Utica Greens and Beans – Finding Good Fortune in Upstate New York

As many of you hardcore foodies know, there’s a southern tradition of eating beans and greens on New Year’s Day to help bring good fortune in the coming year. 

By eating “poor” the first day of the year, you supposedly ensure prosperity and good luck the rest of the year. I think I speak for all superstitious, Italian-Americas when I say, that totally makes sense.

Whether you believe in such things or not, you should still try this year’s edible good luck charm, Utica Greens. This delicious Upstate New York vegetable casserole comes in many forms, but usually contains some combination of bitter greens, usually escarole, pancetta or prosciutto, hot fresh or pickled peppers, and bread crumbs.

I’m adding some cranberry beans, so you all get rich in 2014, but that’s totally fine since the locals often add chunks of potatoes, and once you start doing things like that, all bets are off. Whether side dish or main course, this is a perfect winter vegetable magnet, and I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy, Happy New Year, and most of all, good fortune!

Ingredients for 6 side dish servings:

2 heads escarole

2 tbsp olive oil

4 ounces pancetta or prosciutto, diced (You can drain some of the rendered fat if it looks like it's going to be too much. You want about 2 tablespoons total rendered fat pancetta in the casserole)

handful of sliced fresh hot peppers, or jarred pickled peppers

3 cloves minced garlic

1 cup chicken broth

12 ounce can cooked cranberry beans, or Cannellini beans, butter beans, white beans, etc., optional
salt and black pepper to taste
red pepper flakes

1/2 cup fine plain bread crumbs, plus more for the top

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
drizzle top with more olive oil

Garlic & Blue Cheese Green Bean Almondine – I Just Couldn’t Do It

When I went to culinary school in the early Eighties, the chef instructors used “Green Beans Almondine” as a prime example for the kind of stodgy, clichéd, faux-fancy, vegetable side dishes that we were supposed to eradicate shortly after graduation. 

This was the dawn of a new age of American cookery, and something so old-fashioned as green beans almondine had no place along side our newfangled raspberry vinaigrettes and cajun fish.

There was only one problem with this prohibition...green beans and almonds tasted really good together, and made for a lovely side dish once in a while. Of course, fearing you’d be laughed out of the young, hot cooks club (hot from heat, not from hotness) you just didn’t dare make or serve such a dinosaur.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I’ve finally done a green beans almondine video, but added roasted garlic and blue cheese to it, just in case any of my old classmates are watching.  I actually did this at Thanksgiving, sans nuts, and it got rave reviews, so I had a feeling the addition of the slivered almonds would work just fine, and they did! I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4-6 portions:
1 pound green beans, blanched in boiling, salted water until almost tender

3 heads garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

1/3 cup sliced almonds browned in 1 tsp butter

2 oz Pt. Reyes blue cheese, or other blue cheese

400 degrees F. for 15 minutes

View the complete recipe

Mascarpone Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage - It's the Best Thing Since Wonton Skins!

If I suggested you make homemade butternut squash ravioli as an appetizer for your holiday meal, what would you say? You'd say no. That's because you would envision some long complicated process fraught with disappointment.

People throw around the "best thing since sliced bread" line for all kinds of things, and rarely do they deserve such a tribute. Ready-to-use wonton skins, however, are not only the "best thing since sliced bread," they are better than sliced bread…much better.

Anyone can slice bread (except those cooks on Hell's Kitchen), but how many people make paper-thin, perfectly round wonton skins. Hopefully this video recipe shows you just how easy ravioli can be when using this easy-to-find, and very liberating product.

I've used them for tortellini, pierogi, dumplings, ravioli, and yes, even wontons, all with terrific results. There are eight million known ravioli fillings, so once you get this simple technique down you have a lot of recipes to try. I've also posted a few (very) old videos that use the same product. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 cup cooked butternut squash
1/2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
1 package round wonton skins
butter, garlic, and sage as needed

More Wonton Magic - click on title to read original post
(Warning: old videos with minimal production value)

Wonton Soup



Salmon Ricotta Tortellini with Spring Peas and Lemon

Brussels Sprouts Roasted with Cipollini Onions – Warning: Takes Longer than 60 Seconds

As many of you know, I also do recipe videos for About.com, but what you don't know, and would probably never guess, is that out of all the recipes I've produced for them, the most popular is a Brussels sprouts dish!

It's called 60-Second Brussels Sprouts, and you can see the original post here. As the name suggests, the recipe calls for a super-fast sear-and-serve approach. Here, we're at the other end of the spectrum. These actually get cooked twice, and for a much longer time.

The secret here is a quick blanching in boiling salted water, and then 15 or 20 minutes in a really hot oven. The searing heat and natural goodness of the vegetables do most of the work, so nothing more than a little brown butter and seasoning are needed.

This would make a very nice side dish to your holiday feast, and I can't think of a main course, especially one made from some type of succulent animal, that this wouldn't pair wonderfully with. If you can't find the Cipollini onions, just use pearl onions, or you can just leave them out altogether.

By the way, the Brussels sprouts only need a couple minutes blanching to prepare them for the oven, but the Cipollini onions should be cooked almost to the point of being tender before being roasted. You want that nice mellow, sweet onion flavor, not something sharp and jarring to the palette.

I hope if you have more that 60 seconds, you'll give these a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound Brussels sprouts

1/2 pound Cipollini or pearl onions

2 tablespoons butter

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Truffled Cauliflower Gratin – Now 100% Truffle Oil Free

This cauliflower gratin would typically be “truffled” with truffle oil, but I’ve never been a big fan. Truffle oils are almost always synthetically produced, one-dimensional, and way too overpowering. 

So, in this otherwise humble gratin, we’re going to use another, much more delicious delivery system…truffle pecorino. For less than $10 worth of cheese, I think you can get a much nicer, truer truffle flavor – plus, it’s cheese. By the way, if you know they actually make this cheese with synthetic truffle oil, please keep it to yourself, and don't spoil it for me. 

This stuff is pretty easy to find in fancy grocery stores with decent sized cheese departments, but if you can’t, I’ve seen it online at even better prices.

It’s worth the effort to find, and turns this already great casserole into something truly special, and with side dish season in full swing, I really hope you consider giving this truffled cauliflower gratin a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6-8 Portions

6 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1 tsp salt or to taste

pinch of cayenne

pinch of nutmeg

5 to 6 oz wedge of truffle pecorino, grated

1 large head of cauliflower

2 tbsp breadcrumbs

freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano as needed

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

a few fresh chives to garnish

Mushroom Ragout on Garlic Toast - Maybe I Could Be a Vegetarian

No, I couldn't, but when I eat a meatless dish as delicious as this mushroom ragout (pronounced ragoooo), I realize there are plenty of recipes that are just as tasty and satisfying as my favorite meat dishes. Of course, almost anything is good poured over garlic toast, and you'll see a great trick for ultra-fast and easy garlic-scented toast in this video recipe I recently produced for About.com. I did sneak some chicken stock into the sauce, but if you are a vegetarian you can use a vegetable stock and it will be fine.

Whenever I do a video recipe that uses Marsala wine I get lots of emails about what they can substitute. You can't, go get a bottle of Marsala wine. Just regular Marsala, not the sweet dessert Marsala as it is way too sweet to cook with. Ask the person at the wine shop to help you; tell them you are cooking with it and don't want the sweet variety and they will show you the right one. Buy the cheapest one of the selection they give you, and you're all set. Even the least expensive Marsala will be fine for this dish, as long as it's the real stuff, and came from a decent shop. Having said all that, if you must use something else a good Sherry wine (NOT the cooking sherry them sell at the supermarket) will fill in adequately.

Click here for the transcript and ingredients.

Oxtail Stew - A Beef Stew You Can Really Get Behind

This delicious winter stew video recipe, produced for About.com, uses something they call oxtails, but are really just cow tails. Does that make you feel any better? Oxtail stew is probably the most flavorful beef stew possible, as the tail pieces have more connective tissue than just about any other cut of beef you can get, even the shank. This makes for a very satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs (literally, from all the collagen) dish.

Oxtail stew is sort of like eating lobster. Once it's cooked, which takes a looooong time, the meat is very soft and succulent, but nestled in the nooks and crannies of the tailbones. Remember that turkey neck you were sucking on a few weeks ago? It's sort of like that only bigger and more delicious. I won't do any lame "if you're not getting enough tail, try this recipe" jokes. Just watch this clip, and get your tail to the store for some of this delicious beef. I'm sure you'll be very happy with the "end" results. Sorry. Enjoy!
Click here for the transcript and ingredients.

Gluten-Free Butternut Squash Cakes with Chef John and His Wacky Sidekick Stephanie

This video recipe for butternut squash cakes is a team effort between me and my friend, Stephanie Stiavetti, from Wasabimon.com. Stephanie eats gluten-free, and since this is one area I have very little experience in, I gladly accepted her invitation to come over and film a GF dish.

I'm notoriously reclusive when working, so it was nice to get out for an afternoon of tag-team food blogging. We thought it would be fun to shoot the video together, but then each of us edit and post our own versions. I'm looking forward to seeing Stephanie's, and I hope she enjoys mine!

With all due respect to Stephanie's performance with the "meat cleaver mirror" at the beginning of the video, the star of the show are these lovely, and very simple, squash cakes – little more than a shredded butternut squash patty, spiced with curry, and fried up to crispy-edged perfection.

Keys to this recipe's gluten-freeness are the two flours we used to bind the mixture. A corn flour, and a flour made from fava and garbanzo beans. They come from Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, a company that if you eat GF, or know someone who does, you're probably familiar with. I've included this store finder link for Bob's Red Mill, in case you're interested.

Whether you're eating gluten-free or not, this is just a really nice, and very easy, winter dish. I hope you give it a try, and I'll be sure to let you know when Stephanie posts her video. Enjoy!




Ingredients for about 4 butternut squash cakes :
A few tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1/4 cup diced onions or shallots
2 cups packed grated raw butternut squash
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 large eggs
1/4 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour, also known as "garfava" flour (try Bob's Red Mill brand)
3 tablespoons corn flour (NOT masa - again, try Bob's Red Mill brand)
sour cream and pumpkin seeds for garnish, optional


Congratulations to Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef!

My friends Shauna and Daniel's cookbook: Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes, has just been chosen as one of the year's best cookbooks by the New York Times!

You can get more information about their book in this post, and you're interested in ordering a copy, you can do that on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Powell's right now. Enjoy!

Green Bean and Blue Cheese Gratin - Don't Even Try to Count the Calories

The holidays are when we get to do things we deny ourselves the rest of the year. We give and get gifts we can't afford. We get drunk and tell relatives and friends what we really think of them. And, we eat things so rich, decadent, and delicious that we would never think of making other times of the year. Here's one of those I recently produced for About.com.

This amazingly delicious Green Bean and Blue Cheese Gratin video recipe is such a great combination of flavors. I had this dish at a restaurant in San Francisco called Bruno's and it was love at first bite. Green bean gratins and casseroles are nothing new around the holidays, but the addition of the tangy blue cheese makes for a very memorable side dish. Sure it's rich and loaded with butter-fat, but who cares? Did you hear what Aunt Edna just said about you!? Enjoy.
Click here for the transcript and ingredients.

Merguez Sausage & Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash – Let’s Go Edible Bowling

I’ve received a few requests lately for a demo on how to do chili in an edible bread bowl. I’m not sure if these people don’t know it’s simply a round loaf with a hole dug out of it, or if they’re just into watching me teach incredibly obvious things, but that’s one food wish that may not come true. What’s next, watch Chef John make ice?

Anyway, unlike the aforementioned bread bowl, this sausage and rice stuffed acorn squash recipe is an example of an edible vessel that begs for a detailed demonstration. The stuffing is very easy, as is the cooking method, but the acorn squash prep does need to be done carefully and with precision.

As far as the ingredients go, this will work with any sausage, but please keep in mind you’ll want to adjust your seasonings depending on what you choose. I used mint because it pairs very well with the spicy lamb sausage, but basil or parsley may work better with a hot Italian sausage, for example.

This really is a recipe that’s greater than the sum of its parts. I love the way the flavors seep deep into the soft, sweet flesh of the squash. What a great cold weather meal. I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Portions:

2 acorn squash, halved, seeded

8 oz spicy lamb sausage, or any raw sausage

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

3 tbsp buttermilk or plain yogurt

1 egg

1 cup cooked rice

1 tbsp plain breadcrumbs

1 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 tsp olive oil

*Bake at 350 degrees F., loosely covered for 1 hour, then uncover for 30 minutes or until tender.

Spicy Three-Bean Chili - Meatless and Possibly Vegetarian

As I prepare myself mentally and physically for the rest of the upcoming holiday feasts, I'm trying to stay away from rich, meaty dishes since they'll soon be eaten in abundance. This spicy three-bean vegetable chili recipe video shows a meat-free, but still very satisfying meal.

Eating a little leaner before the big holiday meals is a great idea for several reasons. You'll save money, get extra nutrients to protect your body from excessive partying (and gout), and you'll appreciate those rich foods even more.

I'm going to have a bowl of this chili right now, and then practice my King Henry VIII imitation - you know, drunk, belt loosened, shirt stained with gravy, pointing menacingly at relatives with a roast goose leg, or dripping beef rib. Ah, the holidays. Enjoy!

* Please help support free video recipes, and visit my new sponsor, MOZO Shoes. Find out why chefs (like me) are buzzing about their great shoes!



Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded, minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, diced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 to 1 tsp chipotle chili powder (more for spicier chili)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tbsp Ancho chili powder (or other chili powder)
1 cup tomato sauce
3 cups water (more if needed)
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained
1 (15-oz) can pinto beans, drained
1 (15-oz) can red kidney beans, drained
1 pound package frozen sweet corn, thawed, drained well
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
6 oz pepper Jack cheese, shredded

Minestrone Soup is a Once in a Lifetime Experience

I always feel a little apprehensive when I post a recipe like this minestrone soup. It’s the type of dish I never make the same way twice, and the fear is that someone will watch and assume that this is my “official” version.

You don’t need a recipe for minestrone, just like you don’t need a recipe for a great sandwich, or an epic salad. To make minestrone soup precisely same way every time, using a very specific list of ingredients and amounts, is to trample on the soul of this Italian classic.

Having said all that, what if you happen to make it so incredibly delicious one time that you want to experience the exact same shuddering soupgasm in the future? That seems like a perfectly sound reason for why you should write down the recipe…except cooking food doesn’t work that way.

Your perception of how a recipe tastes involves so many factors above and far beyond the list of ingredients. Remember that time you made that super awesome whatever, and it was so perfect, and then you made it again, exactly the same way, but somehow it just didn’t taste as great? This is why.

So, I hope you give this amazing minestrone recipe a try soon…but only once. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 oz pancetta

2 tbsp olive oil

1 diced onion

1 cup diced celery

4 minced garlic cloves

4 cups chicken broth

1 (28-oz) can plum tomatoes, crushed fine

2 cups water, plus more as needed

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp dried Italian herb blend (mine was thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil)

red pepper flakes to taste

1 cup freshly shucked cranberry beans (aka shelling beans)
2 or 3 cups chopped cabbage

1 (15-oz) can garbanzo beans, drained

1 bunch swiss chard, chopped

2/3 cup raw ditalini pasta

extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and fresh Italian parsley to garnish the top

You'll Heart This Artichoke Gratin

This easy, all-veggie appetizer idea is proof you don't have to make a dish, to reinvent it. For all the millions of meals I've cooked and/or eaten, I can't remember ever having cooked and/or eaten an artichoke gratin.

From what I've seen, it's usually made in a shallow baking dish like any other vegetable casserole, and always features some form of crispy, caramelized gratin topping. So, while I can’t claim to have made the original, I was pretty sure it would translate to a nice, small party bite.

I made this as a last-minute appetizer at Thanksgiving, but fried it in a skillet to get the crusty coating on the artichokes. This time I went to the broiler with even better, and less messy results.

This would make a great hors d'oeuvre at any holiday gathering, and as you'll see in the video, a deviled eggs tray makes for a cool serving platter. By the way, extra credit for getting the "bacon of eggs" joke in the recipe.

Of course, this can also be served as an extra special side dish with just about any main course. I hope you give these easy and delicious artichoke hearts a try. Enjoy!




Artichoke Hearts Gratin Ingredients:
Makes 12 halves
6 artichoke hearts, drained
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoon plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
lemon

A Simple Beef Pot Roast with Prep Cook Ragout

This delicious Beef Pot Roast video recipe is dedicated to all you hungry prep cooks out there. In a restaurant kitchen, real diner breaks are more theory than practice.

There is often not enough time to get everything done, and you can't really tell the chef that you didn't get around to dicing the mushrooms because you were enjoying a nice leisurely supper.

It's not that you starve; someone is usually assigned to cook a "family meal," as it's referred to. Leftovers are pulled together and laid out buffet-style to grab when you have a chance. This thankless job is normally done by the youngest cooks, who gain valuable experience, as well as learn profanity in several languages as the results of their labors are critiqued by the older line cooks.

Prep cook ragout or ragu, is what I call the stewed vegetables that are leftover from the making of stocks, sauces, or from roasting meats. This soft, cooked-to-death "mirepoix" (onions, celery, carrots) is the last resort "family meal" side dish of the "in the weeds" apprentice.

Here, however, these same vegetables make for a really nice topping to our simple, but comforting beef pot roast. Beef, mirepoix, butter, rosemary, salt and pepper…now, that's a recipe any busy prep cook would love. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
Beef Chuck Pot Roast (about 3 1/2 pounds)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced onion
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 stick butter

Red Curry Butternut Squash – When it Comes to Side Dishes, the Food Gods Hate a Coward

As you decide on what to include in your fabulous array of vegetable side dishes for the upcoming holiday feasts, keep one thing in mind. No guts, no glory. For some reason, normally adventurous cooks when faced with a house full of hungry relatives, play scared.

It's probably driven by the desire to want everyone to enjoy everything (you know that's impossible, right?). Serving something too exotic just doesn't seem prudent. I take a different approach. Since these holiday meals are one of the rare times we get to serve multiple side dishes, I think it's the perfect occasion for springing a surprise or two.

This lovely red curry butternut squash certainly fits the bill. Sweet, spicy, and mysterious – this turkey-friendly side dish won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those at the table that let it work its magic, it promises to be one of their favorite parts of the meal.

Like I said, there are plenty of other side dishes on hand, so even if the worse case scenario happens and everyone from little Billy to Grandma Jean agrees this is the worst squash dish ever, so what? There are seven more sides to pick up the slack. Besides, after the third bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau who's really going to care?

If you've never worked with red curry before, be careful. It's really spicy, and you can always add more as it cooks. To be safe, you can even cut my measurements in half for the spices and then adjust. I hope you give this interesting butternut squash side dish a try. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
3-4 pounds butternut squash, peeled cut in 1-inch cubes
1 bunch green onions
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp red curry powder (I used McCormick)
1 tsp red curry paste (I used Taste of Thai)
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1 rounded tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce (or sub to-taste with soy sauce or salt)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves
*adjust for salt and heat before serving

Squash the Thanksgiving Dessert Competition with this Delicious Brulee!

Yes, yet another gourd-related crème brulee. I did a version of this using canned pumpkin a while back, and while I love the pumpkin version, this is even better! So, since there are going to be all those pumpkin pies around this holiday, why not go with another gourd, and try some butternut squash crème brulee. Why another brulee video recipe so similar to the pumpkin one? Because I was offered money to film it! I told you I've sold out to my corporate masters.

This video recipe, produced for About.com, uses a roasted butternut squash as the base for this "healthy" dessert. Sure it's loaded with cream, sugar and egg yolks, but its squash… come on, it has to be good for you. Besides, since you'll only need half the squash for this recipe, you can also make a nice soup. Stay tuned for a nice butternut squash soup video sometime soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup butternut squash puree
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
pinch of salt

Sweet Corn & Wild Mushroom Spoonbread – Best Cornbread Dressing I’ve Ever Accidentally Made!

It’s always nice when you start out making one thing, and it unexpectedly turns into something else, which ends up being far better than you expected. Such was the case with this quite homely, yet amazingly delicious sweet corn and wild mushroom spoonbread.

I was trying to do a simple, wild mushroom-studded, sweet corn casserole to reinforce our holiday side dish repertoire, and before I knew it, I was eating the best, most flavorful cornbread dressing I’d ever tasted. Not only that, but we completely eliminated the step of having to make corn bread first!

Of course, I wish I could do stuff like this on purpose, but like my golf buddies used to say, “better lucky, than good.” The only drawback, as I obsessed over in the video, was the less that stellar appearance when it came out of the oven. 

I may try some type of gratin topping next time, but honestly, this was so wonderful tasting that I can’t even pretend to be upset over such superficial concerns.  I hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 portions:

1/2 cup dried porcini mushroom pieces, softened in 1 cup hot tap water, squeezed dry

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

cayenne to taste

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup milk
1 pound sweet corn, drained well

1/4 cup chopped green onions

oil to grease baking dish

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30-35 min

View the complete recipe

It's Almost That Time! So, Make Your Own Crust and Don't Screw-up the Mashed Potatoes

Those daunting holiday dinners are just around the corner, and while I'm unfortunately still in "can't film any new clips" mode for a few more days, I thought I would post some reruns that may be of use this time of the year. No, I'm not doing a turkey demo. That's the easiest part of the meal. The Food Network's army of talking heads will be doing every recipe and technique ever invented, ad nauseum, for the next few weeks. Not to mention the 8 million how-to-cook-the-perfect-turkey web pages.

So, I'm showing you some of the "harder" things. How to make a simple piecrust, my technique for perfect mashed potatoes, and a few vegetable sides to serve instead of the canned green beans with the canned fried onions. Anyway, here are some links to check out before it's too late:

Home-made Pie Crust: It's NOT that hard.
Mashed Potatoes: Please don't serve gluey potatoes
Roast Sweet Potatoes: So easy, so delicioius
Herb Potato Wedges: Tired of mashed? Check out this old, but delicious clip
Broccoli Gratin: Don't even try to count the calories
Spaghetti Squash: Healthy can be tasty!
Brussel Sprouts: Stop making that face
Stuffed Squash: An excuse to eat more goat cheese
5-Spice Carrots: 5 times better than 1-spice carrots

Enjoy! Lastly, I'm sorry if I don't reply to your comments instantly. It just means I've passed out for a few minutes and will get back to you as soon I come to.
photocredit (c) purpleslog

Michele's Winter Vegetable Lasagna – Looked So Good, Looks So Bad

I knew it was too dark to film, but I did it anyway. That's how great the vegetable lasagna my wife, Michele, was making looked when I got home a few evenings ago. It's hard to believe something that looked so appetizing in person, could look so dark and depressing on film.

I strictly film during the day, because I think food looks so much better in natural light, and I really don't want to give in to having floodlights set up in my kitchen at night. Our home is already one big food video studio as it is, which is why I stubbornly cling to my diurnal modus operandi (just got a sweet new thesaurus app).

So, the results were predictably poor, and instead of wasting valuable time voicing over such a dreary looking video, we decided we would make it again during the day. Which works out for another reason, as we thought of a few additions/improvements after tasting. Stay tuned for the "real" Michele's Winter Vegetable Lasagna recipe coming soon. Enjoy!




12 cooked lasagna noodles
8 oz mozzarella
3 or 4 cups cheese sauce (you can use this recipe here and use whatever cheese you like)
3 cups cubed roasted butternut squash
1 bunch cooked broccoli rabe
parmesan as needed
pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
*Note: the next version will included lemon zest and goat cheese

French Onion Green Bean Casserole – It’s Soupy!

If someone calls your green bean casserole “soupy,” it’s usually not a compliment. Here though, it’s completely appropriate. I wanted to rework the iconic Thanksgiving side dish, and wondered what would happen if I brought in some of the tastes and textures that make French onion soup such a favorite.

Somewhat strangely, the final product didn’t remind me at all of French onion soup, but was quite delicious nonetheless, and would certainly be well received around your holiday table. Caramelized onions and melted Gruyere cheese are never a bad idea together, and would make for a great alternative to the old, canned fried onion-topped version.

One small change I would make next time, and that I’ve added to the ingredients list, is a small splash of sherry vinegar added to the onion mixture. As you hardcore foodwishers know, that is the secret ingredient in our famous French onion soup recipe, and I believe it would have better balanced out the sweetness of the dish.

Of course, it goes without saying that you can use just about any cheese you like, and a nice sharp cheddar would definitely work very well here. Anyway, as you start to put together your Thanksgiving menu, I hope you keep this “soupy” side dish in mind. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the onions:

2 tbsp butter

2 or 3 yellow onions, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp sherry vinegar (stirred into the onions after they are caramelized)

For the white sauce:

2 tbsp butter

2 1/2 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

pinch of nutmeg

cayenne to taste

1/4 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:

2/3 cup panko or other style bread crumbs

2 tbsp melted butter

For the rest:

2 lbs green beans, trimmed, blanched

salt and pepper to taste

4 oz grated Gruyere cheese, divided

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese