Roasting Vegetables 101

A reference guide with temperatures and times.

Potatoes 325 - 400 / 45 - 90 min 

(about 5 ounces or 150 grams each)

Roll in Olive Oil / Salt for a soft skin

Roll in Salt for a crisp skin 

45 minutes at 400 degrees F.
60 minutes at 350 degrees F.
90 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Place the potato directly on the oven rack in a preheated oven. Place a baking sheet (I put a piece of aluminum foil)on the lower rack (below the potatoes) to catch any drippings.

Squash  Acorn/ Butternut   400 / 30 min + 30-45 min
400 degree oven 1 hour - 1.25 Hour
Halve the squash and score diagonally on a baking sheet

Season with Butter / Sage / Thyme / chopped Shallots / smashed Garlic  / S&P
or OO & Essence 
or Brown Sugar / Maple Syrup / S&P

• Pour 2 cups water in the bottom of the baking pan.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 30-45 minutes, or until squash is golden brown. 
• In the last 5 minutes of baking, turn on the broiler and allow tops to get a little more brown and the butter/sugar mixture to bubble.       
• (thanks Pioneer Woman)

Cauliflower   425 / 35 Minutes + 10 minutes
Cut into Florettes  &  Toss once during cooking 
Season with Olive Oil / Essence 

Olive Oil / Smashed Garlic / Onions / Bouquet Garni / Basalmic Vinegar / S&P

Olive Oil / crushed Garlic  / Onions / Thyme / S&P

+ grated cheese for last ten minutes

Olive Oil / Dijon Mustard / Bouquet Garni / S&P

+ grated cheese for last ten minutes

Carrots   400 / ~25 min
1.5 inch pieces / halved if thick $ Toss once during cooking 

Layer on a baking sheet lined with foil

Season with Olive Oil / Essence 
Olive Oil / Smashed Garlic / Onions / Bouquet Garni / Basalmic Vinegar / S&P


add grated cheese when done?

Mushrooms  450 / 20 min  or 375 / 35 min
Halve or Quarter layer on foil lined baking sheet & Toss once during cooking 
Bacon Grease / Diced Bacon / Onions / Basalmic Vinegar / S&P
Olive Oil / crushed Garlic /  Thyme or Rosemary / Worcestershire / Dry Sherry / S&P 

+ grated cheese when done
Butter / White Wine / Thyme
Brussel Sprouts  400 / 15 - 20 minutes
Halve and layer on foil lined baking sheet & Toss once during cooking 
Bacon Grease / Diced Bacon / Basalmic Vinegar / S&P
Bacon Grease / Diced Bacon / S&P  add grated cheese when done?

What is Bouquet Garni? 
Hand-mixed from: savory, rosemary, thyme, Turkish oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage and tarragon.  
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/bouquet-garni/c-24/p-31/pd-s

What is Essence?  Emeril Lagrasse's Basic Cajun Spice make at home!
(3 TBS) tablespoons paprika Szeged (calls for 2.5 tablespoons salt  (calls for 2)

2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (sub Szeged Hot Paprika)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-essence-recipe.html

Carrot & Rutabaga Stew

2.5 LBS Rutabaga, cubed
1.25 LBS Carrots, cubed
6 C stock.
1 LG Onion, Diced
2 TBS Penzeys Bouquet Garni
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (to taste)
2 cloves garlic, chopped.

Crockpot on low for 8-12 hours.  Using an immersion blender, blend about half into a purree, or remove 1/2 to blender and return to pot.

serve with cooked tortellini.

Beef Stew = Mt + Sl + Se + St + VG

Where
B = LBS. of Beef Roast (Cubed)
oo = TBS olive oil = B
p = tsp pepper = B
s = tsp NaCl = B x 1.5
O = Onions = B / 2 (Chop Coarse)
FL = Cups of Flour =  B/4
W = Cups Red Wine = B/2
G = Garlic Cloves = B (Chop Fine)

L = Cups Beef Broth = B x 1.5

h = tsp Hungarian Paprika = B/2
bq = tsp Bouquet Garni = B
bl = Bay Leaves = B/2
w = tsp worcestershire sauce = B/2

C = Carrots = B x 1.5 (Chop)
P = Potatoes = B x 1.5 (Dice)
E = Celery Stalks = B/2 (Chopped)
A = Parsnip = B/4 (Sliced)
R = Rutabaga = B/16 (Diced Small)
T= Turnip B/4 (Diced Small)

Hh = High Heat
Hm = Med Heat
Hl = Low Heat

Brown B in oo+s+p, remove and set aside.  Cook O until soft, add FL, thicken, add diced G cook 1 min..  Deglaze with W, bring to simmer.  Add L, B, h, bq, bl, w, and simmer for 1-2 hours. Add C,P,E,A,R,T.  Simmer for 30 Minutes

(B + oo+s+p) x Hh  = Mt
(O + FL + G + W) x Mh  = Sl
(h + bq + bl + w) = Se
(Sl + L + Mt + Se) x Hl = St
(C + P + E + A + R + T) = Vg

Mt + Sl + Se + St + VG = SB
SB = ((B + oo+s+p) x Hh) + ((O + FL + G + W) x Mh) +(h + bq + bl + w) + ((Sl + L + Mt + Se) x Hl) + (C + P + E + A + R + T)

Roasted Pepper and Garlic Carrott Soup

The best thing about soups, stews and chili is having the time to blog it while it is fresh in the mind, rather than trying to re-create the ingredients after a hearty meal when one just wants to read gawker and be netertained.  "netertained:" that was a typo but so apropos.


4 Roasted Garden Grown Red Peppers  (abt. 1/2 LB, prob abt 1-1.5 factory farmed peppers)
4 large cloves of Roasted garlic
4 smallish garden grown carrots - sliced  (abt. 1-2 store bought carrots)
4 C Chicken Stock.
1 med. store bought shallot - sliced
1 really big store bought boiling potato (i.e. red, yukon gold, NOT Russett or Eastern White)  
     Find Potato Info link
1/4 C white wine
1/4 C grated hard Italian cheese (i.e. pecorino or romano)
1 TBS Butter
1-2 TBS vegetable (light olive) oil 
1 tsp Bouquet Garni 
1/2 tsp ea. Hungarian Paprika & Hot Hungarian Paprika 
1/2 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt

Split and de-seed peppers, flatten, arrange on baking sheet with unpeeled garlic.
Spread a light coat of oil over the peppers 
Roast under broiler for about 8 minutes, until pepper skins blackened.
Remove the paper from the garlic, and set aside 
Place peppers in a sealed container to steam for 10 minutes.
Remove the outer skins of the peppers and discard the skins. they should slide off. mostly.

Sautee the shallot, carrots and herbs/spices in butter until soft, about 4-5 minutes.
Deglaze the pot with wine, add broth, peppers, potatoes and garlic.
Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add cheese.

Stick your wand in the pot and rotate until the soup is smooth and creamy -or- Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth 

This could also be made more delicious AND  unhealthy by adding a half cup of cream (or half and half) before blending, or sour cream on top.  But once you add the dairy, it will not re-heat well if you freeze.  

So I recommend that it be served ala Kate,  with sour cream on top.

Chicken Carcass Soup with Noodles or Rice

A roasted chicken carcass, be it from your own oven or a rotisserie chicken from the super market still has flavor and possibilities left in it. It's also a good way to utilize the older vegetables at the bottom of the drawer, that have lost their plate appeal. You should use the oldest vegetables in the drawer for the "stock," though it's not really stock, because you will be cooking the flavor out of them and into the base, and then discarding them with the carcass.

"Stock"
1 picked chicken carcass, set meat aside.
2-3 carrots
1 onion
1-2 stalks of celery
1-2 cloves garlic
peppercorns
rosemary sprigs
a bay leaf or two
Whatever you may have roasted in the chicken, we usually use apples and/or oranges
Other miscellaneous vegetables of dubious age: radishes, turnips, chives, mushrooms

Coarsely chop the vegetables, break up the chicken carcass and place the above ingredients in a stock pot and cover with Water.

Bring to a boil then simmer for at least one hour

Soup
2-4 carrots
1-2 stalks of celery
1-2 garlic cloves sliced
1-2 cups prepared noodles or rice
1-2 cups leftover chicken meat
2 TSP Chicken stock base, or 1 can chicken broth
salt an pepper to taste.

spices and herbs: There are a couple of options here, depending on what you have available and what flavor you are looking for:
a) 1-2 tsp Szeged Chicken rub - Garlicy and compliments chicken nicely
b) rosemary, sage, thyme. Add in that order a pinch at a time.
if I ever figure out measurements I will post them
c) 1 tsp Penzey's Bouquet Garni* - this is a magnificent & flavorful blend of herbs

Dice up fresh vegetables into bite size pieces

Using a collander strain the "stock" into a large bowl or another pot

Pick off any usable chicken meat and set aside, discard the boiled vegetables and bones.

Return stock to pot, add fresh vegetables. Alternatively, if you are throwing in last night's leftover vegetables, add them after 25 minutes with the rice/ noodles / meat, because they are already cooked.

Stir in chicken base

Add seasonings to taste.

Simmer 20-30 minutes until the vegetables have the desired crunchiness. This really is a personal preference. We like ours al-dente, not mushy like canned soup.

When the vegetables are "done", add the rice or noodles and chicken meat.

Give kids dinner warning, it will be ready in 5-10 minutes.



* Penzey's Bouquet Garni: Hand-mixed from: savory, rosemary, thyme, Turkish oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage and tarragon. http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysbouquet.html