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• Slow-Roasted Plum Tomatoes • Corn Pudding • Garlic-Chive Mashed Potatoes • Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Dill • Perfect Steamed Jasmine Rice • White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese • Braised Leeks with Smoked Bacon and Tomato • Soft Polenta with Parmesan and Black Pepper • Cranberry Conserve with Oranges and Walnuts • Grilled Peaches with Rosemary and Balsamic • Collard Greens with Ham Hocks and Garlic • Butternut Squash Soufflé • Creamed Spinach with Nutmeg • Chilled Asparagus with Citrus Vinaigrette • Black-Eyed Peas with Stewed Tomatoes and Chile • Salt-and-Herb–Roasted New Potatoes • Roasted Carrots with Orange Brown Butter and Sage • Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Miso, Orange, and Sesame • Red Onions Roasted with Balsamic and Honey • Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots and Walnuts • Baked Eggplant with Sesame Yogurt and Mint • Caramelized Endive with Anchovy Butter • Corn Roasted in Its Own Jacket • Potato Gratin • Mushrooms Sautéed with Garlic, Ginger, and Soy • Slow-Cooked Squash with Fresh Thyme, Parmigiano, and Olive

Chefs know that when people order in restaurants, they choose their entrée by the side dish that accompanies it. Hence, the popularity of the question “What does that come with?” But a better question is, “What does the side dish bring to the plate?” Consider: What is a steak without mashed potatoes? What is turkey without stuffing? You get the point. Side dishes make the world go round.

People love their sides, no doubt about it, but there’s more to life than a baked potato or a sad little green salad. Whether we are going back to my roots for some intensely flavorful corn pudding, collard greens, or black-eyed peas, or exploring world flavors like sesame and curry, the side dishes in this chapter more than hold their own on the plate and make the entire meal just that much more spectacular.

Slow-Roasted Plum Tomatoes

Slow-Roasted

Plum Tomatoes

3¼ hours

These sweet roasted tomatoes are great on sandwiches or chopped up in pasta.

Serves 4 to 6

8 plum tomatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, sliced

½ bunch fresh thyme

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Slice the tomatoes in half lengthwise and put them in a large bowl. Drizzle with a 4-count of oil. Toss in the garlic and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Toss the tomatoes to coat in the flavored oil. Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan in a single layer, cut side up. Pour the oil from the bowl over the tomatoes and roast for 3 hours to concentrate their flavor. They should be shrunken and dry to the touch.

Corn Pudding

1½ hours

Corn pudding is deliciously simple to put together.

Serves 6

2 ears fresh corn in their husks

2 cups milk

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs, separated

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the 2 ears of corn, in the husks, in the oven, directly on the center rack. Roast the corn for 30 minutes, until soft. Cool slightly so you don’t burn your hands and then remove the husks. Cut the kernels off the cob with a sharp knife and set the loose corn aside. Leave the oven on.

In a large pot over low heat, combine the milk, cream, and butter. Once the butter has melted, turn up the heat slightly and bring the mixture to just under a boil. Pour in the cornmeal in a slow steady stream, whisking at the same time. Cook and whisk constantly until the cornmeal is blended in and the mixture is smooth and thick; it should look like porridge. Take the pot off the stove and fold in the corn, chives, and salt and pepper. Mix in the egg yolks, one at a time, to make it more like a batter. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites (use a hand blender if you have one) until they hold stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the corn pudding to lighten it. Coat the bottom and sides of an 8 × 8-inch baking dish with nonstick