Side Dishes | onedadskitchen

Kicking Some Chicken – Open-Face Buffalo Chicken Sub Sandwiches with Ranch Slaw

Since Sean and I have been on our own for the last couple of weeks while Michelle is away on business, we have been trying to make dinners a little simpler than normal since it is just the 2 of us. This means making a lot of much smaller meals and a few things that we might not make all the time because they may not necessarily be among Michelle’s favorites. I had a bunch of chicken I had purchased recently and was looking for something easy to do with it when I decided to make some chicken sandwiches. At the same time, I have been craving Buffalo chicken ever since the Super Bowl and was looking for a way where I could combine the 2 into a nice sandwich. I came across this particular recipe at Kitchen Daily for an open-face Buffalo chicken sub sandwich with a very simple ranch slaw dressing that makes use of yogurt instead of mayonnaise. It does take a little bit of planning ahead to cook the chicken and then shred it for the sandwiches but it is still quite easy to put together.

Open-Face Buffalo Chicken Sub Sandwiches with Ranch Slaw

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup beer, your choice (you can also use an additional cup of chicken broth in place of the beer)

1 1/4 cup Buffalo wing sauce

2 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage

2 ribs celery, julienned

1 medium carrot, julienned (or shaved with a vegetable peeler)

1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced

1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley, crushed

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Grinder or submarine sandwich rolls

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)

To prepare the chicken, pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a Dutch oven or a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs and cook for about 3 minutes on each side until the chicken is golden brown. Add the chicken broth and the beer and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and continue cooking the chicken for one hour.

While the chicken is simmering, begin to prepare the ranch slaw. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, celery, carrot and red onion. Briefly set the bowl aside. For the ranch dressing, in a small bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, dill weed, black pepper and salt. Pour the ranch dressing over the vegetable mixture and toss the vegetables to coat them well. Cover and refrigerate the slaw until you are ready to serve.

After one hour, transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board and shred them with 2 forks. Discard the cooking liquid. Return the shredded chicken to the Dutch oven and set the pan over low heat. Add the Buffalo wing sauce and stir until the chicken is well coated. Keep the chicken warm. Halve the rolls you are using and place them on a baking sheet. Place the rolls under the broiler for about 2 minutes until they are lightly toasted. You could also use a toaster oven for this step if you prefer.

To assemble the sandwiches, divide the Buffalo chicken among the 4 grinder or sub roll halves. Top each half with plenty of ranch slaw and 2 tablespoons of the blue cheese crumbles, if using. Serve the sandwiches with additional ranch slaw on the side.

You have a lot of choices when it comes to making the sandwiches. You could use the boneless chicken thighs or you can use boneless chicken breasts if you prefer to have white meat or that is what you happen to have on hand that day. You can use any Buffalo wing sauce that you like, but you want to remember that you are using the wing sauce and not just regular hot sauce. Wing sauce is a little bit thicker than traditional hot sauce and does not have the high concentration of heat that just hot sauce has. I know Frank’s makes a good brand of wing sauce and I personally like Sweet Baby Ray’s myself, but you could naturally use any kind that you like. You could even make your own by combining some hot sauce, melted butter and cayenne pepper if you prefer to go that route. I left the blue cheese off the particular sandwiches I was making but they would go well since it is a Buffalo sandwich. As for the slaw, I thought it came out great. The dressing is much thicker than what you would find in a traditional mayonnaise-based coleslaw, which to me really helped to make it great. You get good ranch flavor thanks to all the spices that use and the nice mix of the cabbage, celery, carrot and red onion really helped to make it stand out. This would be a good coleslaw recipe to use for just about any sandwich that you like. I would definitely make these sandwiches again as they came together pretty quickly. Poaching them in the chicken broth and beer not only gave them great flavor but made the much easier to shred and pull apart.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on February 11, 2015 in Cooking, Dinner, Dressings, Lunch, Poultry, Salad, Sandwiches, Side Dishes

Tags: Buffalo Chicken, Buffalo chicken sandwich, Buffalo wing sauce, Kitchen Daily, open-face Buffalo chicken sandwich, open-face Buffalo chicken sub sandwiches with ranch slaw, ranch slaw

A Week of Side Dishes, Part Two – Creamed Spinach

27 Jan

Okay, I know not everyone likes spinach and maybe you have tried to avoid it like the plague since you were a kid, but in my opinion I would much rather have spinach as a vegetable than a side of kale. I know it seems sacrilegious to say that about kale today since it is a “super food” and all, but there is just something about kale that I makes me rather have something else – like spinach. Surprisingly, we never had a problem getting Sean to eat spinach either and it ranks among the family favorites in vegetables. Besides, you can do a lot of things with it besides just steaming it. It is great raw in a salad or on sandwiches instead of lettuce and of course, one of the favorites around the holidays is always creamed spinach, which is the recipe I am posting today. I actually made this right around the holidays and forgot to post about it, but here it is today and it is easy enough where you can really make this any time of the year. This particular recipe comes from the Food Network’s Sunny Anderson and comes together pretty quickly in the oven and makes use of frozen spinach.

Creamed Spinach

4 tablespoons butter, plus more for the pan

1/2 red onion, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons red chili flakes

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup sour cream

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/2 cup packaged fried onions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Melt the butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the chopped red onion and a pinch of salt. Saute the onion for about 3 minutes, then add the minced garlic and the red chili flakes and saute the mixture for 2 minutes more. Add the heavy cream, Parmesan cheese and the nutmeg. heat the mixture until the cream is just beginning to bubble, stirring often, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the burner off and stir in the sour cream and the spinach. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed to taste. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top evenly with the fried onions. Bake the spinach until the top is golden and bubbly, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Granted this may not be the healthiest version of eating spinach out there but it does taste pretty good. It does seem a lot like the typical green bean casserole that you might also find around the holidays and the flavors will remind you of that. One thing you want to remember is to make sure to thaw and dry the frozen spinach as much as you can to get as much liquid out as possible otherwise you will end up with a very runny dish. I did leave out the red chili flakes in my recipe but if you like a little added heat to your dish you should put it in. You end up with a very creamy, tasty side dish that goes really well with just about any type of beef, poultry and pork meal. this also works well if you need to bring a side dish to a party or buffet dinner. Unfortunately, this is also one of those dishes that I neglected to take a picture of so I don’t have one to share with you as to how it came out. Sorry about that. I am trying better, I promise.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on January 27, 2015 in Cooking, Dinner, Holidays, Side Dishes, Vegetables

Tags: creamed spinach, creamed spinach recipe, food network, frozen spinach, holiday side dishes, spinach recipes, Sunny Anderson

A week of Side Dishes, Part One – Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Glaze and Lemon Zest

26 Jan

As the snow starts to fall here as we get pummeled with the 1st blizzard of 2015 in my area of New York, I have been going through some of the recipes of things I have made lately and I realize I have a lot of side dishes that I have done recipes for that I have not posted on here yet. So I decided for this week I will post a different side recipe each day to give you some ideas of different things that you can try with your main dishes. The first one, from Williams-Sonoma, is for a roasted asparagus with balsamic glaze and lemon zest. Asparagus is one of our favorite vegetables around here so we do try to make use of it quite often and I have found that roasting it is one of my favorite ways to make it. The great thing about asparagus is that you can use it in a bunch of different ways and for several different kinds of meals. This one in particular can go pretty well with just about anything and is really simple to make any night of the week.

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Glaze and Lemon Zest

20 to 25 asparagus spears, tough ends removed

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 450°. Spread the asparagus in a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle the asparagus with the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Turn the asparagus spears several times to make sure they are all coated evenly. Roast the asparagus for 10 minutes, turning them from time to time. Remove the asparagus from the oven, sprinkle the asparagus with the lemon zest and turn the spears several times. Return the asparagus to the oven and continue to roasted until the spears are crisp-tender and the color has darkened slightly, about 5 to 7 minutes more. Transfer the asparagus to a platter and serve immediately. Or, let the asparagus cool, then cover with aluminum foil and allow it to stand at room temperature for up to one hour before serving.

I find that when you roast asparagus it really brings out the great flavor of the vegetable and with this recipe the balsamic vinegar in the lemon zest really add some extra punch to the dish. I think this side dish goes really well with just about any type of beef that you might serve, but it also would work great with poultry, pork or fish. Many people often serve asparagus as part of an appetizer before the meal if you are serving a more elegant dinner or even serve asparagus as part of a brunch, and this recipe could work well for either situation. 25 asparagus spears might sound like a lot, but it really does not go very far and this recipe is perfect for 3 or 4 people. We did not even have any leftovers when I served this one myself. You can serve the asparagus warm right out of the oven or let it cool to room temperature, which is the way a lot of people like it. Personally I prefer it hot but it tastes great either way.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, stay warm and out of the snow, and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on January 26, 2015 in Appetizers, Brunch, Cooking, Dinner, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: asparagus spears, roasted asparagus, roasted asparagus recipe, roasted asparagus with balsamic glaze and lemon zest, side dishes, williams-sonoma

Super Bowl Food Ideas and Party Recipes – Bon Appetit

24 Jan

Super Bowl Food Ideas and Party Recipes – Bon Appetit.

As we deal with a snowstorm here in my area of New York and then a family party later today, you can have a chance to look over some more great Super Bowl snack, appetizers and recipes for your party, to bring to a party or just to have for your own while you watch the game. Bon Appetit has all kinds of great ideas for your Super Bowl party guide for all of your favorite game-time snacks. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on January 24, 2015 in Appetizers, Cooking, Cooking Tips, Cooking Websites, Pizza, Pork, Potatoes, Poultry, Sandwiches, Sausage, Seafood, Side Dishes, Slow Cooker Meals, Snacks, Vegetables

Tags: bon appetit, Bon Appetit Super Bowl party guide, football appetizers and snacks, making snacks for the big game, super bowl appetizers, Super Bowl party guide, super bowl party ideas, super bowl snacks

Savor These Simple Sides (Sans Pictures) – Maple-Glazed Root Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk

21 Jan

One of the areas that I am trying to do the most improving in during 2015 comes to the pictures that I take for this blog. Very often I just take pictures right after I have finished preparing the meal so that I can have a picture to display, and the pictures do not always turn out to be the best that I can use but I go with it and that is what I have. I admit I am no professional photographer and I do not spend a lot of time working on the photography for the blog, but I would like to try to get a little bit better at it and take some nicer pictures to use. I would also like to be able to remember to take pictures more often. Very often I forget to take pictures of the side dishes that I have made and only remember it after we have already started eating, not leaving me with anything to take pictures of to put up.. This has kept me from putting a lot of recipes on the blog since I do not have pictures of the recipes I want to use. Today I decided I am going to use a couple of the recipes anyway so at least I can share them with you and let you know how they turned out for me even if I do not have pictures to show you. In particular here are 2 side dishes I tried recently, one from Williams-Sonoma and the other from Bobby Flay. They are for maple-glazed root vegetables and for mashed potatoes with buttermilk, black pepper and green onion. Both are really simple to make and make great side dishes for all kinds of meals.

Maple-Glazed Root Vegetables

3 tablespoons butter

1 pound turnips, peeled and cut into wedges 1/2-inch wide

1 1/4 pound carrots, peeled and cut on the bias into pieces 2-inches long and 1/2-inch wide

1 1/4 pounds parsnips, peeled and cut on the bias into pieces 2-inches long and 1/2-inch wide

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

3 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat, melt the butter. When the foaming subsides, add 1/3 each of the turnips, carrots and parsnips. Cook, without stirring, until the vegetables are browned on one side, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl. Repeat the process to brown the remaining vegetables in 2 more batches.

Return all of the vegetables to the pan. Stir in the chicken broth, time and 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until the vegetables are just tender, about 7 to 8 minutes. He uncover the pan and continue to cook the vegetables, stirring them occasionally, until most of liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are glazed, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and serve.

You can pretty much try this recipe with any root vegetables that you like, or just one single type of vegetable that you may happen to have on hand and it works pretty well. While this recipe is for a larger group of about 8 to 10, you could scale it down to fit your particular family size needs. I actually just made this again recently using just some baby carrots that I had on hand and it turned out perfectly, with the carrots having a really nice glaze on it thanks to the maple syrup. It is a great dish to remember to use for holidays or weekend meals and goes really well with beef, chicken, turkey, or pork. The mashed potato recipe is just as easy and just as versatile.

Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk, Black Pepper and Green Onion

4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch dice

Kosher salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, cut into pieces

2 1/2 to 3 cups buttermilk

Coarsely ground black pepper

2 green onions, green and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover them with cold water by 2 inches. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potatoes well. While the potatoes are cooking, combine the butter and buttermilk in a small sauce pan set over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.

Working in batches, pass the cooked potatoes through a food mill or a ricer (or just use a potato masher) over a pot. Stir the hot buttermilk mixture into the potatoes until they are smooth and creamy. Season the potatoes generously with pepper and add more salt as needed. Stir in the green onions. Cover and keep the potatoes warm over a simmering pot of water until you are ready to serve.

While everyone makes mashed potatoes pretty regularly, this is just a slight variation that gives you a little bit different flavor thanks to the buttermilk, pepper and green onion. I really like a lot of pepper in my potatoes so this was the perfect recipe since the pepper really shines through and the buttermilk really helps to make the potatoes extra creamy and add a little bit of tang to the flavor. Again this is a great dish that you can use for a holiday meal or a nice Sunday meal but it is also simple enough for you can make it during the week to have as a side dish for just about anything, including beef, chicken, turkey or pork. While using a ricer or food mill does produce great mashed potatoes and I do have a ricer to use, I very often find myself just using the potato masher to make them and they come out just fine. The ricer can be a little tedious to use when you have a lot of potatoes and some people like the mashed potatoes a little chunkier with the potato masher anyway.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on January 21, 2015 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Side Dishes, Vegetables

Tags: Booby Flay, maple-glazed root vegetables, mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes recipe, mashed potatoes with buttermilk pepper and green onion, root vegetables, side dishes, Willams-Sonoma

Our Best Nachos Recipes – Bon Appétit

18 Jan

Our Best Nachos Recipes – Bon Appétit.

The big game is not so far off and in a couple of Sundays millions of people will be getting together to watch the game, the commercials, the halftime show and to eat some great snacks. A football game staple is always a good plate of nachos and you can step up your nachos game by trying out some of these nacho recipes from Bon Appetit. let’s face it – nachos are great pretty much any time as a snack, so if you have some great recipes to fall back on you can wow the crowd, your family or yourself any day you feel like having them. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on January 18, 2015 in Appetizers, Beans, Cooking, Cooking Tips, Cooking Websites, Side Dishes, Snacks

Tags: best nacho recipes, Bon Appetit best nacho recipes, nacho recipes, Nacho recipes for game day or anytime, nacho recipes for the Super Bowl

Best New Year’s Eve Recipes : Food Network

29 Dec

Best New Year’s Eve Recipes : Food Network.

New Year’s Eve is just two days away and if you are planning a party, big or small, Food Network has some great recipe ideas for you for appetizers, snacks, main courses, cocktails and more so you can ring in the New Year. Check it out!

I will be back with more of my own recipes once the holidays are are all over with so stay tuned for some great, exciting new things to try for the New Year. Thanks for following!

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Posted by MikeG on December 29, 2014 in Appetizers, Beef, Beverages, Cookbooks, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner, Fruit, Holidays, Pantry, Pasta, Pork, Potatoes, Poultry, Produce, Salad, Sandwiches, Sausage, Seafood, Side Dishes, Snacks, Turkey, Vegetables

Tags: appetizers for new year's eve, best new year's eve recipes, food network, Food Network New year's eve recipes, new year's eve recipe ideas, snacks for new year's eve, thingsto make for new year's eve

Christmas Dinner Recipes & Ideas : Cooking Channel

23 Dec

Christmas Dinner Recipes & Ideas : Cooking Channel.

You still have time to plan a great Christmas dinner if you have been sidetracked with other holiday chores and haven’t come up with some ideas yet. Cooking Channel has 70 dinner recipes and ideas for you to cover everything that you will need to make a memorable Christmas meal. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on December 23, 2014 in Appetizers, Beef, Cakes, Cookies, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner, Herbs, Holidays, Lamb, Pie, Pork, Potatoes, Poultry, Produce, Sauce, Side Dishes, Soups & Stews, Turkey, Vegetables

Tags: 70 Christmas dinner ideas, Christmas dinner, Christmas dinner recipes, Christmas dinner recipes & ideas, Christmas meals, Cooking Channel, Cooking Channel Christmas dinner recipes and ideas, dinner recipes

A Fine Feast of Onion Focaccia

19 Dec

I was making chicken Parmesan last week for dinner one night (for which I will be posting the recipe tomorrow) and wanted to make some bread to go alongside of the meal but I wasn’t sure what I really felt like. I didn’t want something that was too labor intensive since I have been pretty busy with work and the holidays and with Michelle traveling a lot recently, so I decided on this recipe I found on Williams-Sonoma for a basic onion focaccia. I have made focaccia from them before and the recipe turned out pretty well and this one seemed just as easy so i thought I would give it a try to see how everything came out.

Onion Focaccia

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

4 to 4 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more as needed

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 1/2 cup of the warm water. Let this stand at room temperature until the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining water and sugar, 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the table salt and 1 cup of the bread flour. Beat the mixture at medium speed until it is creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the bread flour and beat on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the onion and switch the mixture attachment to a dough hook.

On low-speed, beat in the remaining bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms and starts to pull away from the bowl. Knead the dough on low, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until it is moist, soft and slightly sticky, about 6 minutes. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to stand for 20 minutes.

Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the parchment paper with olive oil. Turn the dough out onto the prepared sheet and with oiled fingers press and flatten the dough into an oval about 1 inch thick. Cover the dough loosely with oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

With your fingertips, make deep indentations, about 1 inch apart, all over the surface of the dough. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dough. Cover the dough again loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise again at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Place a baking stone on the lowest oven rack and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the bread lightly with coarse salt. Place the pan on the stone and bake until the bottom of the bread is lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve the bread warm or at room temperature.

The focaccia went perfectly with the chicken and even though it does not seem like a lot of onion in the recipe the onion flavor really comes through in the bread. The dough rises quite a bit so I had a very large focaccia and ended up freezing some so we could have it at a later date. You could easily sprinkle a little cheese on top before you bake it if you wanted to go that route, but I think it turns out perfectly just the way it is and it makes an excellent addition to all kinds of Italian dishes.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on December 19, 2014 in Breads, Cooking, Side Dishes

Tags: focaccia bread, focaccia recipes, onion focaccia, Williams-Sonoma onion focaccia

Bacon 25 Ways – NYTimes.com

17 Dec

Bacon 25 Ways – NYTimes.com.

It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like bacon, and it can be a very versatile ingredient, fitting into every course of a meal and breakfast, lunch and dinner to boot. You can also cook it in a variety of ways – in the microwave, on the stovetop, on the grill or in the oven. In the New York Times, Mark Bittman has put together 25 easy and fantastic ways that you can use bacon in various dishes and ways. Check it out!