Think it's too early to start planning Thanksgiving dinner? Think again! Nov. 26 may seem like a long way off, but for the holiday host, it's right around the corner. That's why each Tuesday until Turkey Day, we'll bring you preparation tips to ensure your Thanksgiving is as smooth as your gravy (should be).
1. Get a head count.
Now's the time to start inviting people to Thanksgiving dinner. If you're thinking about it, chances are good your friends and family are, too. So if your cousin is bringing her new boyfriend, and both sets of grandparents are coming to town, as well as your parents and siblings, you're going to need to figure out how to seat everyone at your small table with three mismatched chairs.
Getting a head count this early ensures you'll have enough time to borrow tables, chairs and whatever other furniture items you need to so that everyone can eat comfortably, and then have a place to lounge when the tryptophan-wine combo sets in. And don't forget to find out who's a vegetarian, who's allergic to nuts, and any other dietary restrictions you'll be dealing with. The last thing you want to hear as you put your orange-scented green beans with toasted almonds on the table is that your cousin's new boyfriend has a severe nut allergy.
Roasted broccoli with shrimp. Photo: Sarah LeTrent
Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
Grilling out defines summer, but after a busy weekday, few people feel like manning the grill or huddling over a hot grill pan. In this recipe, the oven does all the dirty work for you.
Enter this often overlooked and underrated method of cooking: roasting.
Try this method for broccoli and shrimp. Roasting caramelizes the natural sugars and brings out both ingredients' natural sweetness.
Cool and creamy broccoli soup. Photo: Brent Ridge, Beekman 1802.
Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are the farmers and innovators behind Beekman 1802, a 200-year-old estate and farm in upstate New York. We'll be running recipes, photos and tales from the farm as their crops come into season.
When we were younger, our moms had to work really hard to get us to eat broccoli. First they became magical, miniature trees. Then once we wised up to that, it had to be camouflaged with something like melted Velveeta or ranch dressing.
Now we don't think broccoli needs much adornment at all. In fact, we are so prone to picking and eating it right in the garden that it often never actually makes it to the kitchen.
Our heirloom broccoli and an amazing recipe after the jump.
What does Sarah Palin eat after a day of snowmachining? Learn the answer to that and many other fun facts about US presidents' favorite foods.
Presidential Food Trivia Quiz
An August 29th US News and World Report article cited which of these hearty dishes as Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's favorite meal?
Moose pot pie
Elk burgers
Caribou stew
Moose stew
Which US president claimed to be able to assess colleagues' character traits from the way they selected jelly beans from the jar on his desk?
Lyndon Johnson
Bill Clinton
Dwight Eisenhower
Ronald Reagan
Mary Todd Lincoln, concerned about her husband's health and gaunt frame, found that he'd eat multiple helpings of which dish, a childhood favorite?
Venison stew
Turkey and stuffing
Fricaseed chicken
Apple pandowdy
A longstanding Washington D.C. rule makes it illegal for residents of the White House to run a barbecue smoker.
True
False
During which president's term was the White House Easter Egg Roll established?
James K. Polk
Calvin Coolidge
Rutherford B. Hayes
John F. Kennedy
Which president was the first to establish a French chef in the White House kitchen?
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin Pierce
Banjamin Harrison
Which vegetable was banned from meals on Air Force One and at the White House during George H. W. Bush's presidency?
Broccoli
Lima Beans
Okra
Brussels sprouts
George W. Bush's tenure as president nearly came to an untimely end due to his choking on what snack food?
Potato chip
Dorito
Pretzel
Peanut
Millard Filmore caused an uproar in the White House's kitchen when he became the first president to install which now common appliance?
Refrigerator
Cooking stove
Dishwasher
Toaster
William Howard Taft loved which dish so much, he brought a chef to the White House for the sole purpose of its preparation?
Brains and eggs
Steak and kidney pie
Turtle soup
Spaghetti and meatballs
James Garfield was a particular fan of what down-home soup ingredient?
Alligator
Tripe
Squirrel
Blood sausage
Which president picked prune whip as his most favored dessert?
Lyndon Johnson
Woodrow Wilson
Dwight Eisenhower
Franklin Roosevelt
Which president and son of a Vermont cheese maker kept a private stash of Swiss cheese to make sandwiches for himself and his Secret Service detail?
Calvin Coolidge
James K. Polk
Grover Cleveland
Herbert Hoover
Cheshire, Massachusetts pooled the milk of every cow in town to present a mammoth wheel of cheese to which president?
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
Thomas Jefferson
Zachary Taylor
The Cheshire Mammoth Cheese was not the last giant hunk of fromage to make its way to the White House. Which president was gifted with a 1,400 pound cheddar by an Oswego, NY farmer?
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Jackson
James Buchanan
John Tyler
Prior to his heart surgery, Bill Clinton was known to favor which fast food staple?
Whopper with Cheese
Big Mac
KFC Extra Crispy Chicken
In-N-Out Burger
Continuing the long tradition of gentleman farmers in the Oval Office, what was Jimmy Carter's cash crop?
Corn
Cotton
Tobacco
Peanuts
Not much is known about George Washington's first state dinner, but which of these dishes was reported to have made it onto the menu?
Head cheese
Boiled leg of mutton
Oyster stew
Cornish game hen
Which president claimed tuna-noodle casserole, meat loaf and Ozark pudding as his most favored comfort foods?
Woodrow Wilson
Herbert Hoover
Harry S. Truman
Lyndon Johnson
Which of these dishes has First Lady Laura Bush claimed to be her family's favorite?
Fried chicken
Chili con carne
Enchiladas
Tacos
Richard Nixon's go-to comfort food was an odd combination of which two ingredients?
Let me first say that I am not proud. I am not proud of having bought a bag of pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower florets in the first place. Broccoli and cauliflower are ridiculously easy to slice up, so I realize that the slight convenience is hardly worth the markup. Next, I'm not proud of waiting until brown spots had appeared on the veggies to cook them up. But I was hungry, so I pared those brown parts right off and quickly disposed of the evidence.
Then it was time to cook, and things were looking up. I decided to douse them with spices and roast them until they were, well, browned again, but in a good way this time. When I shook them around the pan halfway through, I was sure I'd overdone the spices. But once they were finished cooking, the spices had formed a savory partial crust over the florets, making for a splendid side. Redemption was mine.
Here's the method:
3 cups broccoli and cauliflower florets 3 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander
Preheat oven to 425º. In a bowl, toss veggie florets with remaining ingredients. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast, stirring halfway through the cooking, about 20 minutes or until veggies have begun to brown and spices form a crust.
Perhaps I'm cheating, or defeating the steaming purpose, but what follows is a ridiculously quick and simple way to season your broccoli giving it both depth and a light bite.
Just as your broccoli is about to be finished steaming, melt some butter in a pan. Just as it completely melts, turn the heat off and sprinkle the butter with some lime or lemon zest. Let it sit for a little bit as you get everything in order, and once the broccoli is in a dish, simply pour the small amount of butter and zest over the broccoli, then give it a few twists of black pepper, and -- the important final touch -- garlic salt. No, not that powdered stuff that comes in a shaker, but garlic-flavored sea salt. A few sprinkles of that gives that nice bite of salt and the richness of garlic, which is the perfect match to the citrus butter.
Added tip: I keep a jar of zest in my freezer from previously used key limes, so for this, I just picked up a pinch out of the jar and tossed it in the pan. Freezer zest is a great way to completely use up your fruit and quickly flavor a dish.
I was inspired to make this recipe yesterday when I was going through Whole Foods and saw the gorgeous broccoli crowns that are in season right now. While the color of this sauce speaks for itself, broccoli enhances this dish, giving it a fresh, earthy appeal. Great as a side dish or even a main- Penne with broccoli sauce is a light, healthy dish that's bursting with flavor.
Read on for the recipe from the cookbook: Fresh From the Farmers' Market by Janet Fletcher.
After a number of months of hemming and hawing, I finally bit the bullet and joined an organic home-delivery fruit and produce service. It's awesome, and completely worth it. However, it means that I have to keep on top of my cooking. With this week's box scheduled to arrive this afternoon, I needed to clear out the remaining pieces of last week's score. That meant finding a use for some broccoli.
Seeing that I was also craving one of my super-delicious elk burgers, I decide to pair the two. I somehow knife-wrestled a patty from the frozen pile without losing a finger, and then grabbed the green stuff. The broccoli was fried until soft, and then set on the cheeseburger with some Kozlik's blonde mustard (so good), tomato, and mayonnaise. Teamed with some fries seasoned with ground anardana (pomegranate), smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, and this was the best burger and fries that I've had in eons.
I have a secret to share with you all. Most of the time, when I'm just cooking for myself (but want something more than just a bowl of cereal), I recreate the foods I grew up eating (there was a lot of salmon/chicken/turkey burgers paired with broccoli/string beans/zucchini in my childhoo). I don't branch out or try new recipes. I steam a veggie and quickly bake/broil/ saute a piece of protein and I call it a meal.
Last night was the perfect example. I had just enough cooking energy to defrost some frozen salmon (from Trader Joe's and of decidedly unknown age), bake it with a little butter and lemon and steam a head of broccoli. It wasn't ground breaking or exciting, but it was tasty and filling. When it was done, I sat down at the table, taking my first sustained computer break in at least four hours and ate. It was quiet, simple and really restorative. Oh, and yummy. Because what's the fun in eating if it doesn't taste good!
According to conventional wisdom mothers have fought to get their little ones to eat veggies since before the earth was cooling. Cruciferous varieties, like broccoli and Brussels sprouts are often cited as particularly challenging.
Last week at my nephew's tenth birthday party, I was reminded of his surprising appetite for a particular green. It's not broccoli, kale, spinach, or even broccoli rabe, my Sicilian father's favorite. I don't know where the little guy stands on those. The object of his appetite isn't even a vegetable. It's an herb. He goes gaga for fresh parsley.
What reminded me of his parsley passion, was the birthday present his Aunt Dawn gave him: two fresh bunches of parsley. Ever since he had it in a salad his grandmother made for him when he was six he's been a parsley fanatic. Besides wanting to make her nephew happy, one of the reasons for Aunt Dawn's gift is that he once ate the better part of her parsley patch before anyone noticed.
By now you're probably wondering why this kid likes to eat what many regard as mere garnish.Taking a break from his hectic Lego-building schedule he provided me with the following quote: "I like it because it doesn't have much of a taste. How can you dislike something that has no taste. And it's healthy."
As for me, I was never into fresh parsley as a kid. I was too involved with my own food quirks, like slicing a notch in apple and stuffing it with a slice of bologna.
For most of yesterday, it was sort of chilly and overcast in Philly (it got sunny and warm in the late afternoon). The cool breeze that came through my window all morning made me thinking longingly of fall and want to put on a sweater. It also inspired me to make soup. However, since it is still summer, I wanted something that wasn't long-simmering or heavy. So I flipped to a soup that my mom made a lot when I was growing up, although back in those days, I always turned my nose up at it. These days, I can't get enough of it, especially when I had a weekend that was chock full off barbecue, desserts and beer.
Every single month of the year has a "National _______ Month" designation. Heck, I think every day has celebrates something. June has a few celebrations, and National Fruit and Vegetable Month is one of them.
Of course, you should eat a lot of fruit and vegetables all year round, but if one month can get you going, then it's a good thing. June is usually the month when I start to eat more salads and apples and oranges anyway, as I'm sure it is with a lot of people, so it's good timing.
Here's more info and tips about the month, along with links to other sites about healthy eating. And if you insist on eating a whole pizza tonight, at least put some mushrooms and onions on it.
It's not unusual to put vegetables, things we normally consider savory, into sweets. We have carrots in carrot cake, zucchini in zucchini bread and muffins, and obviously we have broccoli in broccoli cake.
Wait. What?
I have to say, it has never occurred to me to ever make or eat broccoli cake. However, blog Chic City Rats came across this broccoli cake, perfectly sliced to show off the florets inside, at Rose Bakery in the Parisian rue des Martyrs. Unfortunately, there is no additional information about the cake itself, but just the idea might get our culinary creative juices flowing.
According to conventional wisdom mothers have fought to get their little ones to eat veggies since before the earth was cooling. Cruciferous varieties, like broccoli and Brussels sprouts are often cited as particularly challenging. 
Every single month of the year has a "National _______ Month" designation. Heck, I think every day has celebrates something. June has a few celebrations, and National Fruit and Vegetable Month is one of them.
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