Roasted Green Beans with Shallots, Red Pepper, and Garlic

 I made these for dinner tonight along with some grilled chicken and baked potatoes. They were so much better than basic steamed or boiled beans. If you haven't roasted green beans before, give it a try. They're delicious. And cheap. I got a pound of green beans for .60 cents. Add 1 red pepper for .50 cents, 4 cloves garlic for pennies, about 6 shallots for about $1.00, and a handful of toasted pine nuts. Delicious, cheap, and pretty. Can't beat that.

Here goes: Wash and snap off the ends of 1 pound of super fresh green beans. No wimpy beans here. Make sure they are crisp and moist. Then dry them off so they roast, rather than steam.

Slice up 1 red bell pepper.

Halve about 6 shallots. Keep them fairly thick so they don't burn. Throw in some whole or half garlic cloves.  I made some roasted garlic, so had the cut off garlic tops, peeled, and tossed those in.

Pour some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the top. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Place in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir them up with a spatula.

Return to oven for another 10 minutes.

                                         Remove from the oven and zest 1 lemon over the top.

                                     Add a handful of toasted pine nuts (or toasted almonds)

                                                                    And dig on in.

Ingredients

1 lb fresh green beans

1 Red Bell Pepper

6 cloves garlic

6 shallots, halved

2 Tbls Olive Oil

Kosher salt 

Fresh cracked pepper

Method

1. Wash and snap off the ends of 1 pound of fresh green beans. 

2. Halve 6 (or so) shallots. 

3. Add 6 whole or halved cloves fresh garlic.

4. Pour 2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the top. 

5. Sprinkle with 2 tsp Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

6. Place in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. 

7. After 10 minutes, stir them up with a spatula.

8. Return to oven for another 10 minutes.

9. Remove from the oven and zest 1 lemon over the top.

10. Add a handful of toasted pine nuts (or toasted almonds).

11. Toss and serve warm.

Grilled Vegetables with herb Balsamic vinaigrette

Fresh grilled vegetables with a balsamic herb dressing. Delicious! My inspiration for this dish came from The Food Network, Everyday Italian. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-vegetables-recipe/index.html. Now Giada must have been cooking for a huge crowd, as that amount of veg would feed a small infantry division. I was cooking for five adults and three toddlers. And I still had leftovers. Perhaps it was due to the Grilled Ribeyes, grilled corn, and smashed potatoes (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/restaurant-style-smashed-potatoes/). Who can say?

Let's get grilling! Here's what we need:

1 Red pepper

1 Orange pepper

2 medium size zucchini

1 yellow crookneck squash

1 pound Cremini (Baby Bellas) mushrooms

1 bunch asparagus

Green onions

1 eggplant (Leave it out. Trust me.)

For the dressing:

1/4 cup (approximately) Extra Virgin olive oil

3 Tbls (approximately) balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced

6 (or so) large fresh basil leaves, chopped

3 (or so) fresh thyme leaves, chopped

First things first. Mix up the dressing. Just whisk it all together. Then TASTE! Season it up to your liking. Needs more salt? Add some. More sweet? Add more Balsamic.. Heat? Throw in a pinch of red pepper flakes. Herbs? Add more. It's just food.

Now, we need to prep the veg. 

Cut the peppers in half and cut, or rip, the seeds and white stuff out.

Next, trim the asparagus ends off. If the asparagus is kind of thick, peel the ends with a vegetable peeler, like I did.

Wash the mushrooms off with a wet towel to get all the dirt off.

Cut the squash in half, then half again.

Leave out the eggplant. It was mushy and not delish.

Heat up the grill and the grill pan on medium/high heat.

Brush the veg with olive oil, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Put the mushrooms on the grill pan. Put the peppers on the grill. skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes.

Then, put the asparagus, eggplant, and squash on the grill.

Turn the mushrooms over when they have dark brown grill marks. Turn the peppers over when they are black and blistered. Put the squash on the hottest part of the grill, skin side down. They only need about 3 minutes to char. That's what you're going for here. CHAR!

Flip all the veg over when charred on one side. 

Remove the peppers, cover with a bowl to steam the skins off. After about 5 minutes, peel the peppers, and slice into strips.

Remove all veg from the grill when crisp/tender, and place on a nice platter, drizzle with dressing, and toss.

Bon Appetit! 

Ingredients:

1 Red pepper

1 Orange pepper

2 medium size zucchini

1 yellow crookneck squash

1 pound Cremini (Baby Bellas) mushrooms

1 bunch asparagus

6 Green onions

Dressing:

1/4 cup (approximately) Extra Virgin olive oil

3 Tbls (approximately) balsamic vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced

6 (or so) large fresh basil leaves, chopped

3 (or so) fresh thyme leaves, chopped

Method:

1. Cut the peppers in half and cut, or rip, the seeds and white stuff out.

2. Trim the asparagus ends off. If the asparagus is thick, peel the ends with a vegetable peeler.

3. Wash the mushrooms off with a wet towel to get all the dirt off.

4. Cut the squash in half, then half again.

5. Heat up the grill and the grill pan on medium/high heat.

6. Brush the veg with olive oil, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

7. 

Put the mushrooms on the grill pan. Put the peppers on the grill. skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes.

    Then, put the asparagus, eggplant, and squash on the grill.

8. 

Turn the mushrooms over when they have dark brown grill marks. Turn the peppers over when they are black and blistered. Put the squash on the hottest part of the grill, skin side down. They only need about 3 minutes to char. 

Flip all the veg over when charred on one side. 

9. Remove the peppers, cover with a bowl to steam the skins off. After about 5 minutes, peel the peppers, and slice into         strips.

10. Remove all veg from the grill when crisp/tender, and place on a nice platter, drizzle with dressing, and toss.

Cauliflower, Roasted and Delicious

Cauliflower.

Fans? Generally, not too many. Most people steam or boil their cauliflower, endure the foul odor, then heap on lots of butter, salt and pepper, and maybe even some cheese sauce, in an attempt to get the fam and friends to eat just a little. No longer.

Roast this cruciferous veg for a sweet, mellow, and absolutely delicious healthy veg dish. I also roast brussel sprouts, asparagus, carrots, butternut squash, and broccoli.

High heat roasting in some Extra Virgin olive oil, Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper makes these vegetables taste absolutely divine.

Let's go.

Start with one head of blemish free (brown spots) cauliflower.

Give it a good wash under cold water. Then, dry it off. Wet veg steams, rather than roasts.

Now, pull the leaves at the stem back, so you can see where to cut the stem.

Cut the outer leaves and stem off.

The stem should look like this. If you're really good with a knife, you won't have any edible veg left on the stem. If you're normal, like me, you'll cut the edible parts off, and put on the baking sheet.

Put all of the edible cauliflower onto a foil lined baking sheet. I don't want to wash any more dishes than I have to.

Drizzle on some Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Get a big pinch of Kosher salt and sprinkle it on top. Then, crank out a few twists of fresh cracked pepper.

Mix all of the florets into the olive oil, salt, and pepper with your hands. Make sure all of the florets are coated in EVOO.

Put the sheet pan in a 400 degree (F) oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, take a spatula and stir up the cauliflower. You want to get the brown sides of the cauliflower up, and the un-browned parts down on to the foil.

Roast for another 5 minutes.

Take out of the oven and place in your serving bowl. Taste! Re-season to YOUR taste.

LOVE THIS VEG!

Brussel Sprouts Revisited

If you're like me, most of the Brussel sprouts you've had in your life have been boiled to death and have that "funky cabbage" smell. Not delish. These sprouts are no such thing. We're roasting them with shallots and topping them with bacon. Now that's delish!

Here's what you need: 1 bag of brussel Sprouts, or if you're buying from the produce bin, about 1 pound. I got these at Costco. They were super cheap and looked great. 2 shallots and 4 slices bacon.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the bacon slices on a rack in a foil covered sheet pan. I made more than 4 slices because I was also making twice baked potatoes, and because hub H always steals a slice or two. Put the pan in the oven and roast until the bacon is crisp and brown. Mine took exactly 16 minutes.

While the bacon is cooking, start prepping the sprouts. Give them a good wash under cold water. Place them on a clean towel to dry. Wet sprouts won't roast well.  Remove the bacon from the oven and pour off the fat, leaving a thin coat of fat on the foil.

Trim off the little brown stems on the bottom, and take off any brown leaves. Place them, cut side down on foil lined pan. Slice up the shallots into thin rings and scatter them over the sprouts. Drizzle some olive oil over the top, and season with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Put them in the same 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes. When they are fork tender, they're ready. See how they have beautiful brown leaves? That's carmelization. Brown food is good.

Now, take your bacon and crumble it over the top. Or cut in small pieces with a big knife. Depends on whether you want to lick your fingers.

Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Enjoy!

Summary:

Wash and dry 1 pound sprouts.

Roast bacon slices in a 425 degree oven until brown and crisp. About 15-20 minutes.

Trim up the sprouts so they're pretty.

Pour the fat out of the bacon pan, but do not clean the pan.

Place sprouts, cut side down into same pan.

Slice 2 shallots and put them on in the pan.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Roast @ 425 for about 20 minutes, until tender.

Sprinkle bacon crumbles on top.