Friday, May 1, 2009

What (Sweet Potato) Friends Are For: A Side Dish Conundrum

Solving food problems exclusively via g-chat and text:

Eric: so I need to borrow some of your creativity...good side dish to go with mac and cheese?
me: ohhh....hmmm...what kind of m&c?
just regular?
Eric: homemade!
Eric: a little bit spicy
me: OH NICE...i would say a veggie of some kind
what about asparagus?
let me poll my foodie friends...

CaseyMustPie: asparagus...something green
CaseyMustPie: it's tough bc mac & cheese is a side dish
me: THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT

mwr: well that's southern, so i'd got with collards...you can get 'em nice and spicy and they're a great acompanyment ... and will also help digest that huge mass of noodle&cheese...most recipes call for a lot of boiling and stuff. if he doesn't want to take that much time just sautee 'em in olive oil and throw in some red peper/cayenne pepper and vinigear and add some onions too. if he wnats to get really fancy sautee it in pig fat...it's much better, though less healthy. it needs to be sauteed in some kindafat though otherwise it won't breakdown well and it'll be gross to eat.
mwr: Collards is the most fiber-pack and also healthiest of the big green leaves (kale, chard, etc.) and for that reason i think it goes well with mac over something like, say, spinach. Eating great and then feeling great afterward is amazing and rare
me: AGREED

T: bitter greens, like steamed kale with mushrooms & bacon or something like that
me: oooooh that' sounds good
T: yeah it's really easy too...kale is my go-to...with portobellos garlic and bacon and lemon juice

Eric: OH GENIUS...I make wilted spinach sometimes, but these are along the same lines but more creative than what I usually do...I usually just do some butter and onions
me: i'm asking R too, just to get a full spectrum...K comes in to work at 11
Eric: haha well I won't go to the veg stand until I hear all ideas

R: greens...jicama salad...something cool and crunchy to offset it
me: jicama salad?
R: yea--jicama, mango, red onion, cilantro...
me: i am unfamiliar with this jicama you speak of
R: http://search.chow.com/search?query=jicama+salad
me: oooh! thanks!
R: it is delicious

To: K (via text): Okay, foodie poll...Eric is making spicy mac and cheese and needs a good side dish so I'm polling everyone...thoughts??
From: K (via text): Sauteed kale with garlic
To: K (via text): NICE.

Eric: i'm excited for this experimentation...i'll be dorking it up later this morning, carrying my old lady shopping bag to the veggie stand

6 comments:

k said...

hahahhaa. this is a really good post, erin.

mwr said...

Christ on a motherfucking pogo stick I am long winded.

CaseyMustPie said...

we are all so awesome

Eric said...

The final decision was spinach and garlic for the sole reason that the Chinese greengrocer on Broadway doesn't carry kale or collards. But now I want kale and collards so I've been scouting the supermarket.

k said...

manhattan fruit exchange in chelsea market has great (GREAT!!!!!) greens for really really cheap. they are always fresh and beautiful looking, and there is even an organic section that sometimes i pretend i can afford. organic rainbow kale, yes please.

eLs said...

I WANT IT ALL.