Entries Tagged as 'Side Dish'

Shredded Brussel Sprout Slaw

2

13.11.12

Save the years when Christmas is all about gifts (aka childhood), I’ve never considered myself much of a gifter.

Don’t get me wrong — I absolutely love giving gifts. Making someone else happy is probably the best feeling in the world.

But after I went through college and learned that I had to learn how to support myself, I realized how trivial it was to be grown up and making lists of things that I wanted other people to buy for me.

Because, you know what? Things are just things. If they were that important to me, I should be able to buy them myself.

That’s just my opinion, anyway. To each her own.

I’ve always been a fan of doing things myself. Making my own lunches, designing my own invitations, and growing my own vegetables — these are things I’ve been into lately.

For the past few years — basically, since I started supporting myself — I haven’t been so much into giving or getting gifts. Gifting season often gets out of hand; and I realized so much when my family set a ten-dollar limit to Christmas. Children were the exception, and there were and still are only two. For the kids, we go crazy. But for the grown-ups, we keep it simple.

It basically converted Christmas into the family’s cheap booze exchange, which I have no complaints about whatsoever. When I only have a few days in California, I either drink it with my family as fast as I can, or fork over a few bills to check a suitcase filled with wine back to DC, where I drink it with my friends over homemade dinners as fast as we possibly can.

Despite the facets of gift-giving getting ridiculously out of hand, I think it’s safe to say that the feeling you get after giving a really good gift is one of the best feelings in the world.

This year is the fourth Thanksgiving I’ll be spending away from home. I’ll be thousands of miles from my family, just three hours ahead, but part of going off on your own and not looking back means taking some things into your own hands.

Thanksgiving will be at my house this year. This will be on the menu. I recommend it.

Shredded Brussel Sprouts with Lemon Mustard Dressing (adapted from the New York Times)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (my favorite whole seed version)
Zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound brussel sprouts, fresh
2 apples of your choice — the tart ones are best
1 shallot, finely diced

Instructions

If you have a food processor with a shredder, then trim the ends off of your brussel sprouts and just shred away. For those of you like myself, you can just chop them up. The easiest way is to first slice each sprout in half, and then, starting at the top of the sprout, make skinny horizontal slices until you reach the end, at which point, you can just toss the end of the sprout in the trash.

Also finely dice your apples, and the shallot. Toss them in a mixing bowl, and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it all up.

Combine all of the  dressing ingredients in a bowl or a mason jar, and stir or shake until completely mixed.

Toss the salad right before serving, or let it sit in the dressing for about 30 minutes to make it more of a slaw. Dress with some pretty apple slices, and enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving dinner.

2 comments categories: Easy

Roasted Teriyaki Brussels Sprouts

4

06.9.12

As you can probably tell, I’m trying to blog more regularly.

Now that I have a job doing exactly what I love to do, it’s really really difficult to manage any more than one or two freelance projects (and honestly, I’d rather just keep it down to my one favorite client). It’s not that I don’t enjoy freelance, but a creative by day can only be so creative by night.

This recipe, albeit my own, was not entirely created on my own. It was inspired by a dish at a great restaurant in Baltimore, whose name I do not remember. But it does remind me of one of the many fun weekends I’ve spent there.

Most people would probably use this dish as a side to a nice main, like miso roasted salmon or a grilled tofu salad.

I just put this on a plate (or a tart dish) and eat it as a meal. Simplicity is a virtue.

 

Roasted Teriyaki Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, halved
4 cloves garlic, coarsley chopped

3 tablespoons ginger simple syrup (recipe here)
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the bottom root-ends off your sprouts, and then slice them in half. Coarsely chop your garlic, and combine in a large mixing bowl.

In a small saucepan and medium heat, bring to a light boil the ginger syrup, soy sauce, sesame oil, and vinegar. Reduce the heat to low, and whisk in the brown sugar, and lemon juice until dissolved. Add the minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Stirring, reduce to the consistency desired, and remove from heat. I prefer my teriyaki on the more watery side than the syrupy side to make it easier to distribute flavor, but that’s just my preference.

Toss the Brussels sprouts in as much sauce as you think necessary – I actually dumped the entire thing in the mixing bowl, and spooned the sprouts directly onto a baking sheet. Store the remaining teriyaki in a jar, and refrigerate.

Roast your sprouts on an upper rack in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes.

4 comments categories: Easy

Sweet Corn Ceviche

3

11.3.12

This winter may have been weak, but spring has sprung.  And along with the hour of sleep I lost this morning, my social life has flown out the window.  I’m pretty sure I’ll see it sometime next week. (more…)

3 comments categories: Easy

Sun Dried Tomato Pastry Puffs

9

12.3.10

After running three miles, eating something this unhealthy is okay, right?  Right.  Next week marks my six-month anniversary of leaving California and moving to Washington.  I know — six months!  It feels like the time flew by, but at the same time, I remember that after living here for one month, I felt as if I had lived here my entire life.  Time traveling is a funny thing.
Anyway, in my six months as a district resident, I’ve learned a few things:
1.  There are no Philly cheese steak joints open in Georgetown after 3 AM.
2.  Telling a woman in the metro “Dayum, sweet thang, I’ma kidnap you” will not get you a date.
3.  DCist Real World summaries are on-point and much more entertaining than the actual show.
4.  Consult a map before embarking on a Rock Creek Park run.
5.  Never, ever, shop at Trader Joe’s on a Sunday.
DC residents, please take note of all of the above: I have witnessed and/or experienced situations leading to each rule.  The outcomes are never pretty.  The final rule, however, is the most vital to those of you who have issues of personal space, frustration, or passionate hatred for minute underground parking lots.  There is only one Trader Joe’s in Washington; why only one, is beyond my comprehension. Aside from the heinous check out line that wraps around the entire store on Sunday afternoon, the shelves are usually looted, and its normal Sunday crowd is so dense that my roommate generally knocks items and shelves onto the floor.  It’s not a pretty sight.  But it doesn’t stop anyone from going there.
So naturally, after a few Sundays of absolute hell, I learned to coerce Kristen into grocery shopping on a weekday night, close to the store’s closing time, while employees are restocking the shelves.  And, when it’s available (because it is usually wiped off the shelves) I grab 3 to 4 jars of sun-dried tomatoes.  Because you really can’t have enough SDTs in your cupboard.

WHAT YOU NEED: 
Recipe derived from Dorie Greenspan
for the pastry:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup cottage cheese 
1 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried basil
for the filling:
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, in olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts (walnuts would work as well)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 tablespoons basil and oregano
1/2  cup grated cheese of choice (I used a cheddar blend)
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup mushrooms, minced (I didn’t have these, but they would be amazing with this recipe)
WHAT TO DO:
First, in a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, salt, cheeses, and sugar.  Beat with an electric mixer until completely creamy, then gradually add in the flour and basil flakes.  When the dough is evenly mixed, form into a ball, and chill in your refrigerator for a couple of hours.
Then, mince the garlic, and heat in a pan over medium heat with the mushrooms for 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer to a food processor, and add the pine nuts, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and basil.  Grind until mixed.  Add cream cheese, and fold the mixture.
When the dough is chilled, roll out on waxed paper, no thicker than 1/8 inch.  use a cookie cutter or paring knife to cut out square shapes of dough, in sizes of your choice.  If the dough feels too sticky, dust with flour and/or chill for a few more minutes.  Place the pastry filling off-center in each square, then fold over and press the edges with a fork to seal.  I used 3 to 4 inch squares, and about a teaspoon of filling for each.  Bake on parchment paper at 400 degrees for about 10 to 13 minutes each, until the surfaces are golden brown.
9 comments categories: Intense, Savory

Curry Parmesan Roasted Chickpeas

1

11.2.10

At some point in my life, I lived in Santa Barbara.  The only things that stood between my dorm room and the Pacific Ocean were a two-lane street and a three-story set of stairs to the sand.
It’s ironic; I spent two years living there and couldn’t wait to move back to Los Angeles when I finished up there.  And after two years in Los Angeles, I was shocked that it was even possible to hate a city that much.  And given the four months I’ve accumulated here in Washington, I find myself daydreaming back to the days when my old roommate used to force me into running to the end of the Goleta pier.  We would always talk about jumping off the end of that pier at the end of a run.  Sadly, we never did it — we always used the water temperature as an excuse.

How sheltered I was back then — looking back on those moments, I’d gladly jump into that icy Pacific water on a warm Santa Barbara day.  That’s not to say that I never will, but it’s no wonder that I don’t run nearly as much as I used to.  Who runs in this heinous weather?  I considered doing it this week, but in order to avoid slipping and breaking my tail bone, I realized that I would need spiked running shoes.  Oh well, we’ve resorted to alternating 8 minute ab work outs and yoga with baking and instant Netflixing Lost episodes.
Luckily, it was sunny on Superbowl Sunday.  Not that I even watched the superbowl, or cared about it.  The world was unplowed so we didn’t even make it to a party.  But just in case, I made these roasted chickpeas as a snack to munch on.  There was a very slim possibility that I’d actually watch the game.
WHAT YOU NEED:
Preheated oven to 500 degrees
1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
WHAT TO DO:
Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans in cold water, and let stand five minutes over the sink.  Pat them dry with a couple of paper towels, and then toss them in the olive oil and other ingredients.
Line a baking sheet with foil, and spread the beans out evenly on the foil.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chickpeas are crunchy.
1 comment categories: Savory

Parmesan Crisps

2

10.2.10

Surprisingly, I’ve been sleeping much more than I expected this week.  And I feel like I’ve been in a constant food coma — we really haven’t been eating that much.  But cooking, and perhaps drinking, non-stop.  Is that what cabin fever feels like?
Anyway, it took a few tries to get the parmesan to cook nicely and curve.  No matter what they look like, they always taste good.

WHAT YOU NEED:
Shredded parmesan cheese.  Lots of it.
WHAT TO DO:
Sprinkle a circle of cheese onto a clean, non-stick frying pan, with the heat on low.  Let the cheese melt and then sizzle for a minute or two.  Then, using a flat metal spatula, peel off the round of cheese.  While it is still hot, lay the parmesan over a pint glass or a rolling pin, pressing it down so it cools with the round shape.  That’s it!
2 comments categories: Easy, Pretty, Savory

Citrus Cayenne Carrots

3

26.12.09

My stepmom put me in charge of carrots for Christmas dinner this year. Thank god, because I normally hate cooked carrots. This was their chance, I thought. Carrots might just be able to redeem themselves this year…
They totally did.
When I was going to school in Santa Barbara, California, one of my close friends had a job at Blenders, a local smoothie chain. She’d always swing by with smoothies after a shift, of various experiments she’d concoct in her down time. Once, I had been deathly ill, and she made a fabulous smoothie composed of mostly orange and carrot juice. From that day on, I was hooked. It was my personal form of crack. I’ve never been able to resist an orange-carrot based smoothie ever since. It became the inspiration for this spicy version of half-cooked carrots (honestly, who likes mushy carrots?).
I wanted to pair something savory with the roast that was planned for dinner. Warning: the carrots definitely have a sharp bite to them! But you can alter the amount of cayenne to your particular tastes to adjust that.

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 pound carrots, washed and peeled
1-1/2 cups orange juice
1 orange or lemon
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
mandarin oranges for garnish

WHAT TO DO:
For the glaze, juice the orange or the lemon into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Then mix the remaining ingredients with a whisk. Cover and let sit while you prepare the carrots.
Slice the carrots diagonally into quarter-inch discs. Pile them into a large saucepan with the orange juice, and add just enough water to cover all of the carrots. Let simmer on low for 10-15 minutes, until the carrots are slightly tender (but not soft). Remove the carrots and strain over the sink. Toss the carrots in the dressing, and serve in a large bowl. Garnish with mandarin oranges. The oranges add a nice contrast to offset the spicy glaze.
3 comments categories: Easy, Savory

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