Leafy Brussels Sprouts with Nuts

When making Faith’s, of An Edible Mosaic, Saffron Rice I needed another side to have a filling dinner.  We didn’t have any meat or fish in our fridge, so instead I opted for a veggie side dish.

Sam and I love brussels sprouts- and this variation was a perfect way to indulge.  For those of you looking for Thanksgiving side dishes, this is definitely one to consider.  The brussels sprouts came out light, slightly sweet and a perfect pairing with this rice.  And with the leaves peeled, this gives you just a slight variation of texture, and elegance to this side dish!

Leafy Brussels Sprouts with Nuts
Adapted from: Kiss My Spatula

1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried pomegranate seeds
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb brussels sprouts
1 tsp olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

To prepare the candied nuts, mix the pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds and pomegranate seeds with 1 tbsp of butter, brown sugar and 1/4 tsp salt in a saute pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until everything is slightly caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Using a small knife, cut off the brussels sprout stems, then peel off leaves.  You can discard the middle of the sprout.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat, add the butter, olive oil and shallots.  Saute shallots for about 1 minute, then add the brussels sprouts, 1/4 tsp salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Gently stir the brussels sprout leaves until they are slightly caramelized and the edges begin to brown.

Once cooked, mix the brussels sprout leaves with the candied nuts in a large bowl.  Then divide the greens and serve.

Christmas Cookies: Pecan Snowballs

As I promised…Christmas cookies!!!

Sam and I are excited to spend our Christmas on a little vacation- we’ll show you some photos after we come back- not make you too jealous!  But we spent tonight (Friday) with some of Sam’s family.

It’s always enjoyable to spend time with friends and family, especially at this time of the year.  We are very grateful to be surrounded by many wonderful people on both sides of our families, and enjoy seeing each and every one of them.

Last night we tried to make some cookies for tonight, unfortunately they didn’t turn out well (but we’ll be trying them again soon, I’m not discouraged!).  Since we ran out of eggs and I still wanted to make some holiday cookies, I was trying to find some recipes that did not require eggs.  We ended up trying out two of them, I think both were a hit tonight.

Below is the first one- a little snowball.  This is a great quick recipe which can be eaten at any time of the year, not just during the Christmas.  But they definitely look very festive on beautiful red plates!

Pecan Snowballs
Adapted from: The Kitchn

1 cup of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans (can be chopped in a food processor)
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and 1/4 cup of powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 3 minutes) with a stand/electric mixer.  Then add the vanilla and water, keep mixing the mixture.

In a small bowl, blend together flour, pecans and salt.  While the butter/sugar mixture is being blended, slowly add the flour/pecan mixture.  Once the dough is well incorporated, roll pieces of dough into marble-sized balls.

Place each of the balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 20 minutes, or once the bottoms of each ball are slightly brown.  When the cookies are baked, allow them to cool for about 5-10 minutes.

In a shallow dish distribute powdered sugar at the bottom.  Take each ball and roll it around the powdered sugar, it should be sticking to the pecan ball.  Take a bite and enjoy with some hot chocolate or egg nog!