Side

Biscuits have been an American favorite since the early 1800s. Anything so well known has as many variations as there are enthusiasts. My favorite recipe includes an egg for lightness. As expected, when they’re baked in the convection oven, they bake more quickly at a lower temperature.

This light-textured loaf is showy in a buffet. This is a batter bread, easy to stir up, no kneading involved. It bakes quickly in the convection oven.

This is a favorite bread, especially in the Midwest, where many people have Scandinavian roots.

Sweet potatoes are pale yellow, yams are deeper orange, and red garnets have a reddish hue. If you have trouble finding all three, just buy three pounds’ worth of what you can find. This colorful salad is perfect with roast pork, or on the Thanksgiving menu as a refreshing change from the traditional sweet potato dishes.

Very slow roasting—175°F in a covered casserole—is ideal for whole-kernel grains as well as wild rice. The earthy flavors of whole grains blend well with the flavors we usually associate with another classic—tabbouleh.

This is a break from potato salads dressed with mayonnaise, and much tastier!

Not only do the colors sparkle in this salad, but the flavors do, too. Roasting fresh corn on the cob produces irresistibly sweet little morsels. This is wonderful with roasted fresh salmon.

Try this for your Thanksgiving menu, roasted on the bottom rack of the oven, along with scalloped potatoes or Creamy Garlic Potatoes (page 144), while the turkey roasts on the rack above. If you slice the potatoes ahead, rinse them well in cold water and drain to prevent discoloring.

This is a wonderful Greek-style one-dish meal or a side dish for a party. Roasting brings out the flavors of the vegetables. You can prepare all the vegetables except the potatoes ahead of time.

Cook these irresistibly flavorful (and rich) potatoes along with a turkey or a roast, and though they will be done in about an hour, there’s no harm in letting them bake an extra 15 to 20 minutes. If you are worried about calories, use the low-fat evaporated milk alternative.

These crispy, flavorful potatoes, a tasty accompaniment to any meal, are simple and quick to prepare.

This is truly one of my favorite ways to cook tiny new potatoes. Sometimes when I buy a sack of potatoes, there will be a few larger ones, which I cut in half or in quarters to match the size of smaller 1- to 1 1/2-inch potatoes. No need to peel the potatoes, just scrub them.

Roast the potatoes along with hamburgers, steaks, pork chops, boneless chicken breasts, or any other meat you choose. I use the highest oven setting, and they are done in about 15 minutes. Roast the potatoes in the center of the oven if that’s all you are cooking. You can also roast three pans of potatoes at once, on evenly spaced oven racks if you’re cooking for a crowd. If you are roasting meat, place it on the center or upper rack and roast the potatoes on a lower rack.

When carrots are roasted, they develop a sweet flavor that thyme enhances. I serve these carrots with a beef pot roast and roasted potatoes.

Honey enhances the natural sweetness in rutabagas and parsnips. This is a perfect side dish for a holiday menu.

This basic, versatile recipe can be adapted to just about any vegetable depending on what you have on hand. While the oven preheats, prepare the vegetables. Serve with oven-grilled chicken breasts and steamed rice.

A pan of these vegetables cooks easily along with chicken, Cornish game hens, or pork roast. Consider adding a dessert to the oven, too. All three items can be baked on separate racks. Place the vegetables in the center and the dessert on the bottom rack.

Roasted asparagus spears are crisp-tender with great flavor. They can be roasted at higher temperatures as well (400° to 500°F), in which case the roasting time is short (8 to 10 minutes). If you are roasting meat or poultry at 375°F, that temperature will be fine for the asparagus, too. Don’t add the asparagus to the oven too soon or it will be overcooked.

Both the beet greens and the root are favorite vegetables, making beets about the most edible of all vegetables. You can roast beets in the convection oven in less time than it takes to boil them, and you save a whole lot of mess, too!

Kids love “mac and cheese.” When I make it from scratch, I know what’s in it—all healthy ingredients! Here’s how to do it, saving time and energy in the convection oven.