Maple-Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Rutabaga with Hazelnuts

Posted on December 21, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

I am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight home to spend Christmas with my family for the first time in 4 years and coming from a family that loves to eat, I couldn’t be more excited! My sister-in-law and I have been planning Christmas dinner for the last week, picking the perfect sides, appetizers and drinks for our first Christmas on the Island.

I love brussel sprouts and root vegetables, they are the perfect winter dish, which is why I was automatically drawn to this recipe. I’ve done roasted root veggies before with olive oil and some S & P… but the flavor of the maple syrup and hazelnuts make this dish amazing.

Its a perfect side for chicken, turkey or beef (we are doing it with a stuffed beef tenderloin…recipe to come). This has become one of my favorite new brussel sprout recipes- last time I tweaked it and added 1 pound of parsnips (pealed and diced). You could add just about any root vegetable to this recipe and it would be fantastic! Enjoy!

Maple-Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Rutabaga and Hazelnuts (Click for printer friendly version)

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds rutabaga, skin removed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (5 cups)
3/4 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1 ounce toasted hazelnuts, chopped (1/3 cup) (optional)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together maple syrup, oil, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add rutabaga, and toss.
Transfer rutabaga and all but 2 tablespoons glaze to a rimmed baking sheet (leave remaining glaze in bowl). Spread rutabaga in a single layer, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and roast for 35 minutes, tossing halfway through and making sure rutabaga is spread toward the edges of pan.
Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. Toss brussels sprouts with remaining glaze in bowl and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Remove sheet from oven, and add sprouts. Toss, and spread in a single layer. Roast vegetables, tossing every 5 minutes, until glaze is very thick and vegetables are deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Season with pepper and sprinkle with hazelnuts.Recipe from Whole Living

Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Blossoms (Gluten Free too!)

Posted on December 18, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

Christmas = peanut butter blossoms (to me). I am a huge fan of peanut butter and chocolate any way you serve it, but these cookies are always the best! I found this easy recipe a long time ago online and since then I’ve tweaked it to make it better. These are gluten free and only require 6 ingredients that you probably already have laying around in your kitchen! Whats better than not having to go to the store? I always manage to go in to the grocery store only needing bananas and almond milk and I some how end up with $60 worth of crap in my cart (even when I use the small one!) needless to say saving a trip to the store is good for my bank account! Here’s what you’ll need..

Ingredients-

1 cup creamy peanut butter (don’t use the fancy stuff for this, Jiff or Skippy works best)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
Hershey’s Kisses (unwrapped please!)

Instructions-

Preheat oven to 350. Combine sugars in medium bowl. Beat egg and vanilla, combine with sugar. Add peanut butter and stir until completely incorporated. Using your hands, roll dough (about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons) into balls and evenly place them on a un-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before pushing a kiss gently into the center of the cookie. Allow to cool completely before covering (the kisses will be soft while cookies are cooling down) Enjoy!

Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on December 17, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

I have been on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie and I’ve found it… the most delicious chocolate chip cookie EVER.

Nutella on anything is amazing- then you stuff it inside a chocolate chip cookie and you’re on cloud 9. I found this recipe on Ambitious Kitchen yet another one of my new favorite blogs. Two tricks to this recipe, browning the butter before mixing it with the sugar gives the cookies a wonderful nutty flavor and making sure to refrigerate the dough before baking it keeps the cookies chewy and plump!Three different kinds chocolate chips (dark, milk and semi-sweet) combine for awesomely chocolatey cookies.

I don’t know if I’ll make a normal chocolate chip cookie again! sprinkling the cookies with some coarse sea salt gives that salty sweet combination that I love! Gooey and delicious, you’ll be addicted too!

Nutella Stuffed Brown-Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently fold in all of the chocolate chips.

Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes (I tried putting mine in the freezer the first batch and found it was nearly impossible to work with the dough- so try to leave enough time to put dough in the refrigerator even if its only for 1 hour).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the dough ball very thinly into the palm of your hand. Place 1 teaspoon of chilled nutella in the middle and fold dough around it; gently roll into a ball — it doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled! Make sure that the nutella is not seeping out of the dough. Add more dough if necessary. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies 9-13 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. I continued my holiday baking with an updated version of the chocolate cinnamon pretzels I blogged on before. This time I used pretzel thins which catch even more cinnamon, sugar and chocolate! I crushed up some candy canes and sprinkled them on top! Its a great combination! I’ve packaged up all my holiday goodies! Happy Holidays everyone!

Rose’s Caramel Graham “Crack”er Bark

Posted on December 11, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

This holiday treat is totally addicting (you will see why I call it crack once you’ve made it) and a huge crowd pleaser. The delicious recipe is courtesy of my friend Jacki’s mom, Rose, who always has this graham cracker bark around the house during the holiday’s. The best part about it…it’s a snap to make and you can tweak the toppings to your liking! The classic recipe calls for slivered almonds, but we also added dried cherries to one and dark chocolate chunks to other (we doubled the recipe). Next time I’d love to try this recipe with some chopped pretzels or popcorn or a little Fleur de Sel sprinkled on top. Bring this to your next holiday party and you’re sure to be the most popular guest! Thanks Jacki and Rose for sharing! Enjoy! 🙂

Rose’s Graham Cracker Bark

Ingredients:

12-14 graham crackers
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
Slivered Almonds (or another kind of chopped nut)
Dried Cherries (Optional)
Dark Chocolate (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 350degress. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay graham crackers side-by-side on the cookie sheet so there are not gaps between the crackers. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter on medium heat until completely melted. Slowly add brown sugar to the melted butter and stir. Allow to the butter and sugar mixture to boil and thicken for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove sugar from heat and pour sugar mixture over graham crackers, spreading evenly. Sprinkle graham crackers with slivered almonds, cherries or chocolate (or both!). Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from the oven and allow it to cool completely (this is the hardest step as you will want to eat it right away!) before breaking bark into smaller pieces. To store, line tupperware or tin with wax paper, separating each layer of bark with another sheet of wax paper. Enjoy!

Baked Brie with Wild Blueberry Preserves and Candied Pecans

Posted on December 9, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

Holiday party season is upon us and if you weren’t at some kind of holiday gathering last weekend, I bet your calender is already chock-a-block full of ugly sweater and end of the world parties in the coming weeks. Holiday parties can be stressful and if the World really is going to end on the 21st you don’t want to spend your last precious moments on Earth stressing about what you’re going to serve to your guests. This baked brie is super easy, really tasty, only requires 5 ingredients and looks pretty on your table (seriously what could be better than that? baked creamy cheese wrapped in a delicious layer of flaky dough?) I’ve tried using other preserves like apricot or marmalade with this recipe- but I always come back to the whole blueberry preserves, the flavor combination can’t be beat! Don’t skimp on the cheap-o jam for this- the real chunks of blueberry make all the difference! Enjoy!

Blueberry Baked Brie with Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 8oz wheel of brie (for larger or smaller wheels add more or less preserves)
1 8oz can Pilsbury crescent dough sheet (the crescent rolls will work too but the seamless sheet of dough is better!)
1/4 to 1/2 cup blueberry preserves
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2-3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and unroll crescent dough on to cookie sheet. Place unwrapped wheel of brie on dough and spread evenly with preserves. Depending on your taste you can add more or less preserves. Being careful not to rip a hole in the dough, pull dough around the cheese tucking the corners into each other. Some people try and make this look fancy- I just fold the dough so there are no gaps or exposed cheese- the candied pecans will distract anyone from noticing you attempted to etched Rudolph on to the top of your brie wheel. If the end of the world really is less than two weeks away, do you really want to spend your last moments on Rudolph? I didn’t think so.

Looks perfect, right? Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. When the brie has about 5 minutes remaining in the oven, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar to melted butter and stir until fully incorporated and it begins to thicken slightly. Remove from heat, add chopped pecans and stir. Remove brie from oven and transfer to serving platter. Pour sugar mixture immediately over brie and serve with crackers, pita chips or french bread. Enjoy! This is my favorite preserves to use for this recipe but any whole berry preserves will work!

Chocolate Cinnamon Pretzels

Posted on December 5, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

This recipe was a Pineterst find. They turned out great and would be perfect holiday party snack! The original recipe called for white chocolate (which I hate) So I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and added some creamy peanut butter to the melted chocolate… I had to bag them up before I ate them all they were so tasty! This is the first of many blogs dedicated to Christmas/Holiday recipe ideas. Sign up to get my emails and I will be randomly selecting one of my followers to receive a goody bag with some of the holiday cookies and sweets I’ll be blogging on! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 16ounce bag of pretzels (I took the recipes advice and got the checkered pretzels so they would catch more chocolate)
2/3 cup oil (I used vegetable)
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup cinnamon/sugar mixture for sprinkling
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or white chocolate if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon creamy peanut butter (optional)

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together oil, sugar and cinnamon.
Pour bag of pretzels into microwave safe bowl and pour sugar mixture over them. Mix with your hands or use another bowl to pour mixture back and forth so all the pretzels get coated with the mixture.
Microwave for 1 minute, remove and stir. Microwave another 45 seconds- 1 minute make sure the pretzels are warm.
Spread pretzels evenly on to two cookie sheets covered with parchment paper and generously sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture while the pretzels are still warm.
Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a double boiler or in a sauce pan on low heat while constantly stirring, making sure not to burn the chocolate. Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled pretzels.
I popped the whole cookie sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes to make sure the chocolate was hard before putting in air tight containers or decorative baggies.

Black Dog Quahog Chowder

Posted on December 3, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

Nothing compares to jumping on the Martha’s Vineyard ferry and grabbing a cup of fresh quahog (clam) chowder and a beer! It can be 85degrees and humid and I’ll still get a pipping hot clam chowder for the 45min ride to the rock. A really well done, thick and creamy New England style clam chowder is hard to come by- especially living in Utah… While I would much rather use FRESH clams for the recipe, these chopped clams did the trick. If you can get your hands on fresh clams (usually wholefoods or specialty seafood stores has them still in the shell) use those or if you are smart like my mother is, she cooks fresh clams in the summer and freezes them in batches for later. If you’re from New England you know what the Black Dog is, this is their famous chowder recipe and it comes out just as tasty at home as it does in their dining room. This view from my aunt’s porch and a glass of wine = a PVD (Perfect Vineyard Day)… You can see how easy it is to love this place, awesome views, great food and even better friends! From my pretend MV kitchen to yours…Enjoy!

B.D. Quahog Chowder – Serves 8-10 Ingredients:

2 ounces salt pork, rind removed
2 cups diced onion
1 cup diced celery
3 cups diced potatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups shelled quahogs with juice (6-7 cans of chopped clams in their juices)
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 quarts light cream

Dice the salt pork and sauté in a large pot until translucent. Add diced onions and celery and sauté for 5 minutes.

Pour in about 1 1/2 cups of the juice from the clams and add the potatoes and seasonings. Simmer this mixture until the potatoes are tender. This should take about 10 minutes.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. When it is bubbling, add the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. This is called a roux. Roughly chop the quahogs reserving any liquid.

Put the light cream in another saucepan and set aside. When potatoes are tender, add the quahogs to the large pot and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the roux and continue simmering for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. This is your chowder base, it will be very thick.

Working with the light cream again, scald the cream by heating it until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan. Do not boil.

Stir the hot scalded cream into the chowder base, mix together, and remove from heat. At The Black Dog, they serve it topped with a dollop of butter (I left that part out) and oyster crackers in a coffee mug. Recipe from The Black Dog Cook Book.

Black Dog Quahog Chowder (Click for printer friendly version)

Scalloped Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin

Posted on November 28, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

This is one of my holiday staples. I made it for Christmas last year and Thanksgiving this year. I love scalloped potatoes of any kind but this combination of sweet potatoes and fresh herbs is so delicious! I got this recipe from an old Bon Appetit magazine back in 2008. Its a huge crowd pleaser, simple and bound to be a hit at your next gathering! Enjoy!

Scalloped Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin (Click for Printer friendly version)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 1/2 pounds medium red-skinned sweet potatoes
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely grated Gruyere cheese (I used Jarlsberg)

Working with 1 Yukon Gold potato at a time, peel then cut into 1/8-inch-think rounds and place in a bowl of cold water. Repeat with Sweet Potatoes. (I used my cuisnart to cut the potatoes, a mandolin or sharp knife will also work)

Combine cream, butter, and garlic in medium sauce pan bring to a simmer (this will boil over so make sure to watch it… I forgot this..) Remove from heat. Mix all herbs in small bowl. Mix salt and pepper in another small bowl.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Drain potatoes, then pat dry with kitchen towels. Transfer half of potatoes to prepared baking dish using your hands to spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of salt and pepper mixture, half the herb mixture and half the cheese.

Repeat process with remaining potatoes, salt and pepper, herbs and cheese. Pour cream mixture over gratin, pressing lightly to submerge potato mixture as much as possible. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until top of gratin is golden and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes; serve.

Serves 12. This can be made 6 hours ahead of time. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until you are ready to bake.

In between cooking, baking and eating, Jake and I went out for a few runs.

We rounded off our Thanksgiving meal (and our belly’s) with Uncle Jay’s Cheesecake. YUM!

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus

Posted on November 25, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

I hope all of you are recovering from your turkey comas and excess family time. Its weird how a 4 day vacation that revolves around eating can make you feel like you need a vacation after your vacation (or at least a gym membership). I had a wonderful weekend of eating, skiing and relaxing (and cooking) with Jake and friends. This recipe is one of my favorites from Food52 – which is literally one of the best cooking websites I’ve ever been to. You really can’t go wrong with pancetta, leeks and asparagus… So enjoy this Absurdly Addictive Asparagus recipe that is super simple and a guaranteed crowed pleaser (for your next holiday gathering) or a quick fix on any night! Enjoy!

Absurdly Addictive Asparagus (Click for Printer friendly version)

Ingredients:

4 ounces pancetta, cut into 3/8 inch to 1/4 inch dice
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced into 2 inch pieces
1 1/4 cup leek, thinly sliced crosswise (white and pale green parts only)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1-2 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

First, chop pancetta, asparagus, and leeks and set aside. In a large non-stick pan, saute pancetta, stirring frequently until golden brown and slightly crispy.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to pan. Add asparagus pieces and leeks and saute until asparagus becomes tender, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic, lemon and orange zest, toasted pine nuts and parsley and saute another 1-2 minutes until fragrant and asparagus has reached desired tenderness. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. This dish can be served along side just about anything! The citrus flavors of this dish work perfectly with a simple linguine with shrimp and lemon oil recipe that I love!

A French baguette to push it all onto your fork does the trick!

Just put the F*cking Turkey in the Oven…

Posted on November 20, 2012 by skibootsinthekitchen

Mary Risley of Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Fransisco created this video as a “guide” to cooking your Thanksgiving turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce. It’s freaking fantastic… and I quote, “I used to compare myself to a turkey, big breasts and short legs.” This is one of the best cooking videos I’ve ever seen. My family has known Mary Risley for many years and I had the pleasure of visiting her cooking school one year to taste some of her delicious recipes. She is an outstanding chef and culinary guru. If you haven’t already, sign up to get her monthly news letter which always has awesome recipes! I blogged on one of her recipes earlier this fall Pumpkin, Spinach & Tomato Gratin. If you follow her advice and just put the f*cking turkey in the oven I guarantee it will be delicious! (just make sure the oven is on!) Happy Thanksgiving!