Selection of sides or technique to go with main course...

You've come to the right place to learn about food! We are all lifelong learners here, even the best of the professional chefs and cooking teachers. :D

When I put together a meal (also at home; I don't cook professionally any more), I look for contrasts: contrasts of flavors, of textures, of colors (although I have been known to do monochromatic plates -- it worked out that way when everything just tasted good together :p). Or else I like to amplify on a flavor already present.

That pork dish poses some interesting questions: since it is already kind of sweet-and-sour -- maybe a little more on the sweet side -- what will contrast? That's a tough call. The recipe writer suggests sweet potatoes, but to me that's too much sweetness on the plate, especially since the nuts have their own sweetness. So I'd look to amplify some other flavor element in the dish, in this case the nuts. Something that is kind of nutty, maybe some form of buckwheat groats (aka kasha)? But not just plain cooked whole groats, for 2 reasons: 1) the chewy texture is too close to the chewiness of meat, and 2) they LOOK too much like the chopped nuts. Maybe a souffle made with a base of cooked medium or fine groats, kind of on the order of a grits souffle. That would be light and fluffy in contrast to the meat, carry over the nutty flavor, and provide a visual contrast as well.

As for vegetables, I can always have a simply steamed green veg alongside just about anything. (To me, that's the side-dish equivalent of fashion's "little black dress"! ;) ) That gives the plate a different color, and depending on the veg, possibly a different texture as well. And if I want to have a second veg, carrots or cubes of an orange-fleshed winter squash work too, having a slight echo of the sweet flavors, but also able to accept the sweet-sour of the sauce without fighting it.

Anyway, that's the kind of process I go through for myself. Sometimes, though, I start with from a sidedish -- say, because I found some wonderful vegetable in the market, and just HAVE to use it, so I've got to figure out what center-of-the-plate item will harmonize.

Hope this helps! :D

Hey oh

Yes, contrasts are one approach. Tradition is another. A sweet and sour is traditionally done over rice, with a salad side. Simple, but then sweet and sours are usually a complex plate all by itself.

Also, culture. I recently posted on jerk. Things jerked are usually served here in town with rice and peas and fried plantain, not crusty Italian bread or yorkshire pudding. Not to say you can't!

As to your specific dish, I recently did a pumpkin/bean custered (thats my description for it, it has a consistancy between pumpkin pie and bread). Unsweetened, spiced with cinamon and ginger. I find it too savory to eat by itself but my wife and kids love it plain. Me, I smothered it in gravy. Simply a cup of cooked pumpkin, half cup of flour 1/4 red kidney beans 2 eggs and milk 350F for 40 minutes or so. Experiment, have fun.

Im no Chef Either!!!

My suggestion is polenta........fried or baked wedges. You could add whatever takes your fancy.......mashed sweet potato, pumkin, herb, spices, so much to choose from!!! It has great texture and you can do soooooo much with it.

Mmmmmmmm!!!!

I just love a good roast!!!

But I have to say my favorite is just simply cooked in red wine,sprinkled with Italian herbs and garlic, seasoned and cooked covered. ( my mouths watering). Especially at the thought of the rich gravy made from the pan.

Hey oh

Your welcome.

Ahhh, the art of ROAST. There is no end nor limit to what can be done to accompany a roast. I like many many many things, and my bigger trouble is limiting myself to not overwhelm the dish.

If you got some beef bones and threw them in a small shallow roasting pan at the same time as the roast, you would get two great products. Browned bones (to make a bit of sock with because... well do I really need a reason to make stock?) and rendered fat (beef lard) which does a fabulouse job in making yorkshire pudding. Far better flavour this way than using a cooking oil.


This is a food that I would also suggest "themeing". As I suggested in a thread on duck. Get an old postcard (or other similar vintage table spread pic) and re-creat the picture. You could even try a 1940's dinner, with low lights, light jazz, and re-celebrate say--the end of WWII. Something like that anyway. Theme a moment in history, or a mood, or a moment in time, or match it to a cuture for an evening with entertainment to match.

Here is something for us NON-Aussies to be inspired by:
http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/info/...ch_special.htm

And allow me a little liberty to quote Mr Orwell;

"IT IS Sunday afternoon, preferably before the war. The wife is already asleep in the armchair, and the children have been sent out for a nice long walk. You put your feet up on the sofa, settle your spectacles on your nose, and open the News of the World. Roast beef and Yorkshire, or roast pork and apple sauce, followed up by suet pudding and driven home, as it were, by a cup of mahogany-brown tea, have put you in just the right mood. Your pipe is drawing sweetly, the sofa cushions are soft underneath you, the fire is well alight, the air is warm and stagnant. In these blissful circumstances, what is it that you want to read about?"

Side Dishes

I enjoyed this conversation. Everyone is so creative. The pork dish has so much going on I would just serve it with a combination of roasted root vegetables (all colors) and steamed haricot vert.

When I cook tenderloin or any fine cut of beef I like barely wilted spinach and some creamy horseradish mashed potatoes to soak up the rich sauce.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year.

A bitter green to cut the fat.....escarole, spinach, roasted brussel sprouts

Fresh horseradish and sour cream is standard and there's a good reason why...

caramelized pearl onions

Potatoes Anna or roasted new or mashed.....

Salad with pears, roasted pecans and a sherry viniagrette

I'd keep aps light, the entree is SO HEAVY....dessert would be a fruit base probably with no cream.

Wild shrooms always a great 1st course :p