Two side dishes that stole the holiday show

Hello!

I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday season surrounded by the ones you love. I prepared Christmas Eve dinner this year for 10 people. I’m proud to say it was a success. The main dish was a tender and warming beef stew. There was soda bread for dunking along with antipasto salad and coleslaw for some tasty side dishes. My Dad contributed creamy and rich mashed potatoes. Dessert involved a spread of Linzer thumbprint cookies, gingerbread, and chocolate cream pie. Whipped cream was served on the side to top your dessert however you'd like. We were extremely content and full at the end of the meal. Let me share with you some of the standout side dish recipes. They would make a great addition to your table anytime of the year.

I made the same coleslaw recipe for both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. The coleslaw base features a satisfying textural mix of dried fruit, crunchy seeds, and crispy fried wontons. However, it's the apple cider-mustard dressing that stole the show. The sweet and tangy flavor makes a nice alternative to mayonnaise based dressings that are so prevalent in coleslaw.

A second standout from the holiday meal was the antipasto salad. The recipe features tender pasta tossed with any antipasto ingredients you desire. Think salami, olives, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers. Personally, I used salami, olives, mozzarella, and chickpeas. It was divine. Just make sure that any canned or jarred ingredients are drained before tossing. The dressing is deceptively simple and the italian seasoning imparts so much flavor. I didn’t have time to take a picture, but click here to drool over how good the salad looks.

I slightly adapted both recipes to suit my tastes and preferences so let me share with you how to make these two delicious side dishes.

Cabbage Slaw with Apple Cider-Mustard Dressing (Adapted from TheKitchn)

For the salad:

14 oz bagged coleslaw mix

3/4 C roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds

3/4 C golden raisins

3/4 C wonton strips

1. In a large mixing bowl, toss coleslaw mix with sunflower seeds, golden raisins, and wonton strips. Set aside.

*Note 1: Customize this recipe with any combination of seeds/nuts and dried fruit you'd like.

For the dressing:

2/3 C vegetable oil

1/2 C apple cider vinegar

1/4 C brown sugar

2 TBSP plus 2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp kosher salt

1. In a blender, blend all dressing ingredients on medium or high speed until incorporated. Pour dressing into small measuring cup or small bowl.

* To serve, serve the coleslaw in a large bowl with the dressing on the side.

Antipasto Salad (Adapted from GimmeSomeOven)

For the dressing:

1/3 C vegetable oil

1/4 C red-wine vinegar

2 tsp italian seasoning

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1. In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients until combined. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

For the salad

16 oz dry pasta ( i used tri-color rotini as called for in the original recipe)

4-6 C chopped antipasto ingredients ( examples include salami, chickpeas, mozzarella, olives, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, pepperoncini, diced cheese, italian meats, marinated vegetables)

1. Cook pasta per directions on the box. Drain pasta. Cool pasta completely by placing it in the fridge or rinsing under cold water until cooled.

2 In a large mixing bowl, toss cooled pasta with antipasto ingredients.

3. Fold in dressing and serve immediately.

*Note 1: The oil and vinegar in the dressing may separate in the fridge. If this happens, whisk the dressing just before serving to re-incoporate all the ingredients

**Note 2: This salad tastes best when served immediately. However, it can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of time. If you make it ahead of time, double the dressing recipe and reserve half of it to drizzle over the salad right before serving.

I hope you make these recipes in your own home. This year, they were delicious and simple additions to my holiday table. I am sure you will love them as much as I did. I hope you all have a cheerful and safe start to 2019. I hope the year brings everyone good times and good food.

Until next time,

Mike