Almond Cream Sauce (with Broccoli)

Since we were having a pretty lean mean for dinner tonight (boneless skinless chicken breasts with couscous), I decided to go with a higher fat vegetable side dish. Not only could we adults "afford" it because of the lean meal, it actually helps make the meal more satisfying and keeps us full for longer. Plus, with a toddler around, we have to make sure there's always at least one good source of fat in our meals, be it the butter for the bread, regular shredded cheese on our burritos, or the peanut butter in his sandwich. The little tykes need more of their calories from fat than adults do. Too bad he didn't actually eat it. Maybe next time. At least he enjoyed the couscous. :)

I couldn't find the broccoli gratin recipe that I was sure existed in one of my cookbooks, but I found this little beauty in my "What's Cooking?" cookbook that a roommate gave me a few years back. I don't think it's in print anymore, but it's got some good recipes in it. I modified this one a tad, but stayed pretty true to it.

Almond Cream Sauce
2 tbsp butter (I did about half extra virgin olive oil)
3 tbsp sliced almonds
3 tbsp heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli or other vegetable, still hot or reheated (I think we had about twice this, but the sauce ran out on us eventually.)

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add sliced almonds and cook lightly. Stir in heavy cream. Cook until volume is reduced by half. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve on top of broccoli.

Rosemary