This weekend has kind of been one of failures, or at least I should say the weekend of very unphotogenic food. For instance, take my broccoli swiss quiche for church. It was very good, but the lighting at 8 o'clock at night was terrible and I could just never get my who-knows-how-many-cups of broccoli florets to look right. Plus, it was for church, and though I got to try it the next day, I didn't have my camera with which to take better pictures of it when plated.
The other endeavor this weekend was a little more comical. My eight-year-old brother had been pining for me to make him something that was sweet and gluten-free, in other words, cupcakes, preferably chocolate. Yet because I had made the quiche the day before and we only had egg yolks left over, I had to use something I rarely employ: dehydrated egg whites. And, the cupcakes had to be gluten-free and dairy-free. Out went whole milk, in went soy milk. Out went butter, in went canola oil. As these changes were being made I kept thinking that, well, these could be so much more interesting, and I really didn't see how this Ghirardelli Chocolate cookbook recipe was going to be that chocolatey. So, instead of stirring the cocoa in with the dry ingredients, I mixed it with the hot espresso, and added another tablespoon of dutch-processed cocoa powder. Lastly, I decided that these were just going to be too boring, and added 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the cocoa/espresso mixture, and into the oven they went. Now, they taste great, but for whatever reason they kind of collapsed, or at least a few of them did, right out of the oven. This may have been because I didn't cook them for quite the amount of time stated. It might have been because I tried to sour the soymilk, because I was afraid the dutched cocoa wouldn't be quite acidic enough, overactivating the soda, causing a profusion of bubbles, and a collapse...I don't know....Anyways, that is what happened. I also decided there would be no frosting (trying to be health concious, or somewhat as I prepare for Thanksgiving when all hope will be lost) which might have diguised the craters in the top.
Yet despite all of this, they taste positively divine. I am truthfully just too tired to type up the recipe, and would much rather get on to something that is not sweet, not boring, and not too hideous. Today I decided to make a salad I found through Bon Appetit. It sounded interesting and it just so happened that I had quite a few broccoli florets left over from the quiche. Now, originally, raisins are used in the dressing, but one review written of the recipe said that craisins worked well. As I prefer them over raisins, I tried them, and they work quite well. Now, I do think that perhaps there is a bit much dressing. I am fine with it, but I think this is a personal preference thing. I added some carrots to it in order to fill in for not having quite enough broccoli and they also seem to work well.
Over the next week, I am hoping to not get too much homework so that I can begin testing out candidates for new Thanksgiving recipes. Will this happen? I'm not so sure. I do have quite a few recipes to try out though, so the less homework the better!
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided (I used a little less, maybe 2 tablespoons for roasting)
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
1/2 cup raisins (or Craisins)
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 carrots-quartered vertically and each piece cut into 2 inch pieces
3 carrots-quartered vertically and each piece cut into 2 inch pieces
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place broccoli on large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 (2) tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast broccoli until tender and brown in spots (I would say to roast covered with tinfoil for maybe 20-25 minutes-depending on floret size), about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine 3 tablespoons oil, vinegar, raisins, 1 tablespoon water, and cumin in blender. Blend until raisins are finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer broccoli to large bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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