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Croutons Homemade by Mari

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

As a kid I ate only croutons from a salad.  Now I love salad and eat everything in them but the croutons since they usually taste old and bland.

Leave it up to my friend Mari to bring over homemade croutons that leave me loving them again.  Crispy with olive oil and garlicky, they’re lovely on her velvety chestnut soup or any salad.

Mari’s Croutons

5-6 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Lay one bread slice flat, cut 1/2″ strips lengthwise, then 1/2″ strips crosswise (resulting in small cubes).  Repeat with remaining slices.  You should have about 3 cups of bread cubes. Put them into a large bowl.

2. In small bowl, whisk garlic into olive oil.  Pour over bread in large bowl, tossing quickly to evenly distribute among cubes.  Don’t get too much oil onto any cube or it will turn out soggy.

3. Spread onto baking sheet and bake, turning frequently, for 7-10 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.

In Mari’s words, “Crunchy Fun!”

Posted in Recipes, Side Dishes | No Responses »

Sweet Potato Stacks: Tri-color, garlic, fried sage

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Gourmet Thanksgiving in Advance (described here) Recipe #4

Quite possibly the best sweet potato recipe ever.

Tri-Color Garlic Sweet Potato Stacks

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine’s Roasted Sweet-Potato Rounds with Garlic Oil and Fried Sage

What I changed and why: Didn’t puree garlic with oil because I didn’t want the mess; Used pre-chopped jarred garlic because I’m lazy; Used three kinds of sweet potatoes because they all looked so good in the store (the flavors melded beautifully, and the various colors looked pretty); Didn’t peel the sweet potatoes out of laziness and for added nutrition; Made the olive oil extra virgin since its flavor is paramount in the final dish; Increased cooking time since tenderness is important; Changed presentation to stacks just for fun.

1 Tbsp chopped raw garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large sweet potatoes: one garnet, one jewel, one Japanese (about 2 1/2 lb), washed and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
24 fresh sage leaves

1. Preheat oven 450°F with rack in upper third. Toss garlic with olive oil and mix thoroughly with sweet potatoes in large bowl. Spread in 1 layer in a 15-by 10-inch shallow baking pan.

2. Bake until soft, about 30 minutes.

    3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then fry sage leaves in 2 batches, stirring, until crisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute per batch. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

    4. To serve, stack sweet potato slices, alternating colors. Place sage leaves on top.

    Posted in Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetables | No Responses »

    Recipe: Rosemary Roasted Pecans

    Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

    Some dear friends threw us an engagement party last Saturday. One of the couples in attendance, Lilo & Tom, gifted us a large jar of “Lilo’s Southern Love Nuts.”

    They are now gone. Yes, gone.

    Sunday, Monday, Tuesday- three days. Really, is that all?

    Well, they’re that good. Enjoy.

    Lilo’s Southern “Love Nuts” (Rosemary Roasted Pecans)

    1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
    3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
    1 tsp. kosher salt
    1/4 tsp. garlic powder
    1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
    4 cups pecans

    1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

    2. In a small saucepan, heat oil, rosemary, salt, garlic powder, and pepper until warmed through. Pour mixture over pecans in a bowl and toss. Drain excess oil using a colander.

    3. Quickly spread in even layers on cookie sheets. Roast nuts for 15 minutes. Cool and pack in tins. Store in cool place.

    Posted in Appetizers, Gadgets, Recipes, Snacks | 1 Response »