I am absolutely having a brain spasm.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

I'm making Chicken Kiev for Easter & cannot think of one side that isn't loaded with butter. And DH can't eat rice so that's out.

Any ideas?

[Rhiannon12866]

1. Well, you could just steam or stir fry some fresh veggies, or are you looking for something fancier?

Or a starch? Since there's all that butter in the chicken, you could serve it over plain potatoes or noodles, and it would create its own kind of butter sauce.:shrug:

Kudos to you for making Chicken Kiev. I had the real thing in Russia, once, and it was heavenly, but you have to watch out for the hot butter when you cut into it...:scared:

This is my favorite holiday recipe, though I make it every chance I get. It's always a hit, except with people who hate vegetables...:-(

I found it in a Farmer's Almanac, years ago, and have long since lost the almanac, LOL, but I've made it so often that I could make it in my sleep. I need a side dish, as well, so, on a whim, I looked to see if it was on-line, just yesterday, and found it. I've never used the walnuts, though. And the only butter is in the crumb topping, just to brown them. I use the Progresso seasoned ones...:9

It's not exactly slimming, though, but it is a holiday... :D

Cauliflower Supreme
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/recipes/r/cauliflower_supreme

on edit: just read the recipe over, and I steam the cauliflower florets in the microwave, much easier.:-)

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

7. if i liked cauliflower that would sound really good.

:hide:

:hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

13. I'm sorry. My SO doesn't like cauliflower, either, or mushrooms, or broccoli, tomatoes, etc...*sigh*

Do you like broccoli? I've often considered trying this same recipe using broccoli. And I've also had success with broccolini, just steamed it in the microwave, put a little butter and salt on it, even with the veggie avoiders. It's like broccoli-lite, LOL, and has a lot of vitamins, but nobody needs to know that... ;)

What do you like? Green beans? I ran across a recipe the other day using green beans, with garlic and bacon. Or a salad, of some sort, or some kind of cooked greens, would be fairly light...:shrug:

On edit: I just thought of something. To go with the Russian theme, I remember having this really wonderful side dish in Russia, which had chopped mushrooms, with sour cream and some onion. I'll see if I can find it, if you like mushrooms, but then you'd have to invite me...:D

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

14. i don't like cauliflower, brussel sprouts or broccoli (only thing

poppy bush & i ever agreed on). that's about it for veggies. i love asparagus, artichokes, mushrooms, onions, shallots, green beans, carrots, corn, peas, tomatoes, peppers of any color, snap peas, the list goes on. and any potato. i'll fall face first into any potato dish. i wanted to make potatoes anna, but that's too much butter.

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Okay. Mushrooms are my favorite, too, but I also love broccoli, and broccolini. :-)

I think that this is the dish that I had in Russia, which was out of this world. But it is awfully rich and contains both cream and butter. I did have it at the same meal as the Chicken Kiev, but as an appetizer. I had it somewhere else in Russia, as well, but this particular meal was the best I had there... :9

RUSSIAN-STYLE BAKED MUSHROOMS IN SOUR CREAM
http://www.gumbopages.com/food/russian/rus-mush.html

on edit: They didn't give you a whole lot, since I remember this as an appetizer. It was served in a little metal cup, like a custard cup. But I'd be happy with this, anytime, as a side dish...:D

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

16. wow. that looks fabulous. maybe little, bitty portions.

thanks!

[Rhiannon12866]

17. That's how it was served in what was then Leningrad, now St. Petersburg.

It really was the best thing that I had in Russia, but I just love mushrooms, and the food was really quite good there, not something that I expected. They seemed to be very big on appetizers, but then we ate in hotels, and this was a special meal, which we had on the last night of every city we visited. I had to be careful, since I often didn't have room for the main course, LOL. :D

You're more than welcome, but I expect an invitation...;)

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

19. Oh.My.Gawd.

That was fabulous. I cannot believe how we sucked that down. I think I've got about 1/3 of a cup left. Normally I would have tossed it, but I carefully put it in a bowl & saved it to have for lunch tomorrow.

Thank you. It's now a favorite & DIL grabbed the recipe to try at home.

[Rhiannon12866]

20. I am so glad that this was a success, my friend!

And I apologize for taking so long to post on your thread, though I did answer your PM...:hi:

I was sure that this was the recipe that I had in Russia, and would love to try it, myself, if I was cooking for more than me, my SO who hates mushrooms (while I could live on them...), and two dogs... *sigh*

We did have a very good Easter dinner, went to my SO's brother and SIL, who cooked ham, etc., lots of food, traditional, but very good, and she's also interested in cooking. I did tell her about this recipe, as well as the one for cauliflower, and she was interested in both. So if we ever travel for three hours again, just for a holiday dinner, I'll know what to bring with me... ;)

Thanks so much for the feedback! I loved this so much, among the many good meals that I had in Russia, that it really stuck in my mind, and longed to have it again.:D

Rhiannon:hi:

[mtnester]

2. Roast some asparagus?

Always yummy

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

5. i love asapragus, but really like it with hollandaise sauce.

do you think that would be too much with chicken kiev?

[mtnester]

9. Yes...however, if you roast with the barest touch of olive oil

a bit (TINY bit) of co0urse salt, and some great ground pepper on a foil covered tray...yummy. The asparagus stays simple but true to its own flavor, and will not overshadow the kiev.

Others also need to chime in on this. I think you could roast some zucchini or squash as well, which may have a flavor that compliments the kiev more. Eggplant would be too strong, as would (brian fart on the name) the fabulous bulb that ...wait..FENNEL...that would be maybe too much as well. Tomatoes would be too strong, but what about some cippolini onions? (they might be almost too much)

OR, a simple salad instead?

[yellerpup]

3. Cous-cous tossed with a handful of toasted, slivered almonds.

Veggie stir fry.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

6. that sounds interesting. i've never made cous-cous. can you

describe the flavor?

[yellerpup]

10. Cous-cous is a very mild pasta flavor

because that's what it is. It is a super easy dish to prepare and can be done in minutes. I cook it in chicken broth (even low fat has enough flavor to make it taste rich). It's a very neutral taste, so you can mix it with anything. For Chicken Kiev, you could serve the chicken over the cous-cous and it would pick up the seasons you have mixed in with the Kiev (butter) stuffing when you cut into the package. I often mix in raisins, sauteed onions or mirepoix, toasted seeds or nuts, minced herbs, not usually all at the same time, but that can be done, too. You can also load it with cheese, but you wanted to keep the side light, right? Chicken Kiev is lucious. I'm wishing for some right now! :hi:

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

11. sounds perfect for a starch. thank you.

i love chicken kiev, but haven't made it in years. i thought for easter we'd go kinda retro.

[yellerpup]

18. You are going to make everyone very happy with this retro meal.

Hope you like the cous-cous. It's a staple in my kitchen these days. Happy holidays!

[sazemisery]

21. If you can find the Israeli cous-cous it is delightful.

This sounds good and the comments said they used a lot less butter with great results or use olive oil.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/231300

Here is another one that I am definately going to try:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/pearly-whites/

[japple]

4. Carmelized onions & carrots. Small red potatoes roasted with

garlic and olive oil. Or Noodles Romanoff and use low fat sour cream. There are recipes for this on allrecipes.com.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

8. noodles romanoff sounds good. do i have to use low-fat?

it's easter. :rofl:

[hippywife]

12. I tried this and

it was totally awesome! I coulda lived without the parsnips but the rest totally rocked! And I'd never eaten any of these in my entire life!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=39224