Brussels Sprouts Salad With Pecorino Romano, Dates & Hazelnuts (Inspired by Stagioni's, Pittsburgh)

This may not be the most photogenic salad in the Burgh. As salads go, it's pretty plain Jane in the glamour department. Looks kinda like coleslaw, right? Not so fast...it's far more than what it appears. This is one of those "pretty is as pretty does salads" and this one DOES!

Let me be the first to enlighten you to the delights of the Brussels Sprout Salad of Stagioni's fame, because this dish is a recreation of the one found on their menu. (Yep...THE Stagioni's in the South Side, right there on Carson Street and smack dab next to Acacia.) I have waxed poetic about the glories of the Brussels Sprout Salad at Stagioni's to friends, family and strangers near and far. Without a doubt it's the most amazingly surprisingly delicious salad in town...although it looks like a common, ordinary slaw, it's so much more than meets the eye. Your everyday slaw it ain't!

Now that we've established what it isn't, let's discuss what it IS. It's the simply the best of the best of just a few fresh ingredients tossed with a straightforward vinaigrette composed of a few more basic - but certainly not average - components. Shaved, crisp and lacy sprouts, salty Pecorino Romano, bits of sweet Medjool dates, crunchy toasted hazelnuts and a dressing of browned butter and damned good sherry vinegar.
    
What's the difference between average and outstanding ingredients? Pick sprouts that are tiny and sweet, choose the most exquisite sherry vinegar you can find - in this case I used a fine Spanish sherry vinegar called Veleta that I ordered from my favorite online gourmet spot, Gourmet Delights, select an excellent imported Pecorino Romano from your local cheese store and find yourself the freshest hazelnuts you can get your hands on. The best of the best..that's the difference!

Once everything is shaved, toasted, browned, diced and mixed, it's more than you ever imagined it could be. So what if it isn't the prettiest salad on the block....it's the most delicious one in your tummy. And that's what matters! 

Brussels Sprouts Salad 

With Pecorino, Dates & Hazelnuts

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed, sliced very thinly on a mandoline
• 1/2 c. Pecorino Romano, shaved
• 1/4 c. Medjool dates, pitted and diced
• 1/3 c. hazelnuts, toasted and skins mostly rubbed off in a kitchen towel

• 3 T. butter, browned - NOT burned
• 1/3 c. GOOD sherry vinegar
• 1 1/2 t. Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 t. sugar

Toss the shaved sprouts, cheese, dates and hazelnuts in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the browned butter, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar well.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, toss well. Serve.
Stand back and wait for compliments!

Hot Buttered Rum Butternut Pork Chops

There is nothing like a cool, crisp, leisurely Sunday to inspire an easy yet somewhat rustic and decadent pork chop dinner.  We like pork chops around here all year round...on the grill or on the smoker in the warmer months.   

In cooler weather, the scent of roasting or braising pork has a come hither effect on the nose that draws the whole family into the kitchen.  Aromatic veggies enhance that aroma...not to mention how those veggies pique the flavor!  

This time butternut squash was the inspiration. Butternut led naturally to butter which, of course(!) led to RUM! Oh the possibilities!

The result of the experiment?  Well I wouldn't be posting it here unless it was completely wonderful.  Rich, hearty, sweet and savory with smooth buttery undertones and kissed by more than a hint of rum...total deliciousness.

In fact, I'm thinking my next cocktail creation just found inspiration.  Hot Buttered Apple Cider Spiced Rum might just be the thing to snuggle by the fireplace on a cold winter's evening.  Coming up!  

Hot Buttered Rum Butternut Pork Chops

• 4 pork chops, 3/4" thick center cut loin chops
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, sliced thinly
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
• salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1/4 cup golden rum
• 2 tablespoons butter 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter and oil together in a large skillet.  Salt and pepper both sides of chops and brown on both sides in skillet.  Remove to a 9 X 13 shallow baking dish.
Saute the onion and garlic in the same skillet.  When caramelized, remove to a plate.
 
Tile slices of squash and apple alternately on top of pork chops - do this pretty tightly.  Any squash and apples that are left, just scatter them around the edges of the chops. Season liberally with salt & pepper.  Spoon the onions and garlic down the center of the apple and butternut topped chops.  Spoon excess around the outside of the chops.
 
Pour both rums into the skillet and stir up all the browned bits.  Add the butter and stir well.  Pour over the chops.
 
Put foil tightly over the dish and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil, if dish is a little dry, add a little water or chicken stock.  Replace foil and cook another 20 minutes.  Remove foil and finish another 10 minutes.
 
Serve topped with the the extra squash & apples on the sides and lots of sauce - and with a bright green veggie like Brussels sprouts, buttered green beans or asparagus.

Gorgonzola Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Meat and potatoes.  Basic.  Simple.  Everybody's favorite!  Here's one quick and easy, and yet somehow a little bit fancy, mashed potato recipe to go with steaks or a roast. Okay, it's quick and easy IF you roast the garlic ahead of time...and really, isn't it a good idea to keep roasted garlic handy?

Roast a few bulbs, squeeze the soft buttery cloves out of the bulb (after it's cooled) and freeze the lovely golden stuff in a snack size freezer bag.  If you press the bag out flat and thin, it's easy to break off a piece that's just the right amount any time you need it.

Gorgonzola Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peel, cut into size-sized chunks
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup milk, more or less, depending upon how dry your potatoes are (buttermilk is really good for a nice tart zing!)
• 1 head garlic, roasted, cooled and garlic pulp squeezed out
• 3 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled & extra to sprinkle on each serving
• salt and pepper, to taste

Put potato chunks into a pot of cold water - just to cover.  Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer.  Remove from heat & drain immediately when a knife pierces the potato easily.
 

Add butter and mash with a potato masher - these aren't light fluffy potatoes, they're hearty.  Add the milk - a little less than called for and if the potatoes are thick, add more.  If the potatoes are still too thick add more milk until a nice consistency, but not too thin.  Add the rest of the ingredients except for cheese.  Mix well.  Add gorgonzola, adjust seasonings and serve.  Garnish with a little more gorgonzola before serving.

To Roast Garlic:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut carefully across the top of a WHOLE head of garlic just exposing the very top of the inside cloves - do NOT separate the cloves.  Place the head of garlic on a double square of aluminum foil.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and seal up the foil around the garlic tightly.  Roast until the garlic is soft and golden - 45 minutes to an hour.  Don't burn it, just roast until soft.  Remove from oven and cool.  Make several heads at once, squeeze out the soft pulp and freeze in small snack size freezer bags.  Don't put too much in a bag so you can spread it out about 1/4" thick so once it's frozen you can snap off pieces of the frozen garlic pulp as needed.  No need to thaw!