Winter Root Vegetable Mash

Root veggies are perfect to whip up in the winter on a snowy day. This mash is so good, you'll want to have it year round! The crunchy buttery breadcrumb topping really makes it indulgent, but it's not pasta or potatoes and with fake butter - it's not too bad!

For the mash:
3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into similar sized chunks as the parsnips
1 tablespoon horseradish
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon oregano

For the topping:
1 tablespoon butter (real butter)
3 tablespoons I Can't Believe it's Not Butter (fake butter)
1/2 onion, peeled and minced
2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Place the rutabaga and parsnips into a pan of salted boiling water. Lower the heat and cook, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes until quite tender. Drain well. Mash together with a potato masher and then stir in horseradish and oregano. You want a rough texture so don't mash too finely. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Butter a shallow baking dish. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring until golden brown. Add the Panko and cook, stirring until the crumbs are crisp and golden.

Spread the vegetable mash in the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the crumbs over top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Pork and Pickled Onion Crustini

While my photo isn't the best, I rather enjoyed the flavors in this dish quite a bit. I love lean meat and this pork was as lean as it can get. Moist and flavorful with the rosemary and lemon. The pickled onion really made the whole dish and the fennel seed was a nice touch. I could eat this pork as a main course for dinner too.

Directions
For the Pork:

Ingredients
6-8 boneless pork chops (about 3 lbs), trimmed of fat
Kosher or sea salt
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, plus more for sprinkling
16 fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

For the Onions
3/4 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
Kosher or sea salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large red onion, thinly sliced into rings

Prepare the pork: To butterfly, slice down the middle of the pork with a sharp knife, about two-thirds of the way through. Open the meat like a book and pound with a mallet or heavy skillet into a 1-inch-thick rectangle, about 8 by 14 inches. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the pork with about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. In a small bowl, mix the lemon zest, garlic, 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, the sage, rosemary and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Rub the mixture all over the pork. (The pork can be prepared up to 3 days in advance; refrigerate until roasting.)

Place the pork roll on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast until a thermometer inserted into the middle registers 180 degrees, about 15 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

While the pork roasts, make the pickled onions: Bring the vinegar, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, the bay leaf, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion slices and simmer 1 minute, then remove from the heat and let the onion cool in the liquid. (Leftover pickled onions will keep in the liquid for weeks.)

Sriracha Deviled Eggs

I made a similar recipe of these little gems on Thanksgiving and decided to bring them out again for New Years. The heat is a nice touch to these Asian-inspired deviled eggs.

INGREDIENTS

12 eggs
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Hard-boil the eggs; cool, peel, and halve them; and carefully remove the yolks. Reserve the whites.
Combine the egg yolks, mayonnaise, Dijon, Sriracha, and lime juice in a medium nonreactive bowl. Season well with salt and pepper, then mix well until the yolks are broken up and the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
Evenly pipe or spoon the yolk mixture into the reserved egg white halves. As desired, top with smoked paprika.