The Best Broccoli of Your Life You know you’ve done something right with broccoli when the person you made it for describes it to someone else the next day as “better than biting into a steak.” Those were Craig’s words and they were a marked change from the first words he uttered about the broccoli, before he bit in: “You made broccoli for dinner? Broccoli and sweet potatoes?” Then he did bite in and his eyes lit up. “Oh my God,” he said. So what did I do to the broccoli to make it taste so good? I can’t take any credit. I’m going to have a hard time this week not posting all of the recipes from her new book, Back To Basics. Specifically, she loves roasting vegetables at a high temperature until they caramelize. Normally, broccoli gets squishy when you cook it. Seriously, this recipe is so easy I can recite it without looking at the book. You preheat the oven to 425. Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Now, it’s easy. Related Posts: Roasted Fennel Save
Queso Blanco I don’t think it’s much of a secret that I’m a fan of cheese. Cheese pizza, cheesecake, cheese fries, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, cheese and crackers…the list goes on and on. But melted cheese in particular definitely holds a special place in my heart. This dip takes only minutes to prepare and it is an addicting appetizer, snack, or side dish to your dinner. The heat from the jalapeno is subtle, definitely not too intense. Note: You’ll see that one of the ingredients is white American Cheese. Here’s what you’ll need. Start by dicing an onion. Then seed and devein your jalapeno, the heat is mostly in the seeds and ribs. Remove the seeds from a tomato. Chop the tomato up Ok now it’s time to grate the cheese. Heat oil in a pan and start cooking the onion and jalapeno until tender, about 5 minutes Then pour in the milk Add in the star of your show next- CHEESE! Roughly chop some cilantro. Once the cheese is melted, add the tomatoes and cilantro. This looks just about right! Yield: 2 cups
Simple vegetable side dishes I have made up for a childhood of hating most vegetables in adulthood and love them in abundance. In summer I want salads at most meals, and in winter I love cooked vegetables. My favourite way of eating vegetables in winter is simply oven roasted mixed vegetables. Olive oil, garlic (or not), herbs, salt (or smoked salt) and then to roast them until the outer flesh is slightly caramelised and the inner flesh is nice and soft. I also like to think of ways to wake up and add flavour to simple vegetables. As this has become such a popular post, I have decided to keep it updated with more recent recipes for side vegetables. Oven roasted beetroot (improved recipe) with pistachios and dukkah the best ever carrots cooked in carrot juice peas with salsa verde new potatoes with salsa verde zucchini shoestring and ribbon fries Jamie Oliver’s best cauliflower and broccoli cheese cauliflower and cheese croquettes black mushrooms stuffed with goats cheese butter and dill grilled & baked aubergine ‘pizza’
Hot Buttered Soft Baked Pretzels Have you ever waited in one of those really long lines at the mall for a soft pretzel? You know…the ones for Auntie Anne’s, or Wetzel’s Pretzels? You just can’t help it, right? You can smell that darned cinnamon sugar and butter wafting over from like 100 feet away. Well try these at home, and you’ll never buy those mall pretzels ever again. Start by making a simple yeasted dough, and shape it into a ball. Let the yeast work its magic and create these gorgeous bubbles. Sometimes I just stare at the dough because it’s sooooo prettyyyyyy… Divide up the dough into pieces, and roll each into a long rope. Shape into pretzels by looping the rope through. Sprinkle each pretzel with coarse sea salt and send them into the oven. Bake until golden and puffed, then brush with butter. Enjoy while they are hot! UPDATE: I have posted a 100% Whole Wheat Version of these pretzels (cinnamon sugar ones!) Click here to check it out. Copyright Notice: Fifteen Spatulas images and content are copyright protected. Notes
Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower 'Wings' Looking for a healthier (and kinder) alternative to chicken wings? Try these juicy, tangy, and spicy buffalo cauliflower “wings”! Deliciously versatile and with just enough “kick,” these bite-sized pieces of cauliflower offer an eerily similar experience to eating chicken wings. SpicyBuffalo Cauliflower ‘Wings’ 1 cup water or soy milk 1 cup flour (any kind will work—even gluten-free!) Preheat the oven to 450°F.Combine the water or soy milk, flour, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir until well combined.Coat the cauliflower pieces with the flour mixture and place in a shallow baking dish. Makes 4 servings No Knead Bread: so easy a 4-yr old can make it! Monday, September 10, 2007 No Knead Bread: so easy a 4-yr old can make it! It’s been almost a year since NY Times unveiled the secret to the revolutionary No-Knead Bread. And while fads come and go, this certainly is a recipe that has transcended the fickleness of foodies. I firmly believe that every person should bake a loaf of bread at least once in their lifetime. No Knead Bread recipe so insanely brilliant – no sticky fingers, no doughy mess, no intricate measuring, no complicated kneading. So, without further blabbering, I’ve pimped out my son to demonstrate that baking No Knead Bread is so simple a 4-year old can do it. Of course I had to bribe him with 2 temporary tattoos. So, let’s start. 3 cups of bread flour in a big bowl. secret: I sometimes use 1/2c whole wheat flour + 2 1/2c bread flour 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast: 1 teaspoon of table salt (secret: I use 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt. Add 1-1/2 cups of lukewarm water. See? Wrap up the no knead bread dough Wet your hands.
How to Make Proper Barbecue Chicken There's a lot of misconception when it comes to "barbecue." The problem is the word itself. It's used as a synonym for grilling, refers to the grill itself, or to the meat being grilled; it also has a sauce named after it; and sometimes it's just the word for the party itself held outdoors in somebody's backyard. What, actually, is "barbecue"? American purists see things a little differently. Which brings us to barbecue chicken, a staple of the summer grill. The sad fact is that often times the answer is no. The problem, and the result, is charred all over the place, a crapshoot for succulence, often dry and sad. I believe good barbecue chicken is low and slow followed by fast and hot; that's the easiest way to achieve fantastic results. This way is a vast improvement over most methods, and won't take all afternoon. the dry rub keeping half the grill hot and half of it cooler, i.e. For the rub, I turned to a famous thing "magic dust" invented by barbecue god Mike Mills. (makes 2 cups)
English Muffin Magic Finally. It’s here. My post on english muffins. You see, I stumbled upon this recipe from Barbara’s Winos&Foodies blog a few years back but never got around to trying it till a few months ago, and which point I became highly impressed with the fact that yes, it is entirely possible to make your own english muffins at home! Yes! Yet another goodie that I do not have to buy chock full of preservatives from the supermarket, but can make fresh and tasty in my own kitchen! I posted a teaser on my twitter account, and I know that there is at least one of you who has been anxiously waiting for this to be posted…so apologies for the delay Unfortunately, I occasionally hit the wall when trying to photograph the food I cook, and it wasn’t until this weekend past that I finally got some photos that I liked and thought were worth posting English Muffins (recipe adapted from Winos&Foodies) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. (The reason it isn’t pictured here is because I was seeing if just oiled surfaces would work.
Apple Pie Baked in the Apples Sarah from domesticdilettante.com got very creative one Thanksgiving. With little time and a lot of anxiety, her creativity exploded into one of the snazziest ideas ever to hit the dessert menu: Baked Granny Smith Apple Pies! Apples never seemed so cute, quaint and perfect until now. Thanks Sarah for sharing them with the world! Ingredients 5-6 Granny Smith Apples (Make sure that they can stand on their own.) 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon brown sugar Pie crust (homemade or pre-made) Directions 1. 2. 3. 4. Click here to see the full recipe from domesticdilettante.com! More in American