Brussels Sprouts with Bacon for THANKSGIVING


This is the last recipe from our Thanksgiving Dinner that I wanted to post - brussels sprouts with garlic and bacon. I chose this recipe because I barely eat brussels sprouts but I do like them.

Here a little something I learned from cooking this recipe and reheating it the next day:

As brussels sprouts are natrually bitter, be careful that you do not fry them until they turn black. Also, use a good amount of chicken broth, it will battle the bitterness. Other ways are a teaspoon of sugar, or someone told me that adding a bit of an apple cut into little pieces would help as well. Good luck :)

Ingredients:

  • 6 slices bacon
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 onion - diced
  • 1 kg brussels sprouts - trimmed and halved
  • 3 garlic cloves - minced
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • salt, pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Preparation:

  1. Place the bacon in a frying pan. There is no need to add oil or butter, the bacon will give up its own grease. Fry the bacon till crsipy. Remove from pan and chop, keep the grease in the pan.
  2. Use the hot frying pan from the bacon with the grease. Add the brussels sprouts and onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Don't stir, the brussels sprouts shall get some color on the side facing down. But be careful, do not let them turn black, that increases the bitterness. Stir in the garlic, fry for another 2-4 minutes. 
  3. Add the chicken broth. Don't be too stingy on it, this will help against the bitterness of the brussels sprouts. Bring to a boil. Cook till water is evaporated. Stir frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste. If brussels spouts are too bitter, add a teaspoon of sugar.





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    American Style Green Bean Casserole for THANKSGIVING



    In the States, it is pretty simply to prepare a traditional green bean casserole... You just take a cream of mushroom soup from Campbell ;) This time, I made it from scratch with a creamy flour roux and crispy onions (french onions) on top - for a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with my friends :)

    Ingredients:

    • 1 tablesspoon butter
    • 1 onion - finely diced
    • 250 g fresh cremini mushrooms - sliced
    • salt, pepper
    • 750 g princess beans (frozen)
    • 1 l salt water and 1 l ice water
    For the sauce (roux)
    • 4 tablespoons butter
    • 1 small onion - finely diced
    • 2 tablespoons flour
    • 400-500 ml milk
    • 20 g parmesan cheese
    • salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper
    For the topping:
    • 30 g parmesan cheese (grated)
    • 25 g crispy onions (french onions)

    Preparation:

    1. Prepare the mushrooms: Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the onions and mushrooms and sauté till onions are translucent and mushroms don't water anymore. Add salt and pepper, remove from heat.
    2. Blanch the beans: Heat up salt water, add the frozen beans and cook for 7 minutes till almost done. Then, use a splotted spoon and plunge the beans into ice water for a minute. Remove the beans from the water and set aside.
    3. Prepare the roux: Melt the butter in a small pot, add the diced onion and sauté till translucent. Add the flour, stir frequently and cook for 1-2 min. Then gradually add the milk and keep stirring, add salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and the cheese and stir. Add the mushrooms and beans and mix everything together.
    4. Bake the casserole: Pour the mix into a greased casserole. Sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan cheese and crispy onions and cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, remove the tin foil and bake at 390 degree Fahrenheit for additional 15 minutes.





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    HAPPY THANKSGIVING



    So, my little group of friends from College times and I, we have this tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving together with a real Thanksgiving Dinner. Over the years, life kinda took us all to different parts of the world, so it is difficult to all come together again. Nevertheless, the tradition still lives on with whoever is available and the others will be missed dearly!

    This year, we celebrated in Berlin, Germany. In the background, we listened to a Friends marathon on TV, starting with the episode "The one with all the Thanksgivings" (season 5) where Monica carries a Turkey on her head :) Everything very fitting.

    Our menu included a few new amazing homemade dishes (we had to skip one of our tradional dishes though, a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows). We made homemade dinner rolls, a true American style green bean casserole, garlic and bacon brussel sprouts and a green apple walnut and cranberry salad.

    On this year's THANKSGIVING Menu:








    Homemade Dinner Rolls for THANKSGIVING



    During my time in the States, I used to eat these simple, but amazing dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. Now I came across this recipe of homemade rolls at Living Sweet Moments and just had to try it. The dough turned out fantastic and the rolls tasted amazing to our Thanksgiving Dinner :)

    Ingredients (for 18-20 rolls):

    • 1 1/4 cup warm milk (Note: yeast does not activate with cold milk and will die with hot milk)
    • 1 packet instant yeast
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 2 eggs, beaten
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • 4 1/2 - 5 cups flour
    • 4 tablespoons butter, softened (preferably unsalted)
    For Topping:
    • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
    • coarse salt

     

    Preparation:

    1. First Proof: Combine the milk, yeast, sugar, eggs, salt, 1 cup of the flour and butter and mix manually. Add the rest of the flour step by step and knead the dough with a mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes till the dough is elastic and completely not sticky anymore. If the dough is too wet, add more flour. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towl. Now place in a dark warm area and let stand for 40 minutes till dough doubles in size.
    2. Second Proof: Cut the dough into 18-20 equal parts. First split the dough into 2 equal parts, then split the halves into another 2 equal parts so that you have 4 parts now and continue like that. When you have 18-20 equal parts, roll each of them into little balls. Place the rolls into a greased baking pan (the one that you will use for baking), but be careful that they don't touch as they will grow in size again. Cover with a clean kitchen towl and let proof in a dark, warm area for another 40 minutes. After proofing, do not remove rolls from pan as they would shrink again.
    3. Bake the Rolls: Preheat oven at 375 degree Fahrenheit. Now, brush the rolls with the melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 20 minutes till the tops turn slightly golden.






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