A delicious holiday salad #recipe from author @DarylWoodGerber

Merry, merry!

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

HEADS UP. TOMORROW, I HAVE A BLOG  ON KILLER CHARACTERS 

WITH A GIVEAWAY OF A DEADLY ECLAIR.

DON'T MISS IT!

From Daryl aka Avery:

For this holiday season, I decided to try something new in the vegetable department. I saw something like this recipe back at Thanksgiving time in the Los Angeles Times and decided to riff on the idea.

It's a Brussels Sprouts salad.

Salad? Honestly? At Christmas? When there is ham or turkey or beef...not to mention other deliciously carb-y goodies to eat?

Yes, salad!

Now, this salad would probably work fine with fresh spinach, but I loved the idea of a Brussels Sprouts salad. Different. To make the leaves a little less "raw and crunch," you cut the sprouts apart, pull off the leaves, and then quickly blanch them in water to soften. Then toss with all the other ingredients and salad dressing. It makes a lovely, colorful salad, which I think is good for Thanksgiving (because of the autumn goodies) or Christmas (because all the red and green).

If you don't like the idea of peeling off the leaves - it can be quite time consuming - I made an alternate version where I simply chopped the sprouts in a food processor. Quite delicious!

Enjoy and merry, merry.  May you and your friends and family enjoy every morsel. May you share good stories over the holidays. May you hear the words "I love you" often. May you believe in dreams and the beyond, and, well, the magic of the season.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD

Serves 4-6

For Dressing:

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons champagne OR white wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For Salad:

12-14 pound Brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

1 tablespoon dried blueberries, if desired

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/2 ounce Manchego cheese, shaved (about three shavings per salad)

* Salad Dressing  - makes enough dressing for leftovers!!

Make the dressing:

In a small bowl, whisk the vegetable oil and olive oil. Add in the honey, vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper, and whisk until combined.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour; store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Make the salad:

As I sad above, there are two ways to make this salad. 

For both: Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts and peel off any bad leaves.

1) Peel off the big green leaves and set aside.

2) Chop the sprouts and “shred” through a food processor for a shredded salad.

Now…bring water in a small saucepan to a boil. Add in the Brussels sprouts. Boil for one minute. NO MORE. Prepare an ice bath. Remove the leaves from the boiling water and cool in the ice bath.

Pour off the ice bath water from the Brussels sprouts. Drain thoroughly. You don’t want these wet or they will dilute the dressing. Pat dry, if you feel it’s necessary.

In a large bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts, cranberries, blueberries, pine nuts and 1/4 cup dressing. Pile the salads onto 4-6 plates.

Using a potato peeler, shave the Manchego cheese. Top each salad with 2-3 shavings of cheese and season with more pepper.

What are you serving for the holidays?

 *

Here's a bit about my latest book!

Mimi Rousseau is throwing the bistro’s first wedding—the nuptials of a famous talk show host. She is sure things will go awry when the bride’s father shows up drunk to the out-of-towners’ dinner. By the end of the evening, things look sweet again…until the next morning, when her benefactor is found dead at the bistro with an éclair stuffed in his mouth. All fingers point at Mimi, whose loan is forgiven if he dies. It’s up to her to éclair—er, clear—her name before the killer turns up the heat.

Praise:

"Talk about a culinary delight, this book is the pinnacle of deliciousness as I devoured all that was written in this exciting new series featuring Mimi and her friends." ~ Dru's Book Musings

"I have been looking forward to the book since I first saw the cover pop up on Facebook and it certainly exceeded my expectations. As a fan of the author’s Cheese Shop Mysteries and Cookbook Nook Mysteries, I knew the characters would be strong and the food descriptions would have my mouth watering and I was right." ~ Escape with Dollycas Blog

Savor the mystery!

*

Friend Daryl and Avery on Facebook
Follow Daryl on Twitter

Follow Avery on Twitter

Follow both of us on Pinterest

Plus check out my website.

A DEADLY ÉCLAIR, the 1st in the French Bistro Mysteries, is coming November 2017. Can Mimi clear her name before the killer turns up the heat? Click here to order.

GRILLING THE SUBJECT, the 5th Cookbook Nook Mystery, is out!

The Wild West Extravaganza has come to Crystal Cove.

Click here to order.

FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE, 
the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery is out!

Finally there's going to be a cheese festival in Providence!

Click to order.

GIRL ON THE RUN a stand-alone suspense

When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare, 

Chessa Paxton must run for her life...but will the truth set her free? 

Click to order




DAY OF SECRET my new stand-alone suspense
A mother he thought was dead. A father he never knew. 
An enemy that wants them dead.
Click here to order.