Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower

Roasting can be an unsung hero among cooking methods.  It's not flashy or noisy, it's simple.  It's not fiddly or complex, it's easy.  All you need is plenty of heat and plenty of time.  This week I roasted some broccoli and cauliflower, veggies that I would usually just steam.  Roasting took longer, but the flavors and texture were leaps and bounds more interesting than my usual methods.  This makes for a side that can stand up to just about anything, but without becoming too heavy or overpowering itself.

The ingredients this week are simple and inexpensive.  Here's what you'll need: broccoli, cauliflower, a lemon, a few cloves of garlic, some olive oil, salt and pepper, and a bit of Parmesan to sprinkle on top if you're so inclined.

There's lots of chopping to do.  Break down the broccoli and cauliflower into florettes, leaving a couple of inches of stalk.  Also mince the garlic and zest the lemon.

Throw everything you just chopped and zested into a large bowl.  Drizzle the mixture with olive oil and the juice from the lemon, then sprinkle with salt and black pepper.  Stir it around a bit and let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes.  Pre-heat the oven to 425 while you wait.

After you've waited 10 or 15 minutes, give the veggie mixture another good stir, then pour it out into a single layer on a greased sheet pan.

Roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 25-35 minutes, turning halfway, until the vegetables are nicely brown and tender enough to pierce easily with a fork.  These actually went back in a little longer after this shot, because I like mine quite crispy.  Don't fret if you end up with some really, really dark pieces - they may look burnt, but they're probably the tastiest ones.

Serve hot with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese if you so desire.

Recipe: Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
Prep Time: 5 Minutes | Cook Time: 25-35 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1-2 pounds fresh Broccoli
• 1 head fresh Cauliflower
• 1 lemon
• 3-4 tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Optional: Grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Chop broccoli and cauliflower into florettes with 1-2 inches of stalk.
3. Mince garlic and zest lemon.  Add to large mixing  bowl with broccoli and cauliflower.
4. Drizzle olive oil over contents of bowl.  Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir to mix.  Let sit 10-15 minutes.
5. Arrange vegetable mixture in a single layer on a greased baking sheet.
6. Roast vegetables 25-35 minutes, turning halfway, until well-browned and tender enough to pierce easily with a fork.
7. Serve hot with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese if desired.

Broccoli Ramen Salad

Summertime demands some fresh, light, flavorful side dishes.  It can be tough to make cold food interesting, and especially to make raw food interesting, but this little salad really does the trick.  It's lightning fast to put together, super flavorful, and not at all heavy - we were so happy to have it when the temperature soared over 100 degrees for so much of this summer.

I'm no fan of prepackaged ramen noodles, but they really add life to this salad.  They soften just a bit in the tangy dressing, making for a nice textural counterpoint to the crunchy nuts and crisp vegetables, but they never end up too soft.  This recipe is also immensely easy to customize - a dash of soy sauce and ginger lend it an Asian flair, or some lime and cilantro make it an easy complement for Mexican food.  Whenever you need something tasty, cool, and easy in the heat, give this salad a try.

Here's what you'll need: A large package a broccoli slaw, two packages of chicken flavored ramen, a bunch of green onions, unsalted roasted peanuts and sunflower seeds, apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, and a bit of white sugar.

First, make the dressing by whisking together vegetable oil, cider vinegar, sugar, and one ramen seasoning packet (just one, otherwise things get too salty and gross).

Next, chop down the green onions and crush up the ramen noodles into small pieces.  Don't worry about keeping things too uniform.

This process can sometimes involve tiny noodle pieces flying all around the kitchen.  This is immensely entertaining to the cat, but maybe less so to whoever has to clean it up - consider crushing the noodles in a bag or a bowl to minimize projectiles.

Now mix everything but the peanuts and sunflower seeds together in a large bowl, add the dressing, and give it a good stir.  You can serve right away if necessary, but the flavors really improve with an hour or two in the fridge.

Serve the salad up cold, and garnish with peanuts and sunflower seeds right when it's time to eat.  If you're bringing the salad elsewhere, like to a pot luck, it's fine to add the nuts before you leave - they can make it several hours before getting soggy.  If you expect leftovers or are just eating at home, though, you'll want to add nuts to individual portions.

Recipe: Broccoli Ramen Salad

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: None | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 10-12

Ingredients

• 1 large (16-20 oz) package Broccoli Slaw
• 2 packages chicken flavored Ramen Noodles
• 1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup Unsalted Roasted Peanuts
• 1/2 cup Unsalted Roasted Sunflower Seeds
• 1/4 cup White Sugar
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/3 cup Cider Vinegar

Instructions

1. Whisk together vegetable oil, cider vinegar, sugar, and one ramen seasoning packet to create dressing.
2. Finely chop green onions and break down ramen noodles into small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, combine broccoli slaw, green onions, and broken ramen noodles.  Pour dressing over mixture and toss to coat.
4. Refrigerate to chill - ideally 1-2 hours to enhance flavor.
5. Top with peanuts and sunflower seeds just before serving.  Serve cold.

"Broccoli and Friends" Salad

This salad has many names -- most of them lame.  You can find it behind the deli at most grocery stores in one form or another, and it's often called something like "Broccoli Salad."  At really adventurous places, you might see "Broccoli Grape Salad."  Names like that convey and ingredient or two, but they don't capture how tasty this little salad actually is.

Leave it to Kristin's family to come up with a better name.  I had only ever had the supermarket version of this salad a few times before, so I didn't know what was going on or what I should be excited about when I heard Kristin's older sister exclaim "Broccoli and Friends!"  I've become good friends with "Broccoli and Friends" since -- it's a quick, easy, flavorful side that pairs with almost anything, especially in the summer.

Just a few ingredients for this one.  The role of "Broccoli" will be played by broccoli.  The role of "Friends" will be played by red onion, bacon, sliced or slivered almonds, grades, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

First, toast up the almonds in a skillet with just a dash of salt.  Don't get them too dark, you just want plenty of crunch.  If you don't have almonds on hand, pine nuts or sunflower seeds could fill in nicely.

While the almonds are toasting, chop the broccoli into florettes, halve the grapes, and finely dice the red onion.  Combine the broccoli, grapes, onion, and toasted almonds in a large bowl and give them a good mix.

Mmm, bacon.  Chop up and fry the bacon to your desired level of crispyness.  I like it fairly soft for this recipe, but I could see the appeal in another source of crispy crunch, too.  Try both ways for science!

Mix the bacon into the rest of the ingredients.

Finally, whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice, then season with a dash of salt and a good amount of cracked black pepper.  Pour it over the bowl and stir well to make sure everything is coated.

If you're in a hurry, you can serve the salad right away.  It's better if it can sit in the fridge for at least an hour or two, though - it's best nice and cold, and the flavors like a little bit of time to meld.  Either way you do it, offer hearty portions and enjoy!

Recipe: Broccoli and Friends
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 10 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds Broccoli
• 1/2 pound Bacon
• 2 cups Grapes
• 1 cup Slivered Almonds
• 1 medium Red Onion
• 1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Toast almonds with a pinch of salt until crisp and golden brown.
2. Chop broccoli into florettes, dice red onion, and halve grapes.  Mix together with almonds in a large bowl.
3. Chop bacon into small pieces and saute until desired level of crispyness.  Mix bacon into large bowl.
4. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Add a dash of salt and plenty of black pepper to taste.
5. Pour mayonnaise mixture into large bowl and stir well to coat all ingredients.
6. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving.

Broccoli-Cheese Soup

If you've had it nowhere else, you've probably had Broccoli-Cheese Soup at Panera Bread.  Theirs is pretty tasty, particularly in a bread bowl.  Not that the bread bowl changes the flavor of the soup - it's just an added bonus that you get to devour a broccoli-cheese flavored breadbowl once the soup is gone.  This is quite in keeping with my general philosophy that soup and stews are best eaten with bread as an implement rather than silverware.

As it ends up, it's pretty easy to make broccoli-cheese soup at home, too - and it's quite a lot healthier than Panera's.  Give it a try!

It's a nice, vegetable-heavy cast of characters today.  Broccoli takes the forefront, in a broth of milk, cream, cheese, and chicken broth (vegetable broth or none at all is okay if you're going vegetarian).   Onion, salt, pepper, paprika, and nutmeg add a bit of flavor, and flour thickens things up nicely.

You've got a lot of vegetables to chop.  Start with the onion.

Then the broccoli!  It's hard to tell from the picture, but I contentedly included some stems as well.  The soup will simmer long enough to cook them thoroughly, so don't be afraid of a bit of stem with your florette.

Saute the onions with some butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot.  Use a bit more butter than you strictly need to keep the onions from sticking, as you'll need to give the flour something to mix with in a moment.

After 3-4 minutes of cooking, when the onions are becoming translucent, reduce the heat a bit and add the flour.  Stir for a bit and you'll end up with a truly unpleasant looking mixture.  Fear not.

Once the onions, butter, and flour are combined, it's time to get things simmering.  Add the milk, cream, chicken broth, and broccoli and simmer over medium-low heat for about a half hour.

That half-hour of simmering is the perfect chance to grate your cheese.  Yes, you could buy shredded cheese, but storebought shredded cheese generally comes with an extra helping of chemicals, and is covered in a starchy or pulpy coating to keep it from sticking - we don't need all that extra stuff.

So while everything simmers, bust out the grater and turn a block of cheese...

...into a pile of cheese.

After a half-hour of simmering, the flour from the onions will have thickened things up nicely, and the broccoli should be nice and tender.  Taste a piece (careful, it'll hold the heat like crazy!) to be sure it's at an edible texture - if not, give it another 10 minutes or so.

Once the broccoli is tender enough for your liking, mix the cheese in a bit at a time.

Once that's all mixed through, season to taste.  I like plenty of black pepper, a good amount of salt, some paprika, and just the barest dash of nutmeg.  Yes, nutmeg.  Trust me.

Give it a couple of minutes to make sure everything is melted and the flavors well-married, and it's time to eat!

If you're particularly picky about texture, you can give the finished soup a spin in the blender on puree until it's smoother.  This will result in a more Panera-esque soup, but also results in much smaller chunks of broccoli.  Personally, I just leave it alone and enjoy the rustic texture.

Recipe: Broccoli-Cheese Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

• 4 Heads Broccoli, chopped
• 1 large Sweet Onion, diced
• 5 cups Milk
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 12 oz. Grated Cheese (cheddar)
• 1 tbsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Black Pepper
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Instructions

1. Dice onion and chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, saute onions with butter 4-5 minutes.  Reduce heat and add flour, stirring until combined.
3. Add milk, cream, chicken broth, and broccoli.  Simmer over low heat 30 minutes until broccoli is tender.
4. Slowly add grated cheese and seasonings.  Stir until cheese is melted.
5. Optional: Puree to desired texture.
6. Serve hot.

Soy-Honey Chicken

This meal began as an attempt to replicate one of my favorite elements of Chinese take-out: Sesame Chicken.  And then, well...I sort of forgot about the "sesame" bit and ended up just making some tasty chicken.  Next time I'll put those poor, neglected sesame seeds in my cabinet to good use, I swear!  In the meantime, I'll just have to content myself with a tasty dish of lightly fried chicken breast and broccoli in sweet, tangy, and slightly-hot sauce.  Gee, life is tough.

Marinating is good.  I highly recommend it.  So long as you're not making this dish completely last-minute, make a quick marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, white wine, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Marinade the chicken for at least an hour and you'll get extra-flavorful results.

Here's what you'll need for the sauce.  This is sort of a silly array of bottles, isn't it?  Clearly the sauce isn't exactly "from scratch."  However, this array of tasty, Asian ingredients (...and Ketchup) are all easy to find and mix into a really fantastic, sweet-tangy-hot sauce.

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients above with a bit of water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer over low until the sauce has reduced a bit.  Later, we'll cover everything in saucy tastiness.

Now back to that chicken!  The "breading" we'll fry in is a mixture of flour and cornstarch.  The cornstarch crisps up nicely, and the flour gives that classic golden-brown color.  It's a good pairing.

Drain off the excess marinade from the chicken, then toss it in the flour/cornstarch until coated. Set aside for a few minutes to make sure the coating will stick around.

In the meantime, it's the perfect opportunity to steam some broccoli!

Once you've rested the chicken for a few minutes, heat some oil in a wok or other high-walled pan. Don't use too much - just about a quarter-inch is more than plenty.

Now fry that chicken!  Use nice small batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan.  A couple of minutes per side will result in wonderful, golden-brown color.

Once the chicken is golden-brown, carefully (carefully!) remove from the pan and transfer onto a plate covered in paper towels to absorb excess oil.  Keep frying chicken in small batches until it's all cooked.

And now, the grand combination!  Combine the broccoli, chicken, and sauce and mix well until everything is covered in deliciousness.

Serve hot over rice.  Devour promptly.

Recipe: Soy-Honey Chicken
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes | Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 6-8

Ingredients
Chicken

• 1 1/2 lbs Chicken Breast
• 1/4 cup Flour
• 2 tbsp Cornstarch

Marinade

• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp White Wine
• 2 tsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp White Sugar
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Sauce

• 3 crowns Broccoli
• 1/4 cup Chili Sauce
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 2 tbsp Ketchup
• 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
• 1-2 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (to taste)
• 1/2 cup Water

Instructions

Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.  

Combine all marinade ingredients in a gallon zip-loc bag.  Add chicken and marinade at least 1 hour.

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to boil, then simmer over low heat 10 minutes or until reduced slightly.

Dredge chicken in flour and cornstarch.  Set aside 2-3 minutes.

Chop broccoli into bite-sized florettes.  Steam until tender.

Heat 1/4 inch of frying oil in wok over medium-high heat.  Fry chicken approx. 2 minutes per side until golden brown.  Remove and pat dry on paper towels.

Combine chicken, broccoli, and sauce and mix thoroughly.

Serve hot over steamed rice.