Holiday Side Dish Faves

This past week I hosted my very first Thanksgiving dinner.  It was a blast.  However, the next day I was sore from cooking in heels for six hours.  Poor wardrobe choice.  The food was great - although I could have certainly cooked a lot less of it.  We had 12 adults and 4 children at dinner and I am pretty sure that I could have had 24 adults and we would have still had plenty of food.  Oops.  For this post, I wanted to jot down two of my favorite side dishes from the meal - Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Maple Porter Whipped Sweet Potatoes. 

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

The roasted brussel sprouts were the surprise hit - guests politely took one or two to taste but I am pretty certain most had very low expectations.  All around the table were murmurs of approval ... hmm, these are pretty good!  Actually, they are pretty good.  Pretty great if you ask my 4 year olds.  The roasted brussel sprouts are so easy and I got the basics of this recipe from the November issue of the North Carolina Our State magazine. 

3 pounds brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, shelled
olive oil

Preheat your oven to 450.  Toss brussel sprouts with a little bit of olive oil.  Spread on a cookie sheet.  Season with sea salt and pepper.  Roast for about 25 to 35 minutes - turn them over about halfway through the cooking time.  Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat.  Add the peanuts and cook them until you can smell them!  (I bought some cajun roasted peanuts at our local farmers market and they worked really well in this recipe.)  Only cook the peanuts for a few minutes.  Remove from the pan.  Add the bacon to the pan and cook until crisp.  Rough chop the peanuts and the bacon.  Toss with roasted brussel sprouts and serve.

Maple Porter Whipped Sweet Potatoes

I love sweet potatoes - not only do they taste delicious but they really are one of those "power" veggies - so good for you!!  I realize that everyone does not share my love for sweet potatoes but this recipe makes them taste extra-delicious.

5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut
1 Porter style beer (I used an Oatmeal Porter from a brewery in Asheville, NC)
1 1 /2 cups maple syrup
1 stick of butter (1/4 pound)
Salt and pepper, to tast

In a large stockpot, boil potatoes until tender.  Sweet potatoes should be started in cold water and then brought up to a boil.  While boiling, reduce the maple syrup and beer until the liquid has been halved.  This part is a little tricky.  Bring the mixture up to a boil and try to maintain a steady simmer (almost boil) while the liquid thickens.  You will know that your liquid is thick enough by putting a spoon in the liquid and then trying to draw a line down the back of the spoon - if you can see the mark your finger left through the liquid then your mixture has reduced enough. 

Push the potatoes through a ricer if you have one.  I don't have one yet but I have put it on my list to Santa.  I really enjoy using a ricer for mashed potatoes - the potatoes come out far fluffier and you don't overwhip them.  Add the stick of butter and the maple porter reduction.  Season with salt and pepper.  Enjoy! 
  

Apple Pie Ice Cream

In this house, the consumption of ice cream stays pretty steady throughout the entire year.  Although it is probably more common to make your own ice cream in the summer, the kids all screamed in excitement when I suggested that our cooking project for the day be homemade ice cream.  I love making new things with apples in the fall so we decided to try to make some Apple Pie Ice Cream.  It was not too hard and it came out absolutely delicious! 

To make the ice cream, I have a Krups Ice Cream Maker (model 337 - they don't make it anymore - I stole it from my mom!) which is so incredibly simple to use - freeze the canister for a few hours - pour the custard in and turn it on.  Seriously - that is it.  Recently, there was a great little review of ice cream makers out there and the one that did the best was the $50 model from Cuisinart.  No need to get anything fancy or expensive to make your own ice cream!

PART 1: Prepare your custard.

3 eggs
2 cups cream
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons vanilla

Combine 3 eggs and 2 cups of heavy cream or half and half in a medium saucepan.  Beat them together well. 
Add 1 cup of sugar and cook over low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes until thickened. 

You really need to keep an eye of the pan because I walked away to break up a toddler wrestling match, I came back and my custard had curdled.  Don't let that happen to you!  You want your custard to be smooth and thick.

After the eggs, cream, and sugar have thickened, set the pan aside and allow it to cool down.  After it has cooled, add 2 cups of milk and 2 Tablespoons vanilla.  Set aside.  (This basic custard recipe can be used for any flavor ice cream you desire - or just leave it plain vanilla.)


PART 2: Prepare your apples.

1 Tablespoon butter
2 large apples, peeled, sliced, and then cut in half to make medium chunks
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter, add the apples, sugar and cinnamon.  Cook until the apples get soft and brown and the sugar begins to caramelize - it should start to look like the inside of an apple pie.  This should take about 10 minutes.  After they are cooked, cool completely before adding to the custard. 

PART 3: Make the ice cream.

I like to let my custard cool overnight - partly because I never keep my ice cream canister in the freezer and that needs a few hours to get really cold.  This batter made a little too much for one batch of ice cream in my 1 1/2 quart ice cream maker.  Pour the custard into the canister and turn it on. 

If you would like, you can add in crumbled cookies (perhaps Ginger Snaps from Trader Joes) or pour a little caramel sundae sauce in as the ice cream begins to churn to add a little extra flavor. 

ENJOY!  I think that homemade ice cream tastes the best right away.  Don't plan to make this ahead of time for a party and keep it in the freezer.  If you have the custard prepared, all you need to do is turn on the ice cream maker while you guests are there and within 30 minutes you will all be enjoying delicious homemade ice cream!

Chicken Roulade with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

Don't let the name intimidate you - chicken roulade is absolutely nothing fancy!  Roulade simply means a piece of meat rolled around some type of filling.  For this recipe I bought chicken breasts at my local grocery store that were marked down to an incredibly low price because the sell-by date was approaching.  I took a very sharp chef's knife and sliced each chicken breast into about three cutlets.  You can save yourself some time by simply buying chicken cutlets.  Once you have cutlets, salt and pepper both sides.  After that the possibilities are endless for the filling. 

For this recipe I used prosciutto, baby arugula, and goat cheese.  Prosciutto is one of my favorite ingredients.  Although it is certainly pricey, you only need to get a very small amount to make a big impact.  I bought a package of pre-sliced prosciutto at Trader Joes - all natural - no preservatives - it was delicious.  If I was at my local grocery store, I probably would have ordered 5 or 6 thin slices at the deli counter.  We have been on a goat cheese kick around here lately - our farmers market sells the most incredible locally made goat cheese and you only need a little bit for a tasty bite.  However, I have also used Alouette cheese in my filling if I have some of that around.  As for the arugula - you could subsitute spinach or baby spinach (fresh) for the greenery inside the roulade - or go without green altogether. 

The specifics: 

1 1/2 lbs. of chicken cutlets, salt and pepper each side
5 or 6 slices of prosciutto
A few tablsepoons of goat cheese
A handful of arugula
1/4 c. shredded parmesan

Layer prosciutto directly on chicken - make the prosciutto piece about the same size as the chicken cutlet.  Please a few arugula leaves on top of the prosciutto.  Place a teaspoon or so of goat cheese on the arugula and roll the cutlet.

Place the shredded parmesan on a small plate and roll the cutlet in the parmesan cheese- covering the roulade completely.  Place the roulade seam side down in a baking pan.  Repeat the messy process for all of the cutlets.  Sprinkle any extra cheese over the pan of chicken.  Cook at 350 for about 40 minutes.
 

Warm Beet Salad With Goat Cheese and Walnuts

For lack of anything exciting to cook for Sunday dinner a few weeks ago, my husband and I settled on grilling bratwursts.  After six years in Ohio, we developed a true love for these yummy German sausages.  They are especially fantastic served with some sauteed onions and peppers!  However, although brats are delicious unto themselves, I just didn't feel right serving them for Sunday dinner ... so I decided to make a little warm beet salad.  It turned out to be an excellent pairing!  So many people think they don't like beets.  The truth is that they just haven't had great beets prepared well.  I picked up some red beets at our farmers market and grabbed a golden beet at an organic grocery store nearby.  They were just begging to be roasted. 

You will need: 4 to 6 beets (red or golden), 8 oz. crumbled goat cheese, handful of arugula, 1/2 c. walnuts

ROASTING BEETS ... Brush the dirt off the beets, rinse them under warm water and pat dry.  I cut off the greens and then wrap each beat individually in aluminum foil.  Roast them for 90 minutes at 350.  Remove from oven.  Let cool for about 20 minutes or so and then peel the skin off the beets under running water and use a paring knife.  Warning: your hands, counter, cutting board, etc. will turn a lovely shade of beet red.  For this salad, I dice the beets into small cubes.

TOASTING WALNUTS ... Toss about 1/2 cup of walnuts in 1 to 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Spread on a cookie sheet.  Toast for about 6 to 8 minutes at 375.  For this salad, I chop the walnuts into smaller pieces to match the size of the beets and goat cheese. 


PUT IT TOGETHER: Combine warm beets with about 8 oz. crumbled goat cheese, a handful of arugula, and 1/2 c. toasted walnuts.  Drizzle olive oil around the salad.  Add some coarse sea salt.  If you have a biscuit cutter, you can press the mixture into the round shape to serve it on the plate - perhaps a little fancy to be served with grilled bratwursts but my kids enjoyed the novelty of a round salad!  Because the goat cheese, beets, and walnuts are all about the same size and the beets are still a little warm when you dice them, this salad works well pressed into a mold!  You could also drizzle a little red wine vinegar with the olive oil for a bit of a different flavor.  I hope this recipe inspires you to give beets a try!