Tag: recipes

Maple Bourbon Bacon Brussels

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Drool. This dish is fantastic, and a real show-stopper when shared with friends in some sort of seasonal bacchanalia.

Gluten-free, paleo-ish

  

Maple Bourbon Bacon Brussels

1 lb. brussels sprouts
1/2 – 1 lb. bacon
2 Tbsp. grainy mustard (I prefer Maille)
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
Sprinkle something hot (I used dried ghost peppers)
Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Bacon fat or other Fat Of Choice
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup maple syrup

Brown the bacon in your largest pan over medium heat. While your bacon is browning, shred the brussels. Remove bacon to paper towels – don’t ditch the fat. If you have a bunch of kinda burnt bacon bits, pour the fat off into a bowl or cup, deal with the bits, and put the fat back into the pan and the pan back over heat.

Add the shredded brussels to the pan with the fat, along with 2 generous pinches Kosher salt. Stir to combine fully. Add the mustard and stir to incorporate fully. Add the nutmeg and hot stuff; stir again.

Sautee, stirring frequently, until the brussels begin to brown. If your brussels look a little dry during this time, add more fat – more fat = more better; it’s the holidays.

When the brussels are a little browned at the edges, add the apple cider vinegar, bourbon and maple syrup. Stir to combine. Sauté until the liquid cooks out and the brussels are as browned as you’d like, making sure to stir frequently so nothing burns.

Crumble the reserved bacon and sprinkle over top. Taste and add more salt/heat/acid as needed.

Serves a bunch as a holiday side

Thai Pumpkin Chicken

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This dish is really easy to make, holds for a long time, and is flavorful and warming. And it’s healthy – a win/win/win.

Edit: I made this a week or so ago, and I’m still thinking about it. And I’m kinda upset I don’t have it to eat right now.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30

 

Thai Pumpkin Chicken

1 can coconut milk
1 lb. chicken thighs
3 stalks dried lemongrass
3-4 dried kefir leaves
1 kabocha squash or other pumpkin
1/2 large onion
2 Tbsp. green curry paste (check labels!)

Peel the squash, de-seed and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Add to a crock pot with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on high 4 – 6 hours.

Serves about 4

Creamed Corn with Chipotle Oil

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What to do with late-season corn when you’re suffering from corn fatigue? Grind it up and make a great base for some slow-cooked meat!

Gluten-free, vegetarian

 

Creamed Corn with Chipotle Oil

4 ears corn, 3 – 4 cups kernels
2 Tbsp. ghee or butter
2 cloves garlic
1/2 can coconut milk
Kosher salt
2 tsp. adobo sauce
2 Tbsp. avocado oil

Strip the corn from the cob. Add to a pot with the ghee and cook over medium heat until beginning to brown. While the corn is cooking, peel and smash the garlic.

When the corn is browned in spots, add the garlic, 2 big pinches salt and the coconut milk and kick the heat down – simmer 10 minutes.

While the corn is cooking, blend the adobo sauce and avocado oil together.

Drizzle over the corn and serve.

Serves 3 – 4 and makes the perfect foil for last week’s short ribs.

Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs

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This meal makes a great transition into fall, taking the last of the summer corn and comboing it with nice and hearty short ribs.

Gluten-free, paleo-ish

 

Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs

2 lbs. short ribs
1 cup red wine
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 bunch thyme, 2 sprigs rosemary & 3 bay leaves tied in a bundle
1/2 head crushed garlic
4 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
Apple cider vinegar (optional)

Dump all ingredients into your slow cooker. Cook on high 6 hours.

Remove beef and set aside to cool. While cooling, put the cooking liquid into a large pot over medium heat and reduce by half; this took me about 40 minutes. When the cooking liquid is reduced to your liking, blend.

Pull the beef and pour the sauce over top. Taste. Adjust as needed – I added 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 2 more big pinches salt and 2 big pinches red pepper flakes.

Serves 4

Fiery Roasted Squash

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This makes a nice departure from roasted sweet potatoes as a mostly hands-off weeknight side.

Gluten-free, paleo; vegetarian & vegan if you swap the fat

  

It’s not as burnt as it looks – promise – I got a little carried away with my Hipstamatic app.

Fiery Roasted Squash

1 kabocha squash
2 Tbsp. melted ghee or other fat
2 Tbsp. spicy harissa (I use Mina)
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 big pinches Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 F. Peel and chop the kabocha – kabocha isn’t the easiest squash to peel, I used a knife and kind of shaved the skin off.

Prep a baking sheet with foil.

Toss all ingredients together and spread out into a single layer on the baking sheet.

Bake 20 minutes, flip, and bake an additional 20 minutes until roasted.

Serves 4 as a side

Sesame & Pear Kale Salad

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This little number is quick to whip up and bursting with healthy flavor.

  
Gluten-free, paleo (check labels), vegetarian

Sesame & Pear Kale Salad

1 bunch kale
1/2 an Asian pear
2 serrano peppers
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tsp. ketjap manis or coconut aminos or soy sauce
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

In a large bowl, add the washed and chopped kale, the chopped pear, and the de-seeded and diced chilis.

In a small bowl, whisk everything else together.

Combine, massaging the dressing into the kale with your fingers.

Serves 2 for dinner

Chipotle Pumpkin Soup

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Faced with an unexpected CSA prize – an adorable pumpkin – I set out to find something fitting to do to this noble squash, aside from sitting it on the edge of my counter so I could ogle it daily, luxuriating in the little bit of Fall brought into my daily line of sight.

I researched pumpkin recipes high and low, got frustrated because it seems everything calls for canned pumpkin or butternut squash (because let’s face it: pumpkins are fickle, unpredictable bastards and a crap item to use in baking), or is a soup. I *always* make pumpkin soup.

That’s because pumpkin soup is delicious.

I settled on the flavors from one soup married to the flavors from another, with the cooking method of a third – and lo and behold, this soup was born. It’s hands-off lazy girl cooking at its finest, utilizing the crock pot and nothing else. And it smells divine while burbling away on the countertop all afternoon.

Note: As written, this soup is on the liquidy side. If you like super thick soups, you could probably get away with halving the stock or maybe omitting altogether.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian and vegan if you use vegetable stock, Whole 30

 

Chipotle Pumpkin Soup

1 2 – 3 lb. pumpkin
1 small onion
2 chipotles in adobo
13.5 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 c. broth (I used some leftover bone broth stashed in the freezer for just such an occasion)
2 – 3 cloves garlic
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
Kosher salt
White pepper
The juice of 1 – 2 limes

Peel and chop your pumpkin into chunks. Add to a crock pot. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Add. Chop the chipotle and add. Add the coconut milk, broth (mine was still frozen), cumin and oregano. Hit with 2 big pinches salt.

Cook 4 hours on high.

When cooked and cooled a bit, blend (be careful – need I remind you that piping hot liquid + a blender is a recipe for disaster if one is not really really careful?). Taste. Add the juice of 1 lime and a couple pinches salt. Taste. Add more lime and/or salt as necessary. I used 2 limes + 6 big pinches salt and a smattering of white pepper.

Serves 2 – 4, depending upon how large your servings are.

Silky Eggplant Puree

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This is a primal riff on a Middle Eastern classic, and is the perfect accompaniment to broiled lamb steaks.

Gluten-free, primal

  

I swear. On day 1 this lumpy glob was silky and smooth. Even bumpy, this purée tastes amazing.

Silky Eggplant Puree

1 large eggplant
2 Tbsp. grass fed unsalted butter
1/4 c. sheep pecorino
Kosher salt
Optional: lemon juice and pepper

Set your broiler to high and cover a baking sheet with foil.

Take the ends off your eggplant, and quarter. Lay face-down on the baking sheet.

Broil 15 minutes or until the skin is blackened and starting to burn in spots.

Flip. Broil until the flesh is soft, 5 – 10 minutes (I did 5 minutes for the thinner top pieces and 10 for the thicker bottoms).

When your eggplant is done, add to the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and cheese and blend until silky.

Taste. Add salt as needed (I did 2 big pinches). Taste again. If needed, add a dash of lemon juice or a couple cracks pepper.

Serves 4 as a side

Half-Baked Chicken

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Half a chicken. I had no idea this was a “thing” until I received one in my CSA share a couple of weeks ago. I saw it, had no idea what to do with it, and promptly shoved it to the back of the freezer until I ran out of meat – and it was between learning what to do with half a chicken and trying to phrase dinner excitingly enough that two tiny lamb kidneys sounded like a buffet.

I figured it was time to face the half chicken. If you, like me, have zero idea what to do with this bizarre bird configuration – you’re in the right place. Here, I have cobbled together instructions from a couple different sites into something that works well for a simple dinner.

Throw in a few chopped carrots (and those radishes that were hiding in the bottom of my crisper) and I had myself a full meal that was relatively hands-off. Perfect for the amount of effort I had to expend.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30

 

Half-Baked Chicken

Half a chicken
Fat of choice
Seasoning mix of choice
Kosher salt & black pepper
Root veggies – I used most of a bunch of carrots + a whole bunch of radishes

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Rub your fat of choice all over the chicken + on a large oven-proof skillet (big enough to hold the chicken + veggies). Season liberally with your favorite seasoning mix (I used a vaguely Asian mix I picked up in my butcher’s impulse spice section) and salt & pepper if necessary.

Place the chicken cut side/open cavity down. Bake 15 minutes, or until the skin starts to brown.

While the chicken is working, chop the veggies.

When the chicken is done, pull it, arrange the veggies around it, kick the heat down to 350, and put the chicken back in. Bake until the thigh registers 165 – 180 F, about 20 minutes per pound.

Let sit out of the pan 10 minutes to allow the juices to re-distribute. While the chicken is resting, make sure your veggies are cooked through and seasoned to your liking.

Serves 2 – 3 for dinner

 

 

Paleo Pasta Puttanesc-ish

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Eggplants, man. What to do with a bountiful eggplant season when half your household hates them is quite the yearly conundrum. I’ve made meatballs with them, used them to lend silky body in meat-based Indian dishes, made a dipping sauce out of them, and have found a myriad other ways to tuck them into dishes well enough to hide the texture.

This go ’round, I opted for pasta sauce.

Gluten-free, paleo, whole 30

  

Paleo Pasta Puttanesc-ish
Globe eggplant (about 3-4 cups cubed)
Spaghetti squash
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 lb. ground turkey
2 anchovies
5-6 roma tomatoes (about 2.5 cups chopped)
Dried mushrooms or mushroom powder (I used 2 Tbsp. dried porcini)
2 Tbsp. capers
2 big pinches red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
Fat of choice
Kosher salt & black pepper
Optional: pecorino or parmesan

Preheat your oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set aside. Halve the spaghetti squash lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, season generously with salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil and place face down on the sheet. Bake 30 minutes.

While the squash is baking, make the sauce by whizzing together the eggplant, tomatoes, anchovies, garlic, mushrooms, capers, onion, red pepper, half the tomato paste, and 4 Tbsp. of the worcestershire sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary.

When the sauce is ready to go, brown the turkey in about 2 Tbsp. fat of choice. Season with the remaining 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and worcestershire sauce, generous dashes salt & pepper, and the dried basil and oregano. Cook through and set aside.

When the 30 minutes on the squash is up, move the squash to the outer sides of the baking sheet and dump the sauce in the middle, spreading out so more surface area hits the heat. Bake an additional 15 minutes.

When the 15 minutes is up, check the squash. If a knife pierces the skin easily, it’s done. If not, let cook an additional 10 minutes, stirring the sauce before putting back in the oven. I let mine cook those extra 10 minutes, and then stirred the sauce once again once the squash was removed from the pan – letting just the sauce bake an additional 5 minutes.

Scrape the flesh of the spaghetti squash with a fork to create “noodles”, and toss with the sauce and the turkey. Taste once more and adjust seasoning if needed.

Serves 4