Making Cauliflower Delectable

I can't believe I'm even saying this, but I look forward to eating cauliflower now! That's not to say that I want to eat the crap, raw cauliflower off of a vegetable tray, but roasting works some kind of magical spell over this veggie and makes it totally worth eating. The other great part about it is how freaking simple it is. For the plain roasted cauliflower you will need:

Ingredients

• Head of cauliflower
• 1-2 T olive oil  (depends on the size of the cauliflower head, just need enough to coat the cauliflower)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Wash the cauliflower head and cut into smaller florets.
3. Put the florets in a large bowl with the olive oil and toss to coat.
4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread the cauliflower on it.
5. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
6.  Bake for 45 minutes, turning cauliflower every 15 minutes so that they roast evenly.
7. Take out these little bites of heaven and don't feel bad if you eat them all!

My new favorite version of this is the buffalo cauliflower version. Instead of tossing the florets in olive oil, salt, and pepper, I tossed it with some Frank's red hot sauce. Matt, a guy who wasn't that impressed with the first recipe, is obsessed with the buffalo ones! He was sad that I didn't make the whole head buffalo style. I just bought some more cauliflower, so the next batch will be all buffalo. I only have a before picture because we ate them too quickly for an after photo!

Completely unrelated to cauliflower, I am looking forward to my Kohl's shipment this week. It's delivering my first four Fiesta 5-piece place settings. I just bought a full plate/bowl/serving set two or three years ago, but there are so many chipped pieces already! The last time I was visiting my aunt I was struck by the fact that she has owned the same Fiesta ware for years and she has three children and not one piece has a freaking chip. So, I making the investment. I got a great deal, 4 of the 5-piece place settings for $47! I'll continue to add them when I can get them on sale. Here are the colors I settled on. The ones I originally wanted included lots of ridiculous colors that didn't really go well with one another, but Matt talked me down from the ledge.

Next up on the blog, I share with you my favorite new market to buy fruit and vegetables, shared with me by a dear friend. Happy cooking!

-M.


 

Healthier Cajun Chicken (or Chorizo, or Shrimp) Linguine

Today's recipe comes from Nancy Fox's Skinny Kitchen. We've made it twice since I first discovered it and it has earned a spot in our regular recipe rotation. It's incredibly easy to make and it turns out so delicious! It's a spin on a traditional alfredo, which generally isn't my favorite sauce, but this spicy version is just right. If you don't like spicy food as much as we do, use a little less of the Cajun seasoning. Here's what you need:

Ingredients

• 1 package (1 lb.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 6 oz. whole wheat linguine, cooked al dente
• 1 T plus 1 t Cajun spices (Mine is a Roundy's brand purchased from Pick N Save)
• 3 T reduced-fat butter 
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 C reduced-fat milk (I always use fat-free milk because that's what I have in the house)
• 1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 t dried basil
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Note: The first time I made this I used half the amount of chicken and subbed the other half with chorizo. YUM! I cooked the chicken first and then added the chorizo, then continued as usual. This time I made it with half shrimp and half chorizo. I tossed the shrimp in Cajun spices and cooked along with the chorizo. Both options were yummy, but obviously will change the nutrition of the dish.

Instructions

1. Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss to coat.
2. Melt the butter in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and saute until it is tender, about 5-7 min.
3. Reduce heat and add the green onions, milk, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic powder, and black pepper. Cook for a few minutes until heated through.
4. Toss in the cooked linguine and Parmesan cheese. Be sure to coat the pasta well.
5. Serve and watch the look of delight on everyone's faces as they enjoy this dish!

Nutritional facts (using chicken, according to skinnykitchen.com) for 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe):
391 calories, 9.8g fat, 37g protein, 37g carbs, 5g fiber, 597mg sodium, 4g sugar
WW old points: 8 WW Points Plus: 10

Seriously, if you like chorizo I recommend going balls to the walls and subbing some in. It will change your life. I served this alongside my favorite asparagus. I cook it on the stovetop with balsamic vinegar (I do this on the grill in the summer) and then add some shaved Parmesan to the top, which I let melt. YUM! Also, sorry for the poor photo quality--my camera has grown legs and walked off so I am suffering with my cell-phone camera. Let me know if you try this out and if you make any substitutions. Happy cooking!

-M.

Fake Olive Garden Night

I have plenty of fond memories of Olive Garden. In high school we would go as a large group and there would be a bread stick eating competition (dangerous), and meeting my girlfriends for soup, salad, bread sticks, and plenty of gossip. Two of my favorite items from the restaurant is their crack salad dressing (seriously, it's the best stuff ever) and the zuppa toscana (spicy sausage, potato, and kale) soup. I thought I'd try my hand at making some "knock off" recipes and they were a success!

Let's start with the salad dressing. I used this version from Realmomkitchen. It was incredibly simple to make and tasted pretty spot on to the real thing. Let's get down to it. Here's what you'll need to get:

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dressing (prepare it according to the instructions on the back)
• ½ tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. sugar
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ Tbsp. mayonnaise
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1½ Tbsp water
• 4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Whisk it all together and stick it in the fridge for 2 hours. Trust me, it tastes much better after you let it all mellow together and get happy in the fridge!
2. Serve over salad, use it to dip some garlicy bread, as a marinade, etc. Enjoy!

Clearly, I should have taken a picture right away. This was popular in my house and this is a picture of the final bits (which I finished at lunch today). You can see it looks a lot like the real deal! I added a little less oil than all that was required and substituted with some water. Use your own judgement!

The second recipe was for the zuppa toscana soup. I hate to tell you how easy this is because it seems so impressive until someone sees the recipe. To start with, this is a crockpot (one of my favorite kitchen items) recipe. This recipe is from keyingredient and I made a few slight changes. To begin, gather these items:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Italian sausage (I used spicy Italian, but you can substitute mild depending on your taste)
• 2 large baking potatoes, cut into about 8 chunks each
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 C kale, chopped (I used a little more than this because I wanted to use all the kale I bought. Turned out great)
• 16 oz. chicken broth
• 1 quart (4 C) water
• 1 C heavy whipping cream

Instructions

1. Brown the sausage in a pan, drain.
2. Add cooked sausage, chicken broth, water, garlic, potatoes, and onion in the slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours until the potatoes are cooked and soft.
4. Turn the slow cooker off and add the kale.
5. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
6. Add whipping cream (I waited another five minutes so it could heat the cream) and serve alongside your delicious salad and some garlicy bread.

In my opinion, this is a perfect dinner for the snowy weather we've been having recently! It just started snowing again and we have already had close to 8 inches. Tonight I'll be making a spicy chorizo and chicken pasta to warm us up--check back for the recipe and picture!

-M.

An explanation

Welcome to the blog, and let's get this out of the way. You're probably wondering about the blog name and what it means. L'esprit d'escalier is a French term for a common phenomenon we all experience. The literal translation is "staircase wit" and it is the frustrating moment when you think of a witty response to someone after the situation has passed. I feel like I'm an incredibly witty person but sometimes I am so dumbfounded by the things people say aloud that I cannot formulate a great response. As soon as they leave the room it hits me and I spend hours agonizing over the great responses that I should have used.

"I can think of hard, tough, one-line put-downs, but only after the person concerned has left the room. (NB: this affliction, esprit de l'escalier, is one of the principal reasons why people become writers.)" Simon Barnes; Glitzy Game Gets Line Not Length All Wrong; The Times (London, UK); Jun 13, 2003. (Retrieved from http://wordsmith.org/words/esprit_d_escalier.html)

This blog will be full of my random musings and, more than likely, end up as a compilation of delicious (or flop) recipes I make and restaurants at which I eat. I just started doing menu planning and adventuring with scary vegetables, so I will be trying a lot of new recipes! Also, the blogosphere sounds like a lovely place to dump all of my l'esprit d'escalier upon the waiting masses.

Thanks for stopping by and look for some posts coming up with some knock-off Olive Garden recipes and how to make cauliflower palatable. I'll leave you with a picture of some cute cats!

-M.

(photo my own)