Dark chocolate port figgy pudding

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

We’ve all heard the verse from “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in which carolers demand figgy pudding. So I was curious about its origins. In America when we hear the word “pudding” we think of a custard. But in Britain, pudding is used as another word for dessert, and some very posh people even shorten it to “pud.”

The terms “figgy pudding,” “plum pudding,” and “Christmas pudding” are all interchangeable, and they describe a boozy spice cake  packed with dried fruits.

Traditionally, families make it together on “Stir it Up Sunday,” which is the Sunday before Advent. Because of the cake’s high alcohol and sugar content, it will stay good for well over a year. In fact, it apparently gets better with time.

Both the cooking method and some of the ingredients are very outdated, so my goal was to create a more modern version of the desert that people would actually want to recreate. The first thing I adjusted was the fat in the recipe. The traditional fat of choice is “suet.” Good luck finding that! I used Challenge unsalted butter because it's 100% real cream butter, and it doesn't have any artificial or synthetic ingredients. 

Also, instead of steaming in a pudding pan, I opted to bake it for just 45 minutes in a bundt pan.

Once removed from the oven, wait 10 minutes before inverting the cake onto a platter. It should pop right out of the pan.  If you like your pudding extra boozy, poke holes all over the cake while it’s still hot and baste it in booze.

I like to serve the figgy pudding with a caramel sauce because I think it makes the dessert extra special, but you could also try a chocolate sauce, a red wine reduction sauce, or just eat it plain.

Dark chocolate port figgy pudding

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

For the figgy pudding

• 80 grams (1/2 cup) dates, chopped
• 80 grams (1/2 cup) prunes, chopped
• 80 grams (1/2 cup) dried figs, chopped
• 80 grams (1/2 cup) raisins
• 1 cup ruby port wine
• 100 grams dark chocolate
• 2 large eggs
• 200 grams (1 cup) dark brown sugar
• 113 grams (1 stick) unsalted Challenge butter, melted and cooled
• 240 milliliters (1 cup) whole milk
• 300 grams (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

For the caramel sauce

• 113 grams (1 stick) unsalted Challenge butter
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) dark brown sugar
• 60 milliliters (1/4 cup) molasses
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

For the figgy pudding

1. Combine dried fruit and wine in saucepan and bring to boil. Once it boils, remove from heat, stir in chocolate, and cover with lid. Allow dried fruit to macerate in wine for 1 hour or up to 3 days in advance.
2. Once dried fruit has macerated, mash with a fork until consistency is semi-smooth. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease bundt pan. Set aside.
4. In large bowl, whisk eggs. Mix in brown sugar and butter. Mix in milk and mashed dried fruit/wine mixture.
5. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
6. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
7. Dump batter into greased bundt pan. Place bundt pan on baking sheet and into oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until figgy pudding becomes firm to touch and starts to pull away from sides.
8. Run sharp knife around edges of pan and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
9. Invert cake onto serving plate and it should pop right out.

For the caramel sauce

1. In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, brown sugar and molasses.
2. Once butter and brown sugar have melted, slowly stir in cream.
3. Bring to boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.
5. Spoon over slices of figgy pudding before serving.

Poached pear chocolate tart

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

A poached pear tart may seem like something out of your realm of baking abilities, but once I break down the steps I promise it will seem manageable. It’s a really elegant dessert to serve, and the colors make it great for the holiday season.

First, let's discuss the tart shell. It is similar to the American short dough, and I think it tastes like a shortbread cookie when it is baked. The shell dough is the first thing you should make because you need to allow the dough to chill for a minimum of 2 hours before working with it. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax so it's less likely to break when you're rolling it out and shrink when you're baking it.

Pâte sucrée is traditionally made using the creaming method. Usually with the creaming method, you want the butter to look “light and fluffy” before proceeding. However, that isn’t what we want here. That’s because when you beat the butter and sugar together, you incorporating air, and we don't want that. So just beat the butter and sugar until well combined, but not any longer. I like to use Challenge European Style Butter. It has a higher butterfat than regular butters (83% versus 80% for standard butters), and the lower moisture content yields a flakier crust.

If you're not in the mood to make tart dough, just use a good quality store-bought pie dough. I've used the Trader Joe's brand pie dough several times, and it works just fine.

The next step is to poach the pears in wine. Poached pears mean we simmer the pears until they're tender and flavored with the poaching liquid. In this case, the poach liquid is red wine and white wine, both with warm winter spices like a cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, sugar and orange peel. You want to use Bosc pears because they retain their shape well while baking.

You can do this step several days in advance. Just store the pears in the poaching liquid in the refrigerator until you're ready to use them.

I poached half the pears in white wine and half the pears in red wine because I wanted it to look a certain way for the holidays, but you could go with all red wine or all white wine.

Don't get rid of the poaching liquid once you're done. Cook the wine over the stove until it reduces by at least half and becomes syrupy. You can use the syrup over desserts or in cocktails.

When deciding on what wine to use, you certainly don't have to break the bank with your purchase. But you want a wine that is decent enough to sip by itself.

Then it's time to make the frangipane. Frangipane is an almond custard that will become puffy when it bakes and envelop the fruit. I made a chocolate frangipane because I thought it would be really decadent with the wine-poached fruit. You can either start with whole almonds, almond meal, or almond flour. Whole almonds become almond meal when you blend them in a food processor. Almond flour is almost always interchangeable with almond meal. Almond flour is just blanched, peeled almonds ground into a fine powder. If you don't use whole almonds, frangipane is as easy as stirring a few ingredients together.

When it comes to assembly, you'll want to parbake the tart dough without the filling first. This ensures the crust cooks all the way through, and it prevents a soggy bottom. You want to parbake the dough to the point at which it starts to brown very slightly and no longer looks like raw dough.

You can choose whatever design you want for the pears. I like the circular pattern because it looks pretty even with pear slices of different sizes, and it's pretty much foolproof.

For an added festive touch and some texture, I think it looks so pretty with crushed pistachios on top.

Poached pear chocolate tart

Yield: One 9-inch tart

Ingredients

For sweet tart dough

• 200 grams all-purpose flour
• 80 grams powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3.5 ounces (7 Tablespoons) Challenge European unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 30 grams almond meal

For the poached pears

• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle white wine
• 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 4 strips orange peel
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 teaspoons cloves
• 2 star anise pods
• 6 bosc pears, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths

For the chocolate frangipane

• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 120 grams (1 1/4 cup) almond meal
• 120 grams (1/2 cup) Nutella or similar chocolate spread
• 50 grams (1/2 stick) Challenge unsalted butter, melted

Directions

For the sweet tart dough

1. Sift flour, powered sugar, salt and baking powder, and add to mixing bowl with paddle attachment.  
2. Add butter and mix on medium speed until mealy.  
3. Add egg and once dough begins to come together, add almond meal and mix until dough comes together.  
4. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for minimum of 2 hours and up to 2 days.

For the poached pears

1. Pour red wine into one medium saucepan and white wine into another medium saucepan.
2. Add 100 grams granulated sugar, 2 strips orange peel, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1 star anise pod to the saucepan with the red wine. Add remaining orange peel, cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise pod to the saucepan with the white wine.
3. Bring both saucepans to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
4. Add half the pear slices to the red wine and half the pear slices to the white wine.
5. Simmer pear slices. Turn off heat and allow pears to soak in poaching liquid until cool.

For the chocolate frangipane

1. Beat eggs and egg yolk. 
2. Mix in almond meal, chocolate spread, and butter. Set aside.

For assembly

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thick and place in tart pan. Press down into corners.
3. Line dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and remove pie weights. 
5. Prick bottom and sides of pie dough with fork. 
6. Bake another 10 minutes and remove from oven. Let tart shell cool.
7. Spread frangipane evenly in tart.
8. Arrange pears onto filling in circular pattern.
9. Bake 45 minutes or until frangipane puffs up and envelops pears. Monitor tart—if edges brown too much, cover with aluminum foil.
10. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
11. Carefully remove tart from pan. Serve with crushed pistachios and creme fraiche if desired.

Peppermint mocha meltables

There are so many people in our lives that we want to give gifts to this time of year—teachers, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. But buying gifts is expensive, and cookies eventually get stale. That's why peppermint mocha "meltables," as I like to call them, are the perfect solution. 

It's a similar concept to the popular hot cocoa bombs, but they're a lot easier to make. And they contain caffeine—something most all of us could use more of this holiday season.

I have a few helpful notes to share before we dive into the recipe.

• Use chocolate you want to eat. I don't recommend using candy melts or baking bars because they don't taste as good. It doesn't have to be top-of-the-line chocolate, but it should be pretty good quality. I used Trader Joe's dark chocolate for my meltables.
• Technically you should temper the chocolate (read more about why and how to do that here), but in my experience, it turns out just fine if you don't.
• Heat the chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring each time, because if you try to melt it all at once at one time you risk burning it. 
• Use instant dark roast coffee. It must be instant for obvious reasons. And dark roast is better because the chocolate is very sweet and the bitterness of a dark roast balances it out. 
• I recommend using a scale to weigh the amount of chocolate going into each mold so it’s evenly proportioned. 

Peppermint mocha meltables

Yield: 4 servings

Specialty equipment needed

• Snowflake mold (or other festive mold)

Ingredients

• 12 ounces dark chocolate
• 4 Tablespoons instant dark roast coffee
• 1 Tablespoon powdered creamer
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions for meltables

1. Add chocolate to microwave-safe bowl. Heat chocolate in 20-second increments, stirring after every increment, until melted.
2. Stir in instant coffee, powdered creamer, and peppermint extract.
3. Divide mixture between four molds.
4. Place mold on baking sheet and tap baking sheet on counter several times to remove air bubbles.
5. Place baking sheet with molds in refrigerator and allow to set up for at least 10 minutes.
6. Remove meltables from molds and package as desired.

Directions for making drinks

1. Add peppermint mocha meltable to mug
2. Pour 12 ounces of very hot milk over meltable
3. Stir to combine

Recipe inspired by One Sweet Mama

Thanksgiving 2022 recap

 

If there's one thing I excel at most in life, it's putting an exorbitant amount of unnecessary pressure on myself. I desperately wanted to host Thanksgiving this year. I also wanted to test several new recipes for the big meal—never mind the fact that I have a baby and other work obligations. Did I commit to doing too much? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes. 

Experimenting in the kitchen brings me a great deal of joy, but caring for my daughter is my number one priority. It makes me happier and I feel more fulfilled than I ever imagined.

I feel stretched thin lately as I try to simultaneously create and take care of Penelope. As a recipe developer, it takes a lot of time to write a hypothesis for a recipe, test it several times, photograph it, write a blog post, and share it online.

Everyone else on social media appears to be cranking out new recipes and videos multiple times a week, and I’m guilty of comparing myself to them. I can't keep up. I'm not sure how they find time to do it all. 

All that to say, there were a lot of recipes I wanted to share ahead of Thanksgiving, but I ran out of time. I did, however, make a lot of special memories with my daughter, and we all shared a delicious meal.

I think a big part of being a new mom is learning your limits and how to split your time so you're the best version of yourself in all parts of your life. I'm sure that's something I will continue to work on throughout the rest of my life.

That said, I wanted to briefly share and review all the dishes I made for Thanksgiving in case you're looking for some inspiration as many of us gather for big dinners this holiday season.

Buttermilk-brined roast turkey

I made two turkeys for Thanksgiving. This version was hands-down the winner. It was so moist and flavorful. I spatchcocked the turkey, which involves cutting out the backbone with kitchen shears. It wasn't difficult, but it took a great deal of strength. I practiced with whole chickens ahead of time, and those were much easier to spatchcock. But the rest of the recipe is so simple, and it cooks so quickly than a whole turkey. Also,  the skin was evenly browned, and the pan drippings made delicious gravy. I'm making a turkey for Christmas as well, and this is how I will cook it.

Spiced and glazed dry-brined turkey

I experimented with a dry brine for the other turkey. In terms of effort, I preferred the dry brine, but I'm not sure if it worked as well as a wet brine. The turkey wasn't as flavorful and moist as the wet-brined and butter-basted turkey I made last year for Thanksgiving. But I'm not sure if that's because of the dry brine or the glaze. I definitely don't recommend the glaze. I read turkey skin browns better when it's glazed as opposed to when it's basted, but I saw little difference. 

Macaroni and cheese

This was the macaroni and cheese recipe I made, but I switched up the cheeses a bit. I still used 28 ounces of cheese, but I used a combination of extra sharp cheddar, unexpected cheddar from Trader Joe's, smoked gouda (I love the smokiness this adds), and Velveeta. Velveeta is necessary because it contains sodium citrate, which prevents the sauce from separating. I also used 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne. I served it with Fried Shallot Crunch for a little texture. I will definitely make this again.

Jiffy Mix Cornbread Pudding

This has been a Thanksgiving staple in our family for years.

Everything Parker House rolls

I usually don't make rolls for Thanksgiving, but like I said earlier, I do too much. These were delicious and it's a great recipe, BUT I wish I would have just made plain rolls without the "everything but the bagel" topping.

Pumpkin maple cornbread

Everyone preferred the cornbread to the Parker House rolls, and it was 20 times easier to make. This is my new favorite cornbread recipe. It has just a little sweetness and a little maple flavor. It's really moist and dense, but not too dense. Also, it freezes well.

Golden sweet potato cheesecake

No one appreciated the cheesecake as much as I hoped. Maybe I served it to the wrong crowd. Oh well. I loved it, and there was more for me.

Agrodolce Brussels Sprouts

I made this cauliflower recipe but with brussels sprouts.

Dressing

I tested new dressing recipes for a month leading up to Thanksgiving because (after the turkey) it is the most important dish. This is the only dressing recipe I will make from now on. It is truly stellar. The prunes and wine perfectly balance everything, and the herbs make it so incredibly flavorful. I really hope you make it.

Kylee's Sausage and Prune Thanksgiving Dressing

Yield: One 9x13-inch casserole dish

Ingredients

• 2 pounds sourdough bread, crust removed and torn into 1-inch pieces
• 24 - 28 ounces homemade turkey stock 
• 10 ounces dry white wine
• 7 ounces dried prunes, small dice
• 20 ounces mushrooms
• 2 pounds sage sausage
• 8 ounces white onion, small dice
• 4 ounces carrot, small dice
• 4 ounces celery, small dice
• 1/2 ounce fresh sage leaves, chiffonade
• 1/4 ounce thyme leaves
• 15 ounces chestnuts, peeled and cooked 
• 2 ounces fresh parsley leaves (from 1 medium bunch), chopped
• 2 Tablespoons fennel seeds, toasted
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Divide bread pieces in single layer between two baking sheets. Place in oven and bake until dried but not brown, about 1 hour.
3. Remove bread from oven and cool. Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Combine wine and prunes in small saucepan, place on stove, and bring to boil. Remove from heat and cool.
5. Heat mushrooms in large skillet over medium heat. Mushrooms will release water. Continue to heat until water evaporates. Remove mushrooms from skillet and chop. Set aside.
6. Brown sausage, cooking until just cooked through and no longer pink. Transfer to very large paper towel-lined bowl using slotted spoon.
7. Cook onion and carrots in sausage fat over medium heat until starting to brown. Add celery and cook until tender. 
8. Add sage and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
9. Remove paper towel from sausage bowl. Add mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, sage and thyme to bowl. Stir in chestnuts, parsley, and fennel seeds. 
10. Stir in bread cubes and prunes with poaching liquid.
11. Gradually add stock. Add just a little bit at a time, stirring between each addition and waiting until bread soaks up stock before adding more. Stop adding stock once mixture is very moist and there are no more dry bread pieces.
12. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
13. Add mixture to baking dish and dot the top with butter. Bake until browned, about 45 minutes.

Golden sweet potato cheesecake

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible! 

If we are what we eat, I yam a sweet potato. I would be perfectly content eating sweet potatoes every single day. In fact, I did that after I graduated while I was trying to save money. And I still love them! I could eat them in any way, shape or form. But I have to say this sweet potato cheesecake tops the list.

For some reason, everything tastes better to me when someone else makes it. I never get as much satisfaction eating something I've created. This cheesecake is the exception. I was blown away the moment I sampled the filling. It's so incredibly flavorful. And the sour cream topping adds the perfect tang to balance out the sweetness. Also, the turmeric gives it a really beautiful golden color.

The crust couldn't be easier to make. The combination of gingersnap cookies, butter, sugar, and salt comes together quickly in the food processor. It's important to use good quality butter in your crust. I use Challenge unsalted butter because it's 100% real cream butter. It doesn't have any artificial or synthetic ingredients. You may wonder why I use unsalted butter since salt is on the ingredients list, but I always use unsalted butter so I have greater control over the flavor.

You can make this cheesecake up to three days in advance/ I recommend making it ASAP so you don't have to worry about trying to fit it in on Thanksgiving. You can also freeze it up to a month ahead of time.

Golden Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Yield: Makes 1, 9" cheesecake
Time: About 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the crust

• 255 grams (9 oz) gingersnap cookies
• 114 grams (1 stick) Challenge unsalted butter, melted
• 25 grams (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling

• 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
• 133 grams (2/3 cup) white sugar
• 71 grams (1/3 cup) brown sugar
• 14 grams (1 Tablespoon) fresh ginger, grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 16 ounces sweet potato flesh (no skin)
• 2 large eggs

For the topping

• 1 cup sour cream
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Optional: Candied pecans, crystallized ginger for topping

Directions

For the crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray 9 1/2-inch pie dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Pulse gingersnap cookies in food processor. Add butter, sugar, and salt and pulse until it resembles wet sand.
3. Dump into pie plate and spread in even layer, making sure to press up sides. Bake until firm to touch, about 12 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and turn heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the filling

1. Beat cream cheese and both sugars with electric mixer until no lumps remain.
2. Scrape bowl and add ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
3. Add sweet potato and beat until smooth.
4. Add eggs and beat until just combined.
5. Pour filling into crust and spread in even layer. Bake until edges are set but center is still a bit jiggly, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven.

For the topping

1. While cheesecake is baking, mix sour cream, sugar, and turmeric.
2. Spread topping over baked cheesecake while it's still hot, Return to oven for 5 minutes.
3. Cool cheesecake on wire rack and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
4. Top with candied pecan pieces and slices of crystallized ginger before serving.

How to make your Thanksgiving meal more exciting

Thanksgiving is a lot of the same each year, and quite frankly, it’s pretty boring for your palette. There’s a lot of beige food, a lot of soft food, and a lot of salty food. But we derive pleasure from variability, and we can achieve that at Thanksgiving dinner with texture, color, and acid.

Texture

Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn casserole, and so forth—it's all the same texture. Adding a little crunch goes a long way in jazzing up dinner. We can easily achieve that without changing your family's favorite recipes by adding a crunchy topping. My favorite crunch toppings are nuts and seeds, pomegranate arils, fried shallots, crunchy bread crumbs, and gremolata.

Below, I share recipes for a crunchy fried shallot, herb and bread crumb mixture, which is a recipe adapted from one of my favorite food writers, Samin Nosrat. There isn't a single thing this tasty fried mixture wouldn't improve (sorry for the double negative), and it's 100 times better than the can of fried onions you can buy from the store. Gremolata with toasted walnuts is another great crunchy addition. Gremolata is an italian condiment made from minced fresh parsley, lemon zest, garlic, and in this case, walnuts. Gremolata is also good for adding color to the table.

Color

The saying "we eat with our eyes first" is definitely true. Our perception of taste is significantly altered by visual cues. And unfortunately, unfortunately, for the most part, Thanksgiving dinner looks pretty boring. Incorporating color makes a significant difference. My advice is to seek out color. Colorful produce like purple carrots and cauliflower will look beautiful next to your monochrome display of turkey, stuffing, and potatoes. The pop of green that comes from sprinkling fresh parsley on a finished dish makes a big difference and takes zero effort. Also, a few pomegranate arils go a long way.

Acid

Acid is VERY important. It brightens and enhances flavors while also balancing sweetness and bitterness. If you sample a dish and it tastes "flat," it probably needs acid. Acid comes in many forms. Some of my favorite acidic ingredients that I use on a weekly basis while cooking are citrus juice, vinegar, and wine.

Cranberry sauce plays a big role in bringing acid to Thanksgiving dinner. I like to put it on one side of my plate and incorporate it in every bite. I'm not a big fan of the super sweet canned version, though, so I'm sharing a recipe with a flavor profile that's a little more complex, with shallots and jalapenos.

Another acidic condiment that would be a delight to each bite is an herby chutney. This recipe is also inspired by Samin Nosrat, and it really brightens up an otherwise heavy spread of food. Mild sweetness is juxtaposed with a little heat from jalapenos and balanced by the acidity of the lime juice. It all blends together well while still making the cilantro and parsley the stars of the show.

And if you want to liven up an otherwise boring plate of roasted vegetables, an agrodolce sauce is the way to go. Agrodolce is an Italian sweet and sour sauce that comes together quickly on the stove.

Fried Shallot Crunch

Ingredients

• 2 cups canola oil
• 8 shallots, thinly sliced into rings 
• 1/3 cup sage leaves
• 1/4 cup rosemary leaves
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 1/2 cup parsley, minced

Directions

1. Line 2 cooling racks with paper towels. Set aside.
2. Pour oil into large wok or saucepan. Add shallots.
3. Heat on medium-high. Stir shallots until they start to bubble. Reduce heat to medium.
4. Continue to stir until shallots turn golden, about 8 - 10 minutes.
5. Remove shallots from oil and place on paper towels.
6. Test oil temperature by adding one sage leaf to oil. If it bubbles, oil is hot enough. If it doesn’t bubble, turn up heat and test again.
7. Add sage and rosemary to oil and fry for about 30 seconds. Remove herbs from heat and place on paper towels.
8. In separate saucepan, add about 2 tablespoons of oil from wok. Toast panko in the oil until it’s golden brown. Remove and place on paper towels.
9. Once everything is cool, combine in bowl. Herbs should crumble into little pieces. Add thyme and season with salt.
10. Save in freezer in airtight container for up to 1 month.
11. Add parsley to mixture when ready to serve.

Crunchy gremolata

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of parlsey (about 2 loose cups)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Directions

1. Finely chop parsley and walnuts.
2. Combine everything in bowl

Colorful harissa carrots

Ingredients

• 1 pound petite colorful carrots
• 1 Tablespoon avocado oil, or other high heat oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 Tablespoons harissa
• Optional: Parsley, cilantro, and pomegranate arils for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix carrots with oil, cumin, coriander, and salt.
3. Arrange carrots on rimmed baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.
4. Remove carrots from oven and mix with harissa.
5. Roast for another 10 minutes or until carrots can be pierced by fork.
6. Garnish with herbs and pomegranate arils before serving.

Colorful agrodolce cauliflower

Ingredients

• 2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets (combination of purple and orange)
• 2 Tablespoons avocado oil (or other high heat oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 Tablespoons golden raisins, chopped
• 1 Thai chili pepper, sliced thin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Combine cauliflower with oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheet and roast 15 to 20 minutes, or until cauliflower caramelizes on edges.
3. Meanwhile, combine vinegar, maple syrup, raisins and chili pepper in small saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Continue to simmer until sauce becomes syrupy, about 10 minutes.
4. Combine half of agrodolce syrup with cauliflower. Transfer cauliflower to platter.
5. Spoon remaining agrodolce syrup over cauliflower just before serving.

Jalapeno cranberry sauce

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 jalapenos, seeds removed, minced
• 1 pound fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lime zest

Directions

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and jalapenos and cook until they soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Add cranberries, maple syrup, water and salt to saucepan and increase heat to medium-high.
3. Stir often and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until cranberries burst and juices thicken, about 10 minutes
4. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice and lime zest. Let cool.
5. Before serving, taste and add more lime juice or zest if necessary.

Herby sweet heat chutney

Ingredients

• 8 dates, pitted
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup lime juice, plus more to taste
• 1 jalapeno, no seeds, chopped
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 4 cups cilantro leaves (2 bunches)
• 2 cups parsley leaves (1 bunch)

Directions

1. Place dates in bowl. Cover with hot water and set aside.
2. Toast cumin seeds on medium heat until they become aromatic, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Grind with mortar and pestle.
3. Remove dates from water (keep water) and place in food processor with cumin, lime juice, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, and salt.
4. Run food processor until it’s mostly smooth.
5. Add herbs to food processor and pulse until mostly smooth, scraping sides periodically. Add reserved waster from dates 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary to get blades moving.
6. Taste and adjust lime juice and salt if necessary.

I got the idea for this blog post from Samin Nosrat's "How to Make Your Thanksgiving Dinner Less Boring"

Maple Sage Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible! 

Sweet potatoes spend all year waiting for November, and it’s finally their time to shine. Happy Sweet Potato Awareness Month! This starchy vegetable is a staple on Thanksgiving day, most often prepared in a casserole with marshmallows and pecans. But sweet potatoes are already sweet, and the preparation possibilities are endless. So I'm sharing an alternative recipe that is easily customizable and will look even more elegant on your table.

Hasselback sweet potatoes look impressive, but they are surprisingly easy to make.

This method of preparation involves cutting a sweet potato into thin coins, but not all the way through. Leave the bottom 1/4 inch intact so the coins fan out like an accordion. This creates more surface area for flavors and additional texture.

Then make a flavored melted butter, like the sage maple butter I used in this recipe, and brush it all over the potatoes so it gets in all the nooks and crannies. This method yields sweet potatoes with crispy outsides and creamy, buttery insides.

Maple Sage Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

Time: About 90 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), scrubbed and dried
• 6 tablespoons Challenge salted butter
• 12 fresh sage leaves, chiffonade
• 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• Fresh ground black pepper and flaky salt to taste
• Optional: Toasted pecan pieces for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and coat 11x7-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Poke sweet potatoes several times with fork and microwave uncovered on high for 5 minutes. 
3. Place wooden skewers or chopsticks on either side of each potato and make crosswise cuts into the potatoes about 1/4-inch apart, stopping at the skewer so as not to cut all the way through.
4. Arrange sweet potatoes in baking dish.
5. Microwave butter with sage leaves or heat in small saucepan until butter is melted. Stir in maple syrup and seasonings.
6. Brush butter over sweet potatoes, making sure to get in all the slices. Sprinkle with black pepper and salt.
7. Bake about 1 hour, or until insides are tender and outsides are crisp. Halfway through baking time, remove from oven and gently separate slices.
8. Remove from oven. Top with pecans if desired.