Please suggest a veggie dish with my meal

[RaRa]

Christmas Day I'm having a ham with salad, rolls and potatoes au gratin. I'll have peas and carrots for the kids but need to make a more grown up side for the rest of us. Also, I won't feel like working hard at it, so nothing for a pro (since I'm far from one!). I was thinking asparagus. Any ideas? Thank you!

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Can you use the outdoor barbie this time of year?

Grilled veggies would go great with that menu, they're incredibly easy to do, and will surprize everyone.

In Italy, they serve such veggies at room temperature, drizzled with olive oil, maybe some herbs, and maybe some aceto balsamico.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. I like the idea of asparagus

Marinated in a nice simple vinaigrette while it's still warm, and served at room temperature.

Because I'm prone to overdoing everything (that's the Italian part of me), I'd also do broccoli the same way, in case someone doesn't like asparagus.

[SW FL Dem]

3. I love asparagus. It sounds like a good side to me

plus it's easy :) Just steam it, toss in some butter and spices and you have a yummy veggie.

[grasswire]

4. orange butter on asparagus is yummy

Just grate some orange peel into some butter and then let it melt on top of your asparagus. It's just so fresh and refreshing.

Zucchini would be another alternative, perhaps with some dill-scented butter.

[mike_c]

5. I love southern style green beans with ham....

Cooked with bacon and some stock.

[The empressof all]

6. Roasted Aspargus would be wonderful with that orange butter

I've gotten really addicted lately to roasting my veggies. Asparagus, Brussel sprouts, Cauliflower all are totally delish just thrown in a hot oven with a quick toss in olive oil.

Yum

[RaRa]

7. Ah, but did you read about oranges?

Just last night I read that ALL oranges (at least the peel) have TOXIC levels of pesticides. The government hasn't been very active about reporting that (surprise, surprise) largely because people don't generally eat the peel but it is now a concern because so many do use that part during Christmas.

[hvn_nbr_2]

9. Info source? And lots more questions.

Where did you read that? Is there a link? I'd like to understand this better. Do you really mean ALL (There are, after all, organic oranges.)? Are the pesticides ON the peel or IN it? I.e., if you wash them, do you get rid of the pesticides? "Toxic levels" would depend on some amount of consumption, not just on a parts-per-million concentration. How much orange peel are they talking about consuming to be toxic?

[RaRa]

10. Here it is

Sorry, I overstated the facts, but still an important read:

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article333846.ece

Also, while this article refers to the EU, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that our oranges are no better.

[hvn_nbr_2]

13. Thanks.

I'd guess that ours have a possbility of being better: Britain probably doesn't grow any oranges so they probably get all theirs from somewhere else, "somewhere else" likely being places with lower standards and enforcement. U.S. standards are probably somewhat comparable to EU, but with the current regime's contempt for the environment, enforcement is probably nonexistent.

It's probably wise to go easy on the cranberry/orange relish (and on the homemade orange liqueur that I make with orange peel).

BTW, in re-reading my previous post, I noticed that it could have been read as confrontational or accusatory, which wasn't what I intended, so thanks also for not reading it that way.

[japple]

8. Braised Red Cabbage & Apples

I love this recipe and if you cook it the day before, it's even better.

1 med sized red cabbage
(thinly sliced)
1 small onion, chopped
2 med sized Granny Smith Apples
(cored and thinly sliced)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 cup dry red wine, red wine vinegar, or unsweetened apple juice (or a combination)

In large stainless pot, saute onion for a few minutes in a little oil. Mix cabbage, apples, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in wine or juice. Bring to a boil; lower heat; stir occasionally; cook for 25 to 30 mins, adding more liquid if needed to keep mixture moist but not soupy.

[Tab]

11. If you do have access to a barbecue, and if you don't...

If you do, I love to do slow-roasted corn in butter until it caramelizes. All you do is this:

- Shuck the corn (remove the husk)
- Place on a sheet of aluminum foil
- Add four or five pats of butter, and some salt
- Wrap up
- Wrap in a second sheet (helps preven flare-ups)
- Toss on the grill
Give 'em 30 to 60 minutes - no rush. I like the way the sugars in corn caramelize. Some people don't, so I usually put a few out of the heat a bit, so some can have "regular" corn, others can have the flavored corn.

Or, take some red and green bell peppers, an onion, and whatever else strikes your fancy (artichoke hearts?), toss with salt and some pepper and EVOO and grill.

If you don't have access to a grill, just put garlic salt on some asparagus and then EVOO, and pop in the oven and let it go. I don't care for asparagus myself, but I do it this way for my wife and she loves it, so I'll take her word for it that it's yum.

[Tab]

12. Another quick cheapie thing I do

is take a bag of baby carrots, put them in a small sauce pan with some orange juice and let them simmer.

I don't like cooked carrots myself, but everyone else seems to think they're yum.

Or put them with butter in aluminum foil on the grill, and let them caramelize...