Pomegranate Brussels Sprouts Salad

This is a salad for the holiday season!  The tastes and colors are all perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Celebrations and we make it several times over the festive weeks.

Pomegranate brussels sprouts salad

The salad has fresh pomegranate, shaved brussels sprouts, sliced Tuscan kale, chopped Marcona almonds, and crumbled Gorgonzola.  Pomegranates are in season and we seed a whole pomegranate, nibble on a few of the seeds, and save the rest for the salad (our trick for seeding a pomegranate is to do it in a bowl of water so the red juice from the seeds doesn't spray all over ourselves and the kitchen).

Ingredients

We shave the brussels sprounts with a mandoline kitchen slicer (with only one nick to a finger holding the brussels sprouts during slicing), then add the cleaned and sliced kale.

Shaving brussels sprouts

 Shaved brussels sprouts, mixed with sliced kale

For the dressing, we whisk together pomegranate molasses, Dijon mustard, agave nectar, salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil.  Once the dressing is emulsified, we add it to the greens, tossing them with our hands to mix the dressing in thoroughly.

Dressing, added to greens

To finish off the salad, we add pomegranate seeds and coarsely chopped Marcona almonds.

The salad is done

This tasty salad goes well with many dishes, especially beef and poultry.  And, we'll be making it many more times!

Holiday Dinners

We host two family dinners over the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend, one traditional and one more casual.

For the formal dinner, we serve a sweet and spicy smoked turkey.  We ask our butcher to spatchcock (butterfly) the turkey and we then leave it in the refrigerator overnight with a dry brine rub of sugars, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic, onion powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, and black pepper.  The turkey is then roasted on the grill in a pan over carrots, mini bell peppers, and our homemade chicken stock.  For the smoking, we put two aluminum foil packages of cherry chips under the grill, on top of the burners.  The turkey smokes for several hours, then rests prior to serving with the roasted carrots and peppers.

 Turkey spatchcocked with rub, roasting on the grill

As everything cooks, Laura makes one of our favorite appetizers:  gougères (cheese puffs) with pancetta and sage.

 Gougères cooking, served

To accompany the turkey, we make stuffing (although, we understand that since it isn't cooked in the turkey, it should be called dressing) with Laura's mom's recipe (using spicy pork sausage) and also prepare balsamic-roasted brussels sprouts, Grand Marnier cranberry relish, creamed onion gratin, and chunky chipotle mashed potatoes.

 Sausage into stuffing

Mashed potatoes, cranberries, creamed onions

We start everything with a persimmon salad with pomegranate and toasted walnuts and finish with a sour cherry chess pie (topped with ice cream - a recipe from my mother).

 Brussels sprouts, persimmon salad, pie and ice cream

We serve it all and dine incredibly well!

Dinner is served

A few days later, we are joined by another branch of the family to continue to celebrate the holidays.  As everyone is still recovering from their own version of the large meal on Thanksgiving Day, we go for light and simple with the gougères with pancetta and sage [again] as appetizers, two salads (blueberry arugula salad with goat cheese and honey-lemon dressing and a Greek salad), lasagna alla bolognese (with a bolognese sauce made the previous afternoon), and a tiramisu cake for desert.  We find that we are having so much fun that we forget to take pictures and will have to add some the next time we make these dishes.

Bolognese sauce in process for the lasagna

We are very thankful for our family, our friends, and our readers of this blog and wish everyone a very happy holiday season!

Sculptures Around Wailea

The resorts in Wailea on Maui have invested significantly in artwork, particularly in sculptures decorating their grounds and public areas.  One of our favorite collections is the assortment of Botero sculptures in the lobby of the Grand Wailea.

 Botero in the Grand Wailea

 Other sculptures are scattered around the grounds of the hotel.

On the grounds

And, we find a great sand sculpture around the corner as we walk along the water.

Sand

There is something to delight the eyes everywhere here:  beautiful artwork, soaring architecture, clear blue sea, sandy beaches, volcanic rubble, remote islands, incredible flowers, blooming tropical plants.  It's been a while since we were last in Hawaii and we're glad that we're back (even if only for a few days)!

Biking to La Perouse Bay, Maui

We borrow bicycles from our hotel and head south along the coast, away from Wailea in the opposite direction from Kihei.  We transition from the lush landscape of Wailea to beautiful rugged beaches.

 Wailea streets

 Fabulous beaches

The road winds through fields of volcanic ash deposited during Haleakala's volcanic eruption in 1790 and the road ends at La Perouse Bay, where a walking trail begins that will lead several miles through the ash to the southern coast of Maui (we walk a short way on the trail, but will have to come back another time to go the full length).  La Perouse Bay is a natural wildlife preserve, much of which is closed to people.

 Fields of volcanic ash

 La Perouse Bay

The Hoapili Trail leads from the end of the road at La Perouse Bay to Kanaio Beach on the southern coast of Maui.  The trail sign warns us to bring water, sturdy shoes, sun protection, and a first aid kit.  The trail heads through the volcanic ash and the sign also warns that the area was used for bombing practice in World War II and that if we find an unexploded bomb, we should not touch or move it and should call the authorities (Recognize, Retreat, Report).

 Hoapili Trail

Warning sign

Not finding any unexploded ordnance, we hop on our bikes and return through the fields of ash to the road along the beautiful beaches, stopping at a taco truck for lunch of fish tacos with mango salsa.

 Back along the beaches

 Lunch along the road

Soon we are back in the lush, tropical plantings of Wailea, close to, but very far from, the fields of volcanic ash.

Back in Wailea