Happy (Virtual) Thanksgiving!

In our household, we don’t really have traditional family recipes. I’ve never subscribed to the notion that a holiday isn’t complete without green bean casseroles or candied yams on the table. Instead, I like to mix it up with new dishes appearing each year.

What we do have is a family recipe tradition. As long time readers will recall, my son and I started one of these a few years back. He had returned from school with some cockamamie story about our Thanksgiving dinner written on a construction paper turkey. The tale involved mashed potatoes shaped like turkey legs, cooking the turkey for an hour, and stuffing it with French Fries. While the first two suggestions were ludicrous to me, the third had possibility.

Since that year, our Thanksgiving family recipe tradition is that Thor and I concoct some new and unusual stuffing for our bird. Last year’s dressing was cornbread, black bean, poblano peppers, and chorizo. With this recipe as the centerpiece, we went with an entirely Southwestern theme to our feast. It was a delicious meal, spicy and rich with one dish in particular standing out as a star: Brussels Sprouts Chilaquiles.

Incorporating a generous helping of bacon grease, crumbled tortilla chips, and caramelized onions, it was quickly devoured leading me to think this recipe might actually become a tradition in my house at Thanksgiving or any other day.

Bacon-Brussels Sprouts Chilaquiles
Serves 4-6

This is not a dish for the dietetic. It’s unabashedly full of bacon and bacon grease – a natural partner to Brussels sprouts. I keep a small container of rendered bacon grease in my fridge, which I use as a fat in cooking certain dishes like this one. If you don’t have a ready supply of bacon grease and still want to make this recipe, just cook more bacon slices at the end of the recipe. Save them for another purpose, eat them, or throw caution to the wind by including them all in this recipe.

2 ½ tablespoons bacon fat
1 medium yellow onion, chopped into small dice
¼ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 pound Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved
¼ cup amber beer
¾ cup turkey stock
3 slices bacon
2 cups corn tortilla chips
Juice of ½ lime
Salt, pepper, and hot sauce

Melt two tablespoons of bacon fat in a covered skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook slowly until golden brown. Sprinkle the cumin and chile powder on top of the onions. Cook until fragrant, merely a few seconds. Stir in the Brussels Sprouts and stir to coat. Pour in the beer, increase the heat to medium, and cook until slightly reduced. Add the turkey stock, cover and cook until the Brussels sprouts are almost tender, just about five minutes. While the Brussels sprouts are cooking, render the bacon slowly until brown and crispy. Drain. Uncover, crumble all of the tortilla chips into the pot. Add a little more stock or water if the liquid has evaporated. Cover again and cook until the chips are softened. Season with lime, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Crumble the bacon into the dish. Serve warm.

Posted as part of Williams-Sonoma's Virtual Thanksgiving. For more recipes, visit the Blender blog.

Love Your Veggies!

To make up for my lack of new recipes recently here are three delicious vegetarian side dishes for Thanksgiving, a day of feastial indulgence.

While my household loves its meat, we have quite a few vegetarian recipes in our rotation. Last March, during a period of high stress, my husband, Mike, had an attack of gout, a hereditary condition that is exacerbated by a diet high in protein. From then on, Meatless wasn't just for Mondays anymore.

Here are three delicious vegetarian, even possibly vegan with some simple modifications, dishes for your Thansgiving Table. For more vegetarian recipes for Thanksgiving, check out Focus Organic, which included the following recipe.

Carrot-Quinoa Cakes
6 servings

As pictured above, these little cakes are delicious paired with seared sea scallops. They complement the mollusks delicious sweetness.

3 large carrots
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for sautéing
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped onion
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked according to the package
3 tablespoons quinoa or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dill, chopped

Peel and slice the carrot approximately 1/2 inch thick. Cover with water in a small saucepan and bring the water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender approximately 20 minutes. Drain and then puree in a food processor or mash until smooth. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the onion until softened and lightly caramelized, approximately 6 minutes.. Add the cumin and cook for another minute. Mix the carrot puree, quinoa, onions and flour in a medium bowl. Form into cakes 2-inches in diameter and sauté in olive oil until golden on each side. Mix together the yogurt and dill. Top each cake with a dollop of yogurt.

Brussels Sprouts with Salad Turnips, Pomegranates and Pistachios
4-6 servings

1 tablespoon unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk of Brussels Sprouts, preferably purple, sprouts removed and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
1 salad turnip, thinly sliced
¼ cup pistachios, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon pomegranate seeds

Heat the butter or oil in a saute pan and cook the onions slowly until caramelized. Add the Brussels sprouts and stir to coat with the fat. Add the salt, water, and pomegranate juice and cook until the leaves are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and add the turnips, cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve garnished with pistachios and pomegranate seeds.

Broccoli and Roasted Garlic Puree
4-6 servings


Puree seen in the background (advance apologies for its meaty partner).

1 bunch of broccoli, florets separated from the stalks
1 small head of garlic, roasted
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the florets and cook for 3 minutes or until bright green and crisp tender. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and drain. Slice the stalks and add to the water. Cook for 7-10 minutes or until they're tender. Drain. Puree the stalks and half the florets in a food processor with the roasted garlic cloves. Add olive oil and salt and serve garnished with the florets.