Recipe: Brussels Sprouts with Grapes and Walnuts

Brussels Sprouts with Grapes and Walnuts
Kristen Bell recipe for Whole Foods
4.5 stars

We enjoyed this dish during Thanksgiving, and I forgot to take a photo!  Will update this post with a photo the next time we make this dish.  Super simple side dish that's a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:  Brussels sprouts, red seedless grapes, walnut pieces, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, fresh thyme, sea salt, black pepper

Recipe: Broccoli Bolognese with Orecchiette

Broccoli Bolognese with Orecchiette
Bon Appetit Magazine, Nov 2017, p. 48
3.75 stars

I didn't rate this super high and am not adding this to our 'What Not to Make' blog post because this dish was good (not amazing) and easy to make in a pinch for a weeknight meal.  We usually have all the ingredients that this recipe calls for.

By the way, I can't understand why they call this a bolognese?!?

Ingredients:  broccoli, Italian sausage, orecchiette, unsalted butter, Parmesan, garlic, EVOO, Kosher salt

Tips:

• Used frozen broccoli instead of fresh
• Didn't have orecchiette pasta so use any pasta shape you have on hand!

Recipe: Green Corn Soup

Green Corn Soup
Food and Wine Magazine, Aug 2017, p.92
5 stars

Silky Zucchini Soup was our go-to "easy," healthy soup to make until this one came along.  This dish has great flavor (especially with our changes to the recipe) and was just as simple to make -- and just as creamy (without any cream added!) as the zucchini soup. 

Ingredients:  corn, medium onion, garlic, baby spinach, jalapenos, lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper

Tips/Changes:

• Used frozen corn instead of fresh corn
• Added a pinch of chipotle powder for added heat and complexity
• Added a dollop of sour cream and finishing salt on top
• Served it hot instead of cold

Recipe: Vegetable Tortilla

Vegetable Tortilla
Food and Wine Magazine, Sept 2017, p. 118
4.5 stars

This dish took me back to Spain where we ate a lot of "tortillas."  For those that live in Texas and the Southwest, tortilla here is not the flour or corn type that we get at the typical Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant -- this is a Spanish tortilla that is like a frittata. I gave this 4.5 stars and not 5 because this is a dish where I have to be in the mood to eat it because of the saffron flavor.

Ingredients:  eggs, Yukon Gold potato, small onion, zucchini, red bell pepper, baby spinach, saffron, boiling water, EVOO, mayonnaise, garlic, Kosher salt, pepper


Tips:

• Even if you don't like mayonnaise, make the aioli-like sauce.  It complements the tortilla perfectly and makes the dish (but go light on the garlic); without it, the tortilla is missing something.

Recipe: Lumaconi with Prosciutto and Lemon Breadcrumbs

Lumaconi with Prosciutto and Lemon Breadcrumbs
Bon Appetit Magazine, Sept 2014, p. 129
5 stars

This recipe is from Tosca in San Francisco, and the dish is one of the best cream-based pastas we've made.  While there are a few steps to this, it was not a difficult recipe.  This will be a go-to dish for when we cook while on our next ski trip!

Ingredients:  pasta, parsley, prosciutto, breadcrumbs, radicchio (we used spinach), shallot, garlic, brandy, thyme, bay leaf, lemon zest, lemon juice, heavy cream, olive oil, Kosher salt

Tips/Changes:

• Chopped the prosciutto instead of putting it in the food processor
• Used spinach instead of radicchio (note: use a huge box of spinach next time)
• Used fusilli shaped pasta instead of lumaconi (snail shell shaped) pasta
• Added red pepper to the prosciutto cream
• Did not strain the prosciutto cream through the fine-mesh sieve (no need to!) -- but we did remove the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf
• Be careful to not oversalt the dish since the prosciutto provides saltiness