Saturday, May 16, 2026

And The Broccoli Stole The Show ๐ŸŽ‰

Good morning, Friends. Last night, my parents came up to celebrate my almost-13-year-old's birthday. I kept the menu very simple: roasted cod, bread, and broiled broccoli, a not-new discovery but one I've been making on repeat since discovering my children love it. Last night, it was similarly well received, and of the three pounds I cooked, not a single spear remained.

Here's how you make it: Toss chopped broccoli with olive oil and season with salt on a sheet pan. (For 1.5 lbs. of broccoli, use roughly two tablespoons of olive oil and season to taste with salt — it should taste well-seasoned raw.)

Broil for 5 minutes (on the very top rack), then toss, taste, and return to the broiler for another 1-2 minutes if necessary.

This photo doesn't do it justice, but the broccoli emerges from the broiler crisp-tender with the loveliest char. I hope you all make it soon: three ingredients and 5 minutes are all you need. It's so quick and so tasty.

Truly, it disappears from the table as quickly as oven fries.

Friends, the sun is out this morning, and the week's forecast suggests spring may have actually arrived. Below I've included some springy recipes to make this week, including a few more broiled-vegetable recipes, the above-pictured snap pea salad, a spring pizza, one idea for the grill, and two favorites for rhubarb.

Have a great weekend, Everyone ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

PS: One of you introduced me to this flour, writing to say you purchased it for one purpose but discovered it was ideal for focaccia. You weren't wrong! Pictured aside the focaccia is the peasant bread made with a mix of bread flour and Petra 0103.


Review of the Week

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Classic Margarita

"This is my absolute go-to Margarita recipe when friends are over!"

— James


7 Recipes to Make Right Now

My recent broiled broccoli experiments have reminded me how much I love using my broiler for vegetables, namely these Green Beans:

... and these Shishitos:

If you're breaking out the grill this weekend, may I suggest you throw some peppers alongside whatever you are grilling? You will be rewarded with...

... "Roasted" Red Peppers you can use for sandwiches and salads, or drizzle with oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and serve with bread or crackers.

Pizza with Kale and Sizzling Ramp Oil: If you are new here, this recipe is over on my Pizza Substack, which I am no longer updating, but which has lots of recipes, videos, and other resources, all pizza-related. This is a favorite spring pizza:

Serve it alongside this Spring Snap Pea Salad:

And for dessert: Rhubarb-Frangipane Galette ๐ŸŽ‰

PS: If you are a rhubarb fanatic, here's a favorite way to preserve it for the months ahead: Rhubarb Schnapps. Three ingredients + time is all you need.


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Thank You

Thank you to all who have ordered Pizza Night. If you haven't left a review yet, I would be so grateful if you did! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ•๐Ÿฅ—๐Ÿฅ—


5 Free Resources Available to You

PS: All previous editions of this newsletter are available here.

Happy Cooking,


Alexandra Stafford



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