Broccoli with Cheetos

For those who may be watching my grocery budget, my husband spent an additional $33 yesterday getting food for the covered dish at work, soda for a guest, and baking soda. Good news is I asked him to get double the ingredients for ugly bean dip when in reality, I didn't need any, so 90% of the items purchased when straight into the pantry.

We have not eaten well today, having used Christmas cookies as a breakfast.

To make up for this, I served bananas, ugly bean dip and a cheaped-down version of Broccoli with cheetos. Lots of fruits, veggies, beans and even calcium! The original broccoli with Cheetos recipe I saw in NY magazine, attributed to Chef Craig Koketsu. He can be found at Park Avenue Autumn. The recipe turned out to be much more complex and high class than I anticipated, so I did what I could with what I had on hand.

Broccoli and Cheetos
Serves 6 to 8
For the broccoli:
3 large heads of broccoli, florets cut into small pieces, stem peeled and cut (yeah, right, I'm not peeling and cooking a broccoli stem);
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil;
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped;
1 teaspoon red chili flakes (I have red pepper flakes, will that do?);
3 tablespoons butter;
salt

For the cheese sauce:
1 quart heavy cream (um, I had light cream, and the carton wasn't full);
2 tablespoons chopped shallots (I had diced red onion leftover from the ugly bean dip);
2 tablespoons garlic chopped;
10 black peppercorns (I used four-color peppercorn that I had in a grinder, and I ground them);
1 bay leaf (I didn't have any);
2 cups aged gouda shredded (I *shamefully* used monterey jack. I wish I had gouda);
1 cup grated parmesan
salt

1/2 9-ounce bag Cheetos crushed to pebbles

For the broccoli: Blanch broccoli in salt water for three minutes, remove and shock with cold water. Cool and drain. Place large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add olive oil, garlic, chili flakes, until it sweats, being careful not to brown the garlic. Add butter and melt thoroughly into oil. When butter and oil begins to bubble, sauté broccoli until hot. Reserve broccoli on paper towel lined plate. Keep warm. (Note: I think the broccoli at this stage tastes AWESOME.)

For the cheese sauce: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, reduce cream with shallots, bay leaf, garlic, and peppercorn until it thickly coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese until melted. Strain sauce through fine mesh strainer. (I skipped this since I didn't use whole peppercorns or a bay leaf.) Pour warm sauce into large serving dish. Arrange broccoli on top of sauce. Coat with cheetos. Serve.

We ended up with way more cheese sauce than we needed, so I reserved some for a pizza or pasta sauce.