Grenadine is the perfect sweet hint for all your drinks – I add it to my cocktails, and bf adds it to his limeade. Check out today’s DIY grenadine recipe at Foodbeast 🙂
Tag Archives: DIY
asiago croutons
Croutons, as you may or may not know, are extremely easy to make. Have bread? How bout an oven? Well then, you can have croutons! Technically you don’t even need the oven, but it’s my preferred method for turning old bread into croutons, since pans don’t always cook them as evenly as I’d like, plus then I have a pan to wash.
When you use the oven for croutons, all you need is a sheet of parchment (and maybe some foil, depending on how much fat you’re using) … yay, no dishes!
well, except this one…
For these croutons, I used day old asiago bread that I had already sliced, then buttered (you can drizzle or spray with oil if you prefer – buttering each slice can be a little laborious) the slices and cut them into cubes. Evenly distribute the cubes on a parchment lined baking sheet and toast in a 425 for about 15 minutes, or until evenly browned, tossing halfway through.
These were enjoyed atop roasted red pepper soup, but you could add them to any number of soups or salads. Of course, you don’t have to use asiago bread, you can use any bread you like, cut into any size cube you prefer, tossed with any additional spices you might be looking for. The general process will always be the same. Cut, add fat (spread butter, drizzle or toss with oil), toast @ 425 F for 15(ish) minutes tossing halfway through. Done!
DIY Croutons
- 1 loaf day-old bread (this was asiago)
- butter or oil
- any seasonings you may want
Preheat oven to 425F
If using butter, slice bread then butter the slices and cut into cubes. If using oil, cube bread then mist or toss in oil.
Pour into even layer on parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven 15 – 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until golden brown.
Sprinkle with any additional seasonings when you take them out of the oven.
DIY roasted peppers
Ah yes, ye olde bell pepper. This post may seem a little random at the moment, but this skill is necessary to complete my next post. So today, I give you a tutorial on how to roast red peppers. Don’t worry, it’s easy 🙂
Preheat your broiler or grill to high heat. If you’re using your oven, place a sheet of foil on the rack below the one you’ll be placing your pepper on. If you want the process to be faster, place it closer to the broiler. My short attention span tends to favor having the rack lower in the oven, so that my pepper doesn’t just turn into flames and smoke.
Take one (or more) beautiful red pepper(s) (or whatever kind of pepper you wish to use). Washed and patted dry. Then, rub said pepper with oil. I used olive oil. Place this now oiled pepper into your oven or onto your grill and cook until the skin starts to blister and char, rotating as necessary until all sides are done.
Remove the pepper and place in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Once cooled, uncover and peel the skin off. Don’t worry, it’ll come right off. Slice or dice into desired pieces and, Voila – you now have roasted peppers!
Too lazy? Of course you could always purchase the pre-roasted peppers in a jar, but where’s the fun in that?
“BUT WHAT WILL I USE THEM ON????”
Um, everything? Inside sandwiches, atop pizzas, blended into soups, added to pasta or tacos or as part of an antipasti… the possibilities are pretty much endless here. You can even use any kind of pepper you want, here I used red peppers, but I’ve used poblanos in the past, hatch chiles, etc…