Alex23....you training??

[Princess L]

You need to follow these directions EXACTLY to the T or else you will just waste your time.  I can guarantee you it will be perfect if you follow exactly.


INGREDIENTS
2   tablespoons unsalted butter
2   pounds broccoli , florets roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1    medium onion , roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2    medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 1/2   teaspoons dry mustard powder
pinch cayenne pepper
Table salt
3–4   cups water
1/4   teaspoon baking soda
2   cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)
2   ounces baby spinach (2 loosely packed cups)
3   ounces sharp cheddar cheese , shredded (3/4 cup)
1 1/2   ounces Parmesan cheese , grated fine (about 3/4 cup), plus extra for serving
Ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add broccoli, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and baking soda. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook until broccoli is very soft, about 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking.

2. Add broth and 2 cups water and increase heat to medium-high. When mixture begins to simmer, stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer half of soup to blender, add cheddar and Parmesan, and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer soup to medium bowl and repeat with remaining soup. Return soup to Dutch oven, place over medium heat and bring to simmer. Adjust consistency of soup with up to 1 cup water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

That looks easy enough.  Thank you.

I like my soup more of this consistency  
vs this

so I might have to set aside some before the spinach to only do a partial blend with.

[chaos]

We made a vibrant green Broccoli-Cheese Soup with Il Villagio hand-wrapped Parmigiano-Reggiano  Cheese and a hint of Irish White Cheddar for a slight piquant flavor.  There are two unconventional tricks to this dish.  First you have to coax as much flavor from the Broccoli as possible so this means COOKING the ever-living daylights out of it as fast as possible.  This is accomplished by adding a bit of baking soda which alters the PH and speeds the cooking process as it rapidly softens the cell walls of the Broccoli thus extracting ALL of its flavor compounds.  The problem then is this leaves a dull gray color due to the extreme extraction of flavor and cooking technique and you do not want this for presentation.  To combat this, you then add a few ounces of Baby Spinach for an intense green color.  This also provides additional nutrition and the taste is not detectable.  The cheese also provides the necessary creaminess without needing any heavy cream.  Finally, the slightly caramelized onions in butter dissolve for sweetness as the entire soup is blended for a smooth texture.

The soup is so amazing, we actually went to the store tonight to make it again.  We also picked up ingredients to make our Hungarian Beef Stew with Egg Noodles.  Paprika here, being the key element, so you want to try to get the absolute highest quality you can.

Sounds splendid.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants and had a "quick" dinner.  Started off with a glass of Perrier water with Mediterranean lime to cleanse the palate.  We began our food journey with a bountiful dish of Madagascan prawns.  After that, we decided to order a bottle of Robert Mondavi's Opus One. It's been about five months since I last tasted the lavish yet powerfully aggressive wine.  After a few minutes in cabernet sauvignon heaven, my Kobe steak arrived.  As it sat almost taunting me on a beautiful "occupied japan" china plate, I second guessed myself wondering if it was worth the $149.00 price tag.  Then it dawned on me, you can't put a price on quality.  As my fork gently cascaded into the juicy beef I new I was in for something special.  As I took my first bite, the incredible texture of well marbled beef engulfed my taste buds.  To end a perfect meal, we ordered one of the Chef's very own creations called "Côte d’Ivoire" cake.  What came to our table was a magical array of colors and smells.  A beautiful slice of chocolate cake with champagne serbet teased us.  As I took my first bite, I notice a very sweet flavour that I couldn't put my fingers on.  As the chef came out to greet us, he informed me that he used small slices of apricots and  pears that were soaked in Jamaician rum for two years.  The cake was just brilliant and gave the most enjoyable aroma one could imagine.  A very suitable end to a very exquisite evening. Outstanding!


STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LMFAO!!!!!!!!

[Fallsview]

Hey Chaos,  West Coast time baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The True Adonis]

Sounds splendid.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants and had a "quick" dinner.  Started off with a glass of Perrier water with Mediterranean lime to cleanse the palate.  We began our food journey with a bountiful dish of Madagascan prawns.  After that, we decided to order a bottle of Robert Mondavi's Opus One. It's been about five months since I last tasted the lavish yet powerfully aggressive wine.  After a few minutes in cabernet sauvignon heaven, my Kobe steak arrived.  As it sat almost taunting me on a beautiful "occupied japan" china plate, I second guessed myself wondering if it was worth the $149.00 price tag.  Then it dawned on me, you can't put a price on quality.  As my fork gently cascaded into the juicy beef I new I was in for something special.  As I took my first bite, the incredible texture of well marbled beef engulfed my taste buds.  To end a perfect meal, we ordered one of the Chef's very own creations called "Côte d’Ivoire" cake.  What came to our table was a magical array of colors and smells.  A beautiful slice of chocolate cake with champagne serbet teased us.  As I took my first bite, I notice a very sweet flavour that I couldn't put my fingers on.  As the chef came out to greet us, he informed me that he used small slices of apricots and  pears that were soaked in Jamaician rum for two years.  The cake was just brilliant and gave the most enjoyable aroma one could imagine.  A very suitable end to a very exquisite evening. Outstanding!


STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have an entire dining set and tea set from "occupied Japan"!  

[chaos]

Hey Chaos,  West Coast time baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL Do you just sleep at work?

[Fallsview]

I have an entire dining set and tea set from "occupied Japan"!  

TA, Are you in NC?  I have a beachhouse in Rodanthe that I go to in April and August.  You'll have to be my guest sometime.




STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fallsview]

LOL Do you just sleep at work?

Chaos, after hearing all these kids problems, I wish I could sleep through it.  We just had a big budget vote and it didn't go so well. 



STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Coach is Back!]

Thanks for hijacking my thread Alex!

[Fallsview]

Thanks for hijacking my thread Alex!

I'm not Alex, my friend.  I'll be at Baha's on Friday, would you like to join me?


STAY POSITIVE.....

[chaos]

Chaos, after hearing all these kids problems, I wish I could sleep through it.  We just had a big budget vote and it didn't go so well. 



STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Budgets are a huge problem out here also. Are you in a big district?

[Disgusted]

Thanks for hijacking my thread Alex!

Rumor has it that Alex has already quit.

[The True Adonis]

TA, Are you in NC?  I have a beachhouse in Rodanthe that I go to in April and August.  You'll have to be my guest sometime.




STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I`d be honored.  Rodanthe has some wonderful historic properties.

[The Abdominal Snoman]

Teh Coach is a big dude for a little guy.

Thats because he's obviously increasing his bodyweight before every 3rd workout so that Basile's hypertrophy principles take effect.

[Fallsview]

Budgets are a huge problem out here also. Are you in a big district?

No very small.  I hear LA wants to layoff 7300 teachers and administrators.  We wanted to expand classrooms for technology reasons and it fell through.  It was only 138 million and now that money goes down state instead of here.  The (uninformed) people have spoken.



STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fallsview]

Rumor has it that Alex has already quit.

I hear it on good authority it's still "on".

Do I smell fear??

[Coach is Back!]

I just might Fallsview, wife is out of town and son is with his friends for the weekend. You coming out from the east coast? lol

[chaos]

No very small.  I hear LA wants to layoff 7300 teachers and administrators.  We wanted to expand classrooms for technology reasons and it fell through.  It was only 138 million and now that money goes down state instead of here.  The (uninformed) people have spoken.



STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing how poorly the education system is treated in the US, dumbed down to help along the immigrants and halfwits that sneak into our great country, then milked of millions by the few in charge......


HEADS SHOULD ROLL FOR THIS!!!

[Fallsview]

I`d be honored.  Rodanthe has some wonderful historic properties.

The tourist have watered down the area and the OBX of 30 years ago is gone.  It's sad that everything has gone up in price.  The first time I took my wife down she ran to the wine store for some Biltmore wine.  The same wine at the Food Lion was 3x less, she learned very fast.



STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The True Adonis]

No very small.  I hear LA wants to layoff 7300 teachers and administrators.  We wanted to expand classrooms for technology reasons and it fell through.  It was only 138 million and now that money goes down state instead of here.  The (uninformed) people have spoken.



STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There should be a KitchenAid in every single classroom.  Make it happen by 2015.

[Fallsview]

Amazing how poorly the education system is treated in the US, dumbed down to help along the immigrants and halfwits that sneak into our great country, then milked of millions by the few in charge......


HEADS SHOULD ROLL FOR THIS!!!

 I agree.  We don't value education anymore.  I see it talking to parents and they are clueless.  When you go to more affluent districts, they do better with their numbers because the parents are taking an active role in their kids education.  This is not the case in economically depressed districts as households are single parent and are barely making it.  Teachers are looked at by most parents as babysitters and restaurants.

I see the LA school district has one expensive school.  Love to see how that place is maintained.lol


STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fallsview]

There should be a KitchenAid in every single classroom.  Make it happen by 2015.

Well TA, the only kids that touch that type of equipment are developmentally disabled/life skills classes.   Even vocational training is gone, so the question is...who is going to fix your car? lol


STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Coach is Back!]

That particular school already had to spend an extra 25mil because there was no fisability study, they had to tear back up some of the grounds to repair it...its still under construction. These are some of the things that the media won't tell you here in LA. That school is a taxpayer money pit.

[Fallsview]

That particular school already had to spend an extra 25mil because there was no fisability study, they had to tear back up some of the grounds to repair it...its still under construction. These are some of the things that the media won't tell you here in LA. That school is a taxpayer money pit.

What was the total on that school $578 million?  Can you tell me if they have artificial turf on their fields?  This was one of the capitol projects we were going to do here.  There rational behind it was "less maintenance"  but all the research I've done is that artificial turf is more of a headache.


STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Abdominal Snoman]

Amazing how poorly the education system is treated in the US, dumbed down to help along the immigrants and halfwits that sneak into our great country, then milked of millions by the few in charge......


HEADS SHOULD ROLL FOR THIS!!!

You could have Albert Einstein teaching every kid in America and it wouldn't matter. "They" have been spraying the sky's with toxoplasma for decades now. We're fuked bro.

[Coach is Back!]

Not really sure, I found out from a member of our guy who was one of the sub-contractors for the school.....he's still waiting to get paid from LAUSD. Public Works jobs takes forever to get paid on and vendors get pissed. Even when pre-liens are sent the LAUSD ignors them!