Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and White Balsamic Vinegar

Are you tired of the same old vegetables served at holiday gatherings? I know I am. This recipe is a perfect new take on the traditional Brussels Sprouts and best of all, they are so easy to prepare! My lovely SIL Wendy makes a version of this tasty treat every year at Thanksgiving (it may be because I always ask her to), but I’ve never made it at home! So for our Christmas “Do-Over” last month I decided to give it a go. Make it vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and omit the pancetta, but you may need to add a bit extra salt.

We had a Christmas “Do-Over” because JT’s 90 year old father wasn’t well enough to travel to Peterborough where JT’s sister kindly hosted the dinner since we weren’t sure we would have power. This tasty side dish is easy to eat and fast to prepare, what more could you want? Oh, yes, it’s tasty too.

Aren’t Brussels Sprouts just very tiny cabbages?

Serves 8-10 as part of two other side dishes.

Ingredients:

• 500 g (about 14 cups) washed Brussels sprouts, shredded
• 50 g (about 1/2 cup) pancetta, finely chopped
• 1/2 (about 1 cup) sweet onion, finely sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced finely
• 50 mL (about 1/4 cup) white balsamic vinegar, or to taste
• 100 mL (about 1/2 cup) chicken stock

Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven, crisp the pancetta to golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel, set aside.
2. Add the onion and cook until translucent, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Deglaze the pan with the white balsamic and chicken stock. Add the shredded Brussels sprouts and sauté until slightly wilted. Stir in the pancetta. Serve hot.

You’ll never think the same way about Brussels sprouts.

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Fall Split Pea Soup with Ham

Hi everyone, a quick update. Our hydro was restored sometime in the middle of the second night but we had already booked into a hotel not far from home. There is something so depressing about darkness, pitch darkness — not being able to find things and tripping over things, plus we wanted a warm bed and a hot shower! (Even though the house is gas heated and we have an on demand hot water domestic and heating system, the pumps are electrically operated, so there was no heat nor hot water!) I guess we could have put the fireplace on and bundled up, but not being able to shower or even eat (didn’t want to open the fridge). My biggest fear was the chest freezer in the basement but fortunately we are in great shape, there were no signs of defrosting at all. The refrigerator freezer didn’t fare so well, nor did the fridge. I suspect that when the power went off, the compressor had a lot of residual heat in it that just dissipated up (as heat rises) into the freezer and the fridge. So we had to toss a lot of stuff. But I remind myself that we were lucky, much luckier than our poor brothers and sisters to the south and east. They’ve lost more than a few shrimp and scallops! Thanks for your kind word of encouragement, we’re all good now. Now back to regular programming.

Today was a rainy, windy and chilly day. In fact, it rained all day. So uninspiring but we needed dinner tonight and lunches for the next day, so back into the kitchen I went and prepared what turned out to be a real winner: Fall Split Pea Soup with Ham.

A hearty and flavourful soup for a chilly, rainy day

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 175 g finely chopped onion
• 175 g cubed cooked ham
• 50 g pancetta, cut into small slices
• 20 g garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 cups green and yellow split peas
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 5-8 cm (2-3″) cinnamon stick
• 3 cups water
• 4 cups low sodium chicken stock

Directions:

1. In a pressure cooker cook the pancetta until crispy then add the onions and until translucent.
2. Add the split peas and sautée for a minute.
3. Add the garlic and cumin and sautée for about 30 more seconds (or until you can smell the aroma), add the ham, water and stock. Now add the paprika and cinnamon stick.
4. Seal the cover and cook under pressure for 45 minutes or until the split peas have softened (I use a fairly low setting). You should check the water level twice during the process to make sure it hasn’t boiled down to nothing, stir. If the liquid is too reduced, add more.
5. Serve with a dollop of low fat Greek yogurt and home made bread.

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Spinach Salad with Warm Orange Dressing

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, my brother and his family came for brunch this past weekend and I wanted a slightly healthier salad to go with a slightly less healthy savoury bread pudding (you can see a similar recipe at Bits and Breadcrumbs, but my version had ham and cheddar cheese, you get where I’m going with this?). This spinach salad comes from an old recipe book that I bought for my MIL about 15 years ago. She had talked about Oprah and her chef and that they were coming out with a cookbook, In the Kitchen with Rosie; she loved Oprah, so I made a mental note and put it on her Christmas list. Well, I should have known because she went out and got it for herself, so then I was stuck with the book.

There are some darn good ‘low fat’ recipes in this little book and some great tricks as well. But the one recipe that keeps making an appearance in my kitchen is the warm orange dressing on a spinach salad (this one is for you, Lisa). Now you can add what-ever you wish to create your very own spinach salad, but this is what our’s had on Sunday: baby spinach, hard-boiled egg whites, grape tomatoes (I like the colour), a little crispy fried pancetta (I know, not healthy but there was not very much of it), thinly sliced mushrooms, orange sections and toasted pine nuts. When you toss this lovely salad with the warm dressing a symphony of flavours start playing in your mouth. So delicious.

A slightly healthier alternative to Spinach Salad

Warm Orange Dressing

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 Navel orange
• 1⁄3 c Shallot, minced finely
• 2 Cl Garlic, peeled and minced finely
• 5 T White Balsamic vinegar
• 2 t Sherry vinegar
• 1/24 cup of orange juice with pulp

Directions:

1. Peel the orange and remove the white pith, and separate the segments (do this over a bowl in order to reserve the juice). Squeeze the residual juice from the membranes into the bowl and reserve; add the additional OJ to this mix.
2. In a small saucepan, add the shallots, garlic, vinegars, and reserved orange juice, and bring to a boil over low heat.
3. Just before you wish to serve, combine all the salad ingredients, add the warm dressing and toss to coat.

I know it's just salad, but doesn't it look yummy?

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