Signature Sides & Drinks

Edited by Gail Bellamy

Side dishes and small plates hold big appeal for today's restaurant-goers. These offerings can provide a touch of luxury, a taste of the exotic, or an example of the chef's creativity. The same can be said for compatible cocktails that complement the cuisine. Check out this month's recipes, including the Icevine Cocktail from Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago. It features ice wine and seedless grapes. Black Angus Steakhouse shares recipes for its Vine Twisters wine cocktails. The cocktails were a menu special this past fall, an offshoot of the successful signature Cowboy Sangria that has been on the menu at Black Angus Steakhouses for more than a year.

Potato and rice side dishes take on new personality with recipes such as the Rice Pilaf from Ris in Washington, DC, with spiced caramelized onions, orange, cherry and pistachio, and the Porcupine Idaho Potatoes with Hot Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce from Chef Tommy Masaracchia of Tope La' Restaurant in Hammond, LA. Other robust side dishes include the Butternut Squash Pavé from Chef John Andres of BOS Restaurant in Des Moines, and the White Root Vegetable Bisque from Chef Andrea Curto-Randazzo of Talula in South Beach, FL.

RECIPES FROM

Ris Lacoste, Ris, Washington, DC

John Andres, BOS, Des Moines

Andrea Curto-Randazzo, Talula, Miami Beach

Daniel Schurr, Second Empire, Raleigh, NC

Tommy Masaracchia, Tope La', Hammond, LA

Paul Murphy, Four Seasons Hotel, Chicago

John Brandt-Lee, Avalon, West Chester, PA
 

Recipes:

• Porcupine Idaho Potatoes with Hot Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce
• Second Empire Roasted Sweet Potato, Mango and Endive Salad
• Blueberry Cosmo
• Icevine Cocktail
• Butternut Squash Pave
• Rice Pilaf with Spiced Caramelized Onions, Orange, Cherry and Pistachio
• Spicy Buffalo Potato Wedges
• Crudo Scallop Citron & Shaved Asparagus
• Mediterranean Rice with Feta, Mint and Olives
• Black Angus Steakhouse Vine Twisters
• White Root Vegetable Bisque with Cheese

FOR MORE RECIPES

Visit our website at Restaurant-Hospitality.com for more menu ideas. We offer recipes for full-service restaurants, plus a recipe database organized by chefs' names.