Tag Archive: Garlic

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts

Brunch is the best meal there is; the competition’s not even close. You can go sweet or you can go savory(you can even go both!). It can be at 10am or 3pm. And even when it’s at 10am it’s always acceptable to have alcohol. What could be better?

My favorite items on any brunch menu are the different roasted vegetables(and home fries, but that’s a given). They’re something that you have to put time into but end up being well worth the effort.

If you want to wake up with savory food, these brussels sprouts are perfect for you. They’re just the right amount of crispy, satisfying, and seasoning to wake you up. Combine them with a runny yolk from a fried egg and they’re that much better. 

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Brussel Sprouts

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

  • 1 1/2 cups brussels sprouts, trimmed and washed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 large garlic clove, diced
  • 3 Tablespoons parmesan

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Toss the brussels sprouts, salt, and 2 Tablespoons of oil together.
  3. Lay the brussels out on a non-stick baking try and roast until slightly crispy(about 30 minutes for small-medium brussels)
  4. Heat the remaining Tablespoon oil in a pan over low heat.
  5. Toast the garlic until browning.
  6. Add in the brussels sprouts and toss until well mixed and they’re cooked in the oil.
  7. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle the parmesan over and toss until well-mixed.
  8. Serve hot. 

Savory Garlic Green Beans

IMG_6519

A lot of the time I’m asked if this is purely a dessert blog. It’s not, but I can see where the confusion comes from between brownies and bark and cookies.

Desserts are just easier to photograph. You don’t have to worry about them cooling too much. You can even wait a whole day before cutting a slice. But spend 10 minutes photographing green beans and all you’re left with are mediocre pictures and cold vegetables.

You’ll only get one mediocre picture from this blog post, but a darn good recipe. If you like vegetables—or even if you don’t—using garlic and shallots and just the right amount of salt makes these greens addictive.

Savory Garlic Green Beans

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2-3 servings):

  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 shallot, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
  • 1lb fresh green beans, end chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat.
  2. Add in the shallots and garlic and cook until they begin to brown.
  3. Add in the rest of the oil and the green beans. Sauté moving constantly so that the green beans cook on all sides.
  4. Season with salt and toss before removing from the pan. Serve while hot.

Low-Fat Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes

Yogurt Mashed Potatoes

There are two things that you can expect with every new year: A host of people looking for healthy recipes online and about triple the normal crowd at the gym.

When Stonyfield asked their Clean Plate Club members to lighten their favorite comfort food with yogurt, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. Few things are as comforting as mashed potatoes and they’re perfect for lightening up.

Yogurt instead of butter makes these potatoes soft and creamy while garlic and herbs adds a ton of flavor without adding any fat. You’d never guess that they were better for you.

Yogurt Mashed Potatoes Potatoes

Like most cooking, you should work with the ingredients to however you taste the finish dish best. Use 1 garlic clove for a subtle flavor or 3 for a garlic-lover’s helping of potatoes.

Low-Fat Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4-6 servings):

  • 1lb yukon gold potatoes
  • 4oz Stonyfield low-fat plain yogurt
  • 1-3 garlic cloves, roasted and grated
  • 1/2 Tablespoon dried herbes de Provence
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1-2 Tablespoons milk

Yogurt Mashed Potatoes Yogurt

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Roast the potatoes for an hour until the insides are tender. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them cool until they’re cold enough to handle.
  3. Peel off the skins and collect the rest of the potato in a pot or bowl.
  4. Mash the potatoes along with the yogurt, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add a touch of milk depending on how starchy the potatoes are until they’re the right consistency.
  5. Serve hot.

The Best Red Potatoes

the-best-red-potatoes-cooked

Happy Halloween! I love Halloween; it’s hard not to love a holiday that encourages dressing up and accepting candy from strangers. But since you can’t really make a meal out of candy corn and Reese’s(well, you can, and that would be my idea of heaven, but I won’t) I was cooking a lot through the relaxing weekend including these potatoes I had to use up.

the-best-red-potatoes-raw

I picked up red potatoes from my farmers’ market. After having them baked plain one night, I remembered I really wasn’t a fan of red potatoes. They don’t seem as starchy as other varieties, and if I’m having a potato I’m looking for that warm, starchy comfort food.

Since I had almost a pound to use up, I knew I’d need to find a way to make them taste irresistible. This method of soaking + roasting with garlic makes the potatoes soft, crispy, and full of flavor. Red potatoes still aren’t my favorite, but this recipe makes me like them a whole lot more.

The Best Red Potatoes

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1lb red potatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • Diced chives(optional)

the-best-red-potatoes-soaking

Method:

  1. Wash the red potatoes thoroughly but keep the skin on.
  2. Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters depending how big they are into bite-sized wedges.
  3. Soak the wedges in hot water for 20-30 minutes
  4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  5. Drain the potatoes from the water but don’t dry them. Toss with the olive oil, garlic, and salt until evenly covered.
  6. Lay the potatoes out on a roasting tray and roast for 45 minutes or until the potatoes have started to brown and wrinkle.
  7. Remove from the oven and serve hot. Garnish with chives if desired.

the-best-red-potatoes

Most of the garlic burns by the time the potatoes are ready. You can pick them out and discard them; by now the garlic flavor has totally soaked in. I’ll admit: It’s a lot of garlic. If you have plans to be in public later or dress up like a vampire, you may want to save this for another time.

Luckily I wasn’t a vampire. Who was I? Ron Swanson.

Desktop2

This may be hard to believe, but that’s not my actual facial hair(I know—absorb the shock). And now I have 10 extra fake mustaches to wear whenever I feel like it. Cool beans. I also like to think Ron Swanson would enjoy these potatoes, even if he wouldn’t care at all how they’re made and insist on eating them with all the bacon and eggs he has.

What were you/will you be for Halloween?

Green Beans Provencal

green-beans-with-garlic-and-tomatoes

When you’re around Italian cooking a lot, you start to pick up the unspoken rules of Italian cooking. These are the rules that tell you how to pair sauce with a specific shape of pasta, not to pair cheese with a fish dish, and to never put a red sauce over green vegetables.

green-beans-with-garlic-and-tomatoes-pan-and-plate

Lucky for me this isn’t Italian, it’s French. There’s also no red sauce, just whole tomatoes. But I’m not sure that exception would fly in Italy. But what no Italian can deny is that when tomatoes combine with garlic and olive oil magic happens and whatever comes out of the pot will undoubtedly be good.

Green Beans Provencal

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

  • 1lb green beans, trimmed
  • 3 medium tomatoes
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • Salt and pepper to taste

green-beans-with-garlic-and-tomatoes-tomatoes

Method:

  1. Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium heat.
  2. Slice the garlic cloves thinly lengthwise. Add the slices into the hot oil and sauté just until the edges begin to brown.
  3. Add the green beans into the pan and toss with the oil. Continue cooking until the green beans cook and darken their color.
  4. Slice the tomato into halves and then quarters so that each tomato yields 8 slices. Add those to the pan and toss with the green beans.
  5. Continue cooking until the tomatoes blister. Remove the pan from the heat and drain off any water that’s cooked out. Add in the remaining tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper and toss one last time. Move to a serving dish and serve hot.

green-beans-with-garlic-and-tomatoes-pan

My original plan was to serve this with spaghetti squash. By the time I finally cooked it, I had eaten all the spaghetti squash and had it with quinoa instead, which is a grain that always reminds me of quinoa. I guess what I’m getting at is that this makes a great dish with any pasta.

Go-To Hummus Recipe

go-to-Hummus-recipe

This weekend was a rush. When everyone else was loading up on food to brace for Hurricane Irene, we were loading up on food for a neighborhood party. I made a few things including hummus, because what’s a party without hummus? Ain’t no party like a hummus party ‘cause a hummus party don’t stop.

My favorite hummus recipe isn’t very fancy. It doesn’t have red pepper or pine nuts or artichokes or whatever. It’s just a trusty, reliable, go-to garlic hummus. What really helps enhance the flavor is a hefty dose of salt, good olive oil, and peeled chickpeas.

go-to-Hummus-recipe-plate

Peeling chickpeas is a little tip I learned from bloggers for a smoother, creamier hummus. It takes a lot more time and it’s kind of a gross process, but once you taste hummus made with peeled chickpeas it’s hard to justify going back to “regular”. If you don’t have time, don’t worry and skip it.

Go-To Hummus Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes(plus way more if you decide to peel the chickpeas)

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and peeled(optional but recommended)
  • 6 roasted garlic cloves
  • 2 Tablespoons tahini
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil(preferably Greek)
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

go-to-hummus-recipe-overhead

Method:

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add extra water if desired for a slightly thinner consistency.
  2. Serve at room temperature. Store leftovers in a refrigerator. 

go-to-Hummus-recipes-veggies

I added a little bit of Garlic Gold on top for some added crunch and texture. It was a neighborhood party and there was a storm keeping everyone inside; garlic breath was not a big concern.

Greens & Beans

July 10th 098

For a food blogger, I’m not a very adventurous eater. I eat a lot of the same things over and over again. I eat a lot of omelets. I love making raw noodles in peanut sauce. And, when in doubt, I always go back to greens and beans.

It’s not as much of a recipe as a methodology: You take some greens and some beans, sauté flavor into them and boom! It’s a meal. And it doesn’t make you think too hard, which is always nice at the end of the day.

Greens & Beans

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

  • 1/2 an onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 can beans, drained(I like cannellini)
  • 2 cups fresh OR 1 cup frozen greens, thawed(spinach, kale, etc.)
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Butter(optional)

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes until the onions translucent and garlic is crispy.

July 10th 069

Add in the greens and beans and mix them in with the garlic and onions. Add in the lemon, salt, and pepper and cook until heated through. Serve hot.

July 10th 096

Sometimes I’ll add an extra clove of garlic just because I can, you know, on the days when I don’t plan on having to speak to someone face to face. I love getting bites of crispy garlic through the dish.

July 10th 110

And then there’s butter. I don’t eat butter often, but a pat of Smör Icelandic butter(that’s the good butter Ina Garten’s always harping on about) really hits the spot, especially after it’s melted in.

Italian-Style Broccoli

March 19th 053

If this recipe were a person it would be on Jersey Shore.

If this recipe were a person, it would have a cousin Vinny.

If this recipe were a person, it would GTL(Gym, Tan, Laundry) every Saturday.

This recipe is very Italian. It reminds me of the kind of vegetables I ate growing up: Covered in garlic. The olives are a welcomed, meaty bite with the broccoli. And it’s so easy it comes together in only 10 minutes. This just might save the reputation of Italian-Americans.

Italian-Style Broccoli

Ingredients:

  • 3 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1lb steamed broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped black olives
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

March 19th 037

Over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to turn color.

March 19th 039

Add in the broccoli and lower the heat. Toss the pan to make sure the broccoli soaks up the oil.

March 19th 045

Add in the olives and distribute evenly throughout the dish. Serve hot.

March 19th 049

My favorite part about this is how much flavor gets soaked into the broccoli. It completely loses that off-putting “green” flavor and is filled up with onion, garlic, and olives. If this recipe were a person, it would be way too good for Snooki.

Garlicky Cashew Cream Sauce

March 6th 167

If you haven’t picked up this March’s Rachael Ray magazine yet, don’t bother because I’m not in it you might not know that there’s a 4-page spread on “meatless mains.” Better yet, these aren’t Sandra Lee pop-a-tofurky-in-the-oven-and-call-it-dinner recipes; no, these are actually good recipes made with real food.

The first one that caught my eye was their “cashew cream sauce” which they put over tofu. I followed the recipe for the most part but changed it a bit and upped the garlic(I clearly wasn’t going anywhere that night).

Garlicky Cashew Cream Sauce(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cashews, soaked and drained
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

March 6th 005

Soak the cashews for 3-4 hours until they’re soft. Drain the cashews reserving some of the water for the sauce.

March 6th 145

Add all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

March 6th 155

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days.

I liked the flavor of the sauce, which was deep, rich, and strong. I served mine with baked tofu and caramelized onions; next time I would try this with something like pasta to soak up the sauce better. Oh, and I would probably make sure there are a few tins of Altoids lying around to cover up the garlic breath.

Lemon-Garlic Asparagus

February 8th 075

As much as I love cooking desserts and brownies, standing over a stove with a  pan of olive oil and garlic and other familiar ingredients is just as comforting. The more garlic the better. The flavors reminded me of Spring and Easter, which is where my mind wants to be when the temperature is negative degrees with the wind-chill. I was a little heavy handed with the lemon when I made this so if you’re not in love with the flavor then I’d suggest going with less as more. 

Lemon-Garlic Asparagus

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of asparagus
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

February 8th 039

Start by heating heating the oil in a pan with the minced garlic. Let the garlic sauté for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the asparagus into 1-inch long segments.

February 8th 049

Add the asparagus to the pan and toss with the garlic and olive oil to coat.

February 8th 051

Pour in the lemon juice and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes until the asparagus is tender. If you’re not sure if it’s cooked enough, taste one from time to time.

February 8th 055

When it’s ready, sprinkle with salt to finish and serve hot.

February 8th 068

I’m not sure what you could serve this with. Or rather, I’m not sure what you couldn’t serve this with. It would be great as a light side dish with some red meat or a perfect flavor pairing with Jenna’s Lemon Brown Sugar chicken and mashed potatoes(OK, I just love mashed potatoes, but who doesn’t?).