am

Karl’s Pilao Rice

I frequently try out commercial spice mixes for dishes that I want to experiment with. I loved the pulao rice from an Indian restaurant near us and when it went out of business I had to figure out how to make it myself.

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by | January 20, 2013 · 6:37 am

Karl’s Tzatziki

Adapted from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Ingredients

1 English cucumbers
1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1 cup plain lowfat Greek yogurt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 clove garlic, crushed (or more to taste)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
Pinch sugar

Fresh mint sprig for garnish (optional)

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by | January 10, 2013 · 10:10 pm

Karl’s Spicy Daikon Radish Pickle

This dish has its origin in our time in Chengu, China.  We lived in the Foreigner’s Hotel. This was known as “the Panda House” and, yes, with its fenced in garden, it did look just like the Panda House at the local zoo.  Many mornings we would walk down stairs to eat at the hotel restaurant rather than cook in our apartment. This was partly because the gas was so iffy – the local children thought it was a great joke to shut off the gas valve to the foreigner’s apartments.

Daikon Radish Pickle

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by | January 10, 2013 · 10:07 pm

Karl’s Pickled Japanese Cucumbers III

Based on a www.thekitchn.com recipe

In this variation I was reminder of a couple of technique by Nami’s Just One Cookbook. When you are making pickled vegetables you can play with more than just the flavors.  If all of your pickles are the same shape it is just boring.  The visual appearance of the dishes is a very important ingredient in Japanese Cuisine.

Pickled Japanese Cucumbers

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by | December 10, 2012 · 4:10 am

Karl’s Guinness Beer Bread

Adapted from a Gerald Norman recipe

Eilene and Jan wanted beer bread so I found Gerald’s recipe online.  After a couple of loaves using his recipe (which makes a really decent bread), it was time to branch out. Beer bread tastes strongly of whichever beer you use as the fluid.  It is best to use a beer that you would happily drink warm (pretend you are British). This bread is good with a mediocre beer, but it is great with a good tipple.

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by | December 3, 2012 · 7:29 am

Karl’s Mexican Rice

Technique drawn from Mel’s Kitchen Café

I have been trying to make Mexican rice for years with only limited success. Yes, the rice I made usually tasted good, but it was always a bit gummy. It never turn out like the fluffy savory rice you find in almost any Mexican restaurant.

This is one of those ethnic “home cooked” dishes that, if you did not watch your mother making it growing up, you will rarely discover the secret to making it. This technique is really not a secret, it is just considered too obvious to mention by the people who grew up with the dish.

Karl’s Mexican Rice and Karl's Refried Beans

Karl’s Mexican Rice and
Karl’s Refried Beans

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by | December 3, 2012 · 7:22 am

Karl’s Refried Beans

For this Sunday I was going to use a recipe I adapted from Chelsie Kenyon, but my local Mexican market did not have the epazote, which is a key ingredient to her dish. Off to the internet.

Most recipes for refried beans I found tended to be very simple. Some used only beans, fat, onions and salt. The main two distinctions between recipes seemed to be: 1) What kind of fat do you use? and 2) Do you add any other ingredients beyond the basic four?

Karl’s Mexican Rice and Karl's Refried Beans

Karl’s Mexican Rice and
Karl’s Refried Beans

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