Roasted Broccoli

I recently took a personal chef gig. Sounds awesome doesn't it. And for a new mom with a 11 week old baby it is awesome. I plan menus, shop then go into my clients home one day a week and prepare several dinners for them to reheat. The menus revolve around lean proteins and vegetables. So I am always looking for ways to coax flavor out of ordinary vegetables and make them more exciting. One way to do that is by roasting. I prepare a lot of roasted vegetables in the winter but also love them in the summer and find that they are great cold leftovers added to a salad. 

This week I decided to add some broccoli into the mix. I have a slight disdain to steamed broccoli. To many nights in the early nineties, steamed broccoli was on my Weight Watchers dinner menu. I find though that if I roast it with some tasty seasoning it becomes quite magical. 

It is one of the easiest things you can do. Cut up the broccoli and toss into a bowl. Add some olive oil to lightly coat. Sprinkle with desired seasoning and lay out into a cookie sheet. I line mine with foil for easy clean up. Throw it in the oven at 375 degrees and about 30 minutes later you have transformed your broccoli. 

I love to try out new premixed vegetable seasoning mixes. Whole Foods, Cost Plus, Food 52 and the like usually have a variety of seasonings for vegetables. The one I bought recently is from Urban Accents. It is the Balsamic and Roasted Onion Vege Roaster. I found it at my local Safeway. Occasionally I will also find some great spice blends at the Marshalls near me. So look around and pick a couple up to experiment with. It can really add some depth of flavor that beats just salt and pepper.

You now have a great side dish to go with just about anything and the leftovers can be used in omelettes, salads and more.

Hope you decided to take your broccoli to the next level soon!

Leftover Pot Pie

There comes a time when holiday leftovers need a breath of fresh air. I usually love a second and sometimes third holiday meal in its original form and then on to being creative. 

This year Mr. Ramon cooked a 10lb prime rib. Crazy!!! The size of that roast was daunting. Our fear was not cooking it right and ruining all that local, grass fed cow goodness. He did all of his research on techniques and actually pulled it off. It cut with a butter knife and was soooo juicy!!

We wanted a fun recipe for the leftovers that would reheat well. Mr. Ramon looked around online for recipes and decided he wanted a pot pie. The great thing about a pot pie - besides the whole gravy/pastry part is that you can use any protein you have available or even just roasted vegetables. In this recipe we are using proteins that are already cooked - so all you need is your leftover turkey, chicken or roast. We also cheated a little by using pre made biscuits - you could also make your own. 

Leftover Pot Pie

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Filling

• 1 1/4lb leftover protein - cubed or shredded  turkey, chicken or roast
• 4 carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
• 1 onion diced
• 4 ribs of celery washed and diced 
• 3 small red potatoes washed and cubed 
• 2/3 cup frozen peas
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• olive oil

gravy

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 1/4 cup beef broth
• salt/pepper

Biscuits

• 1 container of biscuit dough - 8 biscuits. Or homemade biscuit dough - 8.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add onion to the pan and sauté until tender. Add the mushrooms, thyme, rosemary and salt/pepper to taste. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery and potatoes - cook for 10 minutes.

While that is cooking make the gravy. In a medium saucepan, add the butter and melt. Whisk in the flour. Then whisk in the milk and broth. Season with salt/pepper and bring to a boil then simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Take the skillet off the heat and mix in the protein and add the peas. Stir in the sauce.

Pour ingredients into a large casserole dish and top with the uncooked biscuits. Bake in oven for 35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.