Brenda's Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 4 slices of smoked bacon, chopped
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. In oven safe skillet or casserole dish crisp bacon over medium high heat. Remove bacon and set aside on plate lined with paper towels. Dispose of fat in the skillet.
3. Return skillet to stovetop. Deglaze pan with white wine, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan.
4. Add shallots and sauté for about 5 minutes.
5. Add Brussels sprouts and olive oil and mix together to combine and evenly coat.
6. Place skillet in oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and add butter and bacon, toss to combine.
8. Salt and pepper to taste.

A sophistiated and impressive twist on an incredibly simple side dish, and a perfect accompaniment for your Thanksgiving Day meal.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs green beans, washed and trimmed
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp minced shallots
• 2 tbsp  lemon juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Toast walnuts and cranberries on baking sheet at 375 for about 3-5 minutes, careful not to burn. Let cool and coarsely chop.
2. In mixing bowl whisk: lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon, olive oil, and shallots.
3. Boil green beans in salted water for about 5-7 minutes. Until tender yet crisp. Strain and shake off any excess water.
4. Combine green beans and Dijon mixture. Toss to coat evenly. Top with walnuts and cranberries. Add salt and pepper to personal taste.

Lemon Herb Potatoes

•  4-5 russet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp thyme

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Wash and slice potatoes into wedges or whatever shape you prefer. Place on baking sheet.
3. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and thyme.
4. Pour over potatoes and coat evenly, using hands.
5. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from oven. Using metal spatula, flip the potatoes in pan. This will keep one side from burning.
6. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes until potatoes are crisp and golden.
7. Remove and serve with a squeeze of lemon over top.

Pumpkins are not just for decoration this time of year! The sugar pumpkin is a wonderfully versatile ingredient to be used in fall cooking. It pairs well with sweet flavors like honey, maple syrup or brown sugar. While also being nicely complimented by savory tastes like thyme, crushed red pepper , sage and salty cheeses. Sugar pumpkins can be found at any local supermarket. They are not be confused with the larger pumpkins that are used for carving. These are smaller, sweeter and are less fibrous, which makes them great for cooking and baking with.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend picking one up next time your at the store and seeing what you can do with it!

Here is my recipe for a sugar pumpkin risotto.. it just might be the most delicious risotto I’ve made to date. My two year old told me “Mmmmm, It’s really good Mommy” after every bite tonight!

Ingredients:

• 1 sugar pumpkin (should yield about 4-5 cups of pumpkin cubes)
• 2 cup Arborio rice
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 clove of chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoon of butter
• 4 tablespoon of olive oil
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1  cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
• 2 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Half, seed and peel sugar pumpkin. Dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Put on baking sheet with 2 tbs of olive oil, 2 tbs of brown sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix together so that cubes are evenly coated and place in oven to bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven a few times and mix pumpkins around so that the bottom side doesn’t burn. When sugar pumpkins are tender and slightly browned remove from oven. Puree or mash half and leave the other have in cubes. Set aside till its time to add to the risotto
3. For the risotto you’ll need two separate sauce pots. In smaller one bring 6 cups of chicken stock to a simmer. In larger  pot, melt 2 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of olive oil. Add chopped onion and garlic season with 1 tsp salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until onion is soft and translucent.
4. Add rice and toss to coat the rice evenly. Let rice toast a bit, about 5 minutes.
5. Add white wine. Stir often
6. After the rice absorbs the wine, gradually add the chicken stock about a 1/2 cup at a time, stirring often.
7. Once all the stock is used, the rice should be just slightly al dente yet very creamy and smooth textured.
8. Fold in pureed and diced pumpkin along with the gruyere cheese. Stir together until cheese melts and pumpkin is distributed throughout the risotto.