Month: February 2013

Rosemary Lemon Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen11 Comments

Let’s keep this simple: I love Nigella Lawson.

I love her recipes. I love her witticisms. I love her energy.

My approach to cooking is strongly influenced by something she once said: “Don’t worry if bits of eggshell get into the bowl. It proves it’s homemade.”

So when I made her recipe for roasted brussels sprouts and discovered that a few lemon seeds had made their way into my final product, I wasn’t bothered in the least.

All is right with the world. Try these Rosemary Lemon Roasted Brussels Sprouts a la Nigellissima yourself, and just be sure to mind the pips!

Rosemary Lemon Roasted Brussels Sprouts | KellyintheKitchen | olive oil, lemon zest, 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig rosemary, 100 g brussels sprouts, 1 tbsp parmesan cheese, salt and pepper

INGREDIENTS

olive oil
1 lemon, zested to taste (I go lighter on lemon zest but Nigella’s recipe calls for the zest of a whole lemon)
1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
1 sprig rosemary
a few handfuls of brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (you want enough to form a single layer on the bottom of a standard sized cast iron skillet)
1-2 tbsp parmesan cheese (to taste)
salt and pepper
NOTE: this recipe doubles and triples easily if you’re cooking for a bigger group!

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 F.

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Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a pan (I used my cast-iron skillet). Grate the garlic and lemons zest into the pan and, tearing the rosemary leaves apart roughly, strew them about the pan. You can leave them large enough to remove at the end if you like. Add the brussels sprouts and toss to coat.

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Roast for about 15 minutes, until starting to become tender. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with parmesan and salt and pepper at pop back in the oven for another 5 minutes. They’re ready when they’re tender but still have a little bit of bite in them.

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Pull out the rosemary leaves and serve ’em up! These make a fantastic side dish to an herby roasted chicken, but we ate almost all of them straight out with our fingers. Yeah, they’re that good!

Chocolate Crepes with Berry Yogurt Filling.

Published on by KellyInTheKitchen6 Comments

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INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
scant 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour, sifted
1 cup frozen berries (of course, fresh would be great, too – your filling will just be chunkier)
1 cup Greek yogurt
squeeze of honey
water
cooking spray or butter
lemon juice

Just the Recipe link: Chocolate Crepes with Berry Yogurt Filling

DIRECTIONS

Put the butter, chocolate, and milk in a pot over medium low heat and bring to a simmer, stirring to start the chocolate melting. Remove from heat and continue to stir until everything is dissolved.

Crack the eggs into a bowl with the sugar and vanilla and whisk together. Then switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour. You’ll get an annoyingly-sticky paste that is hard to stir. Pour in the milk mixture and stir to combine. Let this batter sit for 30 minutes.

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To make the berry filling, put the frozen berries in a bowl with warm water to thaw out. I usually change the water once, just to move the thawing along a little faster.

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Then drain the berries and mix with the yogurt and honey. Set aside.

After 30 minutes have passed, pour the crepe batter through a mesh strainer to get some of the lumps out. This step isn’t absolutely necessary, but I find that no matter how careful I am about lumps, I always have some in my crepe batter, so I like to strain it.

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At this point, check your batter for consistency. We’re going for a pretty watery consistency, almost like whole milk. So add water, one tablespoon at a time, until your batter is the right consistency.

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To cook, butter or spray a pan with cooking spray and heat over medium. Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour in a small amount of batter into the center of the pan and immediately swirl around to the edges of the pan. The first crepe is notoriously a failure, so don’t feel bad if your first one looks like this:

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The French say to give the reject first crepe to the dog. Since these have chocolate in them, I figured Penny’s little tummy wouldn’t appreciate it, so I ate the ugly one, because my tummy does appreciate it. Regardless, the next few should work out better.

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Once all the crepes are cooked, fill them. The two usual ways are to dollop the filling down the center of the crepe (the diameter, if we want to get geometric), and fold each side over to the center, like this:

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Or to spread the filling over one quadrant of the crepe (can breakfast foods have quadrants?), fold it in half, and spread over the crepe layer that sits on top of the filled quadrant and fold again (that sounds confusing….just look at my picture):

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To finish, drizzle with a squeeze of lemon. Dust with powdered sugar if you like – we were too hungry and ate them up before I could go rustling through the baking cabinet.