This recipe originated from one I tried several years ago on some unsuspecting out of town guests. During that effort, whole onions were stuffed with breadcrumbs and some cheese and ended up being pretty dry and lacking in the flavor department. Our guests were polite about the whole thing, but I noticed much of this item being pushed around on the plate without being actually eaten. Back to the drawing board to tackle the problem areas, and I think we now have a winner. Whole onions are roasted (super easy but a little time consuming), then cooled, hollowed out and filled with a savory bread pudding that is creamy and cheesy and full of mushrooms, roasted onion and tons of herbs. And because we can never have too much bread pudding, the stuffed onions sit on a nice bed of the bread pudding to boot. This makes an awesome side dish, and one you might want to think about over the holidays. It does take some time and probably needs to be done over two days, but the pieces come together pretty quickly. However…. if you’d rather skip the whole onion stuffing idea, the bread pudding is delicious on its own. The completed dish can be done in advance a day or two before dinner, so all that’s left is to pop it in the oven and serve.
…
I, for one, felt the need to lay off the holiday stuffing of myself for a while. This does not mean that I am willing to give up food that is good for me, looks better than good enough to eat, and that has a few little indulgences thrown in for good measure. Here we have a big variety of winter vegetables that have been either steamed or roasted (and in some cases both), then heaped up on a platter and topped with plenty of sweet & salty candied walnuts. The whole works is then drizzled generously with a glaze made with butter, maple syrup and balsamic vinegar. This is coincidentally the same mixture that is used to candy the walnuts, so we happily cut down on some effort there. The result: a beautiful, healthy, and just a tad bit sinful way to jump on the new year. And before you say anything – yes, I have gone overboard with the variety of vegetables here and don’t expect many people in their right mind to do the same, but this can give you many options to think about. How about choosing just one, maybe two, or maybe even three? The variety of tastes and colors can do nothing but make your day a happier, and healthier one. You can think about it this way…the more vegetables you use, the more candied walnuts and buttery glaze you get…I like to operate under those types of principles.
Here’s an easy side dish I developed pretty much by accident due to the fact that I stepped away from the stovetop while attempting an orzo risotto recipe. Orzo is a little pasta shape that looks a lot like big grains of rice. When I returned to the stove, I saw that the orzo was super toasted, and there was no way that was going to cooperate into giving off its starch to becoming a creamy risotto. “Rats”, I thought, but then decided just to go with it and see what happened. The result was this happy surprise. Toasting the orzo until just a tad past golden brown gave it a nutty, more developed flavor, and didn’t make the pasta clump up – not one bit. The addition of some wine, then chicken broth, further popped up the flavor. But being one who can’t leave well enough alone, I grabbed a couple of handfuls of baby spinach and tossed them in until just softened, then finished the whole business with some crumbled feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, and roasted garlic. Yowza.
…