Food, Friends, Family, Football, and Fun!

It was a busy weekend in our kitchen! We hosted friends and family for dinner on Saturday and then we hosted our annual Oktoberfest party on Sunday. I made some of my old standards as well as some amazing new dishes.

The centerpiece of the Saturday night menu was my Lemon Garlic Scampi over Tomato Couscous. This is one of those dishes that fits the category of "easy elegant dinner" yet also "home comfort food".

Step one is to make the tomato broth for the couscous which is made by sautéing onions, carrots, and garlic in olive oil until soft. The next step is to add a can of crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, and white wine. Once the mixture came to a boil, I removed it from the heat and pureed it in batches in the food processor, added some water, and returned it to a boil. The final step was to add two cups of couscous and let it sit until the broth was absorbed. I fluffed with a fork, seasoned with salt, pepper, and fresh chopped parsley and it was ready to go. Easy peasy!

The shrimp were just as easy. I melted butter and sautéed fresh garlic for a few minutes. I added the shrimp, the zest and juice of one lemon, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. The shrimp only take three minutes. I poured them over the couscous and dinner was ready!

We needed a green side dish so I made Maple Dijon Glazed Brussels Sprouts. These are always such a hit and can easily turn brussels sprout haters into cravers! I halved the sprouts, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted at 425 degrees for about fifteen minutes. I tossed them and brushed on the maple syrup-Dijon mustard glaze before returning to the oven for another ten minutes.

I poured over the rest of the glaze and served them. There were none left!

The menu screamed for some type of garlic bread and so I made a variation of my Garlic and Herb Parmesan Bread but I used a method that my grandmother always used. She always used a store-bought frozen garlic bread (we will forgive her!) which she doctored up with extra seasoning. I made the butter mixture using softened butter, basil, parsley, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

Grandma's method: I slathered it all over the bread which I sliced in half, put them back together, wrapped in foil, and baked at 400 degrees for about fifteen minutes. I then unwrapped them, separated each half again, and popped them under the broiler for just a minute or two.

I have made tons of garlic bread over the years and this one may be my new favorite.

Dessert was perfect for the season - Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting. The cupcake batter is made with applesauce which keeps them super moist and the frosting is made from butter, powdered sugar, apple cider, and caramel sauce. Plus a little extra caramel on top cannot hurt, right?

So where does the "football" part come in to play? The Maryland game was on while I cooked! Sadly they lost, but at least dinner was good!

In my next post, OKTOBERFEST 2022!