Cabbage Tots

After visiting local restaurant Bocado recently, I have a new found love of brussel sprouts. I filled up on sprouts and red wine alone - and I could have kept eating them. Anyway, I've been on a search ever since to find a recipe to make them at home. I think the secret is all in the roasting technique.


Ingredients:
1-1/2 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut through the core into quarters
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. minced shallot
1-1/2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice; more to taste
1-1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. lightly packed finely grated lemon zest

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a medium bowl, toss the sprouts with the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread the sprouts out evenly on the two baking sheets.
2. Roast until the sprouts are tender 20 to 22 minutes, stirring the sprouts once or twice during roasting. (Note that any loose leaves will be browning deeply; if they seem to be actually burning, turn down the heat a bit or just pick out the burned leaves.)
3. While the sprouts cook, combine the butter and shallot in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the butter is melted and the shallots are soft, about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and continue cooking, swirling the pan, until the milk solids in the butter turn golden brown and the butter smells very nutty (take care that none of the shallots burn), about 2 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice, thyme, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to dress the sprouts.
4. Slide the sprouts into a medium bowl, add the vinaigrette, and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or lemon, and serve immediately.


*Adapted from a recipe here.

Veggie Quiche with Hashbrown Crust

Here is part 2 of the breakfast quiche experiment from Friday. While I'd rather have my breakfast casseroles full of pork products and cheese, I recognize that not everybody I work with eats pork. So I made a very similar recipe with a few changes.

Ingredients

• 3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1/2" pieces
• 1/2 cup diced sweet onions
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and chopped finely
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch casserole dish or pie pan, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown..

Sautee the onions and peppers until they start to soften and caramelize, then remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients with the cooked veggies. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Blackened Tilapia

On the menu: blackened tilapia, couscous, and veggie mix. I tried my hand at "blackened" tilapia today by first creating my own spice mixture with a little help from the internet. It included everything from paprika to onion powder. Couscous is just a stable at my house, because its delicious. The veggie mixture included onions, garlic, corn, tomatoes, and peas sauteed in a teeny bit of butter with a splash of apple cider vinegar. Best part of all: leftovers will make a great lunch tomorrow! Hooray!