Tag: Holiday sides

Crispy Brussels sprouts coated in warm maple syrup and tossed with bacon will turn any Brussels sprout hater into a #1 fan!

Brussels sprouts are a vegetable hated by many. I’ve learned that the deep fried version of any veggie tastes much better than when steamed. Now, steamed Brussels sprouts are nasty. Let’s be real. BUT, Brussels sprouts with bacon, AND deep fried? Count me in!

The Brussels sprouts are deep fried until they are crispy. Some leaves are also separated and fried to a texture similar to kale chips! The sprouts are then tossed with bacon-infused maple syrup. This sweet and salty combo is always a winner and works so well for this vegetable side dish.

How to clean and trim the Brussels sprouts

The Brussels sprouts need to be cleaned properly before cooking. To do this:

• Cut off the root of every Brussels sprout. Some leaves naturally fall off when the root is removed. Set these aside.
• Cut each one lengthwise in half, from the top to the root.
• Gently remove some more leaves from the halved Brussels sprouts. Put them aside with the other leaves that fell off.
• Rinse the leaves and halves under cold running water.
• Place the rinsed Brussels sprouts on a tray or plate lined with paper towels. Add more paper towels on top and gently pat dry. 
• Remember: NOT toss the individual leaves once they have been cleaned! The leaves are fried separately from the halves for this recipe.

How to make the maple bacon sauce

The maple bacon sauce for the fried Brussels sprouts is very easy to prepare!

• Diced bacon is cooked in a small pan on medium heat. Saute the bacon until it is cooked most of the way.
• Add diced onions and cook for a minute. At this stage, the bacon is cooked fully.
• Pour maple syrup into the sauce pan and simmer for a minute.
• Keep the maple bacon sauce in the pan until it is ready to be tossed with the fried Brussels sprouts.

Can these Brussels sprouts with bacon be made pork free?

If there is no pork on your fork, the bacon can be completely omitted. Some of the smoky flavor will be missing, so add a dash of paprika or a drop of liquid smoke to the maple syrup while cooking. 

Turkey bacon can also replace pork bacon. Pork bacon has a higher fat content, so add another teaspoon of olive oil so that the turkey bacon does not burn.

Maple syrup substitution 

Maple syrup may be a bit expensive for some. No worries. Pancake syrup can be used instead. But the end product will taste much better when used with maple syrup. 

What should I serve with the crispy fried Brussels sprouts with bacon?

The Brussels sprouts pair well with roasted chicken or pork. A piece of salmon is also an excellent option. Steamed rice or creamy mashed potatoes are a nice starch to complement the meal!

Or you can eat a bowl full on it’s own, like I did when testing out this recipe. No judgment here…they’re THAT good!

Looking to use maple syrup in another recipe? Give my Sweet Potato Cornbread with Maple Bourbon Butter a try! And don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram or Twitter!

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5 from 10 votes

Crispy Fried Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts

Crispy Brussels sprouts coated in warm maple syrup and tossed with bacon will turn any brussel sprout hater into a #1 fan!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, brussel sprouts, brussels sprouts, maple, side dish, side dishes, vegetables, veggie, veggies

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Crystal

Equipment

• deep fryer or pot safe for deep frying
• tray with paper towels
• knife and cutting board
• small pan
• wooden spoon or rubber spatula
• medium sized mixing bowl

Ingredients

• 2 cups canola oil for deep frying
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 bacon strips diced
• ¼ cup diced onion
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 sprig of thyme
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Heat canola oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees.
• While the oil is heating, prep the Brussels sprouts by cutting the roots of each. Next, cut each sprout in half. Gently peel off and set aside any leaves that naturally fall off. Rinse the leaves and halved Brussels sprout under cold water, keeping them separate. Place them onto a tray lined with paper towels, layering more paper towels on top and pat dry. Set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a small pan on medium heat. Saute the diced bacon for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until slightly under cooked.
• Add the diced onions and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Pour in the maple syrup and add the sprig of thyme. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
• Once the frying oil is at the correct temperature, add the halved brussel sprouts 2 batches. Fry for 2 minutes. Remove and drain the brussel sprouts and place into a medium sized mixing bowl.
• Fry the Brussels sprout leaves in the same oil for one minute. Remove and drain, and add with the Brussels sprout halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss with a large spoon.
• Remove the thyme sprig from the maple syrup sauce. Pour over the fried brussel sprouts and mix together with a spoon.
• Serve immediately.

This spin on classic cast iron cornbread will definitely be a side dish you’ll keep in rotation. My sweet potato cornbread recipe is a winner especially with a schmear of maple bourbon butter!

If you’re looking for a way to jazz up cornbread, you’ve come to the right place! The sweet potatoes help to keep the cornbread nice and moist. The addition of spices to the batter makes this sweet potato cornbread perfect for the holiday season. But if you’re like me, you’ll eat this year round!

The sweet potato cornbread is great on its own, or with melted butter. But, we’re here to jazz up classic cornbread, right? Great! The maple bourbon butter pairs amazingly well with this! Maple and sweet potato are a perfect match, along with maple and bourbon. Throw all of those together, and you’ll now have the recipe your friends and family demand you make for gatherings.

A cool cooking hack for sweet potato puree

The sweet potato cornbread takes 40 minutes to make. Normally, that’s about how long it would take just for a sweet potato to cook in the oven. But, I used one of my favorite cooking hacks to put this recipe together.

Instead of cooking sweet potatoes ahead of time, I used sweet potato baby food! I go this route whenever I have a recipe that requires a small amount of a pureed fruit or vegetable that I don’t keep in the house. Since it’s also shelf stable, I can keep the baby food in the pantry for several months, versus the raw veggie spoilingwaaayyy before the baby food does. If you go the puree sweet potato route, omit a half a cup of the milk.

How to make sweet potato puree:

If you prefer to use fresh sweet potatoes, the puree can most certainly be made ahead of time:

• Peel and roughly chop a half pound of sweet potatoes
• Add to a small pot and cover the potatoes with water
• Bring the water to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when poked with a fork
• Strain the potatoes, and puree in a blender on high until smooth, for about one minute

Why should I use a cast iron skillet for my cornbread?

You don’t HAVE to use a cast iron skillet to bake your cornbread. But trust me when I say it’s definitely the better option. Using a cast iron skillet to cook your cornbread ensures it’ll cook evenly.

Preheating your cast iron before adding your batter also gives the cornbread that golden brown crust on the bottom and edges. Let’s face it…the best slice of cornbread is the edge. So baking it in a preheated cast iron gives the whole pan of cornbread that edge-piece factor.

Can I bake cornbread in something else other than a cast iron skillet?

Yes! Cast iron skillets are the better way to bake cornbread, but it isn’t mandatory.

You can use any baking dish that you have available. I would suggest using a pan that is wider than 10 inches, whether it’s a circle, square, or rectangle dish. This will ensure the cornbread still cooks evenly, and will prevent the center from being under baked.

There’s also the option to make these into sweet potato cornbread muffins! Can never go wrong with single servings of this recipe!

Regardless of which option you choose, the cornbread will take a few more minutes to bake in the oven than it would in a cast iron, since a preheated cast iron will cook it faster and more evenly.

How to make a moist cornbread

Fat is what will make or break a batch of cornbread’s moisture level.

I’ve tested out my classic skillet cornbread recipe a couple of ways…once with butter, and once with mayonnaise. Both tasted delicious, but I noticed the batch with the mayo had a different moisture level than the butter did. The cornbread batch made with butter, however, tasted better.

With my cornbread science experiment, I decided to use melted butter for my classic cornbread recipe. There is a good amount of moisture in it from the buttermilk to make up for what isn’t there like the mayonnaise batch had.

With my sweet potato cornbread recipe, there is a lot less milk. So to get that moisture back, I opted for mayonnaise. The sweet potato puree makes up for the flavor that isn’t added from the butter.

What type of milk should I use for cornbread?

Like I mentioned above, you want some type of fat in your cornbread batter. This is also a factor when it comes to the milk you’re using.

With that being said, it’s best to not use skim milk. If that’s all you have on hand, this recipe can still be made. Just keep in mind that the cornbread will be a bit drier than it should be.

The best milk to use for cornbread is whole milk or full fat buttermilk. 2% milk works well too.

How do I store leftover cornbread?

The best way to store leftover cornbread is in an airtight container in the fridge.

If you’d like, the cornbread can also be frozen for up to 3 months. If you go this route, wrap the cornbread with plastic wrap. Then place the cornbread into a Ziploc bag.

How to reheat leftover cornbread

Leftover cornbread can be reheated in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. I’d suggest covering the cornbread with a damp paper towel before reheating. It helps to add back any moisture that may have been lost due to the age of the cornbread.

Can I omit the alcohol from the maple bourbon butter?

You most certainly can!

There’s only a tablespoon and a half of bourbon in my maple bourbon butter, but it can absolutely be left out. The bourbon amount can also be reduced if you’d like.

If you get a chance to test out my sweet potato cornbread, feel free to leave me a review!

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5 from 2 votes

Sweet Potato Cornbread with Maple Bourbon Butter

This spin on classic cast iron cornbread will definitely be a side dish you’ll keep in rotation.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bourbon, butter, cornbread, cornmeal, maple, sweet potato, sweet potatoes

Servings: 12 slices

Author: Crystal

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Cast iron skillet
• Measuring cups and spoon
• Electric hand mixer

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Cornbread

• 8 ounce sweet potato
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup ground cornmeal
• ½ tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• a dash ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sweet potato baby food see notes
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp melted butter

Maple Bourbon Butter

• 4 ounces unsalted butter softened
• 1 ½ tbsp bourbon
• 3 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

How to make the Sweet Potato Cornbread

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a cast iron skillet in the oven while it is preheating.
• With a fork, poke holes into the sweet potato on all sides, a total of 10 times. Microwave on a plate on high for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking. Let the sweet potato sit for 3 minutes before cutting it in half. Remove the skin. Mash the cooked potato with a fork and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a large whisk, making sure all the dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk,mayonnaise, vanilla, and the cooked sweet potato.
• Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients. Gently mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl so all of the dry ingredients have been mixed in.
• Once the oven is set to the correct temperature, remove the cast iron from the oven. Spread the melted butter into the cast iron, then pour in the cornbread mixture. Spread the cornbread mixture evenly in the pan with a spoon or spatula.
• Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cornbread.
• Let the cornbread rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cut and serve with maple bourbon butter!

How to make the Maple Bourbon Butter

• Place the softened butter into a small bowl. With an electric hand mixer, whip the butter in high for 30 seconds, or until smooth.
• While the mixer is still on, slowly pour in the maple syrup, then the bourbon. Continue whipping on high for 30 more seconds.
• Can be used immediately, or stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes

If you can not find sweet potato baby food, sweet potato puree can be made from scratch:

• Peel and roughly chop 8 ounces worth of sweet potatoes
• Add to a small pot and cover the potatoes with water
• Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when poked with a fork
• Strain the potatoes, and puree in a blender on high until smooth, for about one minute

For an even faster route, microwave your sweet potato for 5 minutes. You’ll need to poke a few holes into the potato with the tip of a knife or fork, and be sure to flip the potato over halfway through cooking. If you go this route, you’ll need to add an additional half cup of milk added to the recipe.

The bourbon for the maple bourbon butter can be reduced or omitted. 

If you’re looking for a more simple cornbread recipe, check out my Southern Honey Buttermilk Skillet Cornbread! I love to add a schmear of softened butter, and a drizzle of honey!

If you’re a fan of Mexican street corn, you’ll definitely fall in love with my grilled corn on the cob with garlic parmesan sauce! The garlic and cheese compliments the corn extremely well, and perfect for the summer!

I’m sure you’re looking for an easy side dish for grilling season, and I’m glad to say you’re in the right place. Well, if you’re just looking for an easy recipe, even without a grill, I got ya! This grilled corn gets slathered with a seasoned mayonnaise, similar to what’s done with Mexican street corn.

What is Mexican street corn?

Mexican street corn, sometimes referred to as elote, is a dish made of grilled corn. Once grilled, a mixture of mayo, crema, and chili powder gets spread on top and sprinkled with cotija cheese. It is sometimes also dusted with additional chili powder, and a fresh squeeze of lemon juice gives it a nice fresh flavor.

My garlic parmesan inspiration:

One of my favorite chefs, Chef Resha, posted a recipe of elote-style chicken wings. She took the mayo mixture that would go onto Mexican street corn and tossed it with air-fried chicken wings. I don’t have an air fryer but tried the recipe out with baked wings. Soooooo bomb! Definitely check out Chef Resha’s elote style wings.

The wings reminded me of street corn having a baby with garlic parmesan wings. So my brain said “Do what Resha did with making the elote sauce for wings, but take the classic wing sauce and put it on corn.” Boom….garlic parmesan corn was born!

How to make grilled garlic parmesan corn

It’s sooooo easy yall! Start by getting your corn on the grill. While they’re cooking, mix together all the ingredients for the garlic parmesan sauce. Once the corn is cooked, slather the garlic parmesan sauce on that bad boy!

How to cook corn if you don’t have a grill

I rarely use my grill. I do have a cast iron pan with grates that I often use indoors that will take the same amount of time for the corn to cook as it would when being grilled.

If you have a regular cast iron skillet, the corn can be seared that way. Preheat your cast iron to medium heat before searing the corn. Let the corn cook for 10 minutes, rotating the corn while cooking to get some color on the kernels on all sides.

There’s also the option to roast your corn! This method does take much longer though, by wrapping the corn in foil and baking for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees. So either grilling or cooking on the stovetop is the best option. 

Corn with husks vs without husks

The corn on the cob can be grilled with the husks on! The husks are dry, so you’ll need to soak the ears of corn for a bit before cooking.

Add the whole ears of corn into a large container (or sink) and submerge them in cold water. Let this sit for 15 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and pat dry. You can then partially peel the husks back and grill the corn.

However, I prefer the corn grilled without the husks for this recipe. I like to bite right into the corn that has grill marks on all sides, and also want to be able to spread more of the garlic parmesan sauce all over. For grilled corn without a sauce, I don’t mind the husks being left on.

Type of garlic to use for garlic parmesan sauce

Now, this is a super garlicky recipe. So raw garlic is what I used. 

I take fresh garlic cloves and grate it with a microplane right into the sauce. 

I also love using premade garlic paste, like the one from Gourmet Garden. 

Use either of the options above. I’d avoid using jarred diced garlic since it’s not as flavorful. But if that’s all that you have access to, it can still be used!

Also, if you’re not a fan of the raw garlic taste, you can use garlic confit. Pretty easy to make and to keep on hand for other recipes that you just want a hint of garlic. 

Other uses for garlic parmesan sauce

Listen yall….this garlic parmesan sauce is GOOD! Like, for real.

If you have some chicken wings and want to jazz it up a bit, make a batch of the sauce in this recipe to toss the wings in. I’ve also used the sauce to dip with my herb roasted smashed potatoes.

Since this is a super flavorful mayonnaise, you can use this on a sandwich too! Whew…..the possibilities are endless! But to start, jazz up your grilled corn first!

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5 from 11 votes

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Parmesan Sauce

If you’re a fan of Mexican street corn, you’ll definitely fall in love with my grilled garlic parmesan corn on the cob!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: corn, corn on the cob, dukes mayonnaise, ears of corn, elote, garlic, garlic parm, garlic parmesan, parmesan, summer, summer recipes, summer side dish, summer side dishes, summer time

Servings: 4 ears of corn

Author: Crystal

Equipment

• Grill
• Tongs
• pastry brush
• Cutting board
• Large tray or dish
• Butter knife or spoon
• Small bowl
• Cheese grater
• Whisk

Ingredients

Grilled Corn

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 each ears of corn husks removed

Garlic Parmesan Sauce

• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ tsp lemon juice
• 4 each garlic cloves peeled
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp dried basil
• ½ tbsp chives finely chopped
• 3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Grilled Corn

• Preheat grill to medium heat
• Brush the ears of corn with olive oil. Grill for 10-15 minutes turning occasionally.
• Once the corn is cooked, remove from the grill onto a large plate or dish.
• To keep the corn warm, cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Garlic Parmesan Sauce

• In a small bowl, combine the ingredients with a whisk. Set aside until ready to use.

Garlic Parmesan Corn Assembly

• Spread the garlic parmesan sauce onto the grilled corn with a butter knife or back of a spoon.

Notes

Either freshly grated or jarred parmesan cheese. 

Fresh or dried herbs are fine. For this recipe, I prefer fresh chives so the onion flavor is a little stronger, and dried oregano and basil so those flavors aren’t as prominent.

Leftover  garlic parmesan sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The shelf life is whichever date for the parmesan cheese or the mayonnaise expires first.