Brussels Sprouts with Vinegar-Glazed Red Onions

Since the cold weather has yet to really kick in, I'm scared my plan to hide my Thanksgiving gut behind a large coat is not going to work, so I should probably make sure we have something other than dessert on our Thanksgiving menu.  My brother has requested brussels sprouts, so I decided to do a little practice round this weekend. These turned our really well, and I am kicking myself for not trying them out sooner. This recipe, in particular, worked well because not only is the taste combination of the sweet onions and the brussels sprouts fabulous, but I love the color combination as well. And obviously, isn't color coordination the second most important criteria for any side dish?

Just a few more days until Thanksgiving! What will your family be serving alongside the turkey this year?

Here is what you will need:

My first time buying these...not so scary looking, right?

Step 1: Trim outer leaves and stems from brussels sprouts, and discard. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, and add salt. Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath.

Step 2: Add brussels sprouts to boiling water, and cook until tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes.

Step 3:  Remove from heat, drain, and plunge into ice-water bath to cool. Drain well, and cut in half.

Step 4: Heat 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add brussels sprouts, and cook, tossing occasionally, until they are brown and crisp on the edges, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and transfer to a large bowl. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Step 5: Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon each butter and oil to the same pan over medium-low heat. Add onions, and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted and transparent, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Step 6:  Add vinegar (stand back to avoid the fumes), and stir to loosen any brown bits on bottom of pan. Cook until vinegar is reduced and the onions are glazed, about 30 seconds.

Step 7: Add onions to brussels sprouts, and toss well. Serve immediately.



Recipe Courtesy: Marthastewart.com



Ingredients

Serves 4

1 (about 10-ounce) basket brussels sprouts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

1.Trim outer leaves and stems from brussels sprouts, and discard. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, and add salt. Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Add brussels sprouts to boiling water, and cook until tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and plunge into ice-water bath to cool. Drain well, and cut in half.

2.Heat 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add brussels sprouts, and cook, tossing occasionally, until they are brown and crisp on the edges, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and transfer to a large bowl. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

3.Add remaining 1/2 tablespoon each butter and oil to the same pan over medium-low heat. Add onions, and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted and transparent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add vinegar (stand back to avoid the fumes), and stir to loosen any brown bits on bottom of pan. Cook until vinegar is reduced and the onions are glazed, about 30 seconds.

4.Add onions to brussels sprouts, and toss well. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Crunch

(Apologies for overly bright photo, I didn't have my 'good' camera with me)

This is one of those recipes. And what do I mean by “one of those recipes”? This is one of those dishes that if you bring it to a potluck, it pretty much guarantees you will have at least four different people track you down the next day because they MUST have that recipe. To be honest, I almost didn't post this recipe because I was kicking myself for not taking better pictures of the final product (I was in such a rush for said potluck and only had my point and shoot), but then by noon on Monday morning, I had already received three emails from friends requesting the recipe. So I decided it would be unfair to hold out on my "followers" especially because this is a perfect Thanksgiving side dish, along with my corn souffle (another household Thanksgiving favorite).

*Note: I usually make this the night before right up until the last step and then stick it in the oven right before serving.

Enjoy!

Here is what you will need:

Step 1: Peel potatoes. I slice them, so they will cook faster.

Step 2: Boil Potatoes (most likely 18 minutes)

Step 3: To save the time--while the potatoes boil, mix the topping (flour, sugar, and pecans). I wait to add the melted butter until I am ready to place it on top of the potato mixture.

Step 4: Drain the potatoes and mash with mixer.

Step 5:  Then mix potatoes with white sugar, margarine, coconut, evaporated milk, and vanilla.

Step 6: Pour into buttered dish.

Step 7: Finish making the topping by mixing with the melted butter.

Step 8: Pour topping over potato mixture. If you are making this ahead of time, you can stop here, cover, and refrigerate until the next day. Otherwise, bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

ENJOY!

Recipe Courtesy: My Tia Maribel

INGREDIENTS

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (I use 3 large potatoes which makes a little bit more than 3 cups, but I   think this works better to balance out the sugar and coconut)
1 cup white sugar (I don't fill it up quite to the rim, since this can feel like a lot of sugar. You can always taste and add more)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 stick margarine
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 stick melted margarine
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, cut, and boil potatoes (around 18 minutes or until fork easily pierces potatoes). Mash the potatoes. Then mix potatoes with white sugar, margarine, coconut, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Pour into buttered Pyrex. Pour topping over mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

To make topping.
Mix white flour, 1/2 stick melted butter, brown sugar, and pecans.



Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

For the past 2 days I have had a bizarre craving for roasted garlic mashed potatoes. And as I stood in line at Safeway with the rest of my fellow Washingtonians (for background, check out this link http://snowpocalypsedc.com), I realized I had forgotten the garlic. How could I possibly survive a 28-inch snowstorm without these garlic mashed potatoes I had been craving? I wasn't sure if I could trust that the people in line behind me would let me back in, but thankfully, the mob mentallity had not set in yet. So to all of those people who let me get back in line, this post is for you (which actually, in that moment, I wished I had cute hot-pink Capital Chef business cards, so I could tell all of those people to check out my post....it feels too soon for something like that---maybe on the blog's 6-month anniversary, I'll reconsider the idea.)

Everyone has their own little touch they like to add to their mashed potatoes, and I have more than one recipe myself. Actually, I have an absolutely explosively fattening recipe that I'll save for another day---a day when I am doing more than just sitting on the couch and watching the snow accumulate on the windowsill. Also, I don't have any fancy potato ricer or food mill or whatever else people call for...I just use a mixer, and I can't really taste the difference.

Here is what you will need:



Step 1. Let's roast the garlic! Oh, this stuff is good, and our entire apartment smells amazing. I actually roasted a little too much garlic, but I'm saving it for a soup I'll be making tomorrow. NEVER EVER throw away roasted garlic. I hear some people just spread it directly on bread like it is some sort of butter spread.
Anyway, Heat oven to 425 degrees. Slice tops off garlic heads. Coat the heads with olive oil, and wrap heads in aluminum foil.



Step 2. Bake for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, and let them cool for a bit. They will look golden and delcious like this.



Step 3. Remove all of the little garlic cloves. I end up kind of just squeezing them out of their shells. Set these aside, and we'll mix them in with the potatoes in the final step.



Step 4: Chop the potatoes and boil them with the chicken broth. I diced them pretty small, so it took only around 20 minutes to cook. Also, I kept the skin on. This is a matter of preference. I happen to enjoy the more "rustic" version.
Just check on the potatoes every 5 minutes or so and if you can easily pierce them with a fork, they're ready. When you drain the potatoes, be sure to set aside at least a 1/4 of a cup of the chicken broth. I did this by draining the potatoes in a colander with a large bowl sitting underneath.







Step 4: Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl, and blend in the cream, butter, and 1/4 cup of chicken broth that was set aside. Now, you can put in more or less of the cream and butter. The honest basic rule of thumb with mashed potatoes is, butter=better. I'm trying to not go overboard though, since this is just a weeknight meal for me and my husband.



Step 5: With a spoon, mix in the garlic. Also, sprinkle the mixture generously with ground pepper.
You can also sprinkle in salt to taste. I actually didn't end up putting any in. I find that by using the chicken broth, it really isn't necessary.




Step 6: Enjoy! But try not be offended if people take a step back when you are talking to them---that was a lot of garlic we just put in there.



List of ingredients:
N.B. This recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc.

2.5 lbs golden potatoes (other varieties work)
1 large head of garlic (or 2 smaller ones)
6 cups of chicken broth (or enough to cover potatoes)
1 cup of cream (heavy or light, depending on your New Year's Resolution)
2-4 tablespoons of butter
salt
coarse ground pepper

Corn Soufflé

Dear Capital Chef,

First of all, I love your blog!! You are so wonderful and talented. I am writing because I have a question for you. Do you have a go-to side dish that is easy yet impressive? I'm throwing a dinner party this weekend and could use your help.

Thanks,
Sleepless in Seattle

I'm going to be honest, this is not a real fan letter (I know, you feel shocked and betrayed), but consider this an open invitation to submit any questions, comments, or flattery my way. Now, had this been an actual fan letter, my answer would have been easy--corn soufflé.

I was first introduced to this corn soufflé at the tender age of 12 by my real-life mentor, Maribel. When she first moved to Memphis, she brought this to her first Thanksgiving dinner with my family,and while we were still deciding on what we thought of her, once we had a bite of this soufflé, we decided to keep her around--not so much for her fabulous personality, but instead for what she could contribute to my mother's dinner parties.

This dish is simple, delicious, and impressive. All the elements of a perfect side dish.


Here is what you will need:


Step 1: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter soufflé dish.


Step 2: In a large bowl, beat 4 egg whites until they form stiff peaks.


It should look like this:



Step 3: In a separate bowl combine the 4 egg yolks, flour (heaping tablespoons), sugar, butter, milk, baking powder, and can of creamed corn.



Step 4: Fold the egg whites into the creamed corn mixture. Do not overmix.




Step 5: Pour the mixture into the soufflé dish and bake in the oven for 1 hour.




ENJOY!


Ingredients:

4 heaping tablespoons of flour
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of Baking powder
4 tablespoons of melted butter
4 tablespoons of milk (not skim)
1 can of creamed corn
4 eggs separated