Roasted Yams, Beets, & Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries

Since Thanksgiving Dinner is so laden with heavy, rich food I decided I wanted to try something with yams this year that was a little healthier. Here's what I did:

Roasted Yams, Beets and Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries

4 large garnet yams, peeled and cut into chunks (about and inch and a half square or so)

5 beets, peeled and cut into chunks

1 stalk brussel sprouts- I cut these guys off the stalk, cleaned them, cored out the center and pulled the leaves apart, discarding the innermost core part.

2 large handfuls dried cranberries

I mixed all of these together and seasoned with salt and pepper in a large bowl. Then I drizzled it all with a generous pour of olive oil and the juice of one fresh lemon from our tree. Tossed it all well and then spread it out on a baking tray (one with sides). Roasted at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes. My sister-in-law and I each tossed it all around a couple times throughout the roasting so it cooked as evenly as possible. So yummy! The smoky taste of the brussel sprouts is complimented really nicely by the sweetness of the root vegetables and the cranberries. I'll definitely be making this again!

Pistachio Cupcakes

My guy and I went to the opening of an art gallery in a little town in the foothills not too long ago. We hadn't seen our friends Dave and Michelle for a while so when Michelle suggested we check out her Aunt's opening and have dinner we were game. Why not? Something different, something fun. A nice little Saturday night. At the gallery opening they had an hors dourves table with lots of yummy little bites, our favorite being these tiny pistachio cupcakes. A portion of our dinner conversation then, of course, included Michelle and I trying to figure out how one would go about making these little morsels. Enter the internet. I found a recipe here that turned out pretty good. I made up my own version of a cream cheese frosting to go on top, though, because that's what those tiny little bites of happiness had on them. 

Just to be clear. I consider myself to be a pretty good cook. I can find my way around the kitchen with usually quite tasty results, no problem. However, I have never, nor will I ever profess to be an accomplished baker. Nope. So, yeah. This recipe called for a cake mix. It's not completely "from scratch". Whatever. It was easy and tasted good. I'm guessing it was the club soda that made these babies so incredibly light and fluffy?  

The recipe has you use the cake mix, 3 eggs, 1 cup canola oil, a package of pistachio pudding, and a cup of club soda. I used my KitchenAid stand mixer (which I LOVE) to mix everything up. Slow speed for 30 seconds and then on full/fast for 2 minutes. When it's done mixing, the batter is all fluffy and airy.

I am a big fan of cream cheese frosting. Our wedding cakes (yes, there were 2. I'm from Texas. That's how we do it.) both had cream cheese frosting. The wedding cake was layers of Italian Cream and Carrot Cakes with cream cheese yumminess and the Groom's Cake was German Chocolate with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Ahhhhh-mazing! But enough about that. The cream cheese frosting recipe I have in my trusty book is my mom's and it's incredible. But it also calls for a crazy amount of butter and I just wasn't feeling it. So, I stayed pretty true but just left out the butter. I used the whole package of cream cheese, 2 tbs orange juice, 2 tsp of vanilla and then I just added the powdered sugar until it tasted right. Again, I just set the KitchenAid loose with it. Then, I poured it into a ziplock bag and stuck it in the freezer to cool while the cupcakes finished baking and cooled.

Once everything was cool, I snipped off a corner of my frosting bag and did a pretty simple decorating job.

Since I'm a detail girl I figured I'd make the cupcakes pretty by sprinkling some pistachios on top. I don't know if you can get already shelled pistachios. You probably can, but I had unshelled in the pantry so there ya go. I shelled them, peeled off the skins, crushed them up a bit and dusted them on top of each frosted cake. I think they were a nice touch!

Green Bean & Tomato Salad

I love summer and all the yummy fresh veggies that are available in our area. I "borrowed" this salad from a spot here in town called Camp 4 Wine Bar. D and I stopped in there a few weeks ago to enjoy some tasty paninis and salads for lunch and the owner, Damon Robbins, brought out samples of the latest salad he's been working on. I, of course, paid very close attention when he told us what was in it! I tried recreating it at home and I have to say it turned out pretty good! Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

About a pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-3 inch pieces

2 large tomatoes

Feta cheese

3 fresh basil leaves

Dry sherry

Olive Oil

Red wine vinegar

Salt

Pepper

To start, I placed the beans in a steamer basket in a pot and steamed them until they were just barely cooked. Still nice and crunchy. Once they were done, I immediately placed them in an ice bath to "shock" them, or stop the cooking process. While those were cooling, I got the tomato yumminess going. Cored, seeded and chopped the tomatoes. Minced the basil. Mixed this all in a bowl with a cap full of Dry Sherry (Damon actually said he used Sherry vinegar. I didn't have any of that so I improvised...), about a tbs of olive oil, a couple shakes of the vinegar and some salt and pepper. To serve, I made little piles of the beans on each plate and then settled a hefty scoop of the tomatoes on top. Finished off with a little crumbled feta and voila! Delicious....on a side note, I picked up the tomatoes and the beans at my favorite fruitstand. You cannot beat the freshness and flavor of veggies fresh from the farm rather than sitting in the grocery store. I've gotten to where I just don't eat tomatoes when they're not available at the stand because they're just not worth it. No taste. Mushy. Yuck. Oh, and I got the basil from my own lil backyard herb garden! Yumm!