Category Archives: Forking Recipes

Interesting twists on everyday things as well as the unusual

Forking Awesome Lean Quicker Nitrate-FREE PASTRAMI Eye Roast Recipe

I was watching Diners Drive Inns and Dives on Food Network and saw a restaurant that made Pastrami from eye roast. I thought that was a great idea. So I can do it too. Actually this is my favorite pastrami recipe I’ve done so far. It taste the best to me. It’s a lot easier to trim. It’s leaner but in a good way and not dry way. This comes out tender moist and flavorful. I might delete my older brisket recipes for pastrami. Real pastrami takes at least a week. This Pastrami Eye Roast sits in brine for three days and gets cooked on the fourth day. I only use Diamond Brand kosher salt because it has a different salt content for brining meat. The crystals are also shaped different and penetrate the meat better. The different brands work different on the meat and Diamond brand works best for this application. DO NOT USE ANOTHER BRAND. I thought the seasoning was perfection when I tasted it on rye bread with a thin smear of extra mild French mustard (Amora Brand) I liked the clove finish it had. It was Forking Delicious! The next day I tasted just a small piece plain and plain I thought the cloves could be cut back a little…….so adjust to if you want a clove finish or cut the cloves in the recipe by up to a teaspoon.

Ingredients for around 20 servings

4 lb eye roast (Do not use a smaller eye roast…The eye roast must be at least 4 lbs after trimming) (I bought a whole eye roast from Safeway….It was the skinniest eye roast I ever saw) – The eye roast needs to be trimmed of all fat and silver skin.)

1 cup brown sugar

5 oz DIAMOND kosher salt – ONLY USE DIAMOND BRAND OR RECIPE WON’T WORK and you can get sick if the meat isn’t salted correctly!

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons juniper berries

3 Tablespoons coriander seeds

2 teaspoons allspice berries

3 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons whole cloves (or decrease up to one teaspoon less to cut the clove finish)

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

2 Tablespoons black tellicherry peppercorns

2 teaspoons white peppercorns

1 teaspoon ground ginger

10 garlic cloves – sliced thin

1 Tablespoon granulated garlic

2 dried hot Calabrian Peri Peri peppers (or a 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper)

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 quart water

1/3 cup canola oil – (for rub)

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce – (for rub)

4 Tablespoons ground coriander

1 Tablespoon ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika

Directions

To your sauce pot add the salt, brown sugar, honey, juniper berries, coriander seeds, allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves, mustard seeds, pepper corns, ginger, garlic, hot pepper, (2T) smoked paprika and 32 oz of water and bring to boil then reduce to simmer for around ten minutes and then take off the heat and let it cool. You can’t use it until it feels cool to the touch. I put a bowl of ice under the pot and it cooled down pretty fast.

Peirce eye roast all over with a fork.

Get a large bag. Either a brining bag or a turkey roasting bag and add the eye roast and when the brine is cool to the touch add the brine. Put the bagged meat in a pan for support. Push air out of bag and tie well. Let it sit in the refrigerator for three days.

On the forth day set oven to 500 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl make the rub. Add oil, Worcestershire, (4T) coriander, ground black pepper and (1T) smoked paprika. Mix well and rub all over the eye roast.

Put it in a pan.

It goes in the pre heated oven at 500 degrees F for 15 minutes BUT DON’T OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! After 15 minutes shut the heat off but leave in the oven 2 hours (don’t open oven door) After the two hours take out. Let it rest maybe 30 minutes and then you can enjoy!

Forking Awesome nitrate-Free Pastrami Eye Roast

This is really Forking Awesome!

Forking Awesome Guacamole Style Beet Recipe

This is really beet guacamole but I didn’t want to call it that. It came out really Forking Delicious. I made this with some ingredients that you might not have. like chitepin chili peppers and the brine from my Forking Awesome pickled caccabella peppers. You can make substitutions if you care to but you will not get the same delicious flavors. This came out as flavorful as really good guacamole but it seems lighter and it’s a bit fruity. I think it will be great as a dip or a relish for poultry.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 lb beets (must be red because yellow react from foil) peeled

1 lime (just the fresh squeezed juice

3 oz sweet onions – diced

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

4 Tablespoons pickled pepper brine – preferably Forking Awesome Pickled Cascabella Peppers recipe

1/2 oz fresh cilantro (leaves and some tender stems) – chopped

.03 oz mint leaves – chopped

1/2 apple – peeled – small dice

4 chitepin chili peppers – crushed with fingers

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut down beets so they are smaller either in halves or quarters depending on size. Wrap each beet piece with foil and add a tablespoon of water to each wrapped piece of beet. Put the wrapped beets on a baking sheet or dish to catch liquids that might run out. Cook beets till tender. Timing may differ but in my oven this took one hour. Take beets out of foil and add to a container for stick blending.

To yor container add the beets, lime juice, garlic, cascabella pepper brine, chitepin peppers, salt and pepper and blend till smooth. Mix in the apple, onions and fresh herbs. Finish with some pomegranate seeds.

Forking Awesome Guacamole Style Beets

It’s Forking Delicious!

The Forking Truth

Some Recipes that you can find here on The Forking Truth for Thanksgiving

Here are a bunch of recipes from The Forking Truth that you might want to try for Thanksgiving. Up above is for a Southwest Style Thanksgiving. It’s Guacamole Style Beets. (this recipe will go up Wednesday) Here are around 50 Forking recipes to inspire you.

Duchess Parnips
Blue Cheese Sriracha Butter Hasselback Mini Potatoes with Radish
Timbale
Tomato, Hibiscus, Onion and Roasted Lime Salad
Bread Leek Pudding
Festive Holiday Cranberry Sauce
Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries, Apples and Almond Dukkah
Thomas Keller’s Chocolate Bouchon made by me
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Chestnuts with Crisp Sage
Moroccan Inspired Carrots
Duchess Inspired Kabocha Squash
Braised Leeks with Onions Appleand Carrots in Apple Cider Veloute
Gordon Ramsey’s Clafoutis
Cranberry Sauce with Hibiscus
Sweet Potatoes with Cherry peppers, Figs, Green Onions and Balsamic Drizzle
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Pecans, Dates and some Brown Sugar
Traditional Stuffing and Rosemary Herb Stuffing
Fennel Fava Radish and Walnut Salad in Lemon Dijon Dressing
Italian Style Beans

Baby Eggplants stuffed with spicy Indian spiced onions, tomatoes, sprouts and cashews

Oven fried crispy turkey wings

Classic Boule
Citrus Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing and Spiced Almonds
Forking Great Blue-Cheese, Sriracha, Honey Radish Appetizer
Melon Salad with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Whipped Cream Cheese
Butternut Squash Cinnamon Bun
Spaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette inspired from FnB Restaurant of Scottsdale AZ
Twice Cooked Gilfeather Rutabaga inspired from FNB Restaurant
Crispy Turkey Skin
Pear Almond Cake
Acorn Squash with Cranberry Mango Habanero Sauce and Blue Cheese
Chanterelle Bread Stuffing
Duchess Style Stuffed Potatoes
Kabocha Squash Coconut Crust Pie
Hatch Chili and Roasted Red Pepper Challah Bread
Onion Rolls
Kobocha Squash Ice-Cream
Purple Sweet Potato Blackberry Pie with Coconut/Almond Crust
Brussels Sprouts Baba Ganoush
Sweet Potato Surprise Pie …..surprise it’s purple!
Duchess Potatoes (The Special Occasion Potato)
Cranberry Roselle Lime Sauce
Bouchon Bakery Mini Coffee Cake
Twisted Date Bread
Yellow Mango Frozen Confection
Kabocha Squash Cake with Drizzle and Chestnuts
Tunisian Inspired Carrots
Summer Vegetable Stuffed Peppers
Braised Beets, Pickled Golden Raisins, Spiced Walnuts and Mint
Forking BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies ever!
South West Style Hatch Chile Corn Fritters
Sriracha Apricot Glazed Acorn Squash with Nectarines, Cherries and Almonds
Fancy Schmancy Deviled Eggs
One Ingredient Frozen Banana Confection with added cinnamon and crushed chocolate chips
Italian Style Slightly Spicy Cauliflower
Plum Pomegranate and Pine Nut Cake
Zippy but Delicious Corn Bread Stuffing
Moist Fresh Herb Turkey Stuffing
Turkey Stock
Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs
SousVide 140 degrees F with herbs salt and pepper and garlic confit

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spicy Vegetarian Cauliflower Meatballs in Spicy Butternut Squash Indian Spiced Sauce Recipe

These Spicy Vegetarian Cauliflower Meatballs in Spicy Butternut Squash Indian Spiced Sauce are inspired by my trip to Meat The Ball in Scottsdale. Those meatballs were so FORKING DELICIOUS I tried to make my own and I did a pretty good job at a copy cat recipe. This recipe makes around 22 two ounce meatballs. So that means it will make around 11 servings. Adjust the recipe to what you need. I always make meatballs in large batches and freeze extra for latter. The sauce might thicken when it gets cold so you might need to thin it down some after chilling.

Ingredients for around 11 servings

1 cauliflower – break down into florets

1 lb peeled potato – dice

1/2 large sweet onion – small dice

non stick canola spray or a very small amount of sprayed canola oil (I went with spray because I thought the oil might make the cauliflower too wet but I think both will work)

5 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1 serrano pepper – microplane, mince or slice paper thin on a mandolin

1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoon ginger-root – grated

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon gram masala

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons course sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup cashews – crushed

1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 egg – slightly beaten

1 cup oats

1/4 cup fresh cilantro – leaves and only the tender stems

1 lb butternut squash – already cooked and cut into cubes

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 Tablespoon ginger root – fresh grated

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon gram masala

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 serrano pepper – either mince, microplane or slice paper thin on a mandolin

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray with non stick spray or oil baking sheet(s).

The cauliflower goes on a baking sheet in a single layer and gets sprays with canola.

The potato goes on a baking sheet and also gets sprayed with canola.

The onions go on a baking sheet and get sprayed with canola.

Put the cauliflower on the middle rack and the onions and potato on the lower rack.

Timing will differ depending on cut, pan oven and other things but in my oven the onions were down in 40 minutes and the potato and cauliflower were down in 45 minutes. (the onions and cauliflower did turn nicely browned). Put to the side and start the sauce if you want them down at the same time or continue and skip a paragraph.

In a sauce pot add the butternut squash cubes and vegetable stock. Turn the heat up to medium high and use a stick blender and blend everything up till smooth. Add the coconut milk, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, 4 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, chili powder, 1 teaspoon gram marsala, paprika and one serrano pepper. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Let it go around 10 minutes and occasionally stir.

In a large container add the cauliflower, onion and potato and use a stick blender to mix up a little but not a lot. You want it chunky. Add the remaining – garlic, serrano pepper, ginger, gram masala, coriander, salt, black pepper, garbanzo bean flour, cashews, baking powder, panko, egg, oats and cilantro. MIX WELL.

Use a Tablespoon and make balls that are around 2 ounces each and place on baking sheet(s). They go in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes and then shut oven off and leave in another 5 minutes. Serve with sauce.

You and yours will be surprised! They really are flavorful and delicious with a good texture!

Spicy Vegetarian Cauliflower Meatballs in Spicy Butternut Squash Indian Spiced Sauce

These are really delicious!

The Forking Truth

Leeks Stuffed with Apples and Onions with Carrots in Apple Cider Veloute – Inspired by The French Cooking Academy

I found some beautiful leeks and wanted to do something special with them so I searched the web and found an interesting video from The French Cooking Academy called Leeks two ways and one was in Apple Cider Veloute. I watched the video and I thought it seemed pretty easy and it also sounded tasty. The French Chef would be mad at me for changing up his recipe a bit but he did give me the idea for this dish so I have to give a special THANK YOU to The French Cooking Academy. I do note that the sauce will thicken when cold so for a reheat you will have to thin it down some with more apple cider and or heavy cream if you prefer.

Ingredients for around three servings

2 Leeks – greens removed, root removed, tough layer removed, split but not all the threw and cleaned – Bundle up with string so they don’t fall apart.

1 Tablespoon salt

This is the bundle after cooking

1 lb carrots – peeled if not organic or if desired. Cut them to a similar shape as the leeks.

2 Tablespoons canola oil

small red onion – sliced paper thin

1 apple – slice paper thin

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (plus more for re-heats)

2 Tablespoons cream cheese (must be a better brand like Arla that doesn’t have stabilizers or preservatives) (of course the real recipe uses heavy cream to your liking. I don’t usually have heavy cream in the house and that is why I used cream cheese for the creamy factor. (plus the 2 Tablespoons is much less fattening than a cup of heavy cream).

1 lemon (just the fresh squeezed juice)

pinch ground white pepper

fresh nutmeg – just a few grates

Directions

Slow boil the bundle of leeks with a good amount of salt till they are soft. At least 5 minutes. Remove leeks and let them cool to room temperature and set to the side.

Boil your carrots for about two minutes. Sauté carrots with canola oil till they brown some and set to the side.

Add apples and onions to pan and cook till onions have a slight brown color and set to side.

Clean fry pan and on medium high add the butter. Add the flour and whisk till smooth and bubbles. You want to cook the flour. Slowly add the apple cider and whisk. Let sauce cook till bubbles and reduce to simmer. Add white pepper and nutmeg.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice on all the vegetables and serve with sauce right away. You can stuff the leek with the onions and apple if you like.

Leeks with Onions Appleand Carrots in Apple Cider Veloute

A Special THANKS to The French Cooking Academy for inspiring me.

The Forking Truth

Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries Apples and Almond Dukkah Recipe based on Food & Wine Red Cabbage Salad with Baked Cherries and Almond Dukkah

I came across the Food and Wine recipe called Red Cabbage with baked cherries and almond dukkah recipe. I thought it sounded delicious to me but I didn’t have cherries. I had strawberries so I made some changes as I was following the recipe. Like balsamic goes better with strawberries than sherry. I also changed the vinaigrette to make it tastier. I used Food and Wine’s almond dukkah recipe but left out the maple syrup because everything is sweet enough and I don’t think maple syrup belongs anyway. Made several other changes and reduced the recipes to make 4 servings instead of 8 or more servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1/4 of small red cabbage – finely shredded on a mandolin

12 strawberries – sliced in half

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon date syrup

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (dressing)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (dressing)

1 Tablespoon dijon (dressing)

1 Tablespoon date syrup (dressing)

1 apple – sliced thin

1 orange – just the fresh squeezed juice goes on apple slices

1/4 cup almonds – lightly crush

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 Tablespoon toasted salted sunflower seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Heat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place strawberry halves on a baking sheet.

In a small mixing bowl combine the 1 Tablespoon balsamic with 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Tablespoon date syrup and 1/4 teaspoons of salt and pepper. Mix well. Pour over strawberries. Put pan of strawberries in a pre-heated 300 degree F oven for 15 minutes. When done let them rest on the counter.

Shred up the cabbage if you haven’t already. Slice up apple. Put in a bowl and squeeze the fresh orange juice on it and set to the side.

Make dressing

In a small bowl add 2 Tablespoons balsamic, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Tablespoon dijon, and one Tablespoon date syrup and mix well. By this time your strawberries are cool and there is reduced juice and other liquids that you should add to the dressing and mix well.

Make dukkah.

Almonds and fennel seeds go in the preheated 300 degree oven till fragrant around 8 minutes. Cumin seeds go on a sheet and in oven for around 1 minute (just to heat up). All this gets crushed up some together. Add the sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and paprika.

In a large bowl mixed the cabbage, apples and strawberries together. Serve with dressing when ready to eat and top with dukkah.

Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries, Apples and Almond Dukkah

Tasty and Pretty! A Special Thank You to Food and Wine Magazine for your Red Cabbage Salad with Baked Cherries Apples and Almond Dukkah Recipe. Without that I would not have thought up this.

The Forking Truth

Stuffed Baby Eggplants with Indian Inspired Spicy Onions and Tomatoes Recipe

I got these baby eggplants and had many different ideas about how to prepare them. Do I go Italian with anchovies, fried peppers, pine nuts and a basil sauce? Do I go Mediterranean with tahini sauce, feta, sesame seeds, dates and parsley? I did an Asian eggplant recently that was very good with miso, peanuts and crisp enoki mushrooms. So today I went slightly Indian because this is different.

Ingredients for about 4 servings

1 lb baby eggplants – split in half and score

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil – to drizzle over eggplants

1 lemon – split in half face down on pan with eggplants and use the fresh juice after roasted to sprinkle on eggplants.

sea salt – fresh crushed to taste on eggplants

black pepper – fresh ground to taste on eggplant

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (to cook vegetables with)

8 oz ripe sweet tomatoes chopped

1 large sweet onion – minced

1 serrano pepper – sliced paper thin or mince

2 1/2 Tablespoons – ginger grated

1 1/2 Tablespoon roasted garlic grated (I had some frozen in my freezer…it’s more mellow and more sweet than regular garlic you can roast some or use fresh but I’m guessing that you might use slightly less fresh garlic)

1 teaspoon garm masala

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

2 Tablespoons roasted cashews – slightly crushed

1/4 cup sprouts ( I used radish sprouts)

2 teaspoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Scored half baby eggplants go on baking sheet with scored sides up. The two lemon halves go on same baking sheet cut side down. Sprinkle the eggplants with oil. Timing will differ due to different sizes of eggplants. Mine were done in 45 minutes. You want the eggplants all the way cooked and with slightly charred ends. Sprinkle with roasted lemon juice and lightly season with salt and pepper.

While the eggplants are cooking you should make the seasoned onions and tomatoes.

Put a sauce pot on medium high heat with the tablespoon of olive oil. When hot add the onions and tomatoes and cook till onions are transparent. Next add all the remaining ingredients (serrano pepper, ginger, garlic, garm masala, fennel seed, turmeric, ground mustard and sea salt) Reduce to simmer and let it go about ten minutes.

Top baby eggplants with onion/tomato mixture, some sprouts, a few slightly crushed cashews and a cilantro leaf.

Stuffed Baby Eggplants with Indian Inspired Spicy Onions and Tomatoes

Tasty, Flavorful and Different!

The Forking Truth

Individual Turkey Bomba Calabrese Meatloafs Recipe

This recipe makes around 19 individual flavorful moist meatloafs (meatloaves is also correct spelling). You can freeze the meatloafs, thaw over night in the refrigerator and heat when you need them. I used Coluccio Brand Bomba Calabrese condiment. It is an inconsistent product and does differ in the amount of heat but it is more flavorful than another brand I tried. This brand of Bomba Calabrese contains artichokes, mushrooms, eggplants, white wine, oregano HOT PEPPERS and other things. It’s full of flavors and great to add to things. I think it’s great to help add flavors to a turkey meatloaf. It just laces the meatloaf slightly with these flavors and didn’t make them spicy just flavorful. You should add to taste.

Ingredients for around 19 servings

3 lb ground turkey (I buy the 3lb package from Sprouts)

2 garlic cloves – microplane or ground to paste

1/2 large sweet onion – mince (I fine slice it and chop till minced)

1 celery rib – mince

2 teaspoons of Bomba Calabrese – preferably Coluccio Brand – or to taste because your taste and your jar might run different than mine.

3 Tablespoons vegetable soup base – (preferably reduced sodium better than bouillon vegetable soup base) this is instead of salt and it adds more flavors.

1 Tablespoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup parsley

1 Tablespoon dried thyme

6 eggs – beaten

8 oz whole wheat panko bread crumbs

non stick canola spray

Directions

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees F.

Spray sheet pans with non stick spray and set to the side.

You add all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix till everything is mixed well. It’s easier to do all the vegetables, spices and mix with eggs till well mixed. Next I mixed in the turkey and last was the crumbs. I did this all with a fork but you can do it however you like.

Next weigh them out into 4oz portions and shape them in individual meatloafs on the sprayed sheet pans with about an inch space around each meatloaf.

Cook till cooked threw. Mine were done in 20 minutes.

Today I whipped up a simple basic sauce for them.

I used ketchup but it was Kensington Brand that is twice as expensive but is also twice as good as Heinz. Frank’s Red Hot, Worcestershire, a dash of liquid smoke. On a good day I’ll add those flavors to slow roasted peeled tomatoes.

It came out Forking Delicious!

Individual Turkey Bamba Calabrese Meatloafs
The Forking Truth

Roasted Cabbage and Yellow Squash with Date Dijon Vinaigrette and Spiced Walnuts

Lately I love roasted Cabbage. It gets so sweet and delicious with charred ends. I’ve only recently discovered that roasted cabbage pairs very well with different squashes. They both turn sweet but the cabbage adds that texture that makes the vegetables better together. Instead of just adding butter for just oil to the vegetables a date dijon vinaigrette is more interesting and a few spiced walnuts just kicks the dish up another notch. These vegetables are very easy to prepare. I just threw them in a high oven and pulled them out when done. The walnuts only take 5 minutes in a low oven.

This makes around 6 servings

1 lb yellow squash or chayote squash (zucchini gets too soggy) – ends removed and cut in chunks

1 small cabbage – core removed and cut in either 8ths or 10ths (start by cutting it in quarter wedges and then cut those wedges in half….you want small wedges

1 large bell pepper – core and seeds removed – rough large dice

1 large onion – skin removed – rough large dice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (this I didn’t measure because I sprayed the vegetables lightly with the oil…I think I might have used less)

fresh ground sea salt to taste but slightly less than

fresh ground black pepper to taste but slightly less

1 teaspoon shallot – minced

1 Tablespoon date syrup (preferably McClendon’s select)

1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon dijon (preferably Amora Brand)

1/2 teaspoon grain mustard (preferably Old Style Maille Brand)

1/2 cup walnuts

teaspoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon sugar

big pinch course sea salt

Aleppo pepper to taste (around three shakes)

Directions

Set the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl add the walnuts, teaspoon olive oil, sugar and salt. Mix well and spread out on baking sheet. This will be done in 5 minutes. Take out and set to the side.

Set oven to 450 degrees F.

On baking sheets spread out in a single layer the squash, cabbage, bell pepper and onion. Spray them lightly with olive oil. The vegetables go in middle and lower racks of the oven. Timing WILL DIFFER but in my oven the squash were done in 20 minutes, peppers were done on 20 minutes, onions were done around 30 minutes and the cabbage was done in 45 minutes. When the vegetables are done sprinkle them very lightly with salt and pepper.

While the vegetables are roasting make the vinaigrette.

In a small mixing bowl add the shallots, date syrup, vinegar, mustards and one tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well. (this is FORKING Delicious…you will make this again)

Serve vegetables with date dijon vinaigrette and spiced walnuts.

Roasted Cabbage & Squash with Date Dijon Vinaigrette and Spiced Walnuts

A really nice vegetable side dish…great for holidays!

The Forking Truth

White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Cauliflower Recipe

I didn’t have any potatoes at home so I used a very small head of Cauliflower to make White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Cauliflower. I also happen to get these horseradish granules that I wanted to try out and wow they taste great. I find that horseradish can be tricky to work with at times because it doesn’t keep at all. It doesn’t heat well. It doesn’t freeze well either. It doesn’t matter…. fresh or jarred it just loses it’s flavor or turns sweet. Anyways- it came out tasting right. You can use whatever kind of horseradish you have…but at the moment I’m liking the horseradish granules. This recipe makes around three servings.

Ingredients for around three servings

1 small head cauliflower (mine weighed only a pound) – Trimmed and cut into small florets

2 Tablespoons cream cheese ( preferably a quality brand like Arla that doesn’t contain stabilizes and preservatives)

4 oz white cheddar – shredded (I like the Costal Brand from Costco)

2 teaspoons horseradish granules (I bought from The Great American Spice Company) or use any kind of horseradish to taste

good pinch ground white pepper (I don’t think any salt is needed because Costal cheese is salty)

Directions

Get a pot of water on to boil and top it with a mesh strainer or steam basket. Add the cauliflower then cover loosely with foil. Steam until the cauliflower is fork tender. Empty the pot and add the cauliflower and cream cheese. Use a stick blender and blend till smooth. Add the cheese, horseradish and pepper and blend again till mixed well. Serve right away. It’s not necessary but a few fresh chives or a little bit of fresh dill will go well here.

White Cheddar Horseradish Mashed Cauliflower

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth