After a week of recipes like Tuesdays With Dorie Croissants and the Pioneer Women’s Cinnamon Rolls I knew I better end on a healthy note or my faithful reader-son Cory, will definitely disown me! Enter a lovely bag of fresh broccoli. I love broccoli. I think it just may be my favorite vegetable, as an adult. As a child the only vegetable I would eat was green beans. But when I was about 45 I grew up and started eating other vegetables. Today my favorite — broccoli!
In the culinary arts, the term au gratin refers to a dish that is baked with a topping of seasoned breadcrumbs and cheese. The au gratin topping should be golden brown, which can be achieved by baking or by placing the dish under a broiler. Au gratin — a perfect way to serve broccoli!! Broccoli is a delicious side dish to so many meats and main dishes. I started this colorful gratin by steaming the broccoli in the microwave. I like baking in a cast iron skillet but you can also use your favorite baking dish or casserole dish.
While the broccoli is steaming in the microwave I made a cheesy white sauce, reserving a bit of the cheese to sprinkle on the hot broccoli.
The cheesy white sauce is poured over the broccoli.
I adore Panko bread crumbs so I used a handful to make up the crunchy topping. The gratin is baked until lightly browned and bubbly.
The nice part about using a cast iron skillet is it makes a fun serving dish as well. From the oven to the table.
I adapted this recipe from Food Network Kitchens. It is a keeper for me. It can easily be made and on the table in less than an hour while finishing up any main dish.
We like our broccoli tender-crisp and not mushy. This recipe is easy to make without over-baking the broccoli.
What is your favorite broccoli recipe? Please do-tell, I am always looking for tried and true recipes for this yummy vegetable!
~Blessings, Catherine
Broccoli -- cheese -- Panko -- you will love this au gratin! Ingredients Directions Notes Recipe adapted from Food Network Kitchens.
Once the b. sprouts are cleaned they are tossed together with cooked bacon, melted butter, salt and pepper. The original recipe calls for adding uncooked bacon and letting it cook during roasting. I prefer to cook the bacon first — you decide.
Before you claim you don’t like sweet potatoes let me confess I use to despise anything that even looked like sweet potato. Annually mom would open up the tin can of sweet potatoes, add in her magic ingredients, top with marshmallows and bake. EVERYONE waited for the baked sweet potatoes to be set on the holiday table. Everyone but me. That was t
hen, this is now.
The fresh sweet potatoes are easy to bake (about an hour at 375 degrees F.) or equally delicious when fried. I like to slice the potatoes 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick and slow fry them in a combination of butter and olive oil. When the potatoes are nearly done I sprinkle a little brown sugar over them and give them a toss. Another 5 minutes cooking and the brown sugar becomes caramelized. I serve them right out of the skillet and that way they stay warm done to the very last one. Betcha can’t eat just one!
My love of sweet potatoes began in 2004 when I moved to Tennessee. It seems that no matter where we eat, the true southern meal includes some version of 
My sister-in-law, Liz, stopped by this week and I was anxious to share some of our newly dug sweet potatoes. She said her husband had recently been looking at a recipe combining sweet potatoes, apples and nuts. We all thought that combination sounded great. That very evening my sous-chef dish-washing and sometimes cook mom made up a big ‘ol pan a fried sweet potatoes to go along with our 
This casserole is a lighter version of my regular 
You can use any variety of apples, whatever you have on hand. I used 2 small Winesap and 1 1/2 Golden Delicious. They were small apples, but oh so tasty!
Even though the daytime temperatures are still creeping into the low 80′s it is during the night these little mums are making their beauty known. As the night time temps dip to the 50′s it is a clear signal to the fall plants — time to bloom! They have patiently waited through the drought and high heat of the summer, through hurricane force torrential rains in August and now it is their turn to show off their splendor throughout the fall.
The basics for quiche are a pie crust, 4 eggs, evaporated milk or Half n’ Half, and cheese. Beyond that, your favorite ingredients will turn the basic quiche into something outstanding! Sometimes I use evaporated milk or if I have Half n’ Half on hand I will use that. In a pinch I have used 2% milk but the quiche isn’t quite as rich tasting.
I was off to a good start with a little butter in a saute’ pan. I added minced sweet onion, minced garlic and the broccoli straw mix. I cooked them until the veggies were all soft. While they were cooking I sprinkled a bit of cornmeal in a pie plate. I placed a single pie crust in the plate and then crimped the edges. A Pillsbury pre-made crust works fine or if you have time, making your own from my 
I would really love to know what your favorite quiche ingredients are. Please leave a comment and share as I am always looking for another great quiche!
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