I’m so pumped to introduce you to my first guest blogger, Kristal Little, who hails to us from St. Louis, Missouri.
Meet Kristal!!
I was lucky to meet Kristal through friends (John and Sherri) of mine who will soon be her in-laws. She is marrying a great guy (a.k.a. John) in August at Stone Soup Cottage in Missouri which sounds amazing. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of St. Louis, she is now employed by them (somethin must have gone right ;)) She’s also a personal chef and teaches high school baking classes which I personally think would be a blast. Oh yeah, I also want to mention they have a Shiba Inu named Oli. Now I had NO idea what that was, so I asked Mr. Google for help. I don’t know that I’ve seen one before, but here’s a pretty cute pic:
Meet Oli!
So Kristal had the amazing idea to share a recipe that might come in really handy to make for dinner on Friday during Lent. If you’re tired of fish, give this dish a try. And don’t forget – the key is roasting the broccoli as it really brings out the flavor. Gather your ingredients and lay broccoli on sheet pan to roast:
Note: in the recipe below, you are directed to concasse a tomato. Now, I gotta be honest. When Kristal told me to do this, I seriously thought she had misspelled a word. (She went to school to be a chef; me, a teacher. You see la problema!) So, you learned something new, and easy today. Here ya go:
Boil a pot of water. Core the tomato and slice a small X in the bottom of the tomato. Don’t cut too deep.
Boil tomato for 15-20 seconds. Remove from boiling water and shock in a bowl of ice water. Peel the skin from the tomato. Cut in half. Remove all the seeds and dice. Voila!
What an easy go to recipe, and you could easily add chicken if desired. Here’s the finished dish of yumminess:
Hope you enjoy this dish, and I hope to see Kristal soon at the lake! Thanks also to all of you who are following this blog, which include people residing in three different countries thus far. Hope you are finding some good, easy recipes to make your life easier and free up more time to spend enjoying this beautiful weather with friends and family. ~Connie
Roasted Broccoli Alfredo
1/2 lb farfalle noodles
16oz heavy whipping cream
10-15 cremini mushrooms
1 tomato
1 bunch broccoli
1 TBS minced garlic
1/4 c Parmesan plus more for garnish
1tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss broccoli florets in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast broccoli on a sheet tray for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start a pot of water for the pasta. Don’t forget to salt your water! Once it comes to a boil, use this water to concasse your tomato. Slice mushrooms and set aside. Cook pasta according to the package.
In a large saucepan, bring cream to a simmer on med-high heat. Simmer until it’s thick ( about 5 minutes). Add garlic and Parmesan. During the last few minutes of boiling, add mushrooms to the pasta. Drain and add mushrooms, pasta, and broccoli to the cream sauce. Mix well. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Garnish with tomato and more Parmesan.
Connie Kaye's Kitchen 