By Lisa of La Mia Cucina

Below are some fantabulous Holiday side dish and starter recipes. I had to force myself to stop adding on to the list because DAMN ya’ll do an amazing job in sharing those secret family tradition recipes, the brand spankin’ recipes you come up with and all the kinds of recipes in between. So if anyone is in a pickle wondering just what the hell to serve next to that holiday ham or turkey or meatloaf, just take a gander below and I’m confident you’ll find at least one you’ll want to try RIGHT NOW.

Starting off with a lovely soup, some interesting salads and some show-stopping appetizers!

One of my most favorite Daring Kitchen members is Rose from Bite Me Kitchen. Rose is such a wonderful gal to chat with and she writes beautifully. Her cooking skills are just as beautiful and I always look forward to seeing what she’s been up to in the kitchen. I chose her Wild Mushroom and Barley Soup for this round up because it just felt so comforting and cozy and yet special enough to bring out a big steaming bowl of it for guests to “ohhh” and “ahhh” over. I could almost taste the delicious earthiness if the wild mushrooms and feel the barley on my tongue when I read this post. I will be making this soup very soon - my husband has made me promise.

Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen came up with this not-your-everyday salad. Winnie spruces up those boring greens with roasted beets and candied pecans. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m neither a beets nor a pecan fan. So why’d I chose this recipe? Well aside from the fact that not EVERYTHING is about me, I have recently discovered that if you roast a beet, why.. it tastes good! It gets all caramelly and delish! And pecans.. oh lordy don’t even get me started. I know I’m in a huge minority hating these southern nuts, but I can’t help it. Here, does it make anyone feel any better if I also admit that I hate walnuts with an even bigger passion? No? *cough* Okay let’s move on then.. anyhoo.. crisp up a pecan then load it with sugar and cinnamon and well.. I’ll eat the whole damn bag. By myself. So actually, this salad sounds SO GOOD and would make a great first course for many a holiday meal.

Depending on where you’re from, cheese and fruit might be a dessert and not a starter - but I choose to eat cheese and fruit before AND after a meal, so there you go. Charli, of The Berry Bushel, is passionate about pears and gorgonzola cheese, with a light drizzle of honey or balsamic vinegar. Simple to put together, elegant enough for for that special occasion on your callendar but so damn tasty that you’ll be making up special occasions just to be nibblin’ on this delicious sweet and salty combination.

Bunnee’s Vol-au-Vents have been added to my list because they brought back my own memories of this Daring Baker’s challenge and how delicious they turned out. I especially loved Bunnee’s choice of a simple filling of sauted mushrooms and how she made them pretty small to be served as appetizers. Brilliant! This pastry is flaky, butter and divine and I can just imagine how damn good it went with the mushrooms. YUM!

This next recipe is not only a very festive appetizer for the holidays, but its something that’s wonderful year round. Ivonne of Creampuffs in Venice is known for her “creampuffs” but her family’s treasured recipes are the true gems of her wonderful blog. I’m featuring her Mother’s peperonata because this is a dish my father also made often and there is just nothing better than these marinated peppers slathered all over a big slice of crusty bread. Try this recipe, you won’t be disappointed!

You know what would look great next to that big platter of Peperonata?? This divine Bleu Cheese Cheesecake with Onion-Pear jam. Ohhh kids. Let me tell you from experience.. this is TO DIE FOR. I’m linking back to both my blog when I first made it a few years ago and also to Gracie’s blog - oh yeah, for those of you who don’t know who Gracie is.. well her real name is Peabody but I call her Gracie. Anyhoo this is her recipe and it’s become a tradition at my house on Christmas Eve this year. Now keep in mind when you decide to make this - and trust me, you need to decide to make this - it’s HUGE. You should have quite a large gathering if you want it all to be eaten by delighted guests. Our Christmas Eve is much smaller, so I quarter the recipe which makes enough for a 4″ springform pan.. plus a lil extra for you know, stashing away for later.

If you couldn’t wait and have already clicked on to my link, you’ll notice 2 other recipes in that post. I wouldn’t be a good Daddy’s girl, if I didn’t include my Dad’s Calamari Sauce in this round up. For those Italians or just seafood lovers, this sauce is just a lil slice of heaven. It’s a bit labor intensive since whole squid must be cleaned (no cheating and using the already cleaned tubes and tentacles you can find at any grocery store - you won’t get 1/10th of the flavor) and used. But it’s so worth it. You might say this is an entree, but well.. not for my family! It’s just a 8th of your entire plate in our house. *grin*

Okay lets continue on with the side dishes now.. speaking of seafood.. ever serve a yummy concoction of your favorite seafoods mixed with herbs and bread crumbs and cheese.. in it’s own cup made from a lemon?? HAR! Is that a fantastic idea or what? Lemon pairs so well with seafood that this is really a no-brainer, but I never would have thought of it! Cuppy did though! Bless her Check out her adorable Seafood Stuffed Lemons!

Elle’s Wild & Brown Rice with Cranberries had me salivating. I absolutely love the addition of the berries with the rice - holy cow it just SCREAMS Holiday! Is that not a delicious looking bowl of yum??

Maybelle’s Mom, who is a lovely gal living in my home state (and not far away!) comes up with some incredible recipes and her photos are completely drool-worthy. When I saw this Brussels Sprouts with Vadouvon recipe, I was more than a bit intrigued. I love me some Brussels Sprouts but had not heard of Vadouvon before.. apparently it’s a French amalgamation of spices and alliums which creates a rich, sweet and tangy combination, which sounds amazing when you mix it in with roasted Brussels sprouts and potatoes. By the by, don’t trust my definition of Vadouvon, read Seema’s blog post and it’ll make much better sense to those of us who haven’t heard of it yet. Regardless.. it sounds WONDERFUL!

Next is another one of those deliciously simple recipes that takes no time to make, hardly any effort needed, but always brings fantastic results. Pia of Inato lang Filipino Cuisine and More shares with us her Pan Seared Asparagus and Sundried Tomatoes. What a wonderful, bright side dish this is for any gathering. And who wants to be saddled in the kitchen making all kinds of involved recipes when we’ve got guests coming? Not me! This is the kind of easy and tasty dish that I will ALWAYS serve along with my more elaborate offerings.

Potato Pancakes or Latkes as they are also known, are a common side dish for many festive tables. And I love them, don’t get me wrong.. hey there isn’t anything better than a crispy potato-y creamy on the inside potato-y ANYTHING. But I didn’t go there this time.. instead I went with these amazingly beautiful Beet and Cauliflower Latkes from Rochelle of Aquired Taste! Look at them! Do they not fit in with the Christmas theme perfectly? All ruby red with specs of green? And healthy! I am looking forward to making these.. I’m just not looking forward to red/purple hands for a week. Great spin on a classic, Rochelle!

Speaking of potatoes.. How pretty are these Accordion Potatoes??? Ellie did an amazing job creating these beauties! And for as elegant as they look, they are pretty darned simple to make. What could be better? Imagine the crispiness.. the creaminess.. the smell of the perfectly roasted accordion potato.. I see this served with a juicy Prime Rib Roast on NYE’s.. oh yes.. Oh. Yes. Thanks for sharing Ellie - you’ve got me itchin’ to start slicing some spuds!

How about something more traditional with a bit of a twist? Ninette’s Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Apples is just screaming to be served with that big old bird you’re planning! I love the thought of these flavors and textures together and although this one might not make it to our Christmas Eve dinner (purely due to bad timing) this WILL adorn my family’s table in the very near future.. I suppose that’s one good thing about Ohio - our winters only last about 9 months, so there is plenty of time for comforting delicious food!

Last but not least, is my friend Allison’s rendition of Skoby’s Corn. This creamed corn dish was quite famous in the south and served at well.. Skoby’s restaurant, of course! Apparently this restaurant is no longer, but the kind owner’s shared this treasured recipe in the local paper so all of their loyal customer’s could keep on enjoying it. I about loved Allison’s story as much as how delish this creamed corn recipe sounded.. so yes, creamed corn it is!

I hope this lil list of mine will encourage ya’ll to try a new side dish or appetizer this holiday season.. and if not, maybe next year - plan ahead! I truly enjoyed my “research” portion of writing this and a very big THANK YOU to all of these lovely gals for allowing me to show off their photos and recipes. I hope everyone has a festive holiday season! xoxo

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.