Sometimes the most-simple ingredients can make a perfect side dish for the warm months. Paula’s five-star salad, this week’s Most Popular Pin of the Week, is one of those recipes. Hard-boiled eggs, celery, bell peppers, green onions and Paula’s house seasoning are combined with classic elbow macaroni to complete any meal. Make it in advance and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve.
For more everyday recipe inspiration, visit Food Network’s Let’s Cook: Recipe of the Day board on Pinterest.
Get the recipe: 10-Minute Macaroni Salad
Fixing a bowl of raisin-laced quinoa and calling it dinner just won’t do. Yes, many wholesome grains are packed with protein and all that good stuff, but they’re that much better when things are kept balanced. With this fleet of recipe combinations, your grain-based sides are not just an afterthought; they’re a fluid and integral part of your meal.
A Tupperware of some-sort-of-quinoa-salad may be all the rage at lunchtime these days, but quinoa is much more exciting when it’s transitioned to the dinner table. Food Network Magazine‘s Spice-Rubbed Pork With Quinoa and its Scallops With Citrus and Quinoa are both sophisticated and relatively light, and the grain itself is prepared very simply.
Couscous works wonders when combined with shellfish. Sandra Lee whips up a homemade basil-walnut pesto for her Shrimp Scampi Over Pesto Couscous, and Food Network Magazine’s Greek Shrimp and Couscous integrates the grain with a sauce brimming in tomatoes, fennel and feta. The chefs in Food Network Kitchens aren’t kidding with this 20-Minute Shrimp and Couscous With Yogurt-Hummus Sauce (pictured above) — this dish comes out quick. Store-bought Greek yogurt and hummus make for an easy dipping sauce when blended, while the whole-wheat couscous is studded with dried apricots.
Get more grain-focused side dish recipes
Sometimes coming up with a side that can feed a crowd is harder than figuring out the main dish. But this week’s Most Popular Pin of the Week, Food Network Magazine‘s Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, can feed a hungry army of eight people. A big-batch side dish that pairs well with any main course, this foolproof, cheesy batch of potatoes turns out tender and golden brown every time.
For more everyday recipe inspiration, visit Food Network’s Let’s Cook: Recipe of the Day board on Pinterest.
Get the recipe: Food Network Magazine’s Simple Scalloped Potatoes
Whenever we dip fries in ketchup, spoon gravy over mashed potatoes or savor an egg with a side of home fries, the good ole potato is doing what it does best. As the foundation of our most loved sides, it comforts us to our very core. That’s why in this second week of frosty January, we’re moving down the line of our favorites potato recipes, from mashed to pancaked.
Is it a holiday? Steak night? You can bet a mound of Velvety Mashed Potatoes will be in attendance. For those who yearn for more structure, Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs go in the oven until golden brown.
A burger has never seen a day without fries. Guy Fieri’s golden Double-Fried French Fries (pictured above) are everything you’d ever want in a fry, while Tyler Florence’s Oven Fries are baked in lieu of visiting the fryer.
Get more potato recipes from family and friends
Not just for backyard barbecues anymore, coleslaw is a crowd-pleasing side that pairs perfectly with any hearty main dish. This weekend, as you’re prepping spicy chicken wings or saucy sloppy joes to serve at your game-day tailgate, look to no-cook coleslaw to complete your menu. For a mix of classic and creative preparations, check out our top five coleslaw recipes from your favorite Food Network chefs.
5. Apple-Raisin Cole Slaw – Thanks to a flavor-packed mixture of shredded cabbage, in-season apples and a pinch of celery seeds, Sunny says that her big-batch coleslaw is “crunchy, creamy, bright and tangy.”
4. Savoy, Lime and Cilantro Coleslaw – Refreshing lime juice and fragrant cilantro add light, fresh flavor to Tyler’s five-star recipe, made in just 15 quick minutes.
Get the top three coleslaw recipes
I know Thanksgiving 2008 is way over, but I can’t stop dreaming of the three new side dishes I cooked. They were so fabulous that I’m planning on making them again for Christmas.
I grew up in San Antonio and had two cousins from Austin visiting me in NYC this year, so I chose a menu that reflected the foods we loved on Turkey Day when we were kids in South Texas. When it came to the turkey itself, I admit I cheated. The big bird I bought from a local BBQ joint tasted just like my dad’s version, only no one had to get up at 4am to start smoking it over mesquite in the back yard. It paired perfectly with the two types of BBQ sauce I forced my cousins to smuggle from home, and it freed up my tiny Manhattan oven.
The sides were the real winners, though. I chose these three easy but truly tasty recipes.
Fennel Orange Cranberry Sauce from Dave Lieberman
I opted to grind my fennel seeds a bit with a mortar and pestle, but I wished I hadn’t. The rush of fennel when you bite into a seed is part of this recipe’s appeal, and the flavor works so well with turkey.
Twice Baked Potatoes from the FN Test Kitchens
I ran the cooked and scooped-out potatoes through my ricer to make the filling extra fluffy and smooth. Then I snuck in some extra butter and sour cream since my taters were jumbo-sized. I also trashed the tops and served them open-faced like my grandma always did.
Creamed Collard Greens from The Neelys
Follow the instructions and let the cream reduce by half. I got impatient/hungry, so the dish was a little too runny. Mea culpa.
Remember: We’ve got your back (and your sides) here at FN.com.
-Angela Moore
VP/Site Director
