Monday, January 24, 2011

Roasted Broccoli Parmesan and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Tonight along with our chicken fettuccine with homemade white sauce we had mashed sweet potatoes (a new one for us) and roasted broccoli Parmesan.  Sweet potatoes are not Chris' favorite but both kids and I loved them; in fact, that's all the kids ate. 


Mashed Sweet Potatoes
I used two medium sized sweet potatoes which was more than enough for our small family.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Wash potatoes and cut a few slits in each with a sharp knife.  
Place potatoes in baking dish with 1/4 inch of water.  Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake for one hour, or until potatoes are soft.
Remove potatoes from dish and peel. The peel should come off easily.  To avoid burning my fingers I used my vegetable peeler. 
Place in serving bowl and mash, adding milk a little splash at a time until potatoes reach desired consistency. (I left ours a little chunky)
Add a tablespoon of butter, pinch of sea salt and some ground black pepper.  Stir to combine.

Roasted Broccoli Parmesan
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Wash and cut florets off of one bunch of fresh broccoli.  Set aside.
Pour about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs (regular, Italian or Panko - I used Italian) into a skillet set to medium heat.  Cook just long enough to toast.  (This won't take long...a few minutes max!)  Once toasted, remove from heat.
In a bowl combine broccoli florets, 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan (I used the stuff in the green can).
Add toasted bread crumbs to above mixture.  Toss to combine.
Place broccoli in a single layer in baking dish or cookie sheet.  Bake 20-25 minutes. 

Review of the fettuccine alfredo:
I like the concept.  The dish was simple and I loved that the alfredo sauce was homemade. 
The finished product tasted a little bland to us, though.  I think a little salt and pepper added to the alfredo would help a bit.  I also think marinating the chicken or seasoning it somehow and searing before adding it to the sauce would add another layer of flavor.  It's got a long way to go before it even compares to something served up at Olive Garden!

No comments:

Post a Comment