Roasted, carmelized fennel steaks ~

I don't love the winter.  I am such a warm weather person, that often I wonder why I don't live down South.  However, I was born here and it's been the only home I have known.  And in my book, "home is where the heart is".  So Boston is where I'll stay, happily so.... most of the time. 

There are a few things I do love about the winter though and one of them is it's a time for cooking and baking.  I love having roasted root vegetables every night for dinner.   Some wonderful aromatic food gets prepared in my house during this season and one of my very favorites is roasted vegetables.

I do all of my root vegetables the same way, just roast at a high temperature in the oven and they caramelize on their own.  Other than pre-heating your oven, cutting your vegetables uniformly and sprinkling with a little salt, pepper and olive oil, there is nothing else to do.  And they taste heavenly too.  Just place all of your cut vegetables a little bit apart, so they will roast and not steam, turn your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.   Place a half sheet pan on the middle of your oven and put the timer on for 15 minutes and remove the sheet from the oven, turn the vegetables over for another 10-15 minutes.  Serve one, maybe two steaks per person.

This week, I started slicing my fennel from top to bottom in 1/2" slices instead of wedges and they look so amazing and the taste is out of this world.  No coring them, no waste at all!  Fabulous tasting, easy to make.  How great is that?  Just look at these beauties right from the oven.  Place a slice on each person's plate as one serving and that's it!  And what a gorgeous presentation they make for a side dish too.

Another way I serve fennel, is roasted with Yukon gold potatoes.  It's a marriage made in heaven, trust me.  The flavors are exceptional together.  I wedged both the potato and fennel and placed them in the oven to roast at the same temperature and time.   Don't they look amazing too?

So, while it may be winter and it may be cold and dreary here.  These two dishes warm my heart.  Did I mention that they are low calorie and good for you too?

A big yum for me!

I'm joining Michael Lee on Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm this week.