Roasted Cauliflower

As I’ve said in previous posts, I love cauliflower. It has a milder flavor than broccoli and lends itself better to taking on the flavor of seasoning. For the cauliflower on Thanksgiving, I did a repeat of a similar cauliflower dish from my Turkey Burger post. The cauliflower was delicious but sadly went under the radar next to all of the other delicious items on the menu. I think cauliflower is generally and underappreciated veggie, and while I had high hopes for fame and accolades for the underdog veggie, we ended up having a lot left over. The sad story of a vegetable gone unnoticed like a famous artist only appreciated post-mortem; we’ll see how this story ends.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I hate to sound over confident, but I feel that I’ve mastered the art of mashed potatoes (or at least the way I like them, everyone has their preference). I hate to divulge my secret, but I don’t want anyone to miss experiencing the deliciousness of a solid mash. The key is in the butter. I used to just add pats of butter to mashed up potatoes, but then I said, “Tyler, we can do more with these potatoes than just add butter and mix it up” (yes, from time to time, I speak to myself in the third person plural). I started simmering chopped garlic in the butter before incorporating it into the potatoes and from that day, my mashed potatoes recipe was one of lore.

Fried Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries and Bacon

All parts of the title of this dish are delicious. Brussel sprouts are always a favorite side of mine, and combined with the rich flavor of bacon and the tart flavor of cranberries, they are a formidable dish. Now take that, and fry it. Yeah, I went there. The one part of this dish to be careful about is not crowding the sprouts while frying. I learned this the hard way because I was pressed for time and didn’t divvy up the sprouts in enough batches. In my impatience, the sprouts weren’t able to really crisp up while frying. The dish was really delicious, and the flavors were very complex, but it didn’t have the crispy component I was looking for when I dreamt up the dish. Next time, I will know, DON’T CROWD THE BRUSSEL SPROUTS!

Braised Green Beans with Tomatoes and Onions

Out of ideas for a side? Sick of slaving over the stove? This is a dish for you! The only difficult part of this dish is cutting the ends off of the green beans. Once this is done, all you need to do is put the ingredients in a pot and put it on the stove. Seriously, that’s it. Very easy, very healthy, and very delicious, this is a simple dish that is good all winter long and tastes like it took way more work than it did. Feel free to embellish the amount of effort so your friends are even more impressed with you.