Friday, March 9, 2018

Roasted Garlic Asparagus

We thought we had asparagus figured out with the pre-steaming trick we started doing which resulted in all asparagus being cooked evenly. Then, we decided to try this recipe and now it's our new favorite for asparagus. We only used thin asparagus for this recipe the both times that we have made it, but it has come out absolutely perfect both times.

Here's the original recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-garlic-asparagus-364212






Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons fresh finely chopped parsley
2 pounds thin asparagus, ends trimmed
Fleur de sel or coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Prepare a cookie sheet with a silicon mat. Spread the asparagus (chop off about 1-2" of the end) in a single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. In a small pot, heat the oil, garlic, onion powder, and parsley on medium-low heat. Cook for 3 minutes, until the garlic mixture is fragrant but not browned.
4. Drizzle on the garlic-oil mixture.
5. Roast for 8-10 minutes, until the asparagus are bright green; do not overcook.
6. Transfer to a platter and serve hot.

What we liked:

This turned out perfect! We served it as a side to mashed potatoes and salmon and it was delicious!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

He gave it a try. 

Next time:

No change

Ranch

So, we had some pizza that we bought from Costco and we were home and we thought, it'd be really nice to dip it into some ranch. We did have some ranch from the grocery store, Kraft brand in our fridge...but after eating Dion's ranch, it really just didn't do it. So, we thought, well, let's see what goes into ranch and it so turned out that we had all the ingredients! So, we made some. And now I don't think we could ever go back to anything else. Super easy to make and very delicious. It does taste better on the second day once the spices have had some time to permeate through though. This shouldn't stop you from enjoying it immediately though!

Here's the original recipe: https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/homemade-ranch-salad-dressing/

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk
3/4 - 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon finely cracked pepper
freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste approximately 1-3 teaspoons, adjust to taste

Directions:

Mix everything together for a super delicious ranch dressing!

What we liked:

So simple and good!

What we didn't like:

Why didn't we decide to do this sooner!? 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He's not really a dipping sauce child... Astrid enjoyed it though :) 

Next time:

Adjust spices as you see fit!

Breadsticks

These were SOOO easy to make and turned out great both of the times we have made them. They are fun, fast and delicious! They pretty much get eaten instantly by the children.

We got the original recipe from here: https://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/02/olive-garden-breadsticks/






Ingredients:

1½ cups warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
3½ cups all purpose flour, add more or less as needed
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 Tablespoon salt

Topping to smother them with:
½ cup butter
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix and let stand for a few minutes.
2. Add flour and melted butter. Mix with dough hook attachment until thoroughly mixed. Add more flour if needed.
3. Knead dough for a few minutes just until dough is smooth and all flour is incorporated.
4. Prepare two cookie sheets with silicon mats.
5. Divide the dough in Half. Then, each half into 6 pieces. Roll out into strips (6 for each cookie sheet).
6.  Cover the dough with a towel and let sit in a warm place for about an hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
8. Bake the bread sticks fro 6-7 minutes.
9.  While bread sticks are cooking, microwave ½ cup butter, 2 teaspoons garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt.
10. After bread sticks have cooked for 6 or 7 minutes, brush the bread sticks with half the butter mixture. Then continue to bake for 5-8 more minutes.
11. After removing bread sticks from oven, immediately brush the other half of the butter on the sticks.

What we liked:

Better than olive garden's!

What we didn't like:

A little too much butter. For the second time, we did closer to 1/2 a stick of butter (1/4 cup) for the basting sauce rather than a full stick. That seemed to work out better. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He LOVED them. 

Next time:

Continue with less butter.