I have always loved Brussel sprouts since I was a little kid, when my grandmother used to make them at our regular Thursday night family dinners. Brussel sprouts can be served as a side to go with many meat options available on this blog (pork tenderloin, meatloaf, grilled flank steak...), as well as a main dish, by adding for instance some pieces of fried bacon, or some beaten eggs to make an omelette.

Our friends Sarah and Michael recently gave us 2 wonderful cookbooks from Yotam Ottolenghi: Plenty and Jerusalem. When they came over to spend the weekend with us and we were stuck inside the house because of the insane polar vortex, we had nothing better to do than try some of Ottolenghi's recipes. So you will soon see several of these on the blog, as I have become totally addicted to the incredible taste and freshness of his dishes, which also happen to be quite healthy.

If you, like me, are not a big fan of industrial corn bread, this recipe will make you change your mind. I picked it among many corn bread recipes from Williams Sonoma, and was attracted by its generous proportions of butter and cream, which make the end product very moist and tasty. Moreover, it goes very well with my chile. So give this corn bread a chance, you will not regret it!

Continuing with the Thanksgiving theme, you just cannot go wrong with mashed potatoes. And really there is only one secret for this dish: just add A LOT of butter and creme fraiche. The choice of potatoes is also quite important. I strongly suggest Yukon Gold potatoes, which are firm enough and not as powdery as other potatoes typically used for oven baking. Also, never use a blender for mashing your potatoes, they would get all sticky and elastic. Obviously the addition of confit garlic, like in the recipe below, does not hurt.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays: just the simple happiness of getting together with friends and family, no presents involved - so in this land of materialism, it is very refreshing (of course Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner).

Every year, we get together with our friends Sophie and Guillaume, as well as their lovely daughters. Our table got gradually extended to special guests: their cousin Camille, and this year Joyce, Victoire's friend from McGill. Since I love cooking and even more planning, thinking of Thanksgiving starts waking me up at night a few weeks before, thinking about a certain ingredient or spice that I might want to try this year. It has also become some kind of challenge, to make the traditional turkey as exciting (should I say sexy) as possible.

Cranberry sauce is a staple of Thanksgiving dinners, and the good news is that you can prepare it a few days in advance. It is also great in sandwiches with your turkey leftovers. I have been using this recipe adapted from William Sonoma for several years. I enjoy the fact that the baked apples make it milder and more subtle. You can adjust the quantity of sugar based on how sweet you want this relish to be (mind you, cranberries are quite bitter).


Ingredients:
1 cup glass orange juice
1 cup water
1 apple, peeled and cut in cubes
3 cups fresh cranberries rinsed, with the soft ones discarded
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cloves



In a saucepan, heat the orange juice and water, add all the ingredients and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the apple is tender, the cranberries have all burst and the sauce thickens. Transfer the cranberry sauce to a heatproof bowl and let cool for one hour before serving. You can also store it in the fridge for a few days.

Mac 'n' cheese is one of those regressive dishes that makes you feel good and bad at the same time. Like many basic meals, you can have a trashy version, where you buy a gooey, plastiquey orange sauce at the store, or you can try to make it more interesting and healthier (to some extent). My healthier version includes steamed broccoli, which go quite well with the macaroni, as well as whole wheat pasta.

Oven roasted potatoes are a great side dish when you are grilling meat or fish on the barbecue, or even if you are planning to serve "moules marinières" (mussels) - recipe to come. It is totally hassle-free as it basically cooks itself while you are tending to more important matters (such as enjoying a glass of wine with your friends). It is also much healthier than French fries, and extremely flavorful, as the potatoes are baked with fresh thyme.

Ratatouille is the perfect summer dish. Vegetarians will enjoy it as a wholesome meal, and meat lovers will savor it as an accompaniment to grilled streak, chicken, pork or fish. I usually serve my ratatouille with couscous and a barbecued pork tenderloin (recipe coming soon!).

Chefs will often recommend cooking each of the ratatouille vegetables separately, which may make the dish more visually appealing but is not true to ratatouille's authentic, rustic origins. For that reason, and to avoid a mountain-load of dishes, I prepare it the traditional way: everything in one pot.

However, it is important to respect the order in which to add the ingredients: the eggplant needs to be fried first so that its texture remains firm, and the zucchini are added last because they cook much faster than the other vegetables.

Don't be afraid to add a generous dose of garlic and basil, as they will add a lot of taste and freshness to the dish. Also, here is a dirty little secret: if your tomatoes are not ripe enough, feel free to add one tablespoon of granulated sugar, which will remove some of their acidity.


Ratatouille (Serves 8):

1 large eggplant (or 2 medium eggplants) cut in 1/2 inch cubes
3 zucchini, cut lengthwise and sliced in 1/2 inch thick slices
3 large tomatoes, cut in large cubes
3 peppers, ideally different colors, cut in thin strips
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
fresh thyme
olive oil

In a large dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil at high temperature and add the eggplant. Brown the eggplant and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Add more olive oil if necessary.

Add the onion, peppers and garlic. Cook on medium/high heat for 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to render some juice.

Tie the fresh thyme twigs together with twine to form a bouquet garni. Add them to the vegetables and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, uncovered, on medium heat.


Add the zucchini and basil, and cook for another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. At this point, enough water should have evaporated, and the ratatouille is ready!

Sprinkle some fresh basil leaves before serving.