Ina Garten: Balsamic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I know most people are not Brussels sprouts people, but my family most definitely is.  What's not to like about mini cabbages, especially when they're all roasty and fabulous?  So I'm always looking for a new recipe for these little guys.  This is one is pretty simple, but the balsamic vinegar syrup really balances everything out in a pretty delicious way.  Definitely a keeper.

Note: I did not have a very expensive syrupy balsamic vinegar, so I cooked ½ cup of semi-expensive balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon of honey over medium-high heat until it reached a syrupy 2 tablespoons and used all of it.

Balsamic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts
From Ina Garten

1½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half through the core
4 ounces pancetta, ¼-inch-diced
¼ cup good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon syrupy balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place the Brussels sprouts on a sheet pan, including some of the loose leaves, which get crispy when they're roasted. Add the pancetta, olive oil, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper, toss with your hands, and spread out in a single layer.

Roast the Brussels sprouts for 20 to 30 minutes, until they're tender and nicely browned and the pancetta is cooked. Toss once during roasting. Remove from the oven, drizzle immediately with the balsamic vinegar, and toss again. Taste for seasonings, and serve hot.

Makes 6 servings

Bon Appétit: Why-Is-It-So-Good Gravy

I have never been a good gravy maker.  I can make pretty much anything else on the planet.  But not gravy.  Mine generally comes from a jar or not at all.  So I was a little bit hesitant to try, yet again, to make my own gravy, believing I would only end up being disappointed.  Luckily I was way off base.  This gravy, while a bit of work, is pretty darn delicious.  And don't let that MSG scare you off...it gives it that extra special something.  I finally don't feel like a gravy failure.

Update 11/2020: On remaking the gravy this year, I backed off a bit on the sherry vinegar.  When I originally made this gravy, I found that the vinegar was very pronounced, and I wanted the meaty flavor of the gravy to shine.  Using just 1 teaspoon seemed to work just fine.

Why-Is-It-So-Good Gravy
Adapted from Bon Appétit magazine, November 2019

3 pounds turkey and/or chicken wings, flats and drumettes separated

2 turkey or chicken necks (optional)
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 heads of garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 large shallots, unpeeled, halved
1 (4-inch) piece ginger, scrubbed, thickly sliced
4 ounces crimini, shiitake, or white button mushrooms, torn into large pieces
2 teaspoons black peppercorns, lightly crushed
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup amontillado sherry
Handful of parsley or parsley stems
6 cups turkey stock or low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Accent powder
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss wings and necks in a large cast-iron skillet with 2 tablespoons oil until coated. Roast, tossing halfway through, until golden brown and starting to crisp, 25 to 35 minutes.

Remove wings and necks from oven and add garlic, shallots, ginger, mushrooms, peppercorns, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pan; toss to coat. Return to oven and roast, tossing halfway through, until wings are deeply browned and crisp and vegetables are browned, 30 to 40 minutes more.

Meanwhile, mash together flour and butter in a small bowl with your fingers or a fork until homogenous. Set beurre manié aside.

Remove skillet from oven and set on stovetop over medium-high heat. Add sherry and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until sherry is almost completely reduced, about 2 minutes.

Scrape wings, necks, and aromatics into a medium pot and add parsley and stock. Bring to a low simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer gently, skimming fat from surface occasionally and turning wings so both sides get a chance to be submerged, until liquid is flavorful, mahogany in color, and reduced by about one-third, 30 to 40 minutes.

Fish out wings and necks; discard. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring glass; discard solids. Rinse out pot and pour turkey mixture back in. Bring to a simmer over medium. Whisking constantly, add reserved beurre manié and whisk until completely incorporated. Simmer, whisking often and skimming any foam from surface, until gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in vinegar and MSG. Taste gravy and season with salt and pepper if desired.

Do Ahead: Gravy (without vinegar and MSG) can be made 5 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and chill. Reheat over medium until simmering, then add vinegar and MSG.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Flavor Mosaic: Mango-Peach Habanero Wings

I'm not normally a wing person.  But I was looking for turkey wings and finding nothing.  So I bought these as backup.  But then I found the magical, mystical turkey wings.  So something had to be done.  And what do you do with wings, but slather them with delicious sauces?  And these were pretty darn good.  It would be nice if I could figure out a way to get them really crispy in the oven, but it's worth it to not have to deal with frying in oil.

Mango-Peach Habanero Wings
From Flavor Mosaic blog

24 chicken wings or drummettes with skin (approximately 3 pounds)
Salt and pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¾ cup mango habanero salsa
½ cup peach preserves
¼ cup chopped cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Pat wings dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.  Place the wings on a foil covered baking sheet and cook in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, turning once.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the mango habanero salsa and peach preserves until smooth and heated through.  Brush the mango-peach habanero glaze over each of the wings, both sides, and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes more.  Remove from the oven, brush with additional glaze, and place on a serving plate. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Makes 6 servings

America's Test Kitchen: Best Baked Potato

I know, I know.  A recipe for a baked potato.  Seems a little ridiculous.  But I have to say, while it might be easy to make any old baked potato (hello, microwave!), it's not that easy to make an especially delicious baked potato.  With a nice salty skin.  And tender insides.  This, my friends, is that baked potato.

Best Baked Potatoes
From America's Test Kitchen as seen at The Splendid Table

Salt and pepper
4 (7- to 9-ounce) russet potatoes, unpeeled, each lightly pricked with fork in 6 places
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450°F. Dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in ½ cup water in large bowl. Place potatoes in bowl and toss so exteriors of potatoes are evenly moistened. Transfer potatoes to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and bake until center of largest potato registers 205°F, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove potatoes from oven and brush tops and sides with oil. Return potatoes to oven and continue to bake for 10 minutes.

Remove potatoes from oven and, using paring knife, make 2 slits, forming an X, in each potato. Using clean dish towel, hold ends and squeeze slightly to push flesh up and out. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

From My Impossibly Tiny Kitchen: Stovetop Smoked Ribs

Living in an apartment, it's not easy to enjoy grilling and smoking.  It's basically impossible.  But every once in a while, I think about the stovetop smoker I've got in the cabinet, and I wonder what all I could accomplish with a little research.  So when I got a rack of ribs on sale, I decided now was the time.  Luckily, I'm not the first person to consider this alternative, and the ribs actually turned out much better (and smokier) than I thought.  This is definitely going to be a recurring item.

Stovetop Smoked Ribs
Adapted from From My Impossibly Tiny Kitchen blog

1 rack baby back ribs
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon roasted garlic powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoon wood chips (i used hickory)

Combine the salt, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, Chinese five spice, black pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs, then season the ribs with the rub, front and backside.

Pour wood chips in a pile in the center of the bottom of a stovetop smoker, then fit with the drip tray, lined with aluminum foil, and the rack, sprayed with cooking spray.  Slide on the cover of the smoker until only open by two inches.  Heat on medium until the first wisp of smoke escapes, then close the lid and start the timer for 45 minutes.

Five minutes before the smoking time is up, preheat the oven to 275°F.  Place the ribs in a baking dish and wrap with foil.  Bake 1½ hours, until tender.  Slather with barbecue sauce, if desired, and crisp up the top of the ribs by broiling for about 10 minutes.

Makes 2 to 4 servings

Klobasnek (Sausage Rolls)

My local doughnut shop makes what they call kolaches, but I have been reminded by some people of Czech ancestry that anything with a sausage in it is most certainly NOT a kolache.  Regardless of nomenclature, these little sausage rolls are pretty darn delicious, and they make an excellent and easy breakfast.  I decided to make some of my own, because how hard could it be?  If you have a breadmaker: not very difficult at all.

Note: I made this dough in my Zojirushi breadmaker, which I highly recommend.  It makes quick work of the mixing and rising, so these come together super quickly.

Klobasnek (Sausage Rolls)

¾ cup half-and-half
1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
2¼ cups bread flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus additional for forming
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks, divided use
2⅓ tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing bowl
1 package Eckrich Smok-y Cheddar breakfast sausages
Everything bagel topping

Warm the half-and-half to 105°F to 115°F, and stir in the sugar until dissolved.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top; stir briefly and set aside.

Combine both flours with the salt.  Set aside.

When milk mixture starts to foam, pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer; add the flour mixture, egg, one egg yolk, and butter, and mix until just combined.  Replace the beater with the dough hook.  Knead at low speed for three to five minutes.

Turn out the dough into a bowl greased with butter. Turn the dough slightly to ensure the butter gets on all of the dough surfaces. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place free of drafts until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Punch the dough down and divide into ten equal pieces.  On a lightly floured board,  roll out each piece into a rectangle, about 3 inches long by 2 inches wide, enough to wrap around a sausage.  Wrap each sausage with a piece of dough, pinching the ends together at the bottom.  Place rolls on a baking sheet, very slightly separated.

In a small bowl, beat remaining egg yolk until thin.  Brush the top of each roll with egg yolk, then sprinkle with bagel topping.

Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until the tops are browned, and the rolls are puffed up.

Makes 10 servings

Korean Bapsang: Kimchi Bokkeum Bap (Kimchi Fried Rice)

After the delicious Korean meal I made a week ago, I decided to use up my remaining kimchi on another Korean classic.  I can't even explain what this rice tastes like, and kimchi is certainly an acquired taste, but there's just something tempting about the whole thing.  And before you know it, you've tossed back a whole bowl slathered with yolk and sesame oil, and it's a beautiful thing.

Kimchi Bokkeum Bap (Kimchi Fried Rice)
From Korean Bapsang blog

3 to 4 strips of bacon, diced
¾ cup diced kimchi
¼ small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
3 to 4 tablespoons juice from kimchi
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang)
2½ cups cooked short grain rice
Vegetable or canola oil for stir-frying
½ tablespoon sesame oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 green onion, chopped
2 fried eggs

Heat a lightly oiled large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces. Cook just until the bacon is slightly browned but not crisp. If you don't want all the rendered fat, remove the fat from the pan leaving about a tablespoon.

Add the kimchi, onion, carrots, juice from kimchi, soy sauce, and gochujang. Stir fry until the kimchi turns soft and deep in color, 5 to 6 minutes. Take the time to do this step so the rich flavors develop.

Add the rice along with a tablespoon of oil, if you have removed the bacon fat.

Stir constantly until everything is well incorporated and the clumped up rice is broken up, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scrape up the flavorful brown bits from the pan while stirring. Mix in the sesame oil and the sesame seeds at the end.

Top with the fried egg, and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped scallion and serve.

Makes 2 servings

Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice: Tri-color Sweet Potato Salad

The fun thing about this time of year is all of the neat ingredients you find at the grocery store that are rolling off the farms.  I happened across some beautiful colored potatoes, so I figured it might be nice to try a cold salad with as many colors as I could get in one bowl.  The potatoes were pretty delicious, and the sweet potato made a nice foil for the regular potatoes.  The spinach helps you feel healthy, but the sweet mustard dressing is the real star.

Tri-color Sweet Potato Salad
Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice blog

1 pound russet potatoes
1 pound sweet potatoes

1 pound purple potatoes
4 large eggs
½ pound applewood-smoked bacon
½ cup diced red onion
1 packed cup fresh baby spinach leaves

Dressing:
¾ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the potatoes, cut them in half and place them in a big soup pot or divide them between two large saucepans. Cover with water and bring to a slow boil. Cook until fork tender 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and let cool.

Meanwhile, add the eggs to a small saucepan, bring to a slow boil for about 10 minutes. Drain and add cold water to the pan to cool them off.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking pan with aluminum foil and lay out the bacon in one layer. Bake until crisp, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels and chop.

Make stacks of the spinach leaves, roll them up and thinly slice (chiffonade).

Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes and add to a large bowl. Peel and chop the eggs - add to the bowl with the onion, spinach, and bacon.

In a small bowl whisk all dressing ingredients together until well combined. Pour about half of it into the bowl along with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until well combined, adding more dressing as needed. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.  Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Makes 8 servings

Nestlé Toll House Treasury: Butterscotch Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake is pretty nostalgic for me.  It's one of those cakes that my mom would make from a box mix every once in a while, and there's just something about the crunchy caramelized sugar top that really makes this delicious.  Naturally, when I found a recipe that also included butterscotch chips, I had to try it.  The chips help make what is normally a little bit of a bland cake into something really special, but I might just include them in the batter only next time.  There's something about brown sugar topping that nothing else can match.

Butterscotch Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Adapted from Nestlé Toll House Treasury

2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 (12-ounce) package Nestlé Toll House butterscotch flavored morsels, divided
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 (8-ounce) cans sliced pineapple, drained and reserve ¾ cup juice
7 maraschino cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In a 10-inch cast iron skillet over low heat, combine 1 cup butterscotch morsels and ¼ cup butter.  Stir until morsels are melted and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat.  Arrange pineapple and maraschino cherries in skillet.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, remaining butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat until creamy.  Gradually add flour mixture alternately with reserved pineapple juice.  Stir in remaining 1 cup butterscotch morsels.  Pour over pineapple.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Immediately invert cake onto serving plate.

Makes 10 to 12 servings

My Korean Kitchen: Bulgogi (Korean Grilled Beef) and Aeri's Kitchen: Ssamjang (Wrapping Sauce)

After the time I spent in Korea many years ago, I occasionally get a craving for some of the foods that I ate on a regular basis there.  And this is definitely one of those foods.  There are actually several different meat dishes that you can eat wrapped in a shiso leaf with rice and spicy sauce, but this tends to be the easiest to make in the US without a dedicated Korean table grill.  And I just happened to find a nice package of thinly sliced ribeye, so...

Bulgogi (Korean Grilled Beef)
Adapted from My Korean Kitchen blog

1¾ pounds ribeye or top sirloin (or any tender prime beef cut), thinly sliced, ⅛-inch thickness
½ onion, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
½ carrot, peeled and thinly sliced on the bias

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

2 green onions, thinly sliced
Red lettuce leaves
Ssamjang (see below)

Marinade

6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, rice syrup, or honey
2 tablespoons rice wine (mirin)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 Asian pear or Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and grated
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine the marinade ingredients.  Place the thinly sliced meat, onion wedges, and carrot slices in a mixing bowl and pour the marinade over all.  Mix well while gently massaging the meat with your hands.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or move the marinated meat into a glass container with a lid) and marinate the meat for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat a skillet on medium high until well heated. Add the vegetable oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom. Add the meat and vegetables and cook on medium high to high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the meat and vegetables cook to your desired doneness. Toss in the sesame seeds and green onions and stir to combine.

Serve wrapped in lettuce leaves with ssamjang and steamed white rice.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ssamjang (Wrapping Sauce)
From Aeri's Kitchen blog

2 tablespoons soybean paste (doenjang)
1 tablespoon red pepper paste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon honey
½ tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon sesame seeds

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. If you like to eat this often, you can make a larger portion ahead of time and then store it in the refrigerator to serve whenever you need it.

Makes ¼ cup