Sage and Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar

 

Mashed potatoes make me happy. Really, really happy.  They are the ultimate comfort food. This variation has some extra sophistication and savoriness thanks to sage, brown butter, and sharp cheddar. So this is what love is? It's good to be in love. Even when your sweetheart is potatoes. I love you. The flavors of this dish are complex enough to be savored on their own, but also subtle enough to take a back seat if you wish to use them as a vehicle for braised meat and rich gravy like I did here. 

Rosemary Honey Carrots

This recipe is one my mother introduced me to over a year ago. It is from one of her favorite cookbooks, The 150 Best American Recipes edited by Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens. Every recipe she has tried from that book has been successful, so I felt it was about time I borrow the book. More recipes from it soon to come, including Sage, Brown Butter and Sharp Cheddar Mashed Potatoes!

This recipe was created by Tom Collicchio (love him!) and published in the New York Times. The best part is it could hardly be simpler: tender young carrots are pan roasted in a bit of olive oil, seasoned with salt, fresh ground pepper and fresh sprigs of rosemary, then drizzled with a mixture of melted butter and honey. Simple as that, and delicious!

Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts

I am about to talk about something pretty controversial. I know it usually is best if you don't want to alienate your readership not to tread too often onto subjects like this one, and I really do hope my 5 (yes, 5) followers will still feel the same way about me and my blog after I say this.

So, I might as well come out with it: I think Brussels Sprouts are downright yummy. Yes, I know this is a very polarizing topic for many individuals. Some people love them, some people hate them, and yet other people don't eat them regardless of love or hate simply because they give them terrible gas (pardon my bluntness, dear readers). But I have to come right out and say, unless you fall into that third camp, you really should try these sprouts and give 'em another chance. Reduced balsamic vinegar, butter, a hint of brown sugar and the right amount of time in the oven turns these into tender, bright and sweet morsels that I eat up like candy. I even caught myself about to lick the last bits of sauce off the plate.

Balsamic Roasted Cauliflower

Food is so deeply linked to memory. I cannot think about anything as simple as asparagus without remembering all the times my parents have served a side of roasted or grilled asparagus throughout my childhood. I was exposed to so many vegetables by my parents, roasted root vegetables, sauteed leeks, grilled eggplant and zucchini...but never cauliflower. My mother can't eat it, so I suppose that is a good excuse. I first ate cauliflower at a restaurant in the Berkshires last year. My boyfriend ordered it off the menu, causing the waitress to raise her eyebrow. What came changed my perception of cauliflower. What once was a boring, colorless cousin to broccoli when roasted became a caramelized savory treat that neither of us could stop eating.