Category: Vegetables

Green Beans with Caramelized Sweet Onions

Pretty simple, but a nice variation on  theme.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tab butter (½ stick)
  • 2 large sweet onions, quartered and thin sliced
  • 2 lbs fresh green or frozen green beans
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

  1. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet.
  2. Add onions and cook over medium heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender.
  3. Meanwhile, cook green beans in lightly salted boiling water to cover until crisp-tender.
  4. Drain green beans. Return to pot.
  5. Reserve some of the sautéed onions to use as a garnish
  6. Add remaining onions to pot.
  7. Add salt and pepper and toss to coat.
  8. After serving, scatter reserved sautéed onions over top.

Serves: 10

Source: By Woman’s Day Kitchen

Blue Cheese Sauce

This simple variation on cream sauce is great on vegetables, but also delish on beef.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbs butter
  • ¼ c onion – finely chopped
  • 2 tbs flour
  • ¼ tsp garlic salt
  • 1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, room temp.
  • ¼ c blue cheese – crumbled
  • 2 oz sliced pimentos
  • 1 c milk

Directions:

  1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add onion, cook until soft but not browned.
  2. Stir in flour and garlic salt.  Cook, stirring, until bubbly.
  3. Remove pan from heat.
  4. Mix in cream cheese, blue cheese and pimentos.
  5. Gradually add milk.
  6. Return to heat, cook, stirring, until sauce is thick.

Serves: 1 cup

Source: Cooks.com

Caramelized Shallots and Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Even Brussels sprouts can be good with pancetta.

Ingredients:

  • 3 lb Brussels sprouts, halved
  • cooking spray
  • 2 Tab olive oil
  • 1 ½ c shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 oz pancetta or bacon, finely chopped
  • ½ c brown sugar
  • 1 Tab vermouth

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Arrange Brussels sprouts on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray.
  3. Drizzle with oil; toss to coat.
  4. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes.
  5. Add shallots, pepper, salt, and pancetta to pan; toss well.
  6. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes.
  7. Add sugar and vermouth; toss to coat.
  8. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until caramelized.

Serves: 10 – 12 servings

Source: Jeanne Kelley, Cooking Light, October 2008

Roasted Broccoli, Red Pepper and Onion 

If you have to have vegetables, at least these are pretty.

Ingredients:

3 lb broccoli crowns, cut into pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips, 2 inches long
1 red onion, sliced vertically into 1/4-inch slices
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1¼ tsp dried Italian seasoning
½ tsp coarse salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tab olive oil
1 Tab lemon juice

Instructions:

  1. Heat oven to 425°F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine broccoli, red pepper, onion and garlic.
  3. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
  4. Drizzle oil over top and mix with a large spoon.
  5. Transfer vegetables shallow baking pan and bake 20 minutes, mixing once, until broccoli is browned in spots and tender.
  6. Return vegetables to bowl; add lemon juice and mix gently.

Serves: 10

Source: relish.com—Recipe by Jean Kressy

Orange Herb Butter

This is a great way to broil salmon, or any other fish.  Try it on chicken or pork too.

Ingredients:

½ c unsalted butter (1 stick)
½ tsp grated orange zest
2 tsp fresh orange juice
1/4 tap cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp coarse salt.

Directions:

Mash together butter, grated orange zest, fresh orange juice, cayenne pepper, garlic, and salt.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food – June 2012

Herbed Green Beans with Feta

OK, so it is another green bean recipe, but this is not that much work and quite good – and different.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs green beans, trimmed
  • kosher salt
  • ¼ c olive oil
  • 4 Tab fresh mint leaves, torn (divided)
  • 2 Tab fresh dill, chopped (divided)
  • 2 Tab matchstick size strips of lemon zest (divided)
  • 2 Tab fresh lemon juice
  • 2 oz feta, crumbled (about ½ cup) (divided)
  • fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Working in two batches, cook beans in a large pot of boiling, generously salted water just until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
  2. Using tongs, transfer to a colander set in a bowl of ice water; let cool.
  3. Drain well, then pat dry with paper towels.
  4. Toss beans, oil, 2 tablespoons mint, 1 tablespoon dill, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and half of feta in a large bowl.
  5. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired.
  6. Serve beans topped with remaining feta, 2 tablespoons mint, 1 tablespoon dill, and1 tablespoon lemon zest.

    Serves: 10

    Source: Bon Appétite, August 2013 Rebecca Jurkevich

    Comments: Beans can be cooked 1 day ahead. Wrap in a paper towel, place in a resealable plastic bag, and chill.

Roasted Winter Vegetable

You can do this with any root vegetable, including the ones no one uses very often like turnips, rutabaga.  Kids will eat them because roasting brings out the sugar and they are slightly sweet.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled
  • 1 ½ lbs parsnips, peeled
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled
  • 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and seeded
  • 5 Tab olive oil
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 3 Tab flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:Preheat oven to 425°.

  1. Cut vegetables in 1 to 1 ¼ inch cubes. They shrink so don’t cut too small.
  2. Place all the vegetables in a single layer on 2 baking sheets.
  3. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss well
  4. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all vegetables are tender, turning once with a spatula.
  5. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

Comments: The more surface area you have directly touching the roasting pan or the hot air of the oven, the more caramelization you’re going to get, because it’s the outside of a piece of food that gets the most intense heat. So this means two things: 1) don’t pile your vegetables on top of one another — lay them out in one layer. And 2) how you cut your vegetables really matters. Tiny pieces will have more exposed surface area relative to their insides than big chunks.

Serves: 10 – 12

Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style 2002

Untemperamental Spinach and Cheese Soufflé

This will make everyone think you are a real gourmet cook!  You can set this all up way before dinner time and just pop them in the oven.

Ingredients:

  • ¾ c flour
  • 2 c milk
  • 6 egg yolks (save the whites)
  • 1 c Gruyère or Swiss cheese, grated
  • ½ c cooked chopped spinach, well drained (about 4 c fresh leaves)
  • 1 ½ tsp dried rosemary, crumbled
  • dash of hot pepper sauce
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • 8 egg whites, room temperature
  • ¼ c Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • 2 ½ c whipping cream

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Butter 10 – 12 half cup custard cups or ramekins.
  3. Place flour in heavy medium sauce pan.
  4. Add ½ c milk and whisk until smooth
  5. Slowly add remaining milk and whisk until smooth.
  6. Whisk over medium heat until thick and smooth, 3 – 4 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and cool slightly, whisking constantly.
  8. Add yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
  9. Stir in Gruyère, spinach and rosemary.
  10. Season with hot pepper sauce, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  11. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
  12. Fold into spinach mixture.
  13. Spoon spinach mixture into prepared molds.
  14. Place molds in baking pan.
  15. Add enough boiling water to pan to come halfway up sides of molds.
  16. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out almost clean, about 20 minutes.
  17. Remove from oven.
  18. Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover, refrigerate.
  19. Preheat oven to 350°.
  20. Butter pan large enough to hold ramekins.
  21. Sprinkle bottom of pan with Parmesan.
  22. Invert soufflés in baking pan, remove molds.
  23. Pour cream around soufflés.
  24. Bake until soufflés are heated through and puff – 15 – 20 minutes.
  25. Serve with cream sauce from pan.

Serves: 10 – 12

Source: Leslie in Texas, Food.com

Caramelized Onion Dip

Way good dip – hot or cold.  You can top it with those crunchy onion bits that go on the green bean casserole at Christmas.

Ingredients:

  • 2 c onions diced (3/4# – 3-4 medium onions)
  • 2 Tab oil
  • ½ c sour cream
  • ½ c mayonnaise

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add chopped onion and sauté 10 minutes or until golden brown.
  3. Reduce heat to low; cook 20 minutes or until onions are deep golden brown, stirring occasionally.
  4. Remove onion mixture from heat.
  5. Cool.
  6. Add sour cream and mayonnaise.

Serves:  2 cups

Source: tasteofhome.com.

Margie’s Mushrooms

These are the same mushrooms that are on the Lamb Sliders.  They are also wonderful with a steak or just because you like mushrooms.

Ingredients:

  • 4 lbs small white or small portabella mushrooms
  • 2 Tab butter
  • 2 Tab olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 c red wine
  • 4 Tab sherry
  • 4 Tab brandy
  • salt and pepper
  • pinch nutmeg.

Directions:

  1. Wash mushrooms
  2. Slice mushrooms ¼ inch thick.
  3. Heat butter and oil in heavy pan.
  4. Saute mushrooms until they are dry.
  5. Add garlic. Saute 1 minute.
  6. Add wine, sherry and brandy.
  7. Cook down to semi dry.
  8. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.

Serves:  3 cups

Source: Margie, the daughter.