Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Do you like Brussels sprouts? I didn't think so. I didn't like them either. I was used to those slimy, stinky things my mom shook out of the Birdseye frozen food box that tasted half like freezer and half like sulfur. Nice. And then Ina Garten rocked my world. Ina, the Barefoot Contessa, advocated roasting veggies in her first cookbook (the best one, in my mind), and all of a sudden, I couldn't get enough Brussels sprouts. The trick here is to roast the hell out of these suckers, and use plenty of salt. Yes, it's okay to use salt on your veggies unless your doctor says not to. It's my uneducated opinion that any harm the salt may do is balanced out by the good of the cruciferous greens. The sprouts will get nice and caramelized, adding a bit of nuttiness to their salty richness. If any of the outer leaves fall off during the roasting process, they will crisp up and become little snackin' chips for you to nibble while getting dinner on the table.

Can you tell that I shake the pan extra hard to encourage leaf droppage?

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

as many brussels sprouts as you want to eat (it's helpful if they're relatively similar in size)
a healthy drizzle of olive oil
salt (I use kosher or sea salt) and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425. Trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and place them in a single layer in a heavy duty pan. If the size varies wildly, you can halve the larger ones; put these cut side down in the pan so the flat side can caramelize (yum!). Pour the healthy drizzle of olive oil over the sprouts, pop them in the oven, and shake them occasionally--every ten minutes or so. In about thirty minutes, you'll notice that they will be turning a nice shade of brown in spots, and at this point, you can take them out of the oven, or leave them in a little longer if you like them more well done.

Don't be afraid of the oil. A little goes a long way (it becomes much more liquid when it's hot and will coat the veggies even if it seems like it won't at room temperature), but it adds a wonderful richness that you simply won't get if you go fat-free. And the point here is to eat the veggies and LIKE them, right? Trust me, you'll be a roasting convert from here on in.

Pumpkin Custard Cups

Oh, yum. Oh, yum. Oh, yum. That’s all I can say because I just made these for the first time. Not only does my kitchen smell like we just celebrated a major winter holiday, my tummy is happy because 1) I just ate something sweet, delicious, and ever so comforting, and 2) I just ate something high in vitamins, minerals and other sundry nutrients that has a healthy dose of protein and fiber as well, and contains absolutely no refined sugar. And lest I forget, if you make a bakers’ dozen of these, each one contains less than 70 calories.

If that doesn’t make you rush to your oven, one last thing: the ingredients are probably all in your pantry and fridge, so you can throw these together any old time without a special trip to the market and it takes less than five minutes. Literally.

What are you waiting for?

5 T. agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. cardamom
¼ tsp. white pepper
¼ tsp. salt
¾ c. egg whites
1 15 oz. can solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, which has sugar and spice, as well as some not-so-nice stuff)
1 12 oz. can evaporated skim milk

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin and an additional small baking dish (like a 6 oz. ramekin).

Stir spices and salt into agave nectar or syrup and combine well. If you don’t have all of the spices, don’t worry—the cups will be delicious as long as you put in something. I consider the essentials to be the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; the others give it a chai-like bite that’s a little more complex and appealing to my palate, but I’m sure you and your tasters will be just fine with whatever you have on hand at home.

Stir the pumpkin and egg white into the mixture, and then gently stir in the milk, being careful not to make bubbles. When everything is uniformly combined, divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cups and the ramekin. Place the pan and ramekin in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. The very center of the custard cups will look a little wobbly when they’re done, but they will continue to cook on residual heat for a while after you take them out of the oven.

Unmold them when they're completely cool. You might have to run a knife or thin spatula around the edges of the custards in muffin tins, but you can leave the thirteenth in the ramekin. That is, if you haven't already eaten it.

Fish en papillote with pineapple salsa

This went with the Absolut Bananas martinis I made from Dale DeGroff's great cocktail compendium (can't remember the name, but I'll put in a link asap). It was WAY better than I thought it would be, especially since it's so healthy. And the best part is you can prepare it ahead of time and just pop it in the oven when you're ready for dinner. Enjoy!

3 tilapia fillets, about 1" high at thickest portion (about a pound; use any firm, mild, white-fleshed fish and adjust amounts accordingly)
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4" strips
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped roughly
3 tsp. olive oil
about 15 basil leaves
salt and pepper
garlic powder

Salsa:
1/2 c. fresh pineapple, diced
1/2 c. cucumber, seeded and diced
1/4 c. tomato, seeded and diced
1/4 c. red onion, minced
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
about 1" off the end of a fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (or more if you like it spicier)
juice from 1 lime
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Tear off 3 squares of parchment from your roll (or use aluminum foil) and spray with cooking spray. Layer zucchini strips, then tomatoes, then a piece of fish on each square and drizzle each piece of fish with 1 tsp. olive oil. The oil really does add a lot of flavor even though there's such a small amount, so don't skip this step. Sprinkle each piece of fish with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and then arrange the basil leaves on top. Fold one end of the parchment over to cover the fish and crimp the edges together. Then fold each side in and crimp together to seal. It's okay if the crimping doesn't stay tight; if you fold the edges over several times, it will stay tight enough for the fish to steam, which is what you want.


Put the packets of fish on a cookie sheet and place in the oven (or refrigerate them till you're ready to cook them). While they're cooking, make the salsa by mixing all of the ingredients together in a nonreactive (i.e. glass or ceramic) bowl. If you have them, throw in a handful of black beans for textural and flavor contrast. They are great in this recipe, but it's probably not worth opening the can just for a small amount, so you decide.

The fish takes about 20 minutes to cook. To serve, place each packet on a plate and mound some salsa alongside.

If you want to get really fancy, you can cut the parchment in all kinds of shapes. I've seen hearts for a romantic dinner or even individual fishes if you're having a small dinner party and want to impress your friends. You can get really creative here and still have the fish taste terrific, so go to town.