Make this for thanksgiving!

Ok sorry for starting off a little on the blunt side but seriously – you need to make this for your family and yourself.  As a special request post today I am bringing you the brussel sprout recipe from our thanksgiving feast that so many of you emailed about and are dying to try.

Not everyone loves brussel sprouts, not everyone is a big fan of plums but put these two together with the crunch of a pine nut and the sweetness of a maple glaze and I honestly think nothing else matters.  The texture and flavor profile in this dish is stunning.  Can you believe I said stunning?  Yeah I guess you are right…. I am a bit of a flake at times so it is not that uncommon.

Enough horsing around here, I am going to give you the recipe, show you a couple of pictures and almost twist your arm to try this recipe.  You will NOT be disappointed.  I Promise.

Ingredients

• Brussel sprouts – 1 1/2 pounds, similar sizes if able.
• Olive oil – 2 Tbsp.
• Salt – 1/2 Tsp.
• Fresh ground black pepper – 1 Tsp.
• Cayenne pepper, ground, 1/4 Tsp.
• Plums – 3/4 lb,
• 4 Tsp. pine nuts
• 1/3 Cup maple syrup

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Clean, prep and half brussel sprouts. Remove loose leaves, cut through stem to half larger sprouts, and cut a cross into the stem of the larger sprouts. This should allow the different part of the sprouts to cook at the same rate.
3. Coat well with olive oil then add salt as well as pepper and cayenne as desired.
4. Roast in preheated oven for about15 minutes. This will vary slightly with the average size of the sprouts.
5. During the initial roasting slice ripe plums into wedges and remove pits. Try to keep the wedges about the same size of the brussel sprouts.
6. Toast pine nuts in a dry pan till slightly brown and aromatic.
7. Reserve 1 tsp pine nuts and grind or mash the remaining into a paste. A mechanical girder will work, but avoid a used coffee grinder. A mortar and pestle will work best.
8. After 15 minutes add to the plums to the partially cooked brussel sprouts and mix before returning to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
9. Heat the maple syrup to a slow boils and add the paste of pine nuts and mix.
10. Pour syrup over roasted plums and sprouts and mix well.
11. Serve warm
12. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Proportions can be changed or altered with ease depending on what is available and if you do not have maple you could substitute honey and the same goes for the pine nuts.  Use what you have on hand.

So there you have it… a must try with brussel sprouts for your next holiday dinner, your next week night dinner, maybe a snack on Saturday night, or just something you make and let me know how it turned out.  I am excited for you guys to try this because I am confident you will love it.  Have a great weekend and a super Friday.  Talk to you on Monday.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday to you! Canadian Thanksgiving here at home, Columbus day in the US and what I think is a regular Monday in the rest of the world. I have a special post for you today. Not only do I have a thanksgiving recap from the zesty in laws on Saturday night I have a cheesecake that Sister in Law zesty made that will blow your mind. Do you get excited about food like I do? When I saw the spring form pan makes it way to the table at around 7:36pm Atlantic time on Saturday night, I may have gotten a few chills down my back with excitement. Spring form in my simple mind means cheesecake. Cheesecake means HOLY YUM.

This was know exception.  Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake! Yeah I know  – ridiculous.  I could not wait to sink my fork into this piece of work.  But give me a minute and I will tell you how she made it.  She altered the recipe slightly from all recipes and the details are below.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups crushed gingersnap cookies
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/3 Cup butter, melted
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 Cup white sugar, divided
• 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 Cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 Tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 Tsp. allspice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture and place in the fridge.
3. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture.
4. Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top.
5. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.
6. Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan.
7. Allow to cool before removing pan rim.
8. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
9. ENJOY!

This is my small portion.... do note the butter tart pie that was also amazing! Maybe I will share that later on this week for you to try.

Zesty Tip: Zesty in law did mention that putting the extra one cup of mixture aside in the fridge was something she would do again.  Also remember with spring form pans and cheesecake, always wait until the cake has cooled before removing.  makes life easier.

OK, so as you can see that was delicious… and I realize I started backwards with the dinner recap.  But that is OK.  I am going to do a picture recap of the entire meal right now so you can enjoy in all it’s beauty.  I will start off with a picture of the menu so you can related to the pictures.  If you want any recipes just let me know in the comments and I will get them for you.

As you can see, this is no ordinary turkey dinner that you would have on Thanksgiving. This is high end folks and I know that I am super lucky to be part of this so bear with me and get thru this masterpiece.

Brussels prior to plating. This could win an award for taste

Parsnips prior to hitting the wood oven

rumbling beets getting ready for the big dance

A little stuffing.... oh dear I can feel my pants getting tight again

Caramelized onions that you could add to whatever you wanted.

An action pea shot... before the bacon.

Honestly, these brussel sprouts! Unbelievable!

WOW, as I review these pictures, I am hungry again and think back to how amazing this dinner was.  I am actually going to make some chocolate chip pancakes for the kiddos here now and than maybe do some house work before heading to Momma Zesty’s for another turkey day.

Have a great day wherever you are in the world and I will come back on Wednesday for more excitement.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Friday!  With Thanksgiving fast approaching in the US (I forgot to do this post for the Canadian Thanksgiving), I thought this would be a great time to quickly go through my favorite eats at Thanksgiving.

First off I will start with saying that it was really hard to limit this post to 5 items because I truly love everything about thanksgiving.  But here goes:

1. Turkey

This really does have to be one of my favorite meats to eat. I love turkey with all the fixings and even in sandwiches, soups and casseroles.

2.  Fig and Maple Brussel Sprouts

Recently introduced to me this year, this dish was a knockout! I mean the combination of flavors and textures were over the moon.

3. Homemade Cranberry Sauce

A classic yet one of my favorite side dishes with turkey. You can find out how to make this easy delicious dish.

4. Turkey Dressing/Stuffing

A true family favorite for sure.  You have to be quick to this bowl to ensure you get some.  A little turkey, a little dressing and a touch of cranberry.  What a bite!  This is also great on a turkey sandwich.  Not the most healthy of choices but… can you really worry about that around this time of year?

5. Sticky Date Pudding

I great dessert after a big dinner. I love the combination of warm caramel sauce coupled with the cool ice cream sitting a top a super moist cake. I sometimes classify this as heaven! This sticky date pudding is delicious.

Now Tell Me Yours!

This is where I want everyone that reads this post to come out of the wood work and mention at least one of your favorite foods around Thanksgiving. I think it will be fun and I just realized that I left my favorite sweet potato dish out of the top 5. Very shocking but that just goes to show how much I like food! Ok I better run to the flooring store and pick out grout. I will talk to you on Monday. Have a great weekend.

I am doing a big food demonstration tomorrow morning for a large group of people so I will be sure to let you know how it goes. The topic I am focusing on is – Not so traditional Christmas foods and ways to prepare them.

Talk to you Monday.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty