Seasons Archives - Page 22 of 37

Savory Beef Stew with Mustard and Brandy

June 15, 2024January 1, 2016 by Emily

I have to say that in general, beef stew is one of those dishes I had always been ‘meh’ about. I never disliked it, but I can’t say I ever craved it either. I think I probably associate it with the gross canned stuff that everybody ate in college. You know, that brownish sludge with chunks of ‘beef’ and … Read more

Shredded Brussels Sprout and Red Cabbage Salad with Walnuts and Pecorino

June 15, 2024December 18, 2015 by Emily

A beautiful, healthy salad that combines thinly shredded brussels sprouts and red cabbage with toasted walnuts and Pecorino cheese. Simple but so delicious.

In the midst of all the joyous holiday feasting, it’s easy to forget the pleasures of a simple, really good salad. Don’t get me wrong, one glance at our Instagram feed tells you that we’re chock full of holiday spirit (in the form of toffee, cookies and homemade eggnog) but sometimes it all becomes just a bit too much, you know?

I was going to make this salad for Thanksgiving but feared there would be a riot if there was no Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Pecans on the buffet, so I played it safe.

Our other winter warmer: Vanilla Old Fashioned

July 5, 2024December 11, 2015 by Emily

This modern update on the classic Old Fashioned combines the warmth of vanilla bean with fresh orange peel and citrus bitters. The result is a little sweet, very smooth and dangerously drinkable.

Easy Candied Pecans

June 10, 2024November 20, 2015 by Emily

We made these candied pecans to top our Bourbon-Pumpkin Mousse Pie but luckily I made double the recipe because they are delicious. They’d be great in a fall salad, or sprinkled over Butterscotch Pudding, or just as a snack. They’d be delicious served with blue cheese along with sliced apples and pears.

Bourbon Pumpkin-Mousse Pie with Candied Pecans

Bourbon Pumpkin Mousse Tart with Candied Pecans

June 10, 2024November 19, 2015 by Emily

A pumpkin tart covered in meringue cones

Light and airy pumpkin mousse, with a good splash of bourbon, in a rich chocolate cookie shell topped with whipped cream swirls and crunchy candied pecans. Yeah, you need to make this.

Wotcha! Very occasionally we at Nerd HQ rifle back through the posts of this blog and try to find ingredients which haven’t been well-represented. It being autumn, and almost Thanksgiving and all that, we thought – heck it, let’s do pumpkin. It’s been a while, right? And then we looked back through the archives and realized we’d actually never done anything bloggable with pumpkin. (I don’t mean “unbloggable” like we’d done weird, private things with pumpkins, you nutter. I just mean we hadn’t cooked anything and photographed it.)

Brown Sugar and Mustard Glazed Acorn Squash

June 15, 2024November 13, 2015 by Emily

Acorn squash easy-baked with a brown sugar and mustard glaze. Simple, tasty and nutritious. This recipe just screams autumn!

I fully admit that around this time of year I go a little squash crazy (examples: mashed with mascarpone, curried in soup, curried in another soup, in pasta with bacon, in farro salad). I tend to focus my obsession on the butternut variety (it’s just asking for it. I mean look at those curves!) but I have plenty of madness left for my other favorites like delicata, kabocha and the wonderful acorn.

What I love about acorn squash in particular is that it’s very mildly flavored and extremely easy to cook. You could basically whack it in half, rub the flesh with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and simply roast it and it would be delicious.