Happy Broccoli, Mr. President - Crockpot Broccoli with a Creamy Garlic Sauce

Five days to cruising.  I like the looks of that sentence, incomplete though it may be.  Four days at sea, three days in various ports, and departure day which is half-port, half-sea, and a fire drill.  That adds up to eight days without access to a kitchen  Eight days without the feel, the touch of my santoku knife.  Eight days without my kids.  Ouch.

I'll be trading my knives for knitting needles.  Nice!  But before that - just now, I developed a craving for chopped liver.   Blame Andrew Zimmern and his trip to Brooklyn.  The only problem is that craving is going to require some duck fat, which I do not keep in the house as a matter of course.  Something else to put into my cyber shopping cart when I order the duck breasts (hello, turducken!) and a couple of confit duck legs.

Liver is a food that my son, who cheerfully downs raw fish, eel, goat, and all sorts of game, will absolutely not eat.  Liver is a food that both of his parents grew up on, and we love it - chicken, calf, beef, and best of the best, foie gras.  The cheapest meal I can prepare involves a pound of chicken livers - organic is best and still economical - and a lot of onions, some to fry in something a bit healthier than duck fat, the rest left raw to chop fine.  A lot of kosher salt and pepper.  Perfect.  And cheap, did I mention cheap?  Chicken liver also plays well with others, like garlic, oregano, and fresh sage.  Oh myyyyyy ... I may not be able to wait until I can get hold of that duck fat.

Today's recipe is from the Thanksgiving menu.  Nothing as adventurous as chicken liver, but controversial in it's own way, thanks to President Bush the First:

"I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli."  - George H.W. Bush.  

Sorry, Mr. President, but if you can jump out of airplanes at your age, and wear crazy socks (I love that he wears crazy socks!) you can try my broccoli recipe.

Crockpot Broccoli in Creamy Garlic Sauce

1 - 22 oz. bag frozen broccoli spears (Birdseye)
5 cloves fresh garlic cloves, slightly cracked and peeled
Olive oil
1 jar Ragu Creamy Mozzarella or Roasted Garlic Sauce
About 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
Kosher salt, to taste
coarse black pepper, to taste
Italian seasoning (optional)
Shredded mozzarella

Pour one or two tablespoons of the olive oil in the bottom of a 3-4 quart crockpot.  Add the garlic cloves, then lay the broccoli spears on top.  Drizzle a little more olive oil on top of the broccoli, then add the granulated garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning, if using. Cover and cook on high for one hour.

Uncover and rearrange the broccoli.  The garlic cloves should remain touching the bottom of the crock.  Cover and cook another hour, rotating the broccoli spears periodically.  Pour on the sauce, reduce the setting to low, cover and cook another 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling.  Serve from the crockpot or move to a serving dish, top with the mozzarella and put in a warm oven just until the cheese melts.