Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Friday night, I dreamed about these brussels sprouts. More importantly, I dreamed that I was in the running to win a James Beard award just for these brussels sprouts. Well, to be more specific, Dan was in the running to win the James Beard award. I'm not sure why he was getting the credit, but I didn't even care as long as these brussels sprouts got the recognition they deserved.

That's how freaking good they are. Dan was going to get MY faux James Beard award and I DIDN'T EVEN CARE.

Going into Thanksgiving, I knew I was making roasted brussels sprouts, but I hadn't quite decided on a recipe. With three conflicting recipes, there were lots of decisions to make. Bake at 400 or 425? With shallots or without? Bacon or no bacon? Simple or with dressing? In the end, I sort of made it up as I went along and worked with what I had (which meant a last minute switch from a sheet pan to a baking dish).

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Yield: 6-8 Servings

Ingredients:
1/2 lb bacon
3 lb brussels sprouts
2 shallots, sliced thinly
olive oil
salt & pepper
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay bacon out on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Bake bacon for 25-30 minutes, or until crispy. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set aside and increase the oven heat to 400.
2. Trim the ends off the brussels sprouts and cut in half through the root end. Place brussels sprouts in a 9x13'' baking dish with shallots. Drizzle olive oil over top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
3. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, tossing occasionally to promote even cooking. Meanwhile, chop or crumble bacon. Add to brussels sprouts and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the brussels sprouts are tender and starting to caramelize, another 20-25 minutes.
4. Remove vegetables from the oven and drizzle with vinegar and honey. Toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve immediately.

The Jefferson Gingerbread House 2011

Last night we unveiled the giant Gingerbread House my co-workers and I have been working on for the past month!

Isn't it cute! Ok, so I'm a little biased since I put my blood, sweat, tears, and hours of work into it. Hey, you try unwrapping 300 starbursts without jabbing yourself under the fingernail with those sharp little paper corners.

It was actually a really fun project to work on. It's located in the lobby of the Jefferson Hotel here in Richmond and is huge as far as gingerbread houses go. It's plenty big enough to fit 3 or 4 people inside, standing up (if you're a little on the shorter side)! Here are some in-progress shots.

Just starting to put the roof shingles on

The finished roof, chimney, and walls. We attached all the bricks one by one 

and mortared in between all of them with royal icing.

Starting to put the candy and fondant decorations on

Almost finished!

I love the roof!

Ready for showing!

The front door

A peak inside at the Christmas tree, presents, and gingerbread-tiled walls 

(as one of the shortest people working on the house, I spent a lot of time in there)

The "working" fireplace

See, told you it works

Santa!

The pastry staff inside our creation!

At the unveiling

To answer some of the most common questions we were asked last night at the Christmas tree lighting and house unveiling-
Yes, everything on the house is edible except the wooden structure underneath.
It took about a month to complete and 350 hours of labor.
Everything is attached with royal icing. No glue was used.
When we're finished displaying it, the whole things gets demolished. No, no one eats it and we don't save it for next year.
The bathrooms are through the doorway and to the right.

We were already thinking up ideas for next year! It will be on display through the whole month of December, and the whole hotel is decorated beautifully for the holidays. Come see it if you get a chance!

Cranberry Sauce

I know most people like to post Thanksgiving recipes, you know...before Thanksgiving. But I like to live life on the edge, which means waiting until the (in my opinion) most important holiday of the year to test out new recipes.

Yeah, you can imagine how fun it is to be in my kitchen on the big day. This year I totally winged it on the salad dressing, tried a completely new technique for baked sweet potato fries, mashed together three recipes for roasted brussels sprouts, made the always risky decision to bake yeasted rolls, used a brand new recipe for brownies, made my own additions to an apple tart, and found this last minute recipe for cranberry sauce. Thank goodness I wasn't in charge of the turkey or who knows what would have ended up on our plates.

The bad news is I was absolutely no help with planning your Thanksgiving meals. But come on, I knew you had it handled. The good news? Now I can share all the winners, leave out the sweet potatoes losers, and maybe give you some good ideas for the fabulous holiday parties I know you'll be hosting before the end of the year. Or just for dinner tonight!

To be fair, cranberry sauce is usually toted out once a year just for one night. But it's sassy. It deserves more than one night out a year. And to date other birds. Cranberry sauce with orange roasted chicken? I think yes. Or, if nothing else, you'll have a fail-safe cranberry sauce all lined up for next year.

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 orange
1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp water
Sugar, salt, pepper

Directions:
1. Trim the peel from the orange in long, large pieces, trying to avoid as much of the white pith as possible. Reserve the orange for another use.
2. Place all but 1/2 cup cranberries in a small saucepot. Add sugar, orange peel, and water to the pot. Place over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Increase the heat to medium and continue to cook until the cranberries burst, another 10-12 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the reserved 1/2 cup cranberries. Taste and add sugar, salt, and pepper as necessary. Remove the pieces of orange peel and discard. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Recipe Notes:

• I doubled this recipe for our meal of 12 and had plenty of sauce for dinner and some leftovers. However, if doubling, still reserve just 1/2 cup fresh cranberries to stir in at the end; 1 cup will overwhelm the sauce.

Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network