OUT WEST: Food & Lifestyle

Side Dish

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

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Shallot lemon vinaigrette drizzled over this Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with grated parmesan, pomegranate and toasted bread crumbs.

Perfect as a side dish, yet hearty enough for a vegetarian main dish.  Brussels Sprouts really hold up to this shallot lemon vinaigrette, making this a great dish for gatherings.  You’ll want to add the vinaigrette 15 minutes before serving to allow the brussels sprouts to completely absorb all the flavor, saving the pomegranate seeds, parmesan and seasoned breadcrumbs until just before serving.

Ingredients

  • Brussels Sprouts – Shaved, shredded or sliced in super thin strips.
  • Pomegranate Seeds– Slice open the pomegranate, tap out the seeds OR make life easier buy a cup of pomegranate seeds in the produce dept.
  • Parmesan Cheese – Buy a wedge of parmesan cheese and grate your own – it’s so much better than the pre-packaged.
  • Breadcrumbs -Use the crumbs at the bottom of the crouton bag or just smash up some croutons into breadcrumbs.
  • Shallot – Smaller than an onion, usually next to the garlic in the produce section of your grocery.
  • Lemon – A large lemon gives us the bright acidic taste to our vinaigrette.
  • Dijon Mustard – Adds a nice flavor to the dressing.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – Can sub with your favorite type of vinegar.
  • Agave – A natural sweetener usually found in the baking aisle.
  • Olive Oil – I used extra virgin, look for a good quality olive oil.

Preparation

  1. Place cleaned, shaved brussels sprouts in a large salad bowl.
  2. Coat with Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette (whisk shallot Dijon mustard, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and agave together, then whisk in olive oil).
  3. Let sit for about 15 minutes while brussels sprouts soak up the vinaigrette.
  4. Toss in pomegranate seeds, parmesan cheese and seasoned bread crumbs before serving.
Shallot lemon vinaigrette drizzled over this Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with grated parmesan, pomegranate and toasted bread crumbs.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

Shallot lemon vinaigrette drizzled over this Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with grated parmesan, pomegranate and toasted bread crumbs.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

  • 20 brussels sprouts cleaned, stemmed and shaved
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs/smashed croutons

Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette

  • 1/2 cup shallot thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed
  • 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. agave
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions
 

Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette

  • Whisk together shallot, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and agave in a small bowl. Whisk in olive oil.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

  • Place shaved brussels sprouts in a large salad bowl.
  • Coat with Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette.
  • Let sit for about 15 minutes while brussels sprouts soak up the vinaigrette.
  • Toss in pomegranate seeds, parmesan and breadcrumbs before serving.
Keyword Brussels Sprouts, Holiday Salad

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Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas

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An easy side dish full of flavor, Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas bring rustic elegance to your table in just 20 minutes.

An easy side dish full of flavor, Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas bring rustic elegance to your table in just 20 minutes.

Side dishes like these Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas are always good to have on hand. Roasting carrots bring out the most flavor with the least amount of effort. Adding a hint of paprika and cumin accentuates the earthiness and the agave and pepitas finish off the flavor profile with a sweet crunch.

When creating a simple side dish like these Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas, choose the best ingredients available to you. I like using organic rainbow carrots for an eye catching display. They really stand out and have a sweeter taste to them.

Preparing carrots with the green tops still attached is easy. Just cut off the majority of the greens, leaving about an inch for color. Using a vegetable peeler, peel away the outer layer of the carrot and extend up into the green. This will ensure that you have a nice, fresh looking carrot and remove any dirt that may have been left around the edges.

Ingredients

  • Carrots – I like the look of rainbow carrots, found in the organic section of the produce department. Leave about an inch of the green top on.
  • Paprika – Ground paprika or smoked paprika for a mild spice and sweetness.
  • Cumin – Ground cumin adds a warm earthy taste,
  • Agave Syrup – Often near the honey or baking aisle of the grocery, adds a natural sweetness.
  • Pepitas – Roasted pepitas add a crunchy texture, find them near the sunflower seeds.

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place cleaned carrots on sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.
  3. Mix together paprika and cumin, rub over carrots.
  4. Roast at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven to a serving dish. Drizzle with agave and garnish with pepitas.
  • A blend of red chiles, spices and orange juice produce a flavorful skin on this Out West inspired Chile Rubbed Smoked Turkey
  • Earthy chanterelle mushrooms, sage and leeks come together with toasted bread cubes in this rustic Out West Chanterelle Sage Stuffing.
  • This Thanksgiving head Out West with this Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing packed full of sliced apple, pecan and celery with rustic bread cubes.

Related Recipes

An easy side dish full of flavor, Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas bring rustic elegance to your table.

Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas

An easy side dish full of flavor, Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas bring rustic elegance to your table.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Thanksgiving, Vegetarian

Ingredients
  

  • 1 dozen carrots with green tops peeled leaving an inch of green top
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp agave syrup
  • 1 tbsp. roasted, salted pepitas

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Place carrots on sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil.
  • Mix together paprika and cumin. Rub over carrots.
  • Roast in 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes. * Timing will depend on how thick your carrots are.
  • Remove from oven to serving dish, drizzle with agave syrup and garnish with pepitas.

Chanterelle Sage Stuffing

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Earthy chanterelle mushrooms, sage and leeks come together with toasted bread cubes in this rustic Out West Chanterelle Sage Stuffing.

Chanterelle mushrooms are sautéed in butter with sliced leeks then combined with seasoned toasted bread cubes in this Chanterelle Sage Stuffing, perfect for your vegetarian Thanksgiving guests. You won’t miss the meat in this dish. The chanterelle mushrooms provide a meaty alternative and make this a signature Out West Food & Lifestyle dish.

Looking to forage your own chanterelle mushrooms? Learn a few tips and grab the recipe for my Chanterelle Crostini. It’s the perfect appetizer!

Ingredients

  • Chanterelle Mushrooms – Freshly foraged and air dried, if possible. This is the main ingredient, so you want the best chanterelles you can find. Slice thick or tear to maintain that rustic feel. They tend to shrink when cooked.
  • Toasted Seasoned Bread Cubes – Often found in the deli section during the holidays or you can make your own using day old French bread, cubed, seasoned with one tablespoon of poultry seasoning, a pinch of salt and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
  • Shallot – Part of the onion family. Find these next to the garlic and onion.
  • Celery – Organic is my choice for celery, adds a fresh flavor.
  • Sage – Fresh sage from the produce section or your own garden.

Preparation

  1. Place toasted bread cubes in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Sauté shallot, celery and garlic in bacon grease, lard or vegetable oil over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes until softened. Set aside.
  3. Sauté chanterelle mushrooms in bacon grease, lard or vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes until just softened.
  4. Add butter, sage and shallot mixture to pan. Turn off heat and let butter melt.
  5. Combine chanterelle shallot mixture with toasted bread cubes.
  6. Whisk egg and broth together then fold into bread mixture until completely combined.
  7. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Related Recipes

  • An easy side dish full of flavor, Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas bring rustic elegance to your table.
  • A blend of red chiles, spices and orange juice produce a flavorful skin on this Out West inspired Chile Rubbed Smoked Turkey
  • This Thanksgiving head Out West with this Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing packed full of sliced apple, pecan and celery with rustic bread cubes.
Earthy chanterelle mushrooms, sage and leeks come together with toasted bread cubes in this rustic Out West Chanterelle Sage Stuffing.

Chanterelle Sage Stuffing

Earthy chanterelle mushrooms, sage and leeks come together with toasted bread cubes in this rustic Out West Chanterelle Sage Stuffing.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, PNW, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 8 cups seasoned toasted bread cubes
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil or bacon grease divided
  • 1 cup shallot thinly sliced
  • 1 cup celery sliced
  • 1 tbsp. garlic minced
  • 3 cups chanterelle mushrooms thick sliced or torn
  • 1/2 cup butter sliced in a few pieces for easy melting
  • 3 tbsp. fresh sage rough chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cup chicken broth

Instructions
 

  • Place seasoned toasted bread cubes in large mixing bowl. If making your own: Toss bread cubes with 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon salt, place on sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes until toasted.
  • Sauté shallot, celery and garlic in 1 tablespoon of either vegetable oil or bacon grease over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. Set aside.
  • Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or bacon grease to pan and sauté chanterelles mushrooms over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes.
  • Turn the heat off and add butter to the pan, letting it melt into the chanterelle mushrooms.
  • Combine shallot mixture and chanterelle mushroom mixture to seasoned toasted bread cubes. Fold in sage.
  • Whisk egg into broth and combine with toasted bread cube mixture until completely coated.
  • Place stuffing mixture in a prepared baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil for the last 10 minutes if you like a crispier top.
Keyword Thanksgiving Dressing, Vegetarian Thanksgiving

Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing

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This Thanksgiving head Out West with this Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing packed full of sliced apple, pecan and celery with rustic bread cubes.

Spicy Chorizo, Pecan, Sliced Apple & Celery

The seasoned toasted bread cubes in this Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing combined with the crumbled cornbread adds the perfect nooks and crannies for all that goodness to nestle in.

Ingredients

  • Hempler’s Chorizo Ground Sausage – This recipe calls for chorizo, a Mexican spiced ground pork sausage. There are many different types and qualities of chorizo ranging from very greasy with little meat that typically comes in a tube to all natural ground sausage that has more substance and less grease. You can immediately tell the difference. For this recipe, you want to choose a high quality chorizo, such as Hempler’s. Hempler’s is a West coast local small batch crafted meat company. Click the link to find out where you can purchase this product.
  • Toasted Seasoned Bread Cubes – Often found in the deli section during the holidays or make your own using day old French bread, cubed, seasoned with one tablespoon of poultry seasoning, a pinch of salt and baked in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
  • Cornbread – Any recipe will do, just make ahead and let it sit out overnight to age a little.
  • Celery – Organic is my choice for celery
  • Shallot – Find these next to the garlic and onions
  • Apple – Honeycrisp is perfect, but any apple will do, skin on
  • Pecans – Shelled pecans or pecan halves
  • Sage – Fresh sage from produce section or your own garden

Preparation

  1. Combine toasted bread cubes and cornbread in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Brown chorizo over medium high heat and set aside.
  3. Sauté celery, shallot and apple in olive oil over medium high heat.
  4. Turn off heat and add chorizo back to pan and sliced butter, letting it melt in warm pan.
  5. Combine chorizo mixture with bread cube mixture.
  6. Fold in pecans and sage.
  7. Whisk egg into chicken broth and combine with bread cube mixture.
  8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Related Recipes

  • A blend of red chiles, spices and orange juice produce a flavorful skin on this Out West inspired Chile Rubbed Smoked Turkey
  • An easy side dish full of flavor, Roasted Spiced Carrots with Agave and Pepitas bring rustic elegance to your table.
  • Earthy chanterelle mushrooms, sage and leeks come together with toasted bread cubes in this rustic Out West Chanterelle Sage Stuffing.
This Thanksgiving head Out West with this Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing packed full of sliced apple, pecan and celery with rustic bread cubes.

Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing

This Thanksgiving head Out West with this Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing packed full of sliced apple, pecan and celery with rustic bread cubes.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, PNW, Thanksgiving
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups seasoned toasted bread cubes
  • 4 cups day old corn bread roughly broken
  • 1/2 pound Hempler's Chorizo Ground Sausage
  • 1 tablespoon lard or olive oil
  • 1 cup celery thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup shallot thinly sliced
  • 1 cup apple thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup butter sliced in a few pieces for easy melting
  • 1 cup pecans rough chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh sage rough chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cup chicken broth

Instructions
 

  • Combine toasted bread cubes and corn bread in a large mixing bowl.
  • Brown chorizo in a large pan over medium high heat. Remove from pan and set aside.
  • Add lard or olive oil to the pan. Sauté celery and shallot for about 3 minutes until softened. Add apple and sauté another minute.
  • Turn heat off and add butter and cooked chorizo, letting butter melt in warm pan.
  • Combine chorizo mixture with toasted bread cube mixture.
  • Fold in pecans and sage.
  • Whisk egg into broth and combine with bread cube mixture until completely coated.
  • Place stuffing mixture in a prepared baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes if you like a crispier top.
Keyword Southwest Stuffing, Thanksgiving, Western Stuffing

Mushroom Tarragon Strata

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French tarragon transforms this Mushroom Tarragon Strata into an elegant breakfast dish with rustic bread, leafy kale, bacon and parmesan.

Breakfast is Served

What do I like most about a breakfast strata? Breakfast strata can be made with whatever you have in your fridge. Whether you want to use up a few vegetable odds and ends, maybe some leftover ham or that last piece of cheese. These are all perfect ingredients to pair with day old French bread to make a delicious strata.

Whenever I have leftover French bread, you know I’m going to turn it into some kind of strata….and with the Covid baking frenzy, we’ve made our fair share of bread around here. Mushroom Tarragon Strata starts with crusty old French bread torn into large cubes. They don’t have to be perfect, in fact, I like a little bit of size difference for added texture.

Next, I like to render bacon lardons and use the leftover bacon fat a.k.a grease to sauté my sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic and kale. These ingredients need just a quick sauté before they are combined with the other strata ingredients. Once they are lightly cooked and cooled, they get folded into the egg mixture with the addition of grated parmesan cheese and French tarragon. Toss together with the torn bread cubes and place in a prepared baking dish. At this point, you could refrigerate for use the next morning or bake until egg is firm and bread is golden brown.

French tarragon transforms this Mushroom Tarragon Strata into an elegant breakfast dish with rustic bread, leafy kale, bacon and parmesan.
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Mushroom Tarragon Strata

French tarragon transforms this Mushroom Tarragon Strata into an elegant breakfast dish with rustic bread, leafy kale, bacon and parmesan.
Course Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine Breakfast, Farm to Table
Keyword brunch, Make Ahead Breakfast
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 4 strips thick cut bacon cut into lardons
  • 1/4 yellow onion halved, then sliced thinly
  • 1 mounded cup mushrooms sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic about 1 Tbsp. minced
  • 1 cup kale torn
  • 8 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbsp. French tarragon chopped

Instructions

  • Butter an oven safe casserole dish. I like using a 9×9 square dish.
  • Place bacon lardons in a medium pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon in cooked through. Remove bacon and set aside, leaving fat in the pan.
  • Sauté the onion, mushrooms and garlic in the bacon fat until just softened about 3 minutes.
  • Add kale to the pan and stir to combine. This remaining heat from the pan with soften the kale just enough. Add bacon back to pan, then remove pan from heat and let cool.
  • In a large bowl, whisk eggs, cream and a pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Combine bread cubes, sautéed vegetables, egg mixture, parmesan cheese and tarragon.
  • Place evenly into prepared baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until eggs are firm and bread is toasty.

Related Recipes:

  • Savory roasted broccolini
  • Golden browned red potato gratin with warm and spicy Serrano peppers