Spaetzle goes American...are you sure ??

Bob is obsessed with spaetzle ever since we discovered it. He wants me to use it in any dish that would normally use pasta.
We did try it with pesto recently, it was OK but not great. I may need to tweak either the spaetzle or the thickness of the pesto.

Mac and cheese is one of Bob's favorite comfort foods, mine too. It seemed worthwhile to replace the mac (macaroni)  with spaetzle.
While the title of this post assumes mac and cheese is an American creation, I would have guessed it probably originated somewhere in Germany.

Nope it's French !! Here's what wiki had to say:

"Pasta and cheese casseroles have been recorded in cookbooks as early as the 14th century's Liber de Coquina, one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. It is a French dish of parmesan and pasta and was brought to England in the 14th century. A cheese and pasta casserole known as makerouns was recorded in the famous medieval French cookbook The Forme of Cury, which was written in the 14th century.^[7] It was made with fresh, hand-cut pasta which was sandwiched between a mixture of melted butter and cheese."

Now that I am thinking about it  I remember watching French chef extraordinaire, Jacques Pepin, make a version of mac and cheese using five different kinds of cheese, he just used whatever cheese "ends" he had around. They included a brie and some blue cheese !!

I did a similar thing in my version, using the last of a white cheddar and Parmesan, as well as a sharp orange cheddar.

 I decided to add roasted cauliflower too, it pairs well with cheesy sauce.

This recipe is similar to my gourmet mac and cheese.

Spaetzle cheese bake

Ingredients
 2-3 cups roasted cauliflower
1 recipe of spaetzle
1-2 cups grated cheese
1 jar Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup milk
2-3 tablespoons bread crumbs


1) Preheat oven to 350 F, grease a glass baking dish. I chose to have a thinner layer of mac and cheese so I used a 9 by 13, you could also us a square dish.

2) Roast 2-3 cups cauliflower pieces for  30 to 45 minutes at 350 F.

3) Make one recipe of spaetzle, drain and set aside.

4) In a bowl mix together the Alfredo sauce, milk and grated cheese.

5) Stir in the roasted cauliflower and the spaetzle.

6) Pour into your greased baking dish, top with bread crumb.

7) Bake for 30-40 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving, because there is nothing worse than burning the roof of you month on melting cheese !!

8) Serve with a large green salad and hope for leftovers !!

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.

Laurie's Potatoes

That's what Bob said I should call my latest creation. It's a play off my brother's dish which we call Taylor's potatoes.

This is a super simple, easy to adapt roasted potato dish that works well as a dinner side dish or main course or as great breakfast potatoes.

Laurie's Potatoes

Ingredients

4-6 large yukon gold or other interesting potatoes, use more if they are small
1 red bell pepper
1 red or yellow onion
1 zucchini
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1) Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cover a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, spray or brush lightly with olive oil.

2) Chop all the vegetables into small size chunks.

3) Toss together in a bowl with a tablespoon olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4) Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet.

5) Bake at 400 F for 35 to 50 minutes, until the vegetables start to brown on the edges. I like to stir them around every 15 minutes or so to prevent sticking. The time with vary with the size of your chunks and how crispy you like them.

6) Serve immediately and hope you made enough for leftover !!

I served them with grilled salmon and my favorite preserved lemon yogurt sauce.

Feel free to add any vegetable you have on hand, add fresh herbs, garnish with fresh tomatoes and black olives or sour cream.