Apparently though, this is a recessive gene and everyone else likes it in my house. So, we made the Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccoli and you know what? I still wasn't crazy about it. (you thought I was going to say I liked it after all, didn't you??)
The recipe in Around My French Table says to steam the broccoli first, then toss it with butter, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Our first alternation was to microwave the broccoli, instead of steaming it. I don't get it - if you have access to a microwave, I say go for it! There's no waiting for water to boil (and we all know how long that can take!) - no steamer basket to clean, plus pot and pan., and the nutrient loss is less than steaming.
So we microwaved.
The second alteration was the butter. I simply cannot bring myself to use 1/2 stick of butter for two stalks of broccoli. French women might not get fat, but I sure can! So I used a pat of butter (less than a TB) and olive oil.
Mixing oil and butter is a tried and true french approach to cooking (and Italian, for that matter) - it stretches the butter flavor without stretching your pants, and it raises the smoke point of the butter - so it doesn't burn as easily. No brainer.
Once the butter/oil mixture was warmed, we added minced garlic, breadcrumbs and seasoning (including lemon zest), toasted the bread crumbs and added the broccoli.
It looked great and, as I said, everyone else thought it was fantastique!
