Christmas Dinner

Posted on December 26, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last night we enjoyed quite a nice dinner of surf and turf, and of course some of great sides. The menu included salt-cake rib roast, salt-cake snapper, grilled Brussels Sprouts, popovers and Pinot Noir.

For the rib roast, cooking time was a few hours so that was planned well in advance. The ‘cake’ surrounds the roast and then it sits on the grill to cook to perfection. When done, you get to crack, break, peel it off.

The fish was one I’ve made several times the past couple months and that shared the oven with the popovers. We think it might have affected the popping of the popovers because they were pretty much just mounds of bread-like things.

For the Brussels Sprouts, we used an Alton Brown recipe. You microwave the sprouts for about 3 minutes then toss them in dry mustard, paprika, garlic, salt and olive oil.

You skewer them then put them on the grill for 10 minutes, turning once.

Final product of everything —

We enjoyed Pinots from Chile and (Sonoma County) CA with dinner, as well. The Chilean wine was Apaltagua and the CA one was Banshee. Both very nice pairings to match the surf and turf.

Brussels Sprouts Actual

Posted on November 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

After testing a Brussels Sprouts recipe last week I opted for a standby for Thanksgiving dinner. It has veggies, fruit and nuts. Had made it a few times and it’s quick, easy and delicious and would be better for Turkey Day. What do you need? Can’t ask for many fewer basics:

-Brussels Sprouts
-Dried apricots, coarsely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
-Pistachios, coarsely chopped — if you even want to (about 1/3 cup)
-S&P
-olive oil

Have some fun getting those apricots ready.

Cut the Brussels Sprouts in half.

Blanch the Brussels Sprouts for 3 minutes and rinse.

Heat some olive oil in a pan, throw all ingredients (Brussels Sprouts, apricots, pistachios, S&P) on top.

Heat for about 5-7 minutes until nice and browned. Serve and enjoy. I love them and there sure weren’t many leftovers.

Brussels Sprouts Test

Posted on November 25, 2013 by melsmosaic

One of my contributions to Thanksgiving dinner is a brussels sprouts dish. So when I was attending a party last night, I took that as a test-run for a recipe I’d been eyeing. I was from a recent issue of Bon Appetit — Grilled Brussels Sprouts with Chanterelles. It looked simple yet complex so it had to be made!

Ingredients are pretty basic (and I of course made some substitutions):

1½ pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved — they didn’t have any (whole ones) at the store so I grabbed the shaved ones at Trader Joe’s
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thick-cut bacon, sliced crosswise ¼” thick — went with prosciutto
12 ounces chanterelles or crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, halved or quartered if large — baby bellas at TJ’s, oh yeah
1 large shallot, chopped
4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
2 tablespoons dry Sherry — white wine because I had it
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

The recipe, as named, aims to have the brussels sprouts grilled but I didn’t have the option. So went with the alternative…5-8 minutes in a skillet over medium high heat. You take them out when done then cook the bacon (or prosciutto here) until crisp, then remove.

Throw the mushrooms in there, cook for a few minutes, the get the shallot and garlic going, t00.

Throw everything else in there, stir, salivate, taste, stir, taste some more to be sure everybody will be just as happy as you. Oh, then I guess share/serve. Great option for Turkey Day!