broccoli

Finger Food- Baked Broccoli Polenta Sticks with Marinara Dipping Sauce

12 Aug 2010
Baked Broccoli Polenta Sticks with Marinara Dipping Sauce

There is something about finger food. It seems both sophisticated and mischievous.

I guess that's because there is something heedless and hedonistic about eating with your fingers. It's the standing part that makes it feel so sophisticated.

Still, on the flip side– finger food can make you feel downright childlike too (and I mean that in a good way). Boring old grown-ups sit politely while eating, napkins in laps. But us cocktail kids get to slink around the room– glass in one hand, tidbit in the other. It’s that wonderful moment when your past and present selves playfully intertwine in a way that seldom happens at the dinner table.

Of course the best thing about finger food is that it is associated with parties. I guess that's why finger food doesn’t feel like calories, does it? Finger food usually mingles on a communal platter, enticing its intended targets (you and I) to follow suit.

 

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Baked Broccoli Polenta Sticks with Marinara Dipping Sauce

Baked Broccoli Polenta Sticks
By jgreghenry Published August 11, 2010
Prep time: 120
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb broccoli florets
  • 2 c milk
  • 2 c water
  • 1.5 c white or yellow corn meal, or coarse grain polenta
  • 0.5 c pecorino romano, grated
  • 2 T olive oil, plus more as needed
  • 0 kosher salt as needed
  • 0 marinara sauce for dipping

Directions

Bring the milk and water to a boil in a large pot, stir in 2 teaspoons salt. Add the broccoli florets and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. With a mesh strainer remove the florets (it is okay if small pieces remain behind). Let them cool slightly then roughly chop them. Return the milk and water mixture to a low boil and slowly stream in the polenta while stirring constantly. Once incorporated turn down the heat to achieve a very low bubble. Continue stirring until the polenta thickens up, this can take a few minutes or much longer depending on your polenta. Stir in the broccoli florets. Cook stirring often while also scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. Continue cooking and stirring and scraping until the broccoli breaks down and nearly into the polenta. You may need a bit more water to keep the consistency thick, but fluid. Stir in the cheese and olive oil. Season with additional salt if necessary. Remove from heat and spread out 1/2-inch thick onto an oiled or silpat linedbaking sheet using an off-set spatula. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight. Cut into wide-cut "fry" shapes, about 5" to 6" long and 1/2" square. Rub each stick with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with some salt. Bake in a 450 degree oven, middle rack, for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy. Flip the fries once after ten minutes. Serve with a marinara sauce for dipping.

Notes:

Makes about 48 sticks

All Couples Discuss Broccoli at Breakfast, Right?

30 Sep 2009
broccoli and shitake

This morning at breakfast Ken (my hunky BF) and I were discussing the day. You know, getting the lay of the land for the next 24 hours. All couples do that… Would there be business stuff tonight, or no? Would he be around for dinner or not? The man works and works and works, so I always gotta ask.

He mentioned his day included meeting people for coffee and dessert sometime after 8pm, but dinner at home was on the agenda (goodie, I thought!).

So, (more to myself than anything) I said: “That’s great I have a pound of broccoli florets that need to be eaten while they are still fresh and green.”

To my surprise, he not only heard me but he answered.

He said: “Oh you should make that super lemony, crisp broccoli and garlic salad like we used to get at Fab’s in the valley”.

First off, by “we” he meant he and his old (I mean previous) BF. But I let that pass. After nearly 20 years of coupledom I figure I’d know if he still held a torch for an old flame. No need to be dramatic, though I am perfectly capable of being dramatic if need be.

Of course, the recipe was another story. That I could not be so sure about. I mean, I was working at a disadvantage here, I was not a part of the “we” that “liked” said “broccoli salad”, was I? No I was the “me” that had never had this salad before. Oh, wait... I am getting dramatic. Scale it back, Greg.

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Greg's Awesome Broccoli Salad with Lemon, Garlic and Shitake Mushrooms

broccoli salad
By jgreghenry Published September 30, 2009
Prep time: 90
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 2 T olive oil
  • 3 clv garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 fresh lemon, left whole
  • 3 oz shitake mushrooms
  • 1 lb broccoli florets
  • 0 grated parmesan cheese and very good olive oil for garnish

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan and add the garlic. Cook over medium heat about 5-7 minutes until the garlic is fragrant, but not yet browned. Set aside Zest the lemon into a medium sized serving bowl. Then cut it in half and squeeze all it's juice into the same bowl. Avoid getting the seeds into the mixture. Set aside. Clean and slice the mushroom vertically through the cap. Set aside Place the broccoli florets in to a microwave proof bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Microwave, on high, about 3 minutes, until the brocoli is bright gren and tender crisp. Remove the plastic wrap and run cool water into the bowl, empty and repeat several times to stop the cooking quickly. Using a salad spinner dry the florets as well as possible and add them to the serving bowl with the lemon mixture. Follow this with the garlic pieces and all its oil. Toss the mixture well. Refrigerate until cold and ready to serve. To serve toss the broccoli salad with the reserved mushroom slices and divide the salad evenly among 4 plates. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and olive oil. Serve.

Notes:

serves 4