You won't need sterilized jars or much time for these pickles.
These tomatoes are just as katapliktiko (unspeakably fabulous) warm or at room temperature, so you could bake them earlier in the day.
An elaborate preparation for a special meal, you can cook everything except the Brussels sprouts the day before. Reheat the vegetables, blanch the sprouts, and combine them at the last minute. Instead of chestnuts, which I find to be disappointing and expensive (and the canned ones are just too soft), I use walnuts instead.
Ingredients
This salad is a natural for buffets because it can stand at room temperature for a couple of hours.
My friends Pat and Denny have adopted this as a standard, but they put the cilantro on the side, and so can you if your family is polarized on the cilantro front. Pat and Denny also use low-sodium soy sauce, which is a great idea if you tend to have it around and handy. Even better is tamari sauce, which leaves the nuts sticky and shiny but not crusted to the pan (a drawback of soy); also, it's gluten-free. My friend Zarmik had this to say about the nuts: "Soy-glazed almonds were a revelation. I suspect I would think the same of soy-glazed cardboard. In fact, for the next few days, if it does not move, it stands a good change of getting soy-glazed."
You should bake this a couple of days in advance and let it stale at room temperature.
Best eaten the same day they are cooked, but can be served at room temperature.
This recipe stands well on its own, but is also included in a delicious holiday treat- Cornbread Pudding with Rough Country Greens.
This puree reheats nicely and holds for a couple of days in the fridge, but it is prime the day it's cooked.