Roasted Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts

I am a fan of all cruciferous vegetables and I will eat them in many preparations. My favorites change as I find new and different ways to cook them. I started with steaming my broccoli, then would only eat it raw that changed to stir-fry, now I LOVE roasted broccoli.

In my opinion most people over cook their cole crops, which gives them a mushy texture and sulfurous odor and taste. Yuck, no wonder some president didn't like broccoli.

Recently I saw recipes for roasting broccoli pop up on Facebook. I liked the idea but was surprised by the temperature and cooking time, 375 for 30 minutes, sounds Midwestern to me. I did some more research online and in the oven. Hotter oven and shorter time works much better as far as I am concerned.

Usually I pan fry my Brussel sprouts, last night I added them to the broccoli, they were great.

I love that this way of cooking is so easy, I don't have to stand over the wok or sautee pan or use as much oil !!

Laurie's Roasted Broccoli

1) Preheat the oven to 4:00 F.
2) Line a heavy cookie sheet with foil.

3) Wash and chop your broccoli into medium size pieces. Halve or quarter the sprouts.

4) Place all veggies in a large bowl and toss with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5) Dump them onto the cookie sheet.

6) Roast them for 10 minutes. Yes, the edges of the broccoli get a little dark but I like that crunch. If you want them slightly more done, turn off the oven but leave them in for 5 more minutes.

7) Some folks like to add a squeeze a lemon or splash of balsamic vinegar. I really enjoy the sweet flavor just as is.

I served them with red quinoa, tofu noodles and peanut sauce.

Spaetzle! What ? Spaetzle, spaetzle, spaetzle !!

I just love to say the word, spaetzle. There seem to be different ways to spell and pronounce this "small dumpling cooked by running batter through a colander into boiling water". You can find it in the cuisine of Alsace where my great grandfather was born, also in German, Swiss and Hungarian cooking.

I first had spaetzle at a restaurant on Christmas day, it was served with prime rib. Both Genna and I fell in love with it. Within a few days we were trying to make our own.

While the dough is simple, we had trouble with "running the batter through a colander into boiling water". Turns out the key is to grease the colander and have a large enough pot, but I am getting ahead of myself...why do I like it, you may be asking. It's soft, quick to make and soaks up whatever you toss on it. So far that has mostly been butter, garlic and herbs. Bob wants to try it with pesto. In fact he says we should never have to buy pasta again, he says stuff like that when he likes something new.

In my second attempt to make spaetzle for Gina and Taylor, I had yet to read about greasing the colander. The results were rather comical, as I tried to squeeze the dough through the colander and not get burned by the boiling water below. At this point I discovered that there was a tool just for making spaetzle. I know, I know, single purpose tool and all, it sure makes it easy, and it was cheap, less than $10.

Basic Spaetzle


Ingredients
1 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons  butter
2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs
1 clove minced garlic



1) In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

2) In another mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk the eggs and milk together.

3) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. I never really understood the whole "make a well" concept. Mine doesn't really seem to work well, haha, so don't stress about it.

4) Pour in the egg-milk mixture. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides and combine well; the dough should be smooth and thick.

5) Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

6) Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot, then reduce to a simmer.
7) Spray oil onto a large holed colander or spaetzle maker.
8 a) Hold your colander over the simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spatula or spoon.

A bigger pot and a greased colander would have made this first attempt easier.

8b) If you are using the spaetzle maker, fill the basket with dough and slide it across the metal grate.

9) Do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the pot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Dump the spaetzle into a bowl.

10) Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat with the garlic and fresh herbs.

 11) Add the spaetzle; tossing to coat. Cook the spaetzle for 1 to 2 minutes to give the noodles some color, season with salt and pepper before serving.

Now comes the fun part, what to serve it with !! Here it is with a slow cooked venison shank.

I have also used sauteed mushrooms & onions. Or this lovely deconstructed Beef Stroganoff, which used the mushrooms, onions and small strips of beef sauteed with a dollop of horseradish sour cream on top.

Fresh grated cheese would suffice, as I mentioned we plan to try it with pesto and perhaps a red sauce. Adding herbs and other ingredients to the dough seems be a natural next step. And what about pumpkin spaetzle or vegan spaetzle ?? I will keep you posted.

Pressure cooker lesson and Hippocrates Soup

In my list of goals for this year I mentioned wanting to learn how to use the pressure cooker that sits in its box in my garage. My dear friend Laurie volunteered to show me how to use it, since she uses hers occasionally.

First we had a lovely lunch of her latest soup discovery: Hippocrates soup. Here is Laurie's post about it on her blog. In a minute I will give you my rendition.

Back to the pressure cooker...now remember I have some trepidation going into this. I associate pressure cookers with exploding beans and hot steam.

Laurie gets out the instructions, reads them through, explains stuff to me about seals, and release valves and I can feel my eyes ( and ears) glaze over. She wisely decides to test my pot by boiling water in it. As it boils I quiz her about how often she uses it and for which recipes. So far I have not heard anything that really sells me on it. Most of the stuff I can do either in my slow cooker or stove top with a dutch oven.

The cooker heats up and steam starts coming out, but the top doohickey doesn't wobble like it is supposed to and steam is coming out of some other hole in top. We turn it off but it is still a safety hazard, yikes. After reading through the instructions, it turns out I am missing a very small but, yes, essential part of the top. I breathe a big sigh, not of disappointment but of relief. Maybe I don't need to overcome this fear and instead I have one less piece of cooking equipment to store in my pantry !!

I did get a very tasty soup recipe out of our afternoon together. Laurie sent me home with with a sample. Bob liked it so much I decided to make it a couple of days later.

To find out more about why it is called Hippocrates soup, go to Laurie's blog.
I am sharing this recipe because it is a wonderful, flexible, rich pureed soup that reminds me of a French potage. It's a soup for the soul !!

My version of Hippocrates Soup

Ingredients

2 large yellow potatoes
2 leeks
2 carrots
1 large onion
1 fennel bulb
1 celery root ( or 2-3 stalks of celery)
1/2 cauliflower
1 cup purple cabbage
2 cups roasted tomato puree ( or whole tomatoes)
fresh herbs( small amounts of anything you have on hand, oregano, basil, thyme, sage, rosemary)

2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste

1) The original recipe tells you not to peel most of the vegetables. I did peel the onion and the celery root. Otherwise just chop all the vegetables in large chunks except the garlic.

2) Place in a large pot on the stove and fill with just enough water to cover. You could also use stock if you prefer.

3) Add the tomato puree and fresh herbs.

4) Bring to a simmer and cook for two hours. You can also do this in a slow cooker overnight.

5) When it has cooled enough, puree in small batches in your blender. This is when I add the two cloves of garlic and the salt and pepper to taste.

6) Garnish with fresh parsley, yogurt or sour cream.

Next time: I try some parsnips, a bunch of fresh parsley or some chard.

Galette Des Rois

Galette Des Rois is French for Kings Cake. I remember this puff pastry almond tart from my childhood in Paris. Before the 6th of January these galettes would show up in the windows of the local patisserie, along with gold paper crowns. They were made to celebrate Epiphany, the time when the three kings came to visit baby Jesus.

They are also made for 12th Night, the end of the Christmas holiday season or Mardi Gras, the celebration before lent...

What I loved was the ritual and the dense almond filling.

First the ritual. Usually served at a party, the youngest person hid under the table while the oldest person cut the cake. From under the table the youngster would call out who would receive each slice. Once the cake was all divvied up, everyone would carefully begin to eat.
Baked inside the cake was a small ceramic figure, whoever got the figure wore the crown and was king !! ( I can hear mothers and dentists cringing at the potential for expensive tooth repairs ;-). In the recipes I found, a dried bean can be substituted for the figure.

Now the recipe...I had made versions of this cake before but was never completely satisfied.
I looked at a lot of recipes online, most had you make your own almond paste and were very complex. I already had some plain marzipan that I wanted to use up. You can find it at most well stocked grocery stores or Cost Plus in season. Or if you want to make it from scratch try this almond filling from David Lebovitz.

In the past the filling had oozed out of the pastry, so I decided to chill the filling for a couple of hours and make the galette in a pan.
Here's what I came up with.

Laurie's Galette des Rois

Ingredients

1 lbs frozen puff pastry ( 2 sheets)
300 grams plain marzipan (about 10 ounces)
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg for an egg wash
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

tart pan with removable bottom, 11 inch ( other round pans about this size will do)
dried bean or ceramic figure and crown ( optional)

1) To get the puff pastry ready to use I like to defrost it the night before in the fridge, that way it is ready when you are.

2) To a standing mixer bowl add the butter, sugar and marzipan cut into chunks.

3) Mix well.

4) Add the eggs one at a time on low speed.
5) Continue to beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
6) Gently fold in the flour.
7) Chill the filling for several hours or overnight.

8) Preheat the oven to 400 F.
9) Remove the puff pastry from the fridge.
9) Lightly spray your pan with oil.
10) Lay one sheet of pastry on the bottom of the pan, making sure it comes all the way up the sides.
11) Beat one egg and brush on the pastry in the pan.
12) Carefully spread the chilled filling, use your fingers to work it all over the pan.
13) Brush the filling with egg wash. If you want to add the figure or bean, now would be the time to press it into the filling.
14) Cover with the second sheet of pastry and carefully seal the edges by pinching them together. Sorry I don't have photos, I was too busy improvising ;-)
15) Brush the top with more egg wash. Using a sharp knife score or cut a pattern on the top.
16) Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan on a baking rack for an hour.

 17) Carefully remove from the pan.

This galette would make a great brunch treat as well.

My Goals for 2014...

Since January is not even halfway over, it's still legal to post about my "goals" for 2014.

I am not one to make resolutions or goals for myself personally...
There are a few things I want to accomplish this year related to this food blog.
Public humiliation is a good way to motivate, right ??


So here is my list, in no particular order.

1) Learn to use the pressure cooker (that has never come out of its box), without any explosions in the kitchen. I have a mild horror inherited from my mother about exploding pressure cookers.



2) Post about making your own household cleaners. We have been doing this for years and I have been meaning to post about it. They are cheaper and very easy to make.

3) Master the delicate art of pie crust (without using Crisco). Pie crust is one of my weak areas as a cook. This year I plan to change that !!

4) Learn to make my own tortillas using the press I found this last weekend at a yard sale. I know, I know...it is painfully easy from what I have seen. I just need to do it !!

5) Explore the world of spätzle. Enough said.

6) Use all the dried beans in my pantry, with help from # 1

7) Grow rhubarb and horseradish and post about them. Both are currently in the ground, so at least I have gotten that far.

8) Post about making your own bath and body products. Something else I have been doing for years, time to share.

9) Make my own tahini ( sesame butter). I hear its very easy.

10) Hmmm, it seemed like I had a lot more when I was thinking these up and of course, I didn't write them down. To be continued....

A year in review: 12 favorite recipes from 2013.

 As Gina and Taylor were bustling about the kitchen making us a fabulous New Year's Day, I went through my year's worth of recipes and picked out my dozen favorites with help from Taylor, Gina and Bob.

Here they are in no particular order.

1) Peanut sauce: so easy and goes well on...
2) Fresh spring rolls: salad wrapped in rice paper.

3) Beef stew was Bob's first major cooking success, he wanted to make sure this was on the list.
4) Peppermint ice cream used to be a season treat, now I cam make it whenever I want to.

5) Whole orange cake, Taylor reminded me of this unique recipe. I plan to make it again soon.

6) Curried chickpea soup, this was a challenge by my friend Laurie to recreate a soup from a favorite restaurant. It was successful !!

7) Honey mustard dressing, I make this dressing all the time now.

8) Roasted curried chicken has become a favorite meal to make for dinner guest.

9) Asian peanut slaw goes well with the curried chicken or any other meal.

10) Quinoa salad makes for a great camping or picnic dish.

11) Devil's on horseback, decadent appetizers, bacon rules !!

12) Pecan pie, the best version I have ever had !!

Happy New Year !!
I look forward to another year of recipes !!