The Sister requested a recipe for brussels sprouts and toasted pecans, and I found two. I thought I’d pass them along so everyone could enjoy. It looks a little as if they started out as the same recipe, which was then subject to some tinkering. You may want to tinker further.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

3/4 cup shelled pecans
Salt
1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spread pecans on a small baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant and deep brown, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, steam Brussels sprouts in vegetable steamer for 12 minutes. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise and set aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and Brussels sprouts and sauté, stirring often, until Brussels sprouts are golden brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Add pecans and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 6

Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

These take just a brief turn in the pan—slicing the sprouts cuts down on their cooking time. The dish’s sweet, buttery flavors mellow the bite of the Brussels sprouts.

2 tsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8 cups halved and thinly sliced Brussels sprouts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 tsp coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in Brussels sprouts, sauté 2 minutes. Add broth and sugar, cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. Stir in salt. Sprinkle with pecans.

Yield: 8 servings of approximately 2/3 cup each.

Another recipe from The Eldest:

Ginger Duck

Based on a New York Times Magazine recipe by Amanda Heller.

Serves 2 generously or 4 with no leftovers; recipe can be doubled (but see note in “Day One”). Preparation takes place over two days.

1 duck (thawed overnight in the refrigerator), giblets removed
1 onion, peeled and cut in half, or 3 shallots, peeled
2 stalks celery, cut into 3-inch long pieces
1 TBSP ground ginger
2”x1” piece of ginger root, peeled and grated
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. dark soy sauce
1/2 c. dry sherry
1 small bunch watercress, washed and trimmed

Day one

The day before you wish to serve the duck, wash and dry the duck and stuff with the onion and celery. Then place the duck, breast side up, in a large soup pot (or a stovetop-safe roasting pan) with enough water to come half-way up the side of the duck. (If you are doubling the recipe and your pot isn’t large enough for both ducks to lie flat, use two large pots, or do the ducks one after another.)

Add the gingers (both ground and grated), sugar, and soy sauce, and bring the water to just boiling. Cover and reduce the heat so that it simmers very, very, very gently for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, gently turn the duck(s) over. Continue simmering for another hour. Turn duck once again and simmer until almost falling apart, about another hour. Turn off the heat and when the duck is cool enough to handle, remove it carefully from the pot (it tends to fall apart after so much cooking) and place on a small rack in a roasting pan. Cover the duck(s) and refrigerate until the next day.

Pour the broth from the soup pot through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a container and chill, covered, overnight.

Day two

Before serving, uncover the duck and bring it to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Remove the layer of fat from the broth. Add the sherry and 1 cup of the defatted duck broth to the bottom of the roasting pan and place in the oven. Roast, uncovered, for 30 to 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the juices in the bottom of the pan. The duck is done when it is heated through and the skin is crisp and a dark chestnut brown. Use broiler to finish browning the duck if the duck browns unevenly.

Transfer the duck to a serving platter and garnish with lots of watercress. The watercress helps disguise where the legs and wings may have fallen off. If they have fallen off, the legs and wings can be used to garnish the plate, or the meat can be removed and served separately.

And here’s a rather more desperate recipe.

Here is the cake that The Eldest made recently for a birthday dinner.  She thinks it might have come from a recent Martha Stewart magazine. The cake fell as it cooled, so she thought it might have been undercooked, but it was perfectly cooked - moist and delicious!

Lemon Polenta Loaf Cake with Pine Nuts and Thyme

3/4 c. butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened, plus more for the pan
1 c. sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 c. flour, plus more for the pan
1 c. yellow cornmeal (preferably fine ground)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves, chopped
grated peel of one lemon
juice of one lemon (approx. 1/4 c.)
1/3 c. pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 325. Butter and flour a 9×5” loaf pan. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt, then add to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined.

Coarsely chop all but 1 TBSP of the pine nuts. Stir the thyme, peel, juice, and the chopped pine nuts into the batter. Spread the batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with the reserved whole pine nuts.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.