re: Need some dressed up sides for a brisket and ribs

Here ya go, Nik.

Curried Eggplant Soup

2 T butter
2 T oil
1 c chopped onions
¾ c chopped celery
2 lbs eggplant, peeled and diced
2 c peeled, thinly sliced potatoes
1 ¼ t curry powder**make sure it’s fresh and of good quality-NO store brands
1/8 t thyme
1/8 t basil
1 t salt
white pepper and cayenne to taste
6-7 c chicken stock (Swanson’s low sodium stock is fine)
2 c heavy cream**you can use milk, cream or ½ and ½ and even fat free ½ and ½

Steam onion and celery in hot oil and butter, in tightly covered pot for 10 minutes or so, over low heat. Add eggplant and potatoes; steam 15 minutes more until vegetables soften. Stir every once in a while because it tends to stick. (I make several times the recipe at once, so this usually takes me longer than 15 minutes.)

Stir in all ingredients except cream. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer about 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and puree with hand held immersion blender or regular blender. Add cream and serve hot or cold. Better if made the day before. I freeze it before adding the cream. It’s easy to add the dairy in whatever amount you like to serving sizes.

This makes about 1.5-2 quarts. Nothing needs to be measured exactly. The main thing is to have plenty of eggplant. I probably use more onions than it calls for, which is my preference. If the curry is fresh and strong, it doesn’t need a lot of extra flavors. I do use a bit more curry, sometimes

You can garnish with a few small shrimp or crabmeat, if you like, but that’s not necessary. Just fancies it up a bit.

I'm a soup lover, also. I've eaten this one a number of times, this Winter. I usually serve it as an app, but for me, it's fine as a meal or with a grilled cheese sandwich. I like to make them on thin white bread. Sometimes, just cheese toast with it on crispy thin bread with gruyere or some other good cheese is a good side.

The soup is definitely better when made cooled and refrigerated for a good while before serving, though.

Smoked salmon. Just about anytime I pull out the pit for ribs, pulled pork, etc, I throw on some salmon since the meat takes so long. I usually put some of the same dry rub I use for my ribs on it about an hour before I'm ready to put it on the grill, then cook/smoke at 225, and baste with coke based sauce. Takes about an hour depending on the size of the salmon filet. Serve with cream cheese, capers, red onions, and crackers.