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Side Dish Ideas

post #1 of 12
8/5/09 at 5:56pm
Thread Starter 
Does anyone have an appetizing side dish to go with a hearty, Italian style meatloaf?
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post #2 of 12
8/6/09 at 5:23am
Pasta, in one form or another, would seem to be a natural for this.
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post #3 of 12
8/6/09 at 3:35pm
Roast, veg.
Zuchini, eggplant, peppers and red onion. Drizzled with evoo, s&p Crushed garlic and a sprig of rosemary

And a rich tomato sauce

And Foccaccia
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post #4 of 12
8/6/09 at 5:14pm
Ratatouille?
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post #5 of 12
8/6/09 at 6:54pm
Sauteed greens, mashed potatoes (maybe not but I think mashed go with anything :lol:)
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post #6 of 12
8/7/09 at 12:20am
I would use something contrasting and not heavy. For instance braised belgian endive and/or radicchio - it goes well with meat dishes. Wash and cut the endive or radicchio lenghthwise, in halves or quarters, depending on how thick. Put in large frying pan with a chunk of butter, salt, pepper and a touch of sugar and squeeze a lemon over it. Cover and seethe very slowly so it cooks tender, and may turn very slightly pale nut brown in areas.

You wouldn;t use pasta as a side dish, only as a first course, but mashed potatoes go well with meatloaf, and if you want them to have an italian flavor, add a pinch of nutmeg and a handful of parmigiano.

Tomatoes go really well too with meatloaf and they're in season. If you can get locally grown beefsteak tomatoes, slice and arrange flat in a spiral on a nice plate, then make a quick pesto of basil, a little garlic, salt,and pepper and just mash with a mortar and pestel (don;t use the blender and make it creamy - really, it shouldn't be creamy), add oil, and then drizzle in a spiral over the top. Alternatively, depending on what tomatoes you can find that are tasty where you live, ou could also do a salad with rughetta (arugola?) and small tomatoes if that;s all you have. Oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, that's all, toss really well.
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post #7 of 12
8/7/09 at 2:39am
I would go the salad route. Crisp romaine and sliced red onions dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
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post #8 of 12
8/11/09 at 5:57pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the ideas. I went with roasted potatoes, cippolinni onions, black pepper, rosemary, all tossed in olive oil.

This sounds very good to me, but who I was cooking for, not a fan of eggplant :(
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post #9 of 12
8/12/09 at 12:38pm

stuffed shells!

a good idea... for a snack or meal,

Stuffed shells!

seasoned meat (with tomato sauce)
onions
spinach
mushrooms
(other yummy things! *the works)
topped with cheese.

it's really great finger food if you make it dry enough but if you make it really saucy its great to eat with a fork like a spaghetti.

good luck.
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post #10 of 12
8/21/09 at 1:28pm
As much as I hate potatoes (and I really do) mashers with some oregano and garlic would go nicely as would steamed green and yellow beans with sauteed red pepper. (I'd saute the pepper with some garlic and onion before adding it to the beans) You can put a little parmesan on the beans as well for a nice taste.
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post #11 of 12
8/22/09 at 7:05am
Sauteed Fresh Spinach with diced roasted red pepper and garlic.
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post #12 of 12
8/23/09 at 9:30pm
If I recall correctly, that was Craig Claiborne's 1st choice as an accompaniment to a quality meatloaf - I have found it to always work well. That and some mashed potatoes! I can't have a good meatloaf w/o mashed potatoes. It's unnatural.
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