I saw someone roasting a whole head of cauliflower on TV that looked SO good I wanted to try it. The other day I had a head of cauliflower in the fridge so I started looking for some ways to have this for dinner alongside a couple of Ribeye steaks I was making. Well lets just say baking a whole head of cauliflower takes far too long for my weeknight meal; especially since I was starting around 6:30ish. Unless I boiled it first it was going to be well over an hour in the oven. Since I had roasted cauliflower on brain I sliced it into large chunks added some sliced onion and a little garlic and some thyme roasted them in the oven for about 40 minutes.
It also worked out quite nicely that the oven was well pre-heated for finishing off my steaks in the oven once seared in my cast iron skillet. Dinner was awesome and we had the leftovers for lunch the next day score!!! If you have never roasted a vegetable; I can’t stress enough how it will change your life; OK no it’s not that revolutionary but it may make some youngsters; even some adults change their minds over eating their veggies. It makes carrots, beets, butternut squash and onions sweeter. It gives asparagus and broccoli a slightly charred taste. Potatoes have a wonderful crunch and it’s the only way I like brussel sprouts. A little olive oil, salt and pepper and you’re good to go; add an herb and you won’t be disappointed.
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
1 medium onion sliced
1 tsp dried thyme or 4 fresh sprigs
3-4 gloves of garlic kept whole
2-3 Tbs olive oil
Kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Toss the first four ingredients either on the sheet pan or if you prefer in a bowl. once on the sheet pan sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes. sprinkle with cheese toss and roast for another 10-15 minutes longer.
This is the first time I can recall picking an enormous summer squash; zucchini I swear grows twice its size overnight and it’s not always my fault, summer squash I believe grows a little slower. I also get how I can miss a green zucchini but a bright yellow squash usually doesn’t get by me. I have never baked a bread or cake with a summer squash and the thought of all those large seeds just isnt appealing at all. I really don’t like throwing out; well anything so I went online to see how others dealt with their overgrown summer squash, I know I am not the only one that misses veggies in the garden.
My son isn’t a fan of of summer squash in any way it is served but he said and I quote “it’s not too bad” which when I asked him to elaborate; he said he doesn’t like squash at all but this way “he didn’t mind it” I’ll take it. I have made this a couple of times this year; which is also an admittance that I missed more than one summer squash in the last couple of weeks; guilty!
The first time I made this it was just me and my husband and his first question was did you remove the seeds? no I did not and we were both pleasantly surprised that you really don’t need to. It is also a very quick and simple way to make a side dish with ingredients you should have in your pantry and fridge. And it looks kind of cool too and tastes delicious. 1-2 Tbs Butter Olive Oil 1 Onion 4-5 thin slices Kosher Salt Fresh cracked black pepper 1 tsp Garlic powder 1 tsp Parsley 3-4 tsp shredded Parmesan cheese
Slice 4-5 elongated slices Place small slices of butter all over the squash Drizzle with a little olive oil Cover with onions Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic and parsley Cover with shredded parmesan and bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes at 375°F
My garden has been pretty good to me this year with plenty of cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini. I really don’t want to talk about my non-existent eggplant or beefsteak tomatoes. Thankfully my cherry and roma tomato plants are picking up a little of the slack; and it also helps my husband has found a way to add tomato to his sandwich that he thinks works out pretty slick; he takes a bite of sandwich and pops a cherry tomato in his mouth and he likes that his sandwich stays dry. I say win win!
Now how to get a win with someone who doesn’t like zucchini; which I can actually relate to; when I was growing up; besides my aversion to everything green; the only way I had zucchini and summer squash was steamed or boiled to death. I was reminded of this when I was talking with my dad last week about how I prepare versus how he prepares squash. I like mine on the al dente side and he likes his well on the mush side. No thank you!
Before this I had only made hasselback potatoes, never even thought about another vegetable before but why not?
Parmesan-Garlic Hasselback Zucchini 1 Tbs EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) 1 tsp finely chopped fresh oregano or ½ tsp dried ¼ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp kosher salt ¼ tsp fresh cracked black pepper 4 small or 2 medium zucchini ⅓ cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Preheat grill or oven Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl Make crosswise cuts every ½ inch along each zucchini. Make sure to slice almost to the bottom of the squash but not all the way through. I use a round handle of a wooden spoon to help me get the same size cuts. Gently fan the squash to make them a little wider. Place a shaved piece of Parmesan in each of the cuts and then brush the oil mixture over the top. Place the squash on a double layer of foil and grill (without turning) until browned and tender about 15 minutes.
Well it is about time we are going to be getting some much needed rain here today in New England. Thankfully we have a well instead of being on town water so we; well actually my husband who I rename every summer to water boy; has tried very hard to keep our gardens and lawn looking a little less brown than others I see around town. But it will be nice to give our well and pump a little break today and yes my husband gets a little break from playing “where to place the sprinkler now”
This is the first weekend so far this summer where I haven’t left the house yet, I will probably venture out a little later today just to pick up a few things for this week’s staple items for meals. Or maybe I can get my daughter to do it wink wink!
My garden is still doing really well despite the lack of natural rain, I picked the rest of my garlic yesterday, we have 50-ish bulbs of various sizes which should last a little while. The cucumbers and squashes are doing excellent; I made 7 jars of kosher dill pickles yesterday and I was able to pick 7 heads of broccoli. Yeah that one stumps me too of what to do with it all. I know I should be staggering my plantings; but I don’t. I have yet to like what happens to my broccoli when I freeze it so I have been sharing our harvest with family and friends.
If you need something quick and delicious with some of what you grew yourself or bought from a local farm stand or grocery store. This one’s a keeper!
Best if you can make this first before you start whatever you are serving it with so it has time to meld and let the veggies soak up the dressing.
Summer Garden Salad
⅓ cup cider vinegar 2 tsp honey 1 small clove of garlic, minced ½ tsp kosher salt ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper 1 cup sliced cherry, grape or like tomatoes ½ medium cucumber, halved, seeded and sliced thin ½ medium yellow summer squash, quartered and sliced ¼ inch thick ¼ medium sweet onion sliced thin Kernels from 1 ear of corn 1 Tbs coarsely chopped fresh basil
Whisk the first 5 ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the next diced/sliced 5 ingredients; stir well to combine. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Stirring occasionally before serving. Garnish with the basil.
Sitting at the island this morning perusing some recipe magazines and tearing out things I must try or at least would like to try some day. I am pretty sure I have a 3” binder full of these recipes that I want to try some day. Maybe today is the day!
Thanksgiving is coming up pretty quickly and the staples will always be on my table, turkey of course, though personally I like chicken better.Mashed potatoes because if we didn’t I am fairly certain my daughter would revolt; pitch a fit and make everyone wait while she runs into the kitchen to make them. I can say with some certainty she could and has eaten mashed potatoes for several days in a row. When she was getting her wisdom teeth out, I asked her what she would like on hand to eat.The only thing I remember her asking me for was mashed potatoes. Sorry getting off track here.
I have always loved turnip as does my father-in-law; so many opinions on that one! We had a bumper crop of butternut squash this year so that is a definite.Then you have to throw in something green. I personally like frozen baby sweet peas; yes Mom I said it out for the world to hear; no taking it back now.
I usually make my own rolls (last year we had no power so no oven) and dressing aka stuffing. I don’t care to stuff my birds so it is dressing at my house.
I can’t recall ever having sweet potatoes with marsh mellows or the staple green bean casserole at my childhood dinner table so I have never made them and I really don’t have an interest – sorry everybody! I did just find a carrot sweet potato casserole recipe that looks promising. I have no problem trying something new; it will either work or it won’t but there is so many other things on the table that I feel confident that no one will leave the table hungry and what a better place to get a lot of peoples opinion on the subject.
In one of the magazines I was looking at the editors letter title made me chuckle! Secrets and Pies; basically people trying to take short cuts and cast them off as their own homemade. I don’t feel the need to hide my shortcuts. Hey I think we all could use a little extra help; especially trying to pull off a big dinner party for many family and friends.
My big help is pumpkin pie, I use frozen pie crust and canned pumpkin pie filling and I don’t hide it! My husband is a pretty funny guy; he likes his cookies fresh made only and his pumpkin pie thin and cheap hahaha!
Potato masher does the trick really well
I was hesitant using fennel – totally not a black licorice fan but worth a try – trust me!
It has taken me a several tries to find a dressing recipe that everyone agrees on; this one is a keeper. I did blog about last year but I felt it bears repeating plus I gave it to you too late for Thanksgiving last year but maybe if you are looking for something new to try you might want to check it out this year.
Sausage Ciabatta Dressing
Your favorite Olive Oil for the pan
1 lb of your favorite Italian sausage – casing removed crumbled and browned
1 medium onion – diced
1 bulb fennel also called anise – sliced thin, fronds reserved
1 cup of chestnuts – I found them already cooked and peeled – brilliant
2 apples – I used granny smiths – peeled and diced
5 cups ciabatta bread cubed and toasted – I toasted them in a pan on the stove top
¼ cup fresh parsley – chopped
2 ½ cups chicken stock
½ melted butter
Add oil to the pan, crumble the sausage and cook till the sausage starts to brown, add the onion, fennel, chestnuts, apples and cook. Stirring occasionally, until the sausage is cooked through
In a large bowl, place the cubed bread and pour the cooked sausage mixture over the top. Sprinkle with parsley, and pour the stock and melted butter; toss to combine.
In a 9×13 baking dish place all ingredients in and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake until the top is golden browned and crisp. Serve garnished with some of the fennel fronds.
recipe adapted from Mario Batali’s Sausage Ciabatta Stuffing
I am proud to admit that I have not purchased a bag or box of pre-made croutons in at least 13+ years. I was literally at the grocery store just a few hours ago and saw a couple picking up a bag; I had to chuckle to myself because I was actually contemplating telling them how easy it was to make their own and that they are handsdown better than what you can buy at the store any day of the week. I can see the headlines now; women arrested in Market Basket produce for accosting couple over bagged croutons. I refrained… I then saw the same couple pick up a premade bag of salad; I tried not to judge. I am not perfect by any stretch; I have made my own coleslaw many times over the years but I will confess that it is way easier to buy a tri-color bag of shredded cabbage and carrots; I do make my own dressing for the slaw but sometimes everyone needs a little assistance.
I have been trying to help my family eat a little better. While we are definitely foodies and only want to eat food we like; which is not always the most healthiest choices and we don’t really adhere to the motto “eat less” either. I figured if we had a salad before each dinner maybe we wouldn’t eat as much steak, chicken, pork chops, lasagna or whatever we are eating for dinner. Last week I made some pretty yummy salads I must admit, They were more like a meal since I added some leftover bacon and I made a couple of hard boiled eggs. My salads tend to be whatever we have in the produce drawer, I found that really like adding sno-peas, they add some really nice crunch and are very sweet. I cut off the ends, blanch for a minute remove from the heat; add to a ice water bath so they stay green and crunchy. (my salad is the one without the raw onion – I don’t like raw onions at all and I have no desire to learn)
Croutons
Crust removed from whatever bread you want to make the croutons from. I tend to make croutons every time we have leftover French or Italian bread that we had for dinner the night before, I have also used whatever sandwich bread we have in the drawer.
Day old Bread
Olive oil
Garlic Salt
Salt
Dried Parsley
Remove crust; cube into the size you want to eat; place in a ziploc bag; add olive oil; just enough to lightly coat the bread.
Bake in a 350’ oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned
If you are in a pinch you can pan sear them; I tend to do this in the morning if I make a salad for work
Cole Slaw
1 bag of tri-colored coleslaw
1 cup of Mayo
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1 lemon juiced
Pinch of sugar
1/25 tsp celery seed
Several dashes of hot sauce
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the above ingredients; add to the coleslaw and let set for 10-15 minutes until it melds. Great on pulled pork sandwich!
