Yes! Yes! Yes!

Try searching ”side dishes for (your entree)”

tj

I don't know of a site that does that. But usually you can type in "what to serve with ..." and there is plenty of info. Or ask ChatGPT LOL.

This is with the free version:

A frittata is a versatile dish that goes well with a variety of sides at brunch. Here are some suggestions to serve with a frittata:

1. Fresh salad with vinaigrette dressing
2. Roasted potatoes or hash browns
3. Sliced avocado with a sprinkle of sea salt
4. Crusty bread or toast with butter or jam
5. Fresh fruit platter or fruit salad
6. Breakfast pastries like croissants or muffins
7. Greek yogurt with granola and honey
8. Smoked salmon with cream cheese and bagels
9. Tomato bruschetta or bruschetta with fresh herbs
10. Sautéed spinach or kale

These sides can complement the flavors of the frittata and provide a balanced and enjoyable brunch experience. Enjoy your meal!

I do similar to tsugajunkie if I am stumped ... if you type "fritatta menu" you should get good results.

That said... i think your plan is perfect. If a veggie frittata, you could also serve roasted shrimp or melon wrapped w/prosciutto to add a little protein.

I never seem to have much success???

I do the same. Myself, I would google what to serve with frittata at lunch. Sometimes I will also further narrow the parameters and maybe add sit-down meal or buffet style or gluten free, etc.

mtnrd, exactly what I was looking for!

Jojo, I thought of that too and was wondering if people here were going to feel slighted...I hoped not!

Oh good I am glad.

Frankly though, I think we all can do better. I think a good menu varies between rich and vegetal, smooth and crunchy, and includes a variety of colors. Some of their suggestions don't seem to provide that kind of balance.

Of all the AI suggestions, Tomato bruschetta seemed best for balance.

As usual, the AI lacks discernment. You might find a good suggestion there, or spark an idea, but a lot of that example has me rolling my eyes. Heaven help us if the AIs actually become intelligent!

I usually figure it out for myself. No one knows better than I what I like together or what my usual guests like. If I'm feeling uninspired, I ask here, in Cooking Forum. The experienced suggestions are always good, and even when I don't take them directly, they will have stimulated my imagination and led me to a good answer.

There are some simple rules you can apply to figuring it out yourself. Annie D., is it that you're looking for something trendy or unusual? Reading restauant and catering menus might help there. For ”normal”, you already came up with a good plan—a vegetable dish and a starch. The green salad and biscuits with butter sound perfect for brunch. Fruit and cookies are classic for afters. This is a good plan, and sounds delicious.

So the next question, maybe why you're asking, is what's missing? An example from my own life: If you have young, physical men, you might need something more protein and fat forward to carry through the activity of a tour (unless it's all seated in a boat or tram) until dinner. If it's young women watching their carbs, maybe put some more nutritionally dense carby things in the salad to stick to their ribs, like nuts, beans or mushrooms, so they can skip the biscuits. Older ladies are often hearty trencherwomen if they don't have to cook it themselves, though many, in my experience are looking for proteins. Eggs are good for proteins and fats, for all these what ifs, but most frittatas don't have that much egg. So...maybe, to be stylish, and add more proteins and all, a small charcuterie tray? This would be for my people, and may not apply at all to yours. It's the question that matters. If you have the right question—who are my guests and what are they missing?—the answers will present themselves.

I appreciate all the suggestions!

I guess what's always bothered me was, one time, when I was in a dr's waiting room, I was looking through a bon appetite magazine and stuck in there was someone's handwritten holiday menu. It sounded superb, far better than I could ever imagine on my own. I guess since then, I've wished I could get that right "wow" in my menus, but never have. I can cover all the bases and do well, but not "smashing" IYKWIM.

It's like another time I was in a store going through the racks when woman was there having tried on some clothing and then trying to accessorize her outfit...she whipped on a scarf and bam! she turned it into something so chic. (I've been scarf happy ever since...though never achieved her elan.)

The guests are a couple of old dear friends so it's just 4 of us, and we'll be on a walking tour all afternoon, but will follow with a restaurant dinner after, so I'd like us to eat something, but not too much so we have room for the big dinner. The only dietary restriction they have is she's allergic to arugula of all things! Other lettuces are fine.

As an alternative, I thought I could just do dinner rolls, cold cuts with lettuce and tomato for sandwiches with a cole slaw side...might actually be quicker and easier.

We'll be eating about 11 am as we have to leave by noon. Maybe shrimp salad wrap?

What's going to be in your frittata? Just me, but I think shrimp salad wrap is a separate main and therefore unnecessary. Unless you want to provide lots of options. I think a really fresh green salad, fresh fruit, and a couple of carbs (sweet, savory) and/or bread are all you need.

If I wanted ideas, I'd do as others have suggested, e.g., "what to serve with frittata?" Most good online recipes will offer that info anyway.

I love a wilted spinach and vidalia onion side, and/or stuffed tomatoes or mushrooms. Fruit for dessert!

You want a mix of carb and protein. I do like shrimp salad wraps but seafood for some can be hard to digest and might be a little too rich for a walking tour after.

A frittata would be perfect with a small light salad or maybe a quiche.

“Right now I know I want to serve a frittata, and I'm thinking side green salad and biscuits w/butter. Maybe fresh fruit and cookies for dessert.”

I’d be very happy with that!👍🏻

What you have planned sounds perfect to me.

For brunch, I usually serve breakfast potatoes with frittatta. if i make a veggie frittata (which i most often do), i like maple sausage. Add biscuits or rolls. Fresh fruit sounds delish!

As I said, you know your guests better than we do. I like -7337's suggestion of a little sausage for a walking tour. I can't imagine the early lunch/brunch spoiling dinner after an afternoon of walking. OTOH, you don't want too much/too heavy that people want a siesta rather than a walking tour.

But for the menu planning question, I get it about other people's stuff feeling better. It's usually just familiarity. What makes the difference is usually a surprise. Like the lady with the chic scarf, it likely wasn't adding a scarf to the dress that did it (only the one fashion trend that has lasted hundreds of years), but that particular scarf worn that particular way with that particular dress, fitting her just so, with her particular hair and makeup. It's that "whoa!" moment when you see something new. It's like when you first eat something totally new to you after the age of 30, and it's stupendously delicious, the sheer newness excites your neurons and makes it particularly delicious. And things that don't have that bit of surprise have a whole category of "tastes like chicken."

So, you could do something surprising by adding a new to you and your guests spice or sauce or just combo. You could add some lime zest to your green salad. Or make a tamarind dressing. Make a compound butter for the biscuits, with minced fresh herbs, including something oniony like chives, and salt. Or, if you want to use dried, make it a day or two early for the to rehydrate and try some epazote or lemongrass or anything else unexpected.

In other words, think of little ways to make your well planned but boring you menu just a bit different and wow-worthy.

Your planned lunch menu sounds delicious to me. I wouldn't give it any more thought, as it sounds perfect.

Eatwell 101 Meal Planner

Eat This Much Meal Planner

There are many more from a Google search, but these two seem to be the favorites.

"wow" in my menus

That is very specific to your audience. I think people really appreciate when you remember what they like, and that is the "wow" part.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

For the frittata, I would probably give it a dose of protein beyond the eggs by adding some cubed black forest ham and of course cheese to go with onions, peppers, mushrooms, maybe wilted spinach. I also mix in fresh basil and parsley which give it an herbal kick.

I like the idea of making a fancy dressing to go with the salad. And I never think of a compound butter, but that would be fine with chives to go with the biscuits.

Add some fruit, maybe strawberries, to your green salad. Herbs ( chives, dill, parsley, or the elusive chervil) are another lovely addition to green salad. I know tarragon is divisive but I enjoy it and love green salad with tarragon leaves. Very thin little bits of orange zest are nice also (I use a vegetable peeler to cut off strips of zest only and then slice accross the width uber thin pieces.) A sprinkle of flaky sea salt when tossing or plating the salad also gives a nice punch of flavor.

Annie, I’m posting this only because I’ve served it often for “ladies’ lunches.“ You can use whatever fruit and greens you like. I make the candied pecans but you can also buy them. If it appeals, I sometimes add blue cheese crumbles.

Mandarin Orange and Pecan Salad

Dressing:
2 T. sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 T. minced fresh parsley (optional)
3-4 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

Salad:
Greens of choice (enough for about 6 people - romaine or spring mix is good)
Half of a small red onion, sliced (or to taste)
1 cup sliced celery
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained (or fresh navel orange segments)
Approx. 2/3 to 3/4 cup candied pecan halves

For Pecans: Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and about 1 1/2 to 2 T. sugar. Stir and watch closely until sugar begins to melt. Turn down heat and continue to stir until sugar is completely melted. Watch carefully; they can burn very quickly. Remove from heat and cool completely. (You can make these well ahead; keep tightly covered at room temp.)

For Salad: Whisk sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, and Tabasco together until the sugar and salt dissolve. Whisk in oil. Combine all of the salad ingredients. Whisk dressing again and toss well with the salad. (I make the dressing in advance and store in a glass jar for shaking.)

I also like this dressing with greens, avocado, red onion and orange segments.

All the Moosewood cookbooks have menu suggestions at the bottom of each recipe, but a lot of the time/most of the time I don't follow it. So there's that. Sometimes now I actually Google just "Frittata menu suggestions" or something like that, just to get the brain juices flowing. Eating Well magazine web site used to have menu ideas but I never much followed them.

https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/7904941/30-minute-dinner-recipes-for-june/

https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8001946/low-carb-mediterranean-diet-skillet-dinners/

https://www.eatingwell.com/category/4286/meal-plans/

Most all of these suggest some type of seasonal salad and a crusty bread. For a spring brunch, I am a big lover of sangria, mimosas or mixed drinks like a Bloody Mary or Screwdriver. Although as I get older all my friends seem to be going teetotaler. My best friends just gifted me with a four pack of "Fauxmosas." We'll see.