Chef Robyn's Blog: 2012

One of the first things they teach you in catering is if something isn't moving off a buffet line, put some cheese on it.

This is applicable to pretty much anything. It is equally effective on both children and adults. People love cheese. I, a former resident of the great state of Wisconsin, especially love cheese, and all things cheesy.

The key is to put cheese on your veggies! Delicious and nutritious. A perfect example of this....broccoli cheese soup.

Start with a hefty amount broccoli - about 4 cups. Saute it in a soup pot with minced garlic and red onion.

After the onions are translucent, add chicken stock to cover.

Let simmer. In a separate sauce pot, make a roux. A roux is equal parts butter and flour and it is used as a thickening agent for sauces. In this scenario, we are essentially making a bechamel, then a mornay sauce. Whoa! Big fancy French cooking. A bechamel is one of the 5 mother sauces in French cuisine. It is a white sauce made with a roux and milk and usually a little nutmeg. From there, you can add to it and make hundreds of other sauces. For example, when you add cheese, you get a mornay sauce. Yum! This cheese sauce can be used for loads of scrumptious dishes such as homemade macaroni and cheese, lasagna and so on. Place a stick of butter and 1/2 cup of flour in your sauce pot and stir constantly. A roux goes through stages as you cook out some of the starchiness. The darker the roux, the less thickening power it has. As you are stirring, be careful not to burn your roux. Keep it moving over medium heat. You may float away into an aroma induced coma as you inhale the stages of sugar cookie dough, and nuttiness. For a bechamel, you just make a quick white roux.

Cook the roux for about 5 minutes until it thins out a bit, bubbles, and develops a nutty aroma. Whisk in about 4 cups of milk and a dash of nutmeg.

Now, you will have a thick white sauce. You can adjust this sauce for other recipes by adding more or less milk. We want a fairly thick version since we are adding in the chicken stock with our broccoli.

Next, whisk in approximately 3 cups of shredded cheddar.

When finished, you should have a pot of silky cheesy goodness.

Now, blend your broccoli and stock mixture. You can pour the contents into a blender or use an immersion blender right in the pot.

It's ok for the mixture to remain a little bit chunky. Next, combine the contents of both pots together and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with a slice of garlic bread for dipping and enjoy your bowl of cheesy broccoli goodness!!

You could make this same soup as cheesy asparagus, cheesy artichoke, cheesy brussel sprout and so on!

Comfort food and cravings can get you trouble! I've been working extra hard to keep my pregnancy weight gain in check; therefore, I have to lighten up old recipes for a delicious and healthy new rendition.

Recently, a t.v. commercial got me salivating for some good 'ole lasagna. I made a few simple changes to make a much leaner version.

First, I substituted the cheese for their low fat counterparts. I used ground turkey instead of beef and I added extra vegetables: spinach, mushrooms, and onions.

Thaw a bag of frozen spinach, place in a strainer and squeeze out all the excess water.

Dice up some red onion and slice up some mushrooms.

In the meantime, boil a large pot of salted water and cook the lasagna noodles per the instructions on the box.

In a large saute pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Saute the red onion and some minced garlic. Crumble in the ground turkey, with some red chili flakes and brown. Add in the mushrooms, spinach, and a splash of red wine of you like. When everything is stirred together, add in your favorite spaghetti sauce, salt and pepper, and simmer on low.