Side Dishes Archives

Ingredients for Cheesy Garlic Bread Recipe

2 part-baked baguettes
40g butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
&half; teaspoon dried thyme
80g of cheddar cheese, sliced

How to make Cheesy Garlic Bread

Put the butter in a bowl and cut in to small cubes. Use a fork to press down and soften.
Peel and crush 2 garlic cloves. Mix with butter to make garlic butter.
Add dried thyme to butter mixture and blend together.
Slice the Cheddar cheese thinly and make little squares of about 2cm each sides.
Now make slits in the baguettes (about 1.5cm apart) using a bread knife. Do not slice completely through the baguette.
Then spread a little of the garlic butter mix in each slit of the baguettes. Be careful not to break the baguettes.
Insert the cheddar cheese slices in each baguette slit.
Place the baguettes under a medium grill for about 4 minutes, in a lower shelf. Check your cheesy garlic bread each minute to make sure it is not burnt. It is ready when it is only slightly brown at the edges of the slits and the cheese melted.

Suggestions

Cheesy Garlic Bread can be served as a side dish during a barbeque.

Cheesy Garlic Bread is perfect enjoyed dipped in your favourite soup.

Notes

I prefer to use freshly crushed garlic as the smell is less intense ( and to some others less unpleasant) than ready packaged crushed garlic to make Cheesy Garlic Bread.

Dried thyme is optional, I find it enhances the flavour and kitchen aroma, ensuring a quick arrival to the dinner table knowing Cheesy Garlic Bread is being served.

Ingredients for Sweetcorn Fritters Recipe

300g tinned sweetcorn
50g cornmeal
80g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
130ml milk
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
2 spring onions, sliced finely
Oil for shallow frying

How to make sweetcorn fritters recipe

Place flour, cornmeal and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Lightly whisk eggs and stir in milk. Add to flour and make a batter.
Add sweetcorn and sliced spring onions. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Drop spoonfuls of the mix in the oil and fry until the underside is golden. Turn over with a spatula until the other side is golden and cooked.

Suggestions

Serve as a side dish with barbecued chicken and crispy salad. Sweetcorn fritters are delicious with chilli sauce or tomato ketchup.

Ingredients for Potato Dauphinoise Recipe

3 medium size potatoes, sliced thinly
150ml single cream
2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
30g grated cheese

How to make potato dauphinoise recipe

Preheat oven to 190°C.
Arrange thinly sliced potatoes in a shallow one litre ovenproof dish.
In another bowl, mix single cream, crushed garlic, dried thyme, salt and pepper together.
Pour cream mixture over sliced potatoes.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle grated cheese. Bake for a further 10 minutes.

Suggestions

Potato dauphinoise can be served instead of mash.

For a creamier dish, use double cream.

Potato Wedges Recipe

This recipe for potato wedges makes a healthier and a very refreshing alternative to chips, chips and more chips.

It also has significantly less salt than the shop bought ready mix flavours that are available in the supermarkets and they’re not nearly so greasy as oven chips.

Ingredients for potato wedges recipe

5 medium size potatoes, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

How to make potato wedges recipe

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking with foil.
Put olive oil in a large bowl and add dried thyme, salt and pepper.
Toss the potato wedges in the oil mix until coated.
Arrange potato wedges in the baking tin, skin side on the baking tin.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Quick tip:

These potato wedges make a great substitute to serve with any dish instead of chips.

If you like this recipe, don’t be afraid to share it with your friends and leave me a comment to let me know.

Karen’s Egg Fried Rice Recipe

A simple stir fry dish that’s quick to make and goes down a treat with spring rolls, sweet and sour dishes and many other Chinese recipes.

The secret to making this recipe is not to rush. Steam the rice and allow to cool before cooking this dish. I use a rice cooker but as long as the rice is properly cooked and not hard in the middle you should be OK. Make sure you separate the rice once it’s cooled and before frying. This makes your egg fried rice much lighter, fluffier and tastier.

Karen’s Egg Fried Rice Ingredients

400g cooked rice, cold
2 eggs,beaten
2 spring onions sliced finely
1 stock cube (dissolved in about 50ml hot water)
100g tinned or thawed frozen sweetcorn (optional)
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
A pinch of salt
ground white pepper

How to cook Karen’s egg fried rice

Separate cooked cold rice using a wooden spatula or your fingers.
Put about 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil in a non stick frying pan or wok. Use a gentle heat only. (I used setting 5 out of 9).
Fry sliced spring onions until soft.
Add beaten eggs and scramble in the frying pan.
Add the rice, a little at a time while eggs are not set.
Keep stirring and adding rice until all mixed.
Keeping the heat gentle, pour in the dissolved vegetable stock and mix well.
Add the tinned sweetcorn (if using) and mix well.
Add a pinch of salt and ground white pepper to taste.

This should take under 10 minutes from the start. As long as the bits of egg are set and rice are warmed through it is now ready to serve.

Variations

Use mixed frozen vegetables (thawed). Serve garnished with sliced spring onions or crispy fried onions.

Serving suggestions

A great accompaniment to many Asian dishes, serve with sweet and sour, spring rolls or lemon chicken. Beef in black bean sauce is also good too.

If you like this recipe for egg fried rice, be sure to share it with your friends and family. You can also tweet me @HobSpotTweets and you may just show up in the stream in the sidebar.