Author: Sadie

Broccoli: Simple and Fabulous

Sadie2 Comments

I love broccoli.  Usually I think it’s best if it’s simple.  I recently needed to bring a vegetable side dish to a friend’s house for dinner.  I went back and forth between a few different options.  It’s always tricky picking a dish for a pot luck.  I don’t really know what other people are bringing, I don’t know if the host or certain critical mass doesn’t like a certain ingredient, and in this case I didn’t even know how much to make.

After hemming and hawing over a few different options I decided to keep it simple stupid: roasted broccoli.  I checked the food network website because this was something I could picture Ina Garten making.  That’s the funny thing when you’re a Food Network fan, when I’m thinking about certain dishes, I can usually pick a chef from the line up that probably has a recipe that I want to use for it.

Ina had a good looking recipe for roasted broccoli with garlic and parmesan.  Bingo.  I was eating this broccoli like candy, and so were my friends.  So easy, so quick, do delicious.

Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Broccoli

From Ina, scale the amounts to fit the size of your group

Ingredients

  • Broccoli crowns rinsed and cut into florets
  • minced garlic cloves (about 1 clove per serving)
  • olive oil
  • salt, pepper, crushed red pepper to taste
  • Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1/3 cup per every 3-4 servings

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 425.  Line cookie sheets with foil.
  2. Combine garlic with about 1/4 cup olive oil and pour mixture over broccoli.  Toss broccoli so it is coated with oil (add oil if needed) and pour out onto baking sheet(s).
  3. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Roast broccoli in oven for 20-25 minutes.
  4. Remove broccoli when edges of florets start to get brown.  Toss warm broccoli with parmesan and serve.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Sadie2 Comments

First I want to wish best of luck to those in New Jersey and New York.  I hope everyone will have power and get back to their normal lives as soon as possible!

This is a simple post.  Pumpkin bread is delicious.  This is a recipe I have had years of success with.  If you are having house guests or need a hostess gift for something in the next month, made this bread.  If you are not having house guests, or do not need a hostess gift, make this bread.  Enjoy the pumpkin season!

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Makes 2 9 x 5 loaves, recipe from Epicurious

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare two 9 x 5 loaf pans with parchment and nonstick spray.
  2. Combine flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (you can substitute the multiple spices for pumpkin pie spice if you have it.)
  3. Wisk together oil and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, then the pumpkin.
  4. Add dry ingredients in slowly.  Add in chopped walnuts if you want.
  5. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the tester comes out clean.

Soup Season in Full Swing

Sadie3 Comments

I vividly remember the first time I had French Onion Soup.  I was 11 or 12 years old and I was at my best friend’s brother’s Bar Mitzvah.  The party after the ceremony was at The Cranbury Inn, probably the only legitimate sit down restaurant in our town.  We were served the soup in the tradition soup crocks coated with melted cheese.  I had never seen such a thing.  I was not much for soup when I was younger, so this concept was foreign to me.

I immediately asked my best friend what it was, and she gave me a “duh” look, and said “it’s French Onion Soup.”  I was definitely taken by the spectacle of the cheese melted over the bread on top.  Forget the onions and the broth, bread and cheese is good stuff!

It took me a few years to learn to appreciate the soup in it’s entirety aside from the traditional garnish.  Now it’s a tempting option every time I see it on a menu.  It has certainly become a comfort food for me, and a half decent French Onion Soup can make for a great day.

I was at Panera recently, having my typical debate between options and I then I saw French Onion Soup on the soup list.  I pulled an audible at the register and ordered the soup.  Even though it was just Panera soup, it really hit the spot and inspired me to give it a try at home.

French Onion Soup

Recipe from Tyler Florence 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • 4 onions, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
  • 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 quarts beef broth
  • 1 baguette, sliced
  • 1/2 pound grated Gruyere (plus I added some parmesan)

Method

  1. Heat up soup pot on medium heat on the stove and melt the stick of butter.
  2. Once the butter is melted, throw in the onions, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper.  Cook the onions about 25 minutes until soft and slightly caramelized.
  3. Add wine, bring to a boil and cook until liquid has mostly dissolved.  About 5 minutes.
  4. Pull out the thyme and bay leaves and add flour to pot.  Stir and cook for about 10 minutes then add beef broth.
  5. Simmer soup for at least 10 minutes before serving.
  6. Slice and toast baguette (I made croutons) and serve soup topped with bread and cheese on top in the traditional fashion.