Low Carb Cooking 101 Special Edition: Main And Side Dishes
By: Di Bauer, CarbSmart Editor
Posted 12/7/2001
Last week we covered appetizers, salads, and beverages in our quest for a make ahead low carbohydrate holiday meal. This week we will be covering main and side dishes. For even more holiday recipes, please check the article Rani Merens, author of The Low Carb Cook's Corner, wrote just before Thanksgiving. If you're looking for stuffing and gravy recipes, go there. I won't be covering them in Low Carb Cooking 101 since she had already done so beautifully.
I am not actually a proponent of making the main course of a holiday or party meal ahead of time, but once in a while a find something that truly works with at least partial make ahead preparations, and I've included two of those recipes below.
The best tip I can give you for make ahead main dishes is to buy ahead. My stepmother routinely serves beef tenderloins and Christmas. Turkey and sometimes ham are on sale around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Beef isn't. Every year she finds beef tenderloins on sale during the summer. She buys them, wraps them well, freezes them until the day before Christmas, and saves a bundle. It's too late for this year, I suppose, but don't forget this tip next summer.
Even though the meat is usually the star of a holiday meal, the side dishes are equally important. Face it, in almost all cases meat is brown or beige, and while it certainly tastes good, it is not exactly festive in appearance. Side dishes provide color, textural differences, and taste variations which compliment the main dish.
Do not decide on what your side dishes are going to be until after you decide what your main dish will be. Remember the side dishes compliment the main dish; they aren't to be scattered about the buffet table on a whim. Some things go together and some just don't. Don't put the cart before the horse. Decide on the main dish, then decide on the side dishes.
Vary the colors, textures, and tastes of your side dishes. They shouldn't be all green, for crying out loud, and even the green ones can be jazzed up considerably with garnishes and small additions to your original recipes. The addition of sauteed red bell pepper strips in the Christmas Broccoli recipe below takes it out of everyday appearance and into the holiday spirit with very little time, money, or effort.
Actually, low carbohydrate vegetable side dishes are pretty easy to come up with. It's potato substitutes that are the real problem - at least for the non-low carbers who are at your holiday table. Quite frankly, I make real potatoes for the non-low carbers and save the potato substitute recipes for myself and any other low carbers that happen to be enjoying the season with us.
Below I've included both the standard "fauxtatoes" recipe and my own creation, Mexi-Gratin Fauxtatoes, which jump start your holiday meal with the zing of chilies and cheese. If you or your family as sweet potato aficionados, I recommend again that you check back to Rani Merens holiday article in The Low Carb Cook's Corner for her famous Faux Sweet Potato recipe. It's very good!
And now it's finally time for the recipes. Enjoy them and the entire holiday season. I hope I've made it a little easier for you to stay on plan.
Main Dishes
Glazed Corned Beef
- 5 pounds corned beef
- 8 ounces sugar free orange marmalade
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar Twin (more or less)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (to taste)
Cook the corned beef according to the directions on the package. This can be done a few days ahead or in the morning of the day you want to serve it.
Prepare the glaze by putting all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and melt together.
Slather the glaze over the corned beef and put it into a 375 degree oven for about a half hour, until warmed though. You can baste the corned beef with the remaining glaze.
Serves 8.
Garlic And Horseradish-Crusted Prime Rib
- 30 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup prepared white cream-style horseradish
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 6-pound well-trimmed boneless beef rib roast
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss the garlic cloves and olive oil in small baking dish. Toss the garlic cloves and olive oil to coat the cloves thoroughly. Cover the baking dish and bake cover until the garlic cloves just begin to brown, about 35 minutes.
Drain olive oil into a food processor and let it cool for at least 15 minutes. Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the olive oil in the food processor. Add the fresh lemon juice, prepared horseradish, and kosher salt. Puree all the ingredients until they are almost smooth. Set aside.
Place a rack on large, rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper, spread thin layer of garlic mixture on underside of beef. Place the beef onto a rack with the garlic mixture-coated side down onto rack. Spread the top and sides of the beef with remaining garlic mixture.
Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 1 day.
Position the oven rack in bottom third of oven. preheat to 350 degrees
Uncover the beef, place it in the oven, and roast the meat until a thermometer inserted into the top center of the roast registers 125 degrees for rare. This will take about 1 hour 45 minutes, but check the temperature frequently after one hour to insure that the roast doesn't overcook. Those last few degrees shoot up very quickly!
Transfer the beef to platter and let it stand 30 minutes.
Scrape pan juices into small saucepan so that you can reheat them when you serve the beef.
Slice beef across the grain. (An electric carving knife is very helpful if you have one.)
Rewarm the pan juices and drizzle them over the sliced beef.
Serves 8.
***Tip: You can by a huge jar of already peeled garlic bulbs at Sam's and save yourself some time and effort. They're in the refrigerator case of the produce section.
***Make Ahead Tip: Everything but the actual roasting can be done the day ahead of the holiday meal.
Vegetables
Christmas Sauteed Broccoli
- 3 10-ounce packages frozen broccoli, thawed
- 1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 1 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1/2 cup butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Cook the broccoli until crisp tender according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Saute the pepper strips in the butter until just crisp tender. Add the cooked broccoli and mushrooms. Toss to thoroughly combine the vegetables. in the melted butter until crisp tender. Season to taste with salt and additional butter. Serve warm.
Serves 10 to 12.
***Make Ahead Tip: Cook the broccoli as directed, but undercook it slightly. Plunge in blowing water to stop the cooking process. Drain the broccoli thoroughly and place it in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Saute the red bell pepper strips, again, slightly undercooking them. Do not plunge them in an ice bath, though. Merely let them cool and put them in a covered dish in the refrigerator.
Just before the party, combine the red bell pepper strips, the broccoli, and the remaining ingredients and cook as directed above.
Dijon Asparagus
- 2 10-ounce packages frozen asparagus spears
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 6 tablespoons wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Microwave the asparagus in the box by making a small slit along a top corner of the box and adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave the boxes separately for 4 minutes each. Drain well. (***Note: The asparagus spears will not be thoroughly cooked.)
Combine the mustard and vinegar in a small bowl. Add the melted butter, water, parsley, salt, and pepper. Whisk the sauce ingredients to combine them thoroughly.
Place the almost-cooked and drained asparagus spears in a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the asparagus spears and toss them gently to thoroughly coat the spears with the dressing.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a snap-on lid and chill the asparagus for several hours or overnight, gently tossing occasionally to redistribute the sauce and thoroughly marinate the asparagus spears.
Place the asparagus spears in a microwave proof casserole or serving dish and pour the sauce over them. Cover the casserole or serving dish with a lid or with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 3 to four minutes, or until the asparagus is crisp tender and the sauce is hot.
Serve immediately.
Recipe can be doubled.
Serves 8.
***Make ahead tip: Just follow the recipe directions, and marinate the asparagus spears overnight rather than for just 3 hours.
Lemony Green Beans
- 4 cups frozen cut green beans
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 6 tablespoons slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Microwave the green beans in a small amount of water for 5 to 6 minutes, or until they are barely crisp tender. Drain thoroughly. Cover and keep the beans warm.
Melt the butter in the same saucepan; stir in the almonds. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, or until the almonds are very light brown. Stir in the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Spoon the butter mixture over the green beans and toss to coat.
Serve immediately.
Recipe can be doubled.
Serves 8.
***Make Ahead Tip: After cooking the green beans, drain and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process. Proceed to make the lemon butter sauce. Drain the now-cooled green beans thoroughly, shaking off any excess water. Put the beans in a microwave-proof casserole or serving dish, pour the lemon butter mixture over them and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until just before it is time to serve the meal.
Reheat the beans by microwaving them on high for 4 to 6 minutes, or until they are heated through and thoroughly cooked. Toss the green beans with the lemon butter to distribute it evenly over the beans before serving.
Red Cabbage with Bacon and Caraway
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar Twin (to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
Cook the bacon in large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it is crisp. This will take about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon pieces to paper towels and drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet.
Add the cabbage and saute 3 minutes. Whisk 3 tablespoons vinegar, Brown Sugar Twin, and caraway seeds in small bowl. Add to cabbage and saute until cabbage is wilted but still crisp-tender, about 5 minutes more. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Taste, adding more vinegar or Brown Sugar Twin, if desired. Mix the cooked bacon into cabbage. Transfer to serving dish and serve immediately serve.
Serves 4.
Recipe can be doubled if you have a large enough skillet. If you don't, you can make it ahead in 2 batches.
***Make Ahead Tip: Saute the cabbage for the initial three minutes, whisk the vinegar, Brown Sugar Twin, and caraway seeds together as directed above, and add the mixture to the cabbage. Toss to coat, then take off the heat and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until just before the meal.
Before serving, return the cabbage mixture to the large, heavy skillet and saute again until the cabbage is wilted and heated completely through. Transfer the cabbage to a serving dish and serve immediately.
Rainbow Vegetable Medley
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 2 cloves crushed garlic (or 1 - 2 teaspoons prepared garlic from a jar)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 crookneck squash, halved and sliced into strips
- 4 zucchini, halved and sliced into strips
- 8 tomatoes, chopped and seeded
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Prepare all the vegetables before you start to cook.
Place the onions, red bell pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning blend, and oil
in a hot skillet, stirring and turning frequently so that none of the
vegetables scorch. Cook just until onions are transparent; do not let them brown.
Add the crookneck squash and zucchini to the skillet and gently stir.
Let the vegetables cook, stirring occasionally, until all the squash and
zucchini are crisp tender.
Add the tomatoes and cook just long enough to heat them through.
Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste and gently toss to distribute
the seasonings. Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Serves 10.
***Make Ahead Tip: Prepare all the vegetables for cooking up to 1 day ahead of time and store them in Zip Lock bags in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them. This dish is best NOT reheated.
Di's Low Carb Spinach Quiche
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 16 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- nonstick spray
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray 9-inch pie pan with non stick spray.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute them for a few minutes until they just begin to get limp. Squeeze extra water out of spinach and add the spinach to the onions in the skillet. Continue cooking until the spinach is heated through and the extra water has evaporated.
In the meantime, beat the eggs lightly. Add the cream, 1/2 cup of the shredded Swiss cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and whisk together to mix. Add the spinach/onion mixture and stir to combine. Pour into pie pan.
Top with the remaining shredded Swiss cheese and dot with remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the quiche set and golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Reheats well. Recipe can be doubled and baked in a large casserole, but baking time will be extended somewhat.
Serves 6 - 8.
***Make Ahead Tip: You can both make and bake the quiche one or two days ahead of time, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and reheat it in the microwave or the oven. Do let the quiche come to room temperature before reheating it, though, so that you don't have to cook it too long. Overcooking quiche when reheating it makes it tough.
This quiche can also be completely made and baked and then frozen 1 or 2 weeks before the party. Thaw it in the refrigerator and then bring it to room temperature before reheating.
Potato Substitutes
Smashed Cauliflower (Faux Mashed Potatoes)
- 2 heads fresh cauliflower, steamed until tender and mashed
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups sour cream
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup diced sauteed onions
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Mash all the ingredients together and place them in a buttered 9" X 12" casserole or a large baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted and the casserole is heated through.
Recipe can be doubled. Reheats well.
Serves 16.
***Make Ahead Tip: The entire casserole can be made up to two days ahead of time and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.
Mexi-Gratin Fauxtatoes
- 1 head fresh cauliflower, steamed until tender, drained, and mashed
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 cups hot pepper Monterey jack cheese, shredded and divided
- 1 4-ounce cans green chilies, drained and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- salt (to taste)
Mash all ingredients together, reserving 1 cup of the shredded hot pepper Monterey jack cheese, and place mixture in a buttered casserole or baking dish. Sprinkle reserved cheese atop the cauliflower mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and the casserole is thoroughly heated through. Serve hot.
Recipe can be doubled. Reheats well.
Serves 4.
Serves 8.
***Make Ahead Tip: The entire casserole can be made up to two days ahead of time and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.
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