DDD #161 – Pomegranate Prosecco Fizz Cocktail & Mocktail

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2020

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Just an easy, breezy cocktail for the holidays that I could not get motivated to post until today. Covid lethargy is real!

So – this will be a New Year’s cocktail. There is a mocktail version, too. Click the image below to watch.

Pomegranate Prosecco Fizz Cocktail

Makes 1 drink

INGREDIENTS

Ice

2 ounces pomegranate juice

1 ounce vodka

1 tsp simple syrup

4-6 ounces Prosecco or champagne

Pomegranate seeds for garnish

Cranberries for garnish

Mint or rosemary sprigs for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Combine the pomegranate juice, vodka, and simple syrup in a glass full of ice. Top with Prosecco & garnish with cranberries, pomegranate seeds & a sprig of either rosemary or mint.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Pomegranate Fizz Mocktail

Just mix some berry seltzer (like La Croix) & pomegranate juice on ice to taste & garnish the same as the cocktail.

Vegan Cream Cheese & Cranberry Crostini

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2020

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Click the image below to watch the video.

Vegan Cream Cheese & Cranberry Crostini

This is a very informal recipe so quantities of each ingredient is up to you.

INGREDIENTS

Crusty baguette – sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick

Olive oil or cooking spray

Vegan cream cheese

Cranberry sauce (my recipe is HERE)

Orange wedges & orange zest

Pomegranate seeds

Chopped mint

Orange zest

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Brush bread slices with olive oil (or spray with cooking spray) on both sides & bake at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes on each side.

Use a wedge of orange and wipe each slice of bread with the wet side of the orange. Spread some cheese on each, followed by cranberry sauce.

Garnish with chopped mint, orange zest & pomegranate seeds.

Serve!

DDD #59 – Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Pistachios, Dried Cranberries & Pomegranate Seeds

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Click the image above to watch the video.

I know I say that a great many of my recipes are born simply of what I have handy and it is true.  It is true even when I say that all I had around was a bag of Brussels sprouts and an aging pomegranate.  And pistachios.  And when I thought to make a salad of them, I wished I had some dried cranberries to add to it.  I don’t typically go for dried fruit in anything but dried cranberries just sounded so right for this.  I dug deep in my crisper drawers looking for some other inspiration & found an unopened but very old & gross bag of raisins & while I wondered why I ever even bought a bag of raisins because, you know, ew – raisins – I spotted a bag of something from a bulk bin in the corner of the drawer.   Closer inspection revealed it to be a small bag of dried cranberries!  WTF?  Why did I have dried cranberries?  Quickly, I wished for a series regular gig on what would turn out to be a long running & iconic HBO series and waited for a few seconds for my life to change.  Nothing.  A few minutes later I was still me, still unemployed & still holding the bag.  Of dried cranberries. Fuck.  I hate when I waste the wishes that will be granted on things like a small quantity of dried cranberries.  I felt like Peter Griffin on Family Guy when, confronted by a real, live genie, wishes for his own personal theme music & not to have bones.

So, yeah.  Career still on hold but that’s a go on the salad!

Salads aren’t really recipes, are they?  I made this guy for myself & I used about 8-10 medium-sized Brussels sprouts & ate the entire salad – even though it was probably enough for two.  So – anyway – I will give you rough estimates of what I used but you can add or subtract ingredients & adjust quantities to suit your own taste.  If there is wiggle room in making anything – it is salad – so go for it.

I made a simple dressing of lemon & olive oil & then decided I wanted something a bit creamier – so I added a bit of Greek yogurt.  You can skip that or, if you are vegan, add a bit of vegan mayonnaise.   Or use another of your favorite dressings.  I ain’t judging.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Pistachios, Dried Cranberries & Pomegranate Seeds

Serves two

INGREDIENTS

10 medium-sized Brussels sprouts

Handful of pistachios

Handful of dried cranberries

Handful of pomegranate seeds

For the dressing

1/3 cup Greek yogurt or vegan mayonnaise  – optional

2 TBS lemon juice (or nice wine vinegar)

1 TBS olive oil

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the dressing ingredients together & season with S&P.  Taste & adjust the flavors.  Some like lemon more than others.  Some like more salt.  Suit yourself.

Toast the pistachios in a dry pan for 2-3 minutes, until aromatic & beginning to change color.  Stir the whole time & take care not to burn them.  Set aside.

Trim the hard ends off the Brussels sprouts & shred with the blade of your food processor or cut thin by hand.  Be sure to break up any of the white cores that remain – even cutting them by hand if your food processor let them slip by.

Now, just toss all that shit together (go easy on the dressing) & eat both servings yourself.  FTW.

Vegan Creamy Roasted Red Pepper & Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut-Ginger Cream, Pistachios & Pomegranate Seeds

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

This might – honestly – be the most delicious soup I have ever made and it is as easy as can be.  If you have a blender, food processor or immersion blender – you can wow the fuck out of your friends with this glorious, autumnal, light & healthy, rich & creamy soup!  I used all the random veggies that I had wilting in my vegetable bins.  You can add or subtract ingredients but I gotta say – this baby is kinda perfect!  Very little added oil & chock full of veggie nutrients.  The Coconut- ginger cream is certainly optional but it adds a nice level.  The pistachios & pomegranate were for texture & color – but they can go with little impact on this soup.  If you are not vegan – stirring in a little goat cheese might be a nice touch.

Vegan Creamy Roasted Red Pepper & Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut-Ginger Cream, Pistachios & Pomegranate Seeds

Serves 4 very well

INGREDIENTS

3 medium sweet potatoes – sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

3 bell peppers – halved & seeded

1/2 onion (or a leek or some shallots) – peeled & cut in half

10 small carrots – ends trimmed

1 jalapeno (optional)

1 TBS fresh lemon juice (optional)

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp red (or other) curry powder (or curry paste)

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne

Several fresh thyme sprigs (or 1/2 tsp dry thyme)

4 cups vegetable stock

olive oil (or coconut or other oil)

S&P

Garnish – pistachios and pomegranate seeds (optional)

for the coconut-ginger cream

5.5 ounces coconut milk

1-3 TBS minced ginger (I used a squeezable kind) – or to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.

Toss the vegetables in a bit of olive oil & spread in a single layer on cooking sheets (covered with either foil sprayed with cooking spray or parchment paper).  Salt & pepper liberally.  Cook for about 30+ minutes or until the veggies are soft.  Some might need to come out earlier than others.  I cooked an extra sweet potato to put in my dogs’ food tonight.  They LOVE sweet potatoes.  The bell peppers should blacken a little bit.  When the peppers are done – either put them in a tightly-closed container or wrap them in foil to cool a bit.  This will make them sweat & the skins should peel off nicely under running water.  Do not worry if all the skin does not come off.

Meanwhile – combine the coconut milk & ginger – adding ginger in increments – until it tastes good to you.  Set aside.

Once you can handle the veggies (not the sweet potatoes) – chop them a little bit.  Seed the jalapeno to make it less spicy.  I used the seeds.

Heat a little olive oil in a large stock pot & add the chopped veggies & sweet potato and garlic.  Stir to combine & then add stock & spices.  Squeeze in about a TBS lemon juice.  Bring to a boil & turn off heat.

Puree the soup in batches or with an immersion blender.  I added about 1-2 cups of water to thin it enough to puree in the blender.  Season with S&P.

Serve garnished with coconut-ginger cream, pistachios & pomegranate seeds.

Vegan Roasted Butternut, Kabucha & Delicata Squash with Pomegranate, Mint, Balsamic Glaze & Roasted Pepitas

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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I had managed to collect a variety of squash with no real plans for them.  Today – as I often do – I looked around for inspiration & came up with this.  It is gorgeous & light & delicious and can be served warm or room temperature.    I have leftover roasted squash & pepitas & if you end up with leftovers, too – consider cutting the skins off the squash & make a salad!  Toss with arugula & pomegranate seeds & pepitas & a balsamic vinaigrette (adding goat or feta – if you are a cheese eater) – OR – make a pizza with slices of squash atop a crust with some mozzarella (vegan or not – up to you) and then top the cooked pizza with arugula & pomegranate seeds & pepitas.  Lots of ways to use all these pretty colors & flavors.

This is not a difficult recipe.  The most painstaking parts are seeding the pomegranate (or you could buy pomegranate seeds) and roasting the pepitas (you could buy roasted pepitas).  It is far more satisfying to do it all from scratch.

I used three kinds of squash.  You can use all one kind or choose different kinds – but use ones that all have thick skins so the cook at the same rate.

Speaking of which – I tossed the seeds from all 3 squash into the same bowl to clean & roasted them together.  In the future – I will keep the kabucha seeds separate – as they are far larger than the others.  I will put the smaller seeds on one cooking sheet & the larger on another – so I can take each out of the oven at the rate they are ready.

The ratio of ingredients here is kind of up to you.  You might like more or less glaze, more or less pomegranate or pepitas or mint – so – assemble yours to taste.

 

Roasted Pepitas

Seeds from the squash

Fine salt

Olive oil or cooking spray (I used olive oil spray)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to about 325.

Get a large bowl of water & put the messy seed mix in there.  Separate the seeds from the flesh & the seeds all float to the top.  Use a slotted spoon & get those suckers outta there.

Boil some water & add a tsp of salt.  Lower the heat, add the seeds &  simmer the seeds, uncovered, for about 10 minutes & then drain them.

I let them set out to dry a bit & then tossed them with just a hint of olive oil or some cooking spray.  If you have two wildly different sized seeds – cook them on separate sheets so you can take the smaller ones out sooner than the larger.

Spread them on a cooking sheet in as thin a layer as you can – trying to minimize overlap so all the seeds get heat equally.  Sprinkle with a little salt & bake for about 10 minutes.

Take them out & stir them around.

Now continue roasting in 5 minute increments because you DO NOT want to burn these.  They are done when they are just starting to look golden but the real test is how they chew.  So – cool a few off each time you test them & eat them.  They are done when they chew easily & are nice & crunchy!

Save extras in a jar.

 

Vegan Roasted Butternut, Kabucha & Delicata Squash with Pomegranate, Mint, Balsamic Glaze & Roasted Pepitas

6-10 as a side – depending on the size of your squash & appetites

INGREDIENTS

3 squash of your choice (I used butternut, kabucha & delicata)

Roasted seeds from your squash (recipe to roast them above)

Balsamic glaze (store bought or homemade – recipe:  Simply boil a balsamic until it reduces by about 50-75% and has a thick syrupy texture.  It really does reduce a LOT so – if it reduces to too little for your squash – just reduce some more.  If it gets too thick – add a few drops of water.)

Pomegranate seeds

Fresh mint – chopped

Olive oil or cooking spray (I used olive oil spray)

S&P

Parchment paper optional but it makes clean-up so easy!

Heat the oven to 425.

Seed the squash & put the seeds in a bowl of water.  If there is a large disparity of size – separate them in different bowls by size.  I did mine altogether but I risked burning the smallest seeds waiting for the large kabocha seeds to cook.  It worked out – but I would still separate them next time.

Cut the squash into 1″ to 1.5″ inch slices.  Arrange on a cooking sheet.  Toss with olive oil (or spray with cooking spray on both sides) – and add some S&P.

Roast about 30 minutes – flipping once – or until they are soft & beginning to caramelize or brown a bit.

If you are using homemade glaze – make that while the squash cook.  Simply boil a balsamic until it reduces by about 50-75% and has a thick syrupy texture.  It really does reduce a LOT so – if it reduces to too little for your squash – just reduce some more.  If it gets too thick – add a few drops of water.  If you like a lot of glaze – start with at least a cup or more before you reduce it.

Seed your pomegranate.

When the squash is done, arrange it on a platter.  Drizzle glaze & then sprinkle the pomegranate, pepitas & mint on top.

Gorgeous & healthy.  Wow the villagers with this shit!

Coconut & Ginger Rice Pilaf with Pomegranate Seeds

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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It is October 6th & LA is facing yet another triple-digit temperature weekend & I am so fucking over it!  My mood could not be gloomier & all this fucking sunshine & heat & “what a gorgeous day – we should go do something” shit is crushing my soul.  I want cold & rain & Nick Cave & stuff like THIS Lucy Rose video for Shiver.  Or – moody music like Banks’ Brain – and THIS magical pole dancer who is like a jewelry box ballerina – or just the right amount of Bon Iver (because too much makes everything worse).  I want cold so I can bundle up in clothes and cook things that smell comforting and warm the house.  I want a fire & red wine.  I do not want to feel exactly as fat as I am as my shrinking clothes cling to me in the sticky heat & the thought of cooking or eating – or even red wine – seem cloying & claustrophobic.  How I managed to gain weight during a month-long heat wave can only be explained by an excess of the champagne I use to chill myself down & cheer myself up.   But – I want to un-think some things & I want even worse to un-know other things.  And – I know – some things cannot be unseen – and some things cannot be unfelt.  But – I still wish we were at least having weather that supported my killing (dulling – at least) my feelings with food – and the distraction of creating it & photographing it & blogging about it.

Ah, well.  Life goes on & I did make this rice pilaf today & it is tastier than I expected.  It is my third dish in recent days using the seeds (arils) of a pomegranate.  They add a nice burst of things that are good for you (including fiber) and a sweet surprise & gorgeous color.  You need to learn to power past any instinct you have to try to spit the seeds out.  Just crunch through them or you will be in Hell.

Coconut & Ginger Rice Pilaf with Pomegranate Seeds

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup orzo

1 cup rice – white or jasmine or basmati

2-3 TBS coconut oil

2 TBS minced ginger (I had some in a tube)

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Pomegranate seeds (arils)

Cilantro or mint – chopped as garnish

DIRECTIONS

Heat the coconut oil over med-high heat & toast the orzo until it is golden – which happens in just a few moments.  Add the rice & toast a bit more (being sure not to burn the orzo).   Add the ginger, stir – and then add the stock.  Bring to a rapid boil & reduce to the lowest heat.  Cover (wrapping a kitchen towel around the lid helps create a tighter seal) and cook about 20 minutes.  Fluff & serve with pomegranate arils & chopped herbs.

Vegan Spicy Orange & Sriracha Glazed Tofu with Pomegranate Seeds

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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I have done a zillion 90210 interviews recently – building up to the 25th anniversary of when the pilot aired.  Above are a few recent photos from a 90210-inspired shoot.

And here are two of the interviews – HERE at TEN MINUTE INTERVIEWS –

–

and HERE  at COMPLEX.

Tonight is the Lifetime movie about the show at after it – there will be an interview special – in which I took part.

That said – let’s get into this dish.  The glaze is the shit & would work on most things from shrimp to vegan or real chicken or, as here, on tofu.  I could not figure out what to do with the tofu first.  Should I bread & fry it?  I tried that & it just seemed like a bad thing to add all those calories.  So – after half-frying half the tofu – I baked it all at about 400 for thirty minutes – after coating it in some glaze – like you see below.

Ultimately – you could just throw the uncooked tofu into the glaze & warm it that way.  I feared the tofu would be too mushy & break apart and – since I didn’t try that version – I cannot tell you what happened.  So – it is up to you.   You could BAKE IT first, or FRY IT – or just use it plain.  Or – do what I did, coat it with glaze & just bake it a bit to add some texture.  Your call.  Whatever you decide – the glaze is easy & comes together fast.  If I were to make it again – I would cut the sugar in half.  If you like spicy-sweet, go with the full 1/4 cup of brown sugar.  It is pretty spicy – so if you are sensitive to heat – lessen the sriracha.

I added pomegranate seeds because I have a shitload left over from my AMAZING Burnt Eggplant with Pomegranate Seeds & Cucumber – or Really Fancy Baba Ganoush – seen below – which was INSANELY addictive.  The seeds are pretty but don’t add much to the tofu dish so blow them off – if you feel inclined.  They are critical & amazing in the baba ganoush, though!

Vegan Spicy Orange & Sriracha Glazed Tofu with Pomegranate Seeds

Serves 2 – with rice or in lettuce wraps

INGREDIENTS

1 lb extra firm tofu – cubed

Panko (only if you are frying – in which case you need oil, too.)

1 cup orange juice

zest & juice of one orange

1/4 cup (or less) brown sugar

1/4 cup (more or less according to taste) sriracha

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari

4 garlic cloves – chopped

1 TBS ginger – grated or minced

2 TBS cornstarch whisked into 2 TBS water

GARNISH – sliced scallions, pomegranate seeds and then cooked rice or lettuce leaves for serving

DIRECTIONS

OK – here you need to decide what you are doing with the tofu.  Are you just going right outta the package or fry it or – as I did – toss it with some panko & some (only a little) glaze & bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes?  I don’t think it makes a massive difference – except fr the effort and, in the instance of frying, the calories.  You could brown it in a frying pan with a little olive oil – to add texture.  Blow off the panko – really – unless you are frying it.  These are your decisions to make and that decision is the hardest part of this recipe.  If you are in a hurry or are lazy – just use the naked tofu.

Prep your tofu.  I tossed mine in a bit of glaze & baked at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Make some rice or prep some lettuce leaves for wraps.

To make the glaze – heat the orange juice, zest & juice of one orange, brown sugar, sriracha, rice vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, garlic cloves and ginger and bring to a boil.  Add the cornstarch/water mix & the glaze should thicken up in less than a minute.  Add the tofu & heat through.

Serve either on rice or wrapped in lettuce with a sprinkle of scallions & pomegranate seeds.

Burnt Eggplant with Pomegranate Seeds & Cucumber – or Really Fancy Baba Ganoush

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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31 years ago today – I moved to Los Angeles intending to establish residency & go to a state school (UCLA) for film – hoping to one day direct. I was 19 & did not know anyone else in LA – and – I had never driven a car (and lived here for 2 1/2 years without car or even a driver’s license) and lived for the first week in a creepy, rent-by-the-week motel on Whitley just north of Hollywood Blvd – until I found an apartment at Sunset & Normandie – where I lived for the next 4+ years. 19 and alone – very far from anything familiar and, apparently iron-clad balls because I can’t imagine being that brave now.  And to be honest – I cried almost every day for the first year & had to deflect my mother’s repeated offers to fly out here, pack me up & move me back home.  Honest to God – I have no fucking idea what I was thinking or how my mother let me go in the first place. I look at my friends’ kids who are at or near that age & cannot imagine sending them off to a seedy big city (which Hollywood really was in 1984) – 3000 miles away. I am very, very proud of my 19-year-old self & what that kid pulled off – through sheer willpower. I wish I had the nerve & gumption now that I had then. I am very grateful to live in LA. It is a great town – despite what the haters will tell you. So, anyway – happy anniversary to me & my youthful courage.

See Los Angeles in all its coolness!

Below are some images of me from that general era.  Notice the shaved sides in the top picture that I tried to mask with bangs in my first ever headshot – just below it.  Little did I know that the edgier me was going to be the key to my ever working as an actress.  Conformity – or my attempts at it – fooled nobody.

So – onto this gorgeous recipe!  I saw it on The Iron You (seen in their photo above) and could not resist the chance to photograph something so gorgeous.  I made a few minor tweaks – in the interest of it being vegan & a little less caloric – but it is really their recipe – and is is CRAZY delicious!   As The Iron You states – “The end result is an addictive, creamy, smoky, tart, sweet, salty, and aromatic dip/spread/salad.  It can stand on its own as a dip or condiment or as a side to meat or fish or it can be served as a refreshing Middle Eastern inspired salad.”

Funny that I often co-opt Iron You recipes because their primary focus is a Paleo diet which – in reality – is almost the opposite of my focus – a vegan diet.  But they use lots of veggies & their photographs (like that one just above) are so inspiring – I am a big fan!

This is easy & requires no special tools.  I used a food processor but out of laziness – not need.  Chopping the mushy eggplant would be almost as easy by hand.   It is basically a fancified hummus – but using eggplant rather than chick peas.  I think it is virtually guiltless – as far as calories & it really does have a complexity of flavors that is delightful!  And just LOOK at it!  Can you imagine a pretty holiday appetizer?

Burnt Eggplant with Pomegranate Seeds & Cucumber – or Really Fancy Baba Ganoush

Serves several as an appetizer served with pita wedges

INGREDIENTS

1 large eggplant

1/3 cup tahini

1 TBS plus 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp agave nectar

1 garlic clove – minced

3 TBS chopped parsley

1/2 large pomegranate

1/2 cucumber – peeled, seeded & diced

Sesame seeds

S&P

More parsley & maybe olive oil for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Roast the eggplant by placing it directly on a burner over a high flame.  You might want to protect your stove with foil – but I didn’t.  Turn frequently – and don’t walk away from it – lest it catch fire.  This should take 10-15 minutes & the skin should be charred almost all the way off & the flesh of the eggplant should be soft.  Allow to cool & then rub off the burned skin & stem top under cold, running water.  Allow to drain in a colander for 30 minutes.

Get the seeds out of half the pomegranate.  HERE are some tutorials showing how to do that.

If you do not have a food processor – chop the eggplant as finely as possible.

If you do have a food processor – pulse the eggplant a few times.

In either scenario – then mix/pulse in the tahini, lemon, agave, garlic & parsley.  Then fold in the cucumber & 3/4 of the pomegranate seeds.  Season with S&P.  Salt adds depth to this so definitely use some.

Garnish with the remaining pomegranate seeds, some chopped parsley & some sesame seeds.  Traditionally – olive oil is drizzled on top but I see no need to add those calories.  Knock yourself out if calories are of no concern to you.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Pistachios, Dried Cranberries & Pomegranate Seeds

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I know I say that a great many of my recipes are born simply of what I have handy and it is true.  It is true even when I say that all I had around was a bag of Brussels sprouts and an aging pomegranate.  And pistachios.  And when I thought to make a salad of them, I wished I had some dried cranberries to add to it.  I don’t typically go for dried fruit in anything but dried cranberries just sounded so right for this.  I dug deep in my crisper drawers looking for some other inspiration & found an unopened but very old & gross bag of raisins & while I wondered why I ever even bought a bag of raisins because, you know, ew – raisins – I spotted a bag of something from a bulk bin in the corner of the drawer.   Closer inspection revealed it to be a small bag of dried cranberries!  WTF?  Why did I have dried cranberries?  Quickly, I wished for a series regular gig on what would turn out to be a long running & iconic HBO series and waited for a few seconds for my life to change.  Nothing.  A few minutes later I was still me, still unemployed & still holding the bag.  Of dried cranberries. Fuck.  I hate when I waste the wishes that will be granted on things like a small quantity of dried cranberries.  I felt like Peter Griffin on Family Guy when, confronted by a real, live genie, wishes for his own personal theme music & not to have bones.

So, yeah.  Career still on hold but that’s a go on the salad!

Salads aren’t really recipes, are they?  I made this guy for myself & I used about 8-10 medium-sized Brussels sprouts & ate the entire salad – even though it was probably enough for two.  So – anyway – I will give you rough estimates of what I used but you can add or subtract ingredients & adjust quantities to suit your own taste.  If there is wiggle room in making anything – it is salad – so go for it.

I made a simple dressing of lemon & olive oil & then decided I wanted something a bit creamier – so I added a bit of Greek yogurt.  You can skip that or, if you are vegan, add a bit of vegan mayonnaise.   Or use another of your favorite dressings.  I ain’t judging.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Pistachios, Dried Cranberries & Pomegranate Seeds

Serves two

INGREDIENTS

10 medium-sized Brussels sprouts

Handful of pistachios

Handful of dried cranberries

Handful of pomegranate seeds

For the dressing

1/3 cup Greek yogurt (or vegan mayonnaise)  – optional

2 TBS lemon juice (or nice wine vinegar)

1 TBS olive oil

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the dressing ingredients together & season with S&P.  Taste & adjust the flavors.  Some like lemon more than others.  Some like more salt.  Suit yourself.

Toast the pistachios in a dry pan for 2-3 minutes, until aromatic & beginning to change color.  Stir the whole time & take care not to burn them.  Set aside.

Trim the hard ends off the Brussels sprouts & shred with the blade of your food processor or cut thin by hand.  Be sure to break up any of the white cores that remain – even cutting them by hand if your food processor let them slip by.

Now, just toss all that shit together (go easy on the dressing) & eat both servings yourself.  FTW.

Golden Beet Carpaccio & Shaved Fennel Salad with Pomegranate & Hazelnut Vinaigrette

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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Salads are very forgiving.  I sometimes feel like a cheat or a fraud when posting recipes for them but then I remember that lots of folks are intimidated by cooking at all and that they like the security of instruction.  So – I post this delicious salad today.  But – except for the vinaigrette – I won’t really post quantities.  I trust you to use the ratio of beet to arugula to fennel to cheese to suit your own tastes.

I used pomegranate wine vinegar & hazelnut oil because I have them & I want to use them before they spoil.  Plus it makes my recipe sound really fancy.  You could use olive oil & any nice wine vinegar – flavored or not.  I used walnuts but you could use almonds or pecans – or whatever.  Even hazelnuts!  Maybe add pomegranate seeds or a squeeze of fresh orange juice to the dressing.  The sky is the limit.  Hate fennel?  Lose it.  Use another fancy green other than arugula.  Get it?  Got it.  Good.

Oh!  And now all my posts have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

Golden Beet Carpaccio & Shaved Fennel Salad with Pomegranate & Hazelnut Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

Beets – I used golden AND red.  You can use one or the other or both.

Fennel

Walnuts – or other nut

Arugula – other green

Feta cheese – or goat or cotija or other flavorful cheese

2 TBS pomegranate wine vinegar – or other nice wine vinegar

4 TBS hazelnut oil – or other nice oil (even olive oil)

1 tsp honey

S&P

DIRECTIONS

Wrap your beets in foil & roast at 450 for about 30-45 minutes, depending on their size.  When tender, cool & peel them.

Toast your nuts in a dry pan for about 3 minutes.

Blend your oil, vinegar, honey & some S&P for the vinaigrette.

Slice the beets & fennel very thin with a mandolin or by hand – the thinner the better.

LIGHTLY dress the arugula with a small amount of vinaigrette.

Create a fan on a plate with the sliced beets.  Top with some shaved fennel.  Put some dressed arugula in the center & top with the toasted nuts & cheese & maybe some fresh ground pepper. I added a little garnish of red beets.  You could do a fan of red beets & top with golden – or use one color for all of it.

Shove it in your face while watching The Voice & scream, scandalized, every time the Swon Brothers get saved by America.  🙂