Broccoli Gratin w/ Red Pepper and Parmesan

1 lg head broccoli (~1.5 lbs), florets separated from stems, stems peeled and coarsely chopped.

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 red pepper(I used yellow as they were on sale), thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan or Parmesan/Romano mixture

2 T dry or fresh breadcrumbs. I used panko.)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a 2 qt baking dish. Steam the broccoli until tender--about 5 min. Refresh w/ cold water.

Heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat in a lg heavy skillet and add the red pepper. Cook, stirring, until it softens--about 5 min. Add the garlic and cook just until it becomes fragrant--about 30 seconds. Stir in the broccoli. Toss together so that broccoli is coated w/ oil and garlic. Arrange in baking dish. Mix the Parmesan and breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle remaining olive oil. Bake 10-15 min--until Parmesan melted and mixture is sizzling and beginning to color on the top.

Scallops with Sweet Butternut Squash

I got this recipe from a Truvia (natural sweetener) mailing list I am on... Haven't tried it yet, but it looks pretty good...

INGREDIENTS
1 lg. butternut squash (about 2 lbs.), cubed
1/4 C. olive oil, more for drizzling
Zest and juice of 2 oranges
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 Tbs. grated nutmeg
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 C. organic canned butternut squash puree
1/3 C. Truvia™ natural sweetener
Coarse Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
12 lg. U-10 dry scallops

DIRECTIONS

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2 Using a large kitchen knife, cut about 1/2-inch off each end of squash. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off until you reach the bright orange flesh of the squash. Cut the squash
in half lengthwise, and then remove the seeds using a spoon (save and toast for later).
3 Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium skillet on medium heat. Add the orange zest and juice, the coriander seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, Truvia™ natural sweetener, salt and
pepper and mix well. Warm the ingredient mixture in the heated oil until they are just hot enough to bloom a bit.
4 In a medium-sized bowl, toss cubed squash with olive oil mixture. Spread out on a cookie sheet, in a single layer, and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until glaze begins to caramelize.
5 Puree in a food processor, add the canned squash puree and mix until smooth- adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If too thick add a small stream of water while in the food processor.
6 In a sauté pan heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the butter on medium-high heat. Season scallops well with salt and pepper and sear on each side until golden brown, about 2
minutes per side.
7 Place a scoop of squash puree on plate and 4 scallops around it. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil if desired.

NUTRITION FACTS per serving

Calories 100; Total Fat, 5g; Saturated Fat, 0.5g; Trans Fat, 0g; Cholesterol, 0mg; Sodium, 25mg; Total Carbohydrate, 20g; Dietary Fiber, 3g; Sugars, 3g; Erythritol, 5g; Protein, 2g; Vitamin A, 240% DV; Calcium, 8% DV; Vitamin C, 50% DV; Iron, 15% DV;

Good one for the weeknight repitoire

Made a really good chicken piccata tonight.
Chicken breast pounded to about 1/4 inch, salt and pepper liberally. Dredge with flour.
1-2 min per side in 3 Tbs browned unsalted butter with a Tsp of olive oil added just before adding the chicken. Chx into 200 degree oven.
Cook well diced scallions (2 Tbs or so) for a min or so ( I added about a Tbs of butter to help)
Deglaze with about 3/4 cup chx stock and 1/4 cup white wine. Add 2 Tbs capers. 3 Tbs lemon juice. Reduce by greater than half. Mount with 3 Tbs butter. Pour over chicken. Served over fettuccine (ours was fresh garlic Parmesan)

Thank you Becky! I feel like I really belong now.

Deconstructed BLT salad: The back story here involves an NPR story I partially caught driving home from work. It was an interview with a couple of restaurateurs describing an all tomato menu and extolling the virtues of simplicity and seasonal freshness. Since we don't have fresh crab caught crab in Minnesota, I couldn't make the crab tomato spaghetti, but it got me thinking.
So we tried:

*Baby romaine or any other green available.
*Thick chunk chopped tomato: Take the juice from slicing the tomato and mix with a Tbs or two of mayonnaise. Should make a thin-ish consistency to which we added fresh cracked pepper and a dash or two of veggie seasoning ( ours is called Spike which is great stuff and highly recommended- I think it has some yeast extract which is the special zing.)
* Thick chunk avacado
* Thick slab bacon, coarsely chopped- for a salad that satisfied Amy and I we made 6 slices.
*Home made croutons: we thick sliced a Tuscan style bread ( almost any crusty bread would do) and rubbed it with a little garlic and then brushed with olive oil and then a little salt and pepper. Broil to a light brown. Cool a bit and then chop to biggish pieces.
* optional: we ate the corn on the cob but my initial plan was to cut it off the cob and toss with the salad.
* Combine dry ingredients and then toss with the dressing. It was good. It was easy.

Posting

Scott (et al)--

I think your invitation status is fine b/c you are listed as a "follower" on the blog. I'd guess the problem is that you must first be logged in to make a blog post. Try this:

--click "sign in" in the upper RH corner of the blog page. Enter your username and pwd.
--Once you're logged in, you can click "new post" in the same upper RH corner of the page.

Hopefully that helps! I'd love to see the BLT recipe. Anything with bacon has automatic appeal!

Heather

peanut sauce recipe

Does anyone have a good recipe for a peanut sauce (to go over pasta, veggies, etc.)? I have several, but have yet to find one that I like that isn't too thick, too vinegary, or something else. I'd like to try something that comes with a recommendation. Thanks!

Heather

Corn Chowder

Sweet corn is abundant this time of year. I made a recipe that's on the Williams-Sonoma website for corn chowder yesterday. We liked it quite a bit. I only made 1/2 what the recipe called for and we still had quite a bit left over. I wished I had sauted or roasted some of the peppers we bought at the Farmers' Market to use instead of cayenne powder.