Sauce du cabinet is made from using whatever you have on hand. There's no real recipe, you just cross your fingers you get the right proportions of flavors. Sometimes, especially for those of us who are terrible and/or new cooks, it can end up as a disaster. Othertimes it feels like magic. I often don't feel strong enough, culinarily speaking, to try something so bold, but today I did.
Of course, I made butternut squash soup and a quiche, both of which I have made different variations of many times, but still, it was a little scary!
Luckily both turned out great.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
I had a roasted squash and a couple of servings of other roasted veggies (carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and garlic) left over. I diced and sauteed a medium onion, two celery stalks, 2 carrots, and 2 cloves minced garlic. Once all of that had softened, I added the squash and other veggies and all the chicken stock I had on hand (2/3 of a big box). I brought that to a boil then turned it to simmer. Since nothing had been overly seasoned in its first cooking, I added tons of Penzey's Northwoods, kosher salt and pepper, and even a good shake of Worchestershire. Let that simmer for 20 minutes, then used the immersion blender to get to a nice, thick consistency. It was still a little too thick so I added another cup of water. Perfect!!
Next up was the quiche. Quiche and frittatas are so easy: it's just eggs, some kind of cheese, veggies, a type of onion, and a meat. The only difference between quiche and frittatas is if you use a crust. I happened to have one left over in the freezer so quiche it was!
Bacon, Cheddar and Kale Quiche
Preheated the oven to 350. First I chopped up the last of the kale and sauteed it in some olive oil until it had softened, about five minutes. Took that off the stove. In a large bowl, I cracked a half-dozen eggs, and seasoned them with a lot of Penzey's Mural of Flavor, and some kosher salt and pepper. Added a package of shredded cheddar cheese (from some idea for a recipe that I never did), and chopped up the last of the bacon I had made last week (and never eaten, that's usually for Hubby). Mixed all that together and then added the kale. By then the mixture felt too thick so I added a couple more eggs. Poured all of that into a frozen pie shell. Since it was sitting so high in the pan, I put the quiche pan on a jelly roll pan so if it cooked over it would be okay. Baked this for 35 minutes, until a toothpick came out clean.
Before it went in.
After it came out. Hubby is already eying it for his dinner tomorrow. And maybe breakfast. It spilled over onto the jelly roll pan, probably an egg and a half worth, nicely seasoned and baked. Hubby inhaled it, LOL!
After that, I was done. We bought chicken sausages for Super Bowl dinner tonight, and since we each like different kinds we each have two left over for the week. Hubby carmelized some onions until they were super dark and sweet, and I had mine over cognac and cranberry chicken sausage with ground mustard on a whole wheat bun, plus a cup of squash soup. Yum.
Since I am sharing sauce du cabinet recipes, let's talk roasted veggies for a minute. They're so easy I never think to link a recipe or write one out, but for anyone wondering, this is what I do.
Roasted Vegetables
Preheat oven to 400. (You can do it at 350, but then you never get any nice coloring.)
Prepare your veggies in large, even-sized chunks. For Brussels sprouts, cut them in half so the edges get crispy.
Fill a baking pan with veggies. I use a brownie pan. Seriously.
Season them with a good glug or two of olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and another seasoning of your choice. I like fresh or dried thyme, or Northwoods seasoning, or cumin. Toss the veggies with the oil and seasonings with your hands so everything is liberally seasoned.
If you want to get fancy, chop the top off a garlic bulb and nest it in the middle of the veggies. Pour a little extra olive oil on it.
Roast in oven until done. Most thicker veggies (carrots, potatoes, beets, parsnips, squash) take about an hour. Brussels sprouts are done in about 30 minutes, asparagus (oh so good in spring!) and green beans are about 15-18 minutes.
If you added the garlic, let it cool a bit then squeeze out all the sweet roasted garlic onto your veggies and enjoy.
Do you have any sauce du cabinet recipes you would like to share?
Hahahaha I do that a lot: Cross my fingers and pray it tastes good !
ReplyDeleteYOUR QUICHE looks so good.
I have a meal I like to call "Cupboard Soup". It's a broth and water base, usually some chicken, a couple handfuls of pasta, beans (usually garbanzo and black), some diced tomatoes. You can add whatever other veggies you like. I throw in a shake or two of chili powder and Italian seasoning. Let it all simmer for a while, until the boyfriend's nose pulls him into the kitchen. Then I know it's ready. :)
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