RAW Brussel Sprout Salad

Due to tremendous demand, I have pushed aside the PILE of other posts I had lined up and now bring you my now famous and widely coveted Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranates and Candied Pecans. I really don't see what's not to like in this salad. Brussel Sprout haters? Bet you've never tried it raw- am I right? And you know what- raw brussel sprouts aren't like raw kale where your jaw gets a workout and your innards get a good scrubbing. This salad reminds me of a coleslaw- rough greens with a tangy dressing and lots of delicious little goodies. And if you insist, go ahead and add some bacon- it wouldn't be amiss.

Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Candied Pecans
Inspired by a salad from Radish in Williamsburg, NY
I dressed this salad up for Thanksgiving with candied pecans, but for an everyday salad just throw in some toasted walnuts. It's all good. And the dressing asks for white balsamic vinegar but this is to avoid muddying up the salad. I've made this a couple times and still haven't procured any white balsamic vinegar... do as I say not as I do- am I right?!

For the Salad

• 1 overflowing pint of Brussel Sprouts
• 1 Pomegranate

For the Shallot Dressing

• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or regular)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper (or black)

For the Candied Pecans

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
These nuts are very easy to make and make a great gift. Just add mason jar + ribbon!

• 1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• Generous pinch of cayenne pepper 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon water

Start off by making the candied pecans. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

Combine the sugar, salt, cayenne pepper and cinnamon making sure there are no lumps. In a medium bowl whisk together the egg white and water until frothy. Add the nuts to the egg white mixture and mix until coated. Sprinkle the sugar mixture on top and keep adding it everything is nicely coated. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure the nuts are in one layer. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid clumps of sugar nuts. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously until emulsified. Set aside

To remove the seeds from the pomegranate, fill a large bowl with water. Carefully cut the pomegranate in quarters. Working underwater, tear the quarters apart, releasing the seeds. The white pith will float to the top and the seeds will sink. Once you've freed all the seeds use a fine mesh strainer to strain out the pith floating at the top, then poor the water out through the strainer to catch the seeds. Rest the strainer over the bowl to dry the seeds while you finish the salad. 

The easiest way to cut the brussel sprouts is to use a food processor. Wash and trim the brussel sprouts and feed them through the food processor tube fitted with the slicing attachment. If you don't have a food processor, you can use a mandolin or a knife! Just slice as thin as you can manage. 

Toss the shredded brussel sprouts about 3/4 of the pomegranate seeds and 1/2 the dressing to start. Once you are happy with the ratios, top with a good handful of the candied pecans. 

This salad keeps pretty well in the fridge for a few days. 

No, not the slider- the salad beside it!

Mini Nut Wreaths

Last year I made a nut wreath for my front door. Then I made one for my Secret Santa recipient. See, I worked for a historic site that has a squirrel as a mascot. I thought I was being terribly clever. This year I couldn't wait to pull out the wreath again and when I did I thought that it would be fun to have some mini-wreaths to decorate the indoors. 

They are the perfect size for pillar candles. And any unused nuts make for a great seasonal and decorative but bowl- Just add a nut cracker and an empty bowl for people to discard the shells.

And if you want to get extra merry- add some fake berries!

Mini Nut Wreaths

• Nuts! Almonds, Walnuts, Hazelnuts and Brazil Nuts
• Mini-wreath ($1.99 at Micheal's)
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Branch of fake berries ($1.99 at Micheal's) 
• Pliers
• Pillar candle

Place you pillar candle in the middle of the wreath to make sure it fits once all the nuts have been added. Use your hot glue gun to add the nuts.Work in sections, beginning with the walnuts and brazil nuts, filling in with the hazelnuts and almonds. Once you've made it all the way around, you can begin adding the fake berries. Use the pliers to clip the berry sprigs off of the branch. It helps to periodically place the wreath on a dinning room table and sit down to see if there are any big open spots- I had to adjust my nuts and berries to fill in the bottom. 

Cranberry Pie

I'm gonna be honest. I've been cooking all day and I've had a few beers but I need to post this cranberry pie because it's awesome, I made it again tonight and no one believes in its awesomeness. This is for tomorrow when people are all: "OMG cranberry pie! Gimme recipe!!" *shoves pie into mouth*

If you've got your pie dough down, this recipe is super easy. Ya just mix the filling ingredients together in a big bowl and DONE. I highly recommend the double crust, but do what makes you happy. Today, what made me happy was a lattice crust. I've never done that before so we'll see how this one turns out. But go nuts! This is the time to experiment with maple leaf and turkey cookie cutters- or sprinkling raw sugars on top at the end after using an egg wash or maybe even a milk wash! Can you feel the enthusiasm!!

"Gobble gobble!" means HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Cranberry Pie 
Adapted from "Sampling's from Sully's Hearth"
My only thought here is to make sure to keep a double crust. The filling is fantastic with the crust and you just need to make sure that the ratio is right. Also- if your pie dish is deep, increase the filling by 50% but do not add more water. My pyrex dish above was fine with the regular recipe, but my Emile Henry pie dish needs the extra half recipe.

• 2 balls of Pie Dough
• 3 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 tbls flour
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla

Roll out both balls of dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Use 1 to line a 9" pie plate and leave the other between the parchment paper. Place both in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and place in chilled pie shell. If desired, cut out decorative elements, then lay the rolled dough over the pie shell. Fold the edge under the lower pie shell and crimp the two layers together.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes. Cool before serving.