Tag: side

Veggie

Spicy Brussels

brussels sprout recipe whiskey pairing whisky one and a half slices

Spicy Brussels Sprout

From the @whiskey_CA_mmelier Collaboration Dinner

This is the appetizer for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner. Brussels Sprouts are one of our favorite falltime veggies, especially when they’re made crispy. There are so many unique toppings for sprouts (sprouts!) that they’ll never get boring. Pairing. I hinted to @whiskey_CA_mmelier that the sprouts I wanted to make were spicy sprouts and he was not pleased. Alcohol and pepper hit the same flavor receptors on the palette and it is therefore very difficult to make a pairing. We settled on an only slightly spicy, mildly sweet sprout and decided to go rogue and open our pairing with a scotch! A mild one. The initial idea was Bruichladdich, a young but incredibly refined Islay scotch – that’s why the signature blue bottle is visible in some of the photos. After much discussion, however, we turned to the sweeter, fuller Scapa Skiren from Orkney Island. It brought out the sweetness of the sprouts really well with banana/melon on the nose and walnut on the backside (as @whiskey_CA_mmelier’s wife pointed out, who was better than all three of us at tasting).

what you need

1 batch of fresh Brussels sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

Toppings: toasted pine nuts and pomegranate seeds (my favorite!), toasted pecans (pictured here), hydrated golden raisins (soaked in water for an hour), parmesan cheese, feta cheese crumble with bacon.

Whiskey Pairing: Scapa Skiren Scotch Whiskey – The Orcadian

how to make it

Heat oven to 400. Cut the ends off the sprouts, then cut in half or quarters depending on their size. Toss them in olive oil and desired spices, and spread out onto lined baking sheet (for a crispier sprout) or cast iron pan.

Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and stir generously, adding a bit more spice at this point if you desire (I may have drizzled some honey). Return and bake another 10 minutes.

If using toppings that are not pre-toasted like pecans, sprinkle the pecans and cook for another 3-5 minutes. You definitely want some crisp, burnt sprouts but obviously not to char the whole lot, so just keep an eye on them. Serve warm!

Pecan Pie

This is the dessert for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner generously provided by The Piemaker. I’ve never been a huge pecan pie fan (nor was I a big Key Lime Pie fan) until The Piemaker came into my life. This pecan pie is as ‘from scratch’ as it comes, with hints of bourbon and maple folded into the filling, served with a luxurious maple cinnamon cream. This is a decadent dessert – decadent is an understatement. But if you’re looking to level up your Holiday meal game, this is the place to start. We definitely felt the need to eat one and a half slices… 😃

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November 15, 2021 3 Comments

one and a half slices saturday supper experience recipes local

Saturday Supper I

What happens when it rains sideways on Saturday, you’ve got a fresh tub of Maryland blue crab meat, and someone gets a hankering for sangria? Carriages at midnight. Ambulances at 2am. Wheelbarrows at 5am. Hearses at daybreak.

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October 11, 2023 2 Comments

Sazerac

This is the opening cocktail for the Whiskey Pairing Dinner. The Rye Sazerac is one of the oldest, prohibition-era cocktails. It’s classic, elegant, and simple. With rye whiskey, lemon, absinthe, and bitters, a Sazerac is as refined as a cocktail can be. Here we present this simple cocktail recipe as a forward to the rest of a classic meal. The absinthe on the nose provides an interesting twist to a classically whiskey-based cocktail. We used Sazerac Rye as the base.

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November 13, 2021 3 Comments

Tags brussel sprouts, Collab 1, collaboration, fall, pairing, pepper, roasted, side, side dish, spicy, vegan, vegetarian, whiskey, whisky

Omni Veggie

Rice Pilaf

Post author By Merigold
Post date July 4, 2021
1 Comment on Rice Pilaf

Customizable Rice Pilaf

This highly customizable rice pilaf rounds out my rice trifecta – Customizable Fried Rice, Indian Biryani Rice, and this one. This is by far the most customizable of the three. You can make it how you want it – side dish, main course, protein of choice, strictly vegetarian. You can choose a Moroccan, Mediterranean, or Latin flavor profile with the spices that you select. My favorite is a chicken-centric, Moroccan-esque varietal. All you have to do is follow a simple process: 1) Base, 2) Spices, 3) Veggies, 4) Rice, 5) Broth, 6) Garnish, and it’s ready in 30.

how to make it

(the bolded ingredients make my stand-by, Moroccan profile rice pilaf pictured above)

1) BASE. This is where you establish the flavor profile of your pilaf. Start by heating 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Then add 3/4 cup of any of the following along with salt and pepper, and sauté ~2-4 minutes.

Diced Vidalia or Spanish onion
Minced ginger root
Minced shallot
Diced carrot
Diced celery
Diced fennel

2) SPICES. This is where you build the flavor profile of your pilaf. You don’t want to drown the rice in spices like you might a curry; rather, lightly fragrance the rice with 1-3 spices of your choosing. Add 1 scant tablespoon of spices total, choosing from the following:

Lemon zest
Cinnamon
Cayenne
Oregano
Mint
Turmeric
Coriander
Cumin
Saffron

3) VEGGIES. This is where you can give your rice a little extra, if you desire. Throwing in some small broccoli florets, green peas, snap peas, or diced bell pepper here can give your rice a little more body. For my Moroccan pilaf, I add a handful of Golden Raisins or sometimes a diced apple. Give your mixture a good stir and another 60 seconds over medium-high heat

4) RICE. Now add 1 cup of rice of choice, dry. Jasmine rice or basmati rice tend to work best to absorb the flavors, but I’ve also made it with long-grained brown rice. Stir the grains until coated and sauté an additional ~2-3 minutes. If the mixture is starting to burn or looking a little dry, you can add another dash of olive oil or toasted sesame oil.

5) BROTH. This is the part that sets rice pilaf apart from normal rice – it is cooked in broth. Add 1 1/2 cups of broth – chicken, vegetable, homemade, or Knorr, your choice. Throwing in a splash of white wine is also acceptable and perhaps a little more salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a light simmer, cover, and cook for ~15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Then remove the rice from the heat, cover with a clean dish towel, and replace the lid, letting the rice rest for 10 minutes (this is key to making your rice fluffy not sticky!).

6) GARNISH. This is the best part of the entire pilaf. It’s where you add freshness and crunch to the beautifully rich flavor profile you’ve just created. Choose one thing green and one thing crunchy from the options below:

Minced chives
Fresh parsley
Fresh cilantro
Fresh mint
Toasted almonds
Toasted pistachios
Toasted pine nuts (also a favorite)
Toasted hazelnuts (also a favorite)
Toasted cashews (also a favorite)
Toasted pecans
Marinated, baked, chunked chicken or protein of choice

Fold in your garnish, fluff up this rice, and serve. The Moroccan style tends to pair well with a lemon wedge to squeeze on top for that added brightness. It may look like a lot but these six simple steps, once mastered, yield a full-bodied, hearty rice pilaf that can serve as a side dish or an entire meal. Of all three OneandahalfSlices rice dishes, this is by far my fav!

Fried Rice

July 24, 2025 4 Comments

A quintessential fried rice recipe. AKA what to do with leftover rice, weeknight style. This hits. Make it spicy. 🌶️ Get some sake. Fuck it, go to Japan.

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Moroccan Tagine

September 21, 2024 4 Comments

I have been SO excited to release this post!!! Why? Because this is your new weeknight dinner. It will impress your family, fill your stomach, warm your heart, and make your house smell like North African spices. I started making tagine years ago when I first moved to DC and came across a tagine in World Market. I was instantly and aesthetically intrigued, and purchased the thing on the spot not having a clue what I would do with it. Well… figured that one out. A tagine is the OG slow cooker. And whatever you put inside – lamb, chicken, chickpeas, rabbit, potatoes – you will taste the spicy exoticism. If you don’t have a tagine, no worries. You can make it in a Dutch oven, stovetop or, yes, in a slow cooker. And before you think this is just chicken slow roasted in tomato sauce… keep reading…

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Black Bean Bowls

October 15, 2022 3 Comments

Man, I gotta say, bowls have to be the biggest culinary hack for weeknight dinner. These Mexicali bowls are one of my standbys. The recipe I’m going to give you is for homemade black beans which, after you make them once, you’ll never buy another can of black beans again. Then I’ll leave a few bowl assembly hints for you at the bottom. #summervibes

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Tags apple, biryani, chicken, fried rice, grain, main course, one pot meal, raisins, rice, side, side dish, summer, vegetable, vegetarian, weeknight

Veggie

Caesar Salad

Anyone who cooks has a handful of recipes handed down from their mother, their grandmother, an aunt. I can proudly say that it is my mother who taught me to cook. More importantly still, she didn’t just teach me how to cook but what to cook – what to eat. I am pretty sure she said “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” long before Michael Pollan did. In my younger years I remember her sending me out to the garden to collect the evening’s herbs or sticking a sauce in my mouth off the stove to ask what flavors I tasted. “Salty” didn’t cut it.

Through my twenties I set to work experimenting with the old favorites she used to make and trying to haphazardly recreate them in whatever kitchen I could make use of that year as I bounced from state to state, university to university. During this time, I also developed a culinary style of my own, favoring one pot meals over her more comprehensive family-style table setting, and foreign flavors like curries, Georgian, Turkish, and Far East soups. Now, returning to my hometown is a joy because we split the cooking. One night I make something exotic, the next night she makes the one thing that is best in Florida – fresh fish (baked, grilled, with sauces, with salsas, on salads, any which way).

This Caesar Dressing, though, will always have a special place in my heart. It is the best Caesar dressing, and at one time during my childhood, we had it several times a week, but most importantly on Sundays. During my senior year of high school, my parents indulged a teenage ritual that came to be known as Hot Tub Sundays. There were three of us total, the other two, fellow thespians, and any additional people that wandered in to join any particular Sunday evening collection. We would sit in the hot tub and jump off the large rock statues into the pool while mom made “mocktails” and dad tried to prod us into playing poker with the card deck he had personally laminated (things only retired people do). The only problem was, if you made so much as a ripple in the water surface, the cards sank to the bottom.

After the ritualistic soak, the dinner bell rang, calling us all to a buffet indoors of dad’s cheeseburgers, mom’s parmesan red potatoes (skillet-style, in the oven), and mom’s Caesar salad. My friends referred to this as “salad with the Caesar dressing” and the one time it was substituted for a more traditional salad with vinaigrette, the objections were so vehement it became apparent this Sunday evening event required some modicum of culinary consistency. So here we have it. The Salad with the Caesar dressing recipe. Today, I prefer my Caesar salads with avocado, or sometimes with chicken. Red onions, tomatoes, and hard boiled eggs are also welcome additions. So feel free to beef this up or tone it down depending on if it is your main course or just your side salad. But that dressing… you’ll never buy another jar of Marie’s. I promise.

what you need

1 tablespoon unsweetened Greek yogurt (mom uses mayonnaise)

1 small clove of garlic

2/3 cup grated parmesan reggiano cheese

1 tablespoon good olive oil (if you don’t know what constitutes “good” olive oil, check out the notes at the bottom of the Essential Bolognese Sauce post)

3/4 tablespoon anchovy paste (do not skip this!)

Salt and black pepper to taste; dash of cayenne if desired

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1-2 tablespoons nut milk or whole milk, as required

1 hefty squeeze lemon juice

how to make it

Combine all ingredients in small blender and combine until smooth. Add the milk little by little until the mixture has enough liquid to mix.

Note that if your small blender is strong enough, you likely won’t need to pre-mince the garlic clove at all.

To serve, toss dressing with: romaine lettuce (grilled or raw), thinly sliced red onions, chunked chicken (grilled or baked), diced hard boiled egg, a little extra lemon juice, and top with a little extra parmesan cheese.

Some of you may be wondering how this differs from my Caesar Sauce. The Sauce is more of a dipping sauce, has stronger flavors, and is much more obviously yogurt based. This is your classic, quintessential, tried and true Caesar salad dressing.

Before Grilling

With Egg

After Grilling

Tags caesar, lettuce, main course, parmesan, romaine, salad, salad dressing, side, side dish, summer, vegetable, vegetarian

Veggie

Biryani Rice

Vegetable Biryani

I made biryani a couple of times to master the technique, but don’t let the seemingly involved instructions deter you. I’ve made it simple, and if you’re a fan of Indian food – biryani, in particular – you totally got this! This is a vegetable version which I feel works best when it prominently features cauliflower, but you can easily make steak or chicken biryani as well. This biryani rounds out my trifecta of main course rice dishes, to include my Mongolian Beef Fried Rice recipe and super flexible Chicken Rice Pilaf recipe (which has yet to make its way to the blogosphere… coming soon). Anyway, get out your spices and give this hearty, spicy, beauty a try. If you’re really feeling committed to a full Indian/Pakistan spread, pair this alongside my classic Chicken Korma Curry (30 minute curry video version found here).

what you need

1 cup long-grain basmati or jasmine rice, pre-soaked for 1 hour or more

3 medium carrots, diced

3/4 cup frozen peas

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets and, if desired, marinated in olive oil, cayenne pepper, and turmeric

1 whole Spanish or yellow onion cut into strips

1 knob fresh ginger root (can use ginger powder)

(optional) 1/2 knob fresh turmeric root

2 cloves of fresh garlic

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt + more for serving

1/2 cup fresh cilantro and/or fresh mint, chopped

3/4-1 cup halved cashews or cashew pieces

3-4 tablespoons ghee (or butter)

1/8 cup whole milk, warmed slightly

1 pinch dried saffron strands, crushed

Spices: 1 cinnamon stick or cinnamon powder, cloves, 1 bay leaf, black pepper, salt, red chili flakes to taste (for spiciness), coriander, cumin, cardamom, mace or nutmeg, turmeric.

how to make it

You are going to need one large, preferably non-stick sauté pot with a lid and some tinfoil for this recipe.

Prep steps: Crush saffron strands and deposit in warmed milk. Set aside until the milk turns a beautiful yellow color, like dying Easter eggs! And soak the rice.

Boil rice: Set a small pot to boil on the stove flavored with cloves and cardamom. Once boiling, add strained rice and cook until al dente, ~7-8 minutes. Remove from heat, strain rice, mix with 1 tablespoon ghee, and set aside.

Meanwhile, sauté vegetables: Add 1 tablespoon ghee to pan and caramelize the onions, sautéing on low for ~20-25 minutes. Remove from pan. Add a tad more ghee and throw in those cashews, stirring constantly so they only brown but do not burn. Remove from pan. Now throw in the cauliflower, carrots, and peas with a bit more ghee and sauté ~6-8 minutes until they begin to soften. Remove from pan. Now all your veggies are pre-cooked.

Make the biryani: Place a bit of ghee in the bottom of the pan (no need to wash it out) on low heat. Add the cinnamon stick and all the spices, stirring to keep from burning. As the spices sizzle, grate the garlic cloves, the ginger knob, and the turmeric root (no need to peel) over the mixture with a hand grater like this one. Stir well and, before anything starts to burn but after the spices have opened up, add 1/2 cup of water, scraping any bits up off the bottom of the pan. Add the vegetables back in along with the bay leaf, stirring the entire mixture and salting generously. Cook uncovered on medium heat for ~8 minutes.

The cashews, mint, and saffron milk should still be resting…

Layer the biryani: Remove mixture from heat and whisk in the yogurt, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Then remove half the mixture from the pan and set aside, spreading the remaining mixture in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle some cilantro/mint and cashews on top before adding about half the rice and pressing down firmly. Add the rest of the vegetables, another layer of cilantro/mint and cashews, and the remaining rice. Your final layer on top should be rice. Press the mixture down firmly and drizzle with saffron milk.

“Dum”: Affix the pan tightly with tinfoil covering the top and place the lid down tightly on the tinfoil. Cook stovetop on lowest possible heat setting for ~25 minutes.

Serve!: Remove lid and tinfoil, and stir biryani generously, spooning portions into bowls. You did it! See? Not so hard. Homemade vegetable biryani.

Fried Rice

July 24, 2025 4 Comments

A quintessential fried rice recipe. AKA what to do with leftover rice, weeknight style. This hits. Make it spicy. 🌶️ Get some sake. Fuck it, go to Japan.

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