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Category Archives: Side Dishes

Eat Your Greens! Spicy Utica Style.

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I’d never heard of Utica Greens until a few months ago. We’d gone out to dinner at a local Italian steakhouse, Delmonico’s. Along with the standard mashed potatoes and Italian Bread, many of the meals were served with a side of something called Utica Greens. It was love at first bite. Spicy, salty, and delicious. A perfect match for my steak. A few weeks later Utica Greens popped up as a question in the weekly trivia night I attend. My interest was piqued. So, I started looking into this tasty dish.

Utica Greens are a spicy escarole dish, named for their birthplace of Utica, New York. I guess they’re kind of a big deal up here. Apparently, there’s even a Utica Greens Fest to celebrate these delicious greens. Clearly, I am no expert on this dish. I know very little of its history or traditional recipe, if there is one, and my only experience with tasting them was during that dinner at Delmonico’s. I tried cooking them once before, following a recipe I found online, but was less than satisfied with the results. So, I’ve decided to create my own version of this Central New York favorite. And, they’re good!

Spicy Utica Greens

Ingredients

  • 12 cups Escarole, rinsed and chopped (It sounds like a lot, but it will reduce significantly.)
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 3 Garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 Red Cherry Peppers, seeds removed, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Prosciutto, chopped
  • 1/3 cup Chicken Broth
  • 1/2 cup Grated Asiago Cheese (or Parmesan blend)
  • 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs

Directions

Preheat broiler. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Place the chopped escarole in the boiling water and simmer for 3 minutes.  The escarole will be bright green and wilted. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set the escarole aside and dry out the pot. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in the pot, over medium heat. Add the prosciutto to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and pepper to the pot and cook for a few more minutes. Try not to eat it at this stage, because it’s going to smell really, really good.

Add the escarole and chicken broth. Stir to combine. Add a little more than half of the bread crumbs and cheese. Stir. Taste and add salt and pepper, if desired. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining bread crumbs and cheese.  Place in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes, until the cheese and breads crumbs are lightly browned. Serve as a side with steak or chicken.

Salmon Burgers with Horseradish Sauce and Corn on the Cob with Chipotle Butter

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I make my salmon burgers the same way I make my crab cakes… heavy on the seafood, light on the filler. I like big chunks of salmon, blended together with just enough egg, bread crumbs, and mayo to hold it together.  A bit of mustard and creole seasoning adds the perfect flavoring! Served on an kaiser roll with a spicy horseradish sauce, this is a delicious way to enjoy salmon! I use fresh salmon fillets in my recipe, but you can substitute canned salmon, if desired.

Corn on the cob, served with chipotle butter makes a perfect side dish for this meal.  Chipotles are smoked jalapeno peppers; spicy and delicious! You should be able to find canned chipotles in adobo sauce in the Mexican or Latin foods section of your grocery store.  Adobo is simply a seasoned tomato-based sauce.  You can either discard the adobo sauce, or use some of it in the butter. You’ll only need 1/8 cup of pureed chipotle peppers for the butter, but puree all the peppers.  You can store the unused puree in the freezer for future use. (I’ll share my recipe for Chipotle Steak Quesadillas with you soon!)

Chipotles in Adobo

Salmon Burgers with Horseradish Sauce

For the burgers:

  • 1 pound salmon fillets
  • 1 tsp prepared mustard
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 egg white, beaten
  • 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 tsp Creole Seasoning
  • 4 Kaiser Rolls

For the Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 2-3 Tbsp Horseradish Sauce

To prepare the salmon – Preheat your broiler. Place the salmon fillets under the broiler and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. When the salmon is cool enough to handle, flake the fish into large chunks.

To make to burgers – Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except the salmon, until well blended. Gently fold in the salmon. Form into four burgers. Spray a baking sheet with a little Pam or a small amount of olive oil. Place the burgers on the baking sheet. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until heated through.

For the horseradish sauce – Combine sour cream with 2-3 Tbsp horseradish. (I use 3.)  Stir until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve burgers on kaiser rolls with lettuce, tomatoes, and horseradish sauce. Makes 4 burgers.

Salmon Burger with Horseradish Sauce

Corn on the Cob with Chipotle Butter

  • 4 ears of corn, husks removed
  • 1/8 cup pureed Chipotle Peppers
  • 1 Stick Butter

Remove chipotle peppers from adobo.  Wipe off excess adobo. Puree peppers in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Melt butter in a small saucepan over very low heat.  Add 1/8 cup pureed chipotle pepper and stir. Gently cook over very low heat for a minute or two. For the smoothest result, you can pour the melted chipotle butter through a fine sieve to remove seeds and any large chunks. (I skip this step!) Pour chipotle butter into a bowl and refrigerate, stirring every 15 minutes, until firm. Allow butter to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using. To cook the corn, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and boil for about 5-8 minutes. Spread chipotle butter on corn and enjoy!!

Chipotle Butter

Salmon Burger with Corn on the Cob and Chipotle Butter

The Gourmand Mom

Good food, seasoned with a dash of life