Brussel Sprouts with Spicy Carrots: Novel, Zesty, FreshBy foodjoyaOur Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Spicy Carrots are soft inside and crispy on the outside. Thanks to the spices and the lime juice, they are zesty and not bitter. We achieve softness by roasting them covered for an extended period of time. We make the outer leaves crispy by finishing our brussel sprouts under broiler. After years of roasting this wonderful vegetable, we've noticed that lime juice - especially in combination with mint and chives - substantially softens its bitterness and brightens up its color. The idea to add carrots came from Food & Wine's America’s Greatest New Cooks 18 (2012). Spices, herbs, cooking methods, and even vegetable cutting methods are entirely ours.delicata squash salad: unexpected big flavorsBy foodjoyaOf all squashes, Delicata is our favorite. With its velvety texture, honey-like flavor and extraordinarily delicate edible skin, Delicata is the queen of the squashes. In our Delicata Squash Salad, we juxtapose the sweetness and creaminess of Delicata squash with the spicy, crunchy pecan nuts. We use cinnamon and cardamom, cayenne and chili, shallot and cilantro to create a uniquely fragrant, spectacular dish. Even though it's quick and easy to make, this delight tastes as a fancy restaurant dish! When winter squashes are in season, we eat the Delicata Squash salad at least once a week. What is your favorite Delicata squash recipe?Eggplant Caviar (French) with Herbs, Roasted TomatoesBy foodjoyaWhen I was growing up, Eggplant Caviar was our summer staple. We made it with sautéed or fried tomatoes and onion, raw tomatoes and onion, plenty of garlic, or mayonnaise. This version – with roasted tomatoes and herbs – is very tasty and light. Now, why French? After all, we hail from Moldova. Even though we did not know this dish as French, we call it now "Eggplant Caviar (French)" to distinguish from Baba Ghanoush. Baba Ghanoush is a heavier and smoother eggplant dish and more likely to be used as a dip. By contrast, our Eggplant Caviar (French style) is light and chunky, just like a salad. This recipe boils down to just a few steps: (1) roasting the eggplant, (2) letting the eggplant drain, (3) roasting the tomatoes, (4) mashing the eggplant and mixing in the tomatoes. Here are our tips. First, the eggplants for this recipe should be fresh (firm, without shriveling, and with crisp stems), medium in size, and oval in shape (tear-like or round eggplants will not cook uniformly). Second, the traditional method is to grill the eggplant on a gas or charcoal grill. That way you get a nice smoky flavor. But you can certainly roast in the oven instead. Regardless of how you cook your eggplants, though, you must cook them until they are not only soft, but also mushy inside. When the eggplant is ready, its skin is brown (if roasting) or dark (if grilling) and collapses, and its flesh is mushy when pressed with a fork. Finally, this salad serves 4 as a very generous side to any dish. Atlantic salmon roasted in savory glaze: easy and pleasantBy foodjoyaAtlantic Salmon roasted in a savory glaze is easy and yummy. Though this fish tastes mild (and even somewhat bland), the glaze transforms it into a zesty entree. And what's in the glaze? All the ingredients we bet you already have, like coriander, Dijon mustard and fresh oregano. Another secret to this recipe is the high roasting temperature. We've noticed that Atlantic salmon roasted at a higher temperature tastes better. The goal is to accomplish a crispy top with a tender inside. (By comparison, Atlantic salmon roasted at a lower temperature remains soft all over, and its flavors do not fully develop.) This entree makes a delicious dinner for everyone in your family ... in no time at all! Stuffed Portobello Vegetarian: Easy Savory DinnerBy foodjoyaStuffed portobello vegetarian caps with sundried tomatoes and white beans are a soul-satisfying, flavorful entree. I love mushrooms and cannellini beans and was happy to finding a way to incorporate both into a single recipe. I made these Stuffed Portobello caps (with Prosciutto instead of sundried tomatoes) for the first time for my husband’s birthday, and he loved them! Together with my Mom, we tried replacing the ham with sundried tomatoes, using broth, or adding pine nuts. Unless used sparingly, broth can make the stuffing too soupy (it happened to us). Pine nuts go well, but without hot peppers, and with basil or oregano instead of sage. The recipe below - Stuffed Portobello Vegetarian Caps with sundried tomatoes and cannellini beans- is our favorite.Paleo Fig Tart with Pistachio Crust, Sugar-freeBy foodjoyaWhile we don't like the pretentious "best of" proclamations, this recipe is the best way to bake a dessert with figs. This spectacular Paleo Fig tart is made with honey and fruit instead of sugar and ground pistachios and almonds instead of white flour. As a result, this scrumptious treat is as healthy and nutrient-dense as it is delicious. This dessert originates from our educated intuition. When the figs arrived this fall, we couldn't resist baking a flourless or paleo fig tart, but none of the recipes were up to snuff. And so, relying on our intuition and research, we've designed our own fig tart. Before deciding to preroast the figs, we sifted through numerous recipes and confirmed that chefs usually precook the fruit used in the tarts or clafoutis. The crust recipe was easy - it's a basic nut flour concoction. We added pistachios because they are one of our favorite nuts and go well with goat cheese and figs. We've baked the tart 12 times (and counting, so long as the figs are in season) and ruled out various modifications. For this reason, we recommend closely following this recipe. Lastly, note that this recipe is for an 8-inch tart.
