thanksgiving recipes (4 of 4): roasted brussel sprouts with shallots and balsamic vinegar

t-day for 2 meant i was only making 1 veggie. neither K or i were ever very fond of brussel sprouts, until having them 1) grilled and 2) served nice & charred in a restaurant... so we say NO to mushy, unflavored brussel sprouts of yesterday, but YES to having them with char and delish seasonings. amazing what a matter of proper prep can do to a dish... more and more things i always said i don't like, i find myself liking now after i have them in a new and better way. 

picture from seriouseats.com 

this recipe was taken from seriouseats.com (my go-to of late), and was so on point. i scaled it back a bit and added in bacon to my portion after (we had a vegetarian over) which threw it over the edge - the sweet/savoriness of the balsamic & shallot were the best of friends with the salty bacon. yum!









ingredients list: (1 lb made enough for 3 ppl)
- 1 lb brussel sprouts, bottoms trimmed, outer leaves removed, split in half
- 1 medium shallot, finely diced
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 slices cooked bacon

thanksgiving recipes (3 of 4): traditional stuffing

photo from mykitchencraze.com

stuffing was never my favorite t-day side (it always looked so mushy and full of i have no idea what...just multi-colored glob), but the last few years i've tried to make my own and tailor it to what i like and it's grown on me a bit. and make it so i can SEE the actual ingredients and know what i'm getting into (same way i've approached coleslaw...another past mush-mystery). Kyle wanted a "traditional" stuffing this year (no apple, no cranberry, nothing sweet), which was surprisingly hard to find a recipe for. i went with the recipe from mykitchencraze.com, which fit the bill and turned out really good adapting it a little bit for our taste/serving size (i actually ate an extra-large serving of it).

K did not love the sweetness from the cornbread, but that's part of the reason i liked this recipe... i like the layered bread approach. to each their own. 

ingredients list: 

- 1/2 the pan of a 8x8 dish cornbread (i used 1 box of jiffy which seemed to be enough)

- 1 loaf of french bread (i used 6-7 gigantic pieces of sourdough, since i needed to use it up)

- 1/2 stick butter

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 4 stalks celery, chopped

- 3 cups low sodium chicken or veggie broth (+ extra if needed)

- 1/2 tsp dried basil

- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

- 3 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

- salt to taste

thanksgiving recipes (2 of 4): porcini mushroom gravy

photo by seriouseats.com

i've tried to make gravy on several occasions in the past, mostly recipes made with real turkey drippings, and they have all failed terribly. to the point where we just ended up using a jar of store-bought gravy because they were so liquidy and just useless. this recipe sounded delicious, did not deal with any unwieldy drippings, and on top of it all sounds classy as F, so i gave it a go. not only was the consistency perfect, but this was SO damn good. like... it tasted like real gravy. that i could be served somewhere. and not be disappointed. be actually happy.

i was worried it might be too chunky with the mushroom bits (it was not) or too strongly taste like mushrooms (it did not). happy to report i officially have a go-to gravy recipe. the recipe (and photo since i forgot to take one) are courtesy of seriouseats.com.

ingredients list (makes about 3 cups):

- 4 cups stock (i used veggie stock since we had a vegetarian popping by)

- 1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms (i used a dried mix of porcini, oyster, crimini, & a bunch of other mushrooms) 

- 1/4 cup butter

- 1/4 cup flour

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 2 tbsp dry sherry

- 1 tbsp heavy cream

- kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

thanksgiving recipes (1 of 4): jalapeno & lime cranberry sauce

t-day! it was just 2 of us, so we debated between just going out, or doing the whole thang. we ended up doing the whole thang, which was kind of nice since it was the first year that i had full control over what was made. i've never been a huge fan of any of the thanksgiving sides (sweet potatoes of any kind, yams, stuffing... mushy veggies... all of it). so i tried to just make what i like, and some stuff i don't for K. it actually turned into one of the better t-day meals i've ever had, and wasn't as hard as i thought it would be to do everything from scratch. success! 

i did, however, totally forget to take pics of everything i made (which were almost all new recipes i was trying), so i'm borrowing the "official" pics from the recipes sites i snagged them from... i was too distracted by all the last minute stuff and way too damn hungry to think about it. 

photo from seriouseats.com

recipe 1 - jalapeno & lime cranberry sauce, from seriouseats.com.  my first homemade cranberry sauce. i loved the idea of this (huge fan of spicy & sweet), b think it i might have accidentally added too much lime - it was just so, so bitter, which seemed more like a result of the zest than the lime juice itself. if i made it again, i'd probably just add a dash of lime and just let the cran & jalapenos do their thing.

ingredients list: 
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice + 1/2 tsp zest (Warning: scale this back if you don't want it too limey!)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped jalapenos, seeds removed (i used 1 large jalapeno which was just enough)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp mezcal

boxer ramen

from the makers of my favorite Little Big Burgers came makers of noodles (Boxer Ramen), which of course i had to try... finally! similar to LBB the place is packed, and has a simple but fabliss sounding menu, with a tight but carefully selected beer option. i ordered the spicy red miso, and K got the tonkotsu-shio, which is essentially the same thing but not spicy. both came with giant slab of pork belly, about a gallon of broth, and a pound of noodles.






i only made it about halfway through my monster bowl, but what i did have was a GD mouth party - just the right amount of spice, tasty broth (95% importance of the whole thang), crispy green onion... yum. drown me in it.

recipe: slow cooker balsamic beef (or pork) roast

another recipe i've made a bunch of times, went to find on here, and alas... never wrote down. after re-finding it from Skinny Taste's recipe, i made it for Sunday dinner recently and it was so damn good. meat, balsamic... can't go wrong. it's an easy enough that it's good for work nights or a Sunday afternoon that i don't feel like cooking a big meal (the 1 day a week lately that i have been cooking-cooking :).

ingredients list: 
- 2 lb pot roast (or pork shoulder roast, or any other similar cut of beef)
- kosher salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/3 cup beef broth
- 1/3 cup & 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
- 1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 red onion, diced

to make: 
mix the broth and 1/3 cup balsamic in the bottom of the slow cooker. add the beef and season with red pepper flakes, onion powder & garlic powder. pour the honey over the beef, and cook for 6-8 hours on low. add onions during last 10 minutes of cooking. 

once the meat is cooked and tender enough to shred from a pork, remove from the slow cooker, and shred meat with 2 forks. strain liquid from the slow cooker into a sauce pan, and cook over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half. return reduced liquid and shredded meat back into the slow cooker, and add in 2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar. eat!

recipe: white wine cream sauce

so - a few weeks ago i made some dope Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza, which resulted in a delicious

problem of having a bit too much (really good) leftover prosciutto. i didn't want to just slap it on a sandwich and was trying to think of a fun recipe to use it in. then i ran into the most adorable little prosciutto pasta purses at Trader Joe's and it seemed like fate. pasta fates. we grabbed a shallot, a bottle of wine, and i went in search for a nice white wine sauce to pull it all together.

i've made a ton of white wine sauces, but some of them i do so quickly i never remember which i've tried, which i've liked,, etc. etc. hence why i need to write all of this down. i used the wine sauce 101 recipe from winefolly.com, which came out so damn good (that article is worth visiting - lots of little tips/facts for every which type of wine sauce). also hence, why i am writing this down. awesome, awesome dish when it all came together - gobs of awesome sauce, chunks of prosciutto and these little purses full of heaven.

ingredients list (sauce - enough for about 2-3 large servings): 

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 2 tbsp butter, divided

- 1/2 a shallot, finely diced (about 1/4 cup)

- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 3/4 cup wine (i used sauvignon blanc, any dry/minimally sweet wine will do) 

- 1 tbsp flour

- 1 cup heavy whipping cream

recipe: chocolate Reeses Pieces cookies

i've made these cookies a bunch -- they're easy, delicious, and sometimes just more fun to bring somewhere than plain old chocolate chip cookies (which, for being plain, never fail to be amazing and delightful). somehow i never got around to putting them up on here... so alas, the official recipe (taken from allrecipes, Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies).

ingredients list: 

- 1 cup butter, room temp

- 1 & 1/2 cups white sugar

- 2 eggs, room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 cups flour

- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

- 3/4 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 cups Reeses Pieces (or peanut butter chips)

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. prep cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease.

in medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. stir in the eggs and vanilla. combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, and stir dry mixture into creamed mixture. fold in the Reeses Pieces. drop cookie dough into large teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. 

bake for 8-10 minutes, then allow to cool on wire racks. 

recipe: habanero and honey chicken

dinner last night, inspired by the monster chicken breasts thawed in the fridge & small bag of habaneros sitting on my counter. i never know how spicy things are going to be when i add spicy peppers so i usually cook cautiously, but this could have handled another pepper (or few) for a lil extra kick. that said, it was still pretty yum, and easy for a week night dinner since i had prepped the marinade the night prior. boom!





- 2 large bone-in chicken breasts, split
- 3 habaneros, seeded & deveined (mine were very small)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup mango peach juice (orange would work too - this was all I had on hand)
- 1/4 cup & 2 tbsp honey, divided
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar 
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tbsp garlic oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- cayenne pepper to taste

recipe: prosciutto and arugula pizza

after finally being able to find arugula in the store, i celebrated with an arugula and prosciutto pizza. arugula technically is NOT a very good tasting vegetable, it's so damn bitter, but there is something about that bad green flavor that i like. and somehow makes magically little friends with some nice salty prosciutto. i used regular mozz for this, but a fontina or maybe even a gruyere would be nice for a even fancier-pants pie. yum!


ingredients list:
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought 
- 4 slices of prosciutto, thinly sliced
- 2-3 cups of arugula
- 1 cup pizza sauce (we used red, but white would also work well here)
- 1/2 shallot, diced
- 1.5 - 2 cups mozz cheese
- black pepper to taste
- oregano to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tbsp lemon juice

to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. mix 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp lemon juice in a separate bowl, and stir in arugula until fully coated.

preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees.

roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the hot stone. spread sauce onto the dough along with the cheese, shallots, pepper, oregano, and remaining garlic powder (+ any other desired seasonings). bake in preheated oven for about 14-16 minutes. brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking.

sprinkle with prosciutto and arugula, and allow pizza to cool (and toppings to heat up) for a few minutes before serving. 

PDX burgers: Deschutes Brewery

we stopped into Deschutes last week for din - i hadn't been since my apartment-hunting trip out here last year where i had some legit thai spiced wings, so it was about time for a 2nd visit. 

i ordered the elk burger since that was one varietal of animal i have yet to have in patty form -- Durham Ranch elk, gruyere, roasted shallot & thyme mayo, and field greens on a brioche bun. for being a VERY lean/dense type of meat, it still had a fair amount of juice to it, although it seemed to be under seasoned - the meat itself had a good taste to it, but could definitely use a little salt/pepper to make it pop - it was meat and meat alone that you could taste. the toppings were good but also mild, so nothing in it screamed out at me. grade "OK", but with room for improvement (if i can be an uber-picky biatch).  

the wings were spicy, sweet, and lovely, and the curry fries with yogurt sauce dip-dip were on point. just one lil miss in an otherwise good visit.