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Sriracha Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Coconut and Almonds

Sriracha Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Almonds and Coconut

3 cups quartered brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Woodland Foods Sriracha Seasoning Blend
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Toss brussels sprouts with olive oil and Sriracha Seasoning Blend. Pour a single layer of brussels sprouts on the sheet pan, and roast in the oven until the edges start to brown and the sprouts start to become tender, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and add the almonds and coconut to the pan, tossing until evenly incorporated.  Continue baking until the sprouts are tender and the nuts start to brown, about 5 to 8 additional minutes.  Add additional seasoning to cooked sprouts if needed.

Makes about 4 servings.

You can buy the Sriracha seasoning blend right here!

Six NERDSTEAK 2014 Food Trend Predictions

Since everyone and their mother has been posting what they can expect from the food world in 2014, I thought I would add my own little list of things I expect to see rise and/or fall in the following year:

The fall of quinoa – Other than pumpkin spiced everything (yes I know it is seasonal), pretzel bread, and sriracha, quinoa has been taking over restaurant and retail outlets in the US…which also means as the demand increase, so does the price.  Consumers are going to find there there is a whole list of ancient grains they can incorporate into their diet which rival the nutritional value of quinoa, such as kaniwa, amaranth, buckwheat, bulghur, farro, freekeh, grano, millit, oat groats, spelt, sorghum, and teff, not to mention all of the non-processed rice varieties.  Hurry up and buy in bulk before these other options become ‘the next big thing’ and the price increases on those as well.

Hipster Sweets – Think of all the old school desserts which the hipster crowd is ready to reinvent.  One that I am hoping for is salted butterscotch, (salted caramel knockoff)!  With the boom of specialty beverages as well, we are going to see updated versions of bananas foster, cherries jubilee, baked Alaska, mangos diablo, and peches louis…half of which the hipsters never even heard of.

Turmeric-Shakur – Indian, middle-eastern, and mid-asian cuisine is becoming more and more accepted in the US.  One ingredient in particular climbing the ladder is turmeric. It has a bright color and has been used in curries for years, as well as a coloring agent for multiple purposes.  It also contains curcumin which potentially can treat a whole list of illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and allergies.  Not of these claims have been definitively concluded yet, except for turmeric being a tasty addition to your spice cabinet.

Hot Chile Time Machine – Jalapeños, chipotle, cayenne, and habanero are only four of the hundreds of varieties of chiles out there.  It is time to bring in the specialty varieties like aleppo, aji amarillo, calabrian, puya, wiri wiri, mulato, and scorpion to increase heat, build eccentric flavor, and add variety to your menu.  Consumers are accepting heat in their foods more than ever before…thanks fast food!  Sriracha will have some more time at the top, then harissa will take over…

PB&Hey, That’s Not Normal – First, we had peanut butter, and it was good.  Then the alternate nut butters came along, and they were also good.  Now it’s time to raise the bar and flavorize all these tasty spreads.  Due to the fact that the US now wants to add fat back into their diets, we will see an increase of nut and nut butter consumption, but lets take it a step further. Pumpkin spiced walnut butter?!?!?! Maple and black pepper pecan butter?!?!?! Salted agave peanut butter?!?!?! Why not throw in some sriracha bacon rhubarb jam in the mix? (Maybe TOO trendy?)

American Comfort Story – We are going to continue seeing a rise in the American comfort food arena in the upcoming year.  Chicken & waffles made 1000 ways, mac & cheese with artisan locally sourced cheese, meatloaf with specialty game meats, pies with strange crusts, weird fruits, unfamiliar seasonings, salted red velvet cronut cake-pop cupcakes…!!!!!!!!! How many desserts can we mash together???

What are some of your predictions for 2014? Your guess is as good as mine!

Pretend To Be Smart – Fancy Food Terms v2

Here is another list of fancy food terms explained so you can impress your foodie friends…

A LA CARTE – The fancy version of this is a menu broken down into separate parts so you can order whatever you want for your meal, as opposed to all together…for us normal folks, just think of it as a ‘dollar menu’ for expensive stuff.

MINCED – Just cut any food item to heck and back…basically minced.  One step above pulverized with a laser.

CANAPEAS – Think of a Ritz cracker with a piece of cheese on it.  Now change the cracker to a slice of artisan bread, and change the toppings to a red onion marmalade, torched Bree, and crispy lardons.  Can-of-peas.

CARAMELIZED – A fancy way to say, ‘I almost done burnt it.’

NAPPE – Confirming your sauce is thick enough by its ability to coat the back of a spoon.  You don’t want paste, and you don’t want water.  Nappe is that sauce sweet spot.

APERITIF – Pre-gaming to get the mouth party started.

UMAMI – If you taste meat-like-flavor in something without having the confirmation of actual meat being present, verbally state you get a strong ‘umami’ profile from the dish.

AU JUS – The natural juice of whatever food item you just cooked.  If you cook a shoe and juice comes out, you can serve it with shoe au jus. Don’t cook a shoe. Gesundheit.

CONFIT – Cooking a food items in its own fat. If you cook a shoe its own fat, you can serve shoe confit.  F.Y.I. shoes don’t have fat unless your foot is in it, but that wouldn’t be shoe fat…it would be you fat.

Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Crusted Filet – Need I Say More?

I would like to state right here and now, that I am the originator of the ‘Burger Crusted Steak’.  I used the same burger meat I created yesterday, and packed it around a beef filet, then made magic happen.  This is how you do it…(dun da dun da dun dunnnnnnn):

First you make your bacon bleu burger mix:

• 2 pounds of 90/10 ground chuck (90% lean)
• 1-1/2 pounds raw applewood smoked bacon (pureed in food processor into a paste)
• 8 ounces gorgonzola cheese
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. granulated garlic

Take a 6 ounce beef filet and flatten it to about 1/2 inch thickness, then season with salt.  Take your ground meat mixture, and liberally pack it around the steak:

On a grill set to super high, grill for about 5 minutes on each side, turning 90° half way through:

Place the burger-steak-beast on a small sheet tray, and bake in a 375°F oven for about 6 more minutes to have a nice medium-rare center (you can adjust your cooking time here to your preferred doneness).  Remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting into this bad boy and having a party in your mouth!

If  winning was a Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Crusted Filet…this would be it.  Hopeful this starts a new trend with all the hipster-foodies out there, and I get the occasional shout-out.  \\..//