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.

Edamame Succotash

My last few posts have focused mainly on desserts, so I decided to take a step back and do as my mother says and "eat more vegetables."

I have never actually liked succotash. Lima Beans have just never really been my thing (no offense to all of the Lima Bean connoisseurs of the world), so when I saw this recipe for edamame succotash, I was intrigued because edamame is definitely my thing. In fact, my college roommate and I went through a phase in college where, instead of eating popcorn, we would steam a bunch of edamame and eat it while watching TV. I think this healthy phase lasted for about a week. In the end, the pull of Thomas Sweet was a little too strong.

I was also drawn to this salad because more than anything, I thought it looked pretty---obviously an important factor in my recipe decision-making. I love the colors in my salad,  in particular, because of the color of the corn I used. If you look closely at the picture, you can see little red corn kernels. When my husband first looked at it, he asked if they were pomegranate seeds. I'm not sure sure whether or not we should be embarrassed, but neither of us had ever eaten red corn before. When I got home and started to peel the corn and saw that it was red, my first instinct was to assume that the corn had gone bad. A few google searches later, and I came to learn that red corn actually has a nuttier and richer flavor than yellow corn.  I have to agree.

This would be a great salad to bring to a summer BBQ potluck because it is pretty versatile in terms of what it can be served with. We ate it with fish the first night and chicken the second, and it went well with both. This can also be served cold, room temperature, or even a little warm (I heated it up in the microwave the second night).

Enjoy!

 

The Recipe

Step 1: Prepare the vegetables. Chop the red pepper, tomatoes, sweet onion, basil, and corn.

Check out my beautiful red corn!

 Step 2: Like all great recipes, this one starts with bacon. Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; coarsely chop bacon.

(I placed the bacon between paper towels to absorb the grease.)

Step 3: Increase the heat to medium-high. Melt butter in drippings in pan.

Step 4: Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 5: Add corn kernels; sauté for 3 minutes or until lightly charred.

Step 6: Add edamame, and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 7:  Add red wine vinegar, salt, freshly ground pepper, sugar, tomatoes, and red bell pepper. Cook 30 seconds, stirring occasionally.

Step 8: Sprinkle with bacon and basil and enjoy! You can serve cold or warm. I think I actually preferred it slightly warm, but it was still good the next day straight out of the refrigerator

Recipe Courtesy: Cooking Light Magazine

Ingredients

1 slice center-cut bacon
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped sweet onion ( preferably Vidalia)
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons torn basil

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; coarsely chop bacon.
2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Melt butter in drippings in pan. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn kernels; sauté for 3 minutes or until lightly charred. Add edamame, and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar and next 5 ingredients (through bell pepper); cook 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with bacon and basil.

Sunday Roast Chicken

Finding time during the week to make a home-cooked meal can be hard, so on Sunday nights I like to make something big that will last for a couple of days. This Sunday I made a roast chicken with vegetables. While cooking a whole chicken can seem intimidating at first, it is really quite easy. This doesn't involve any real measuring or counting, so that makes the whole process much more enjoyable for me.

Here's what you will need:


Step 1: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken in cold water. Remove that pleasant little bag of "stuff" from the cavity of the chicken. One day, I'll try and do something with it, but for now, it just seems kind of unhealthy/gross. Place an entire lemon and some herbs (rosemary, thyme, and anything else you may like) inside the cavity of the chicken.



Step 2: Place the vegetables around the chicken. You can use any assortment of vegetables you want. I used a combination of carrots, parsnips, different types of potatoes, and some root vegetables---and garlic cloves, of course! Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground pepper, and then squeeze a lemon all over the chicken and vegetables.



Step 3: Drizzle the chicken and vegetables with olive oil, and make sure to rub the olive oil into the chicken (I sprinkled it one more time with salt and pepper, for good measure). Then pour 1 cup of white wine over the vegetables.


Step 4: Place the chicken in the oven and cook 30 minutes at 475°F. Then, lower the temperature to 375°F and cook for another hour until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 180°F. The skin should be crisp and brown.



List of ingredients:

1 6-pound roasting chicken
2 lemons
2-3 Sprigs of fresh rosemary (and any other herbs you might like)
8 cloves of garlic
Assortment of potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and at least 1 onion.
1 cup of white wine
olive oil
coarse salt
freshly ground pepper