Lemon Garlic Roasted Potatoes

I tend to make roasted potatoes in the fall and winter as they can be a bit heavy and you need to keep your oven on for a while. Using small, new potatoes cuts the time in half, and the flavors of lemon and garlic turned these roasted potatoes into a summery side.

I used my handheld immersion blender to combine lemon juice, zest, garlic, parsley with some oil, salt and pepper. A quick toss with the potatoes and then into the oven for 20-25 minutes - look at these beauties!

Using a metal pan for roasting really helps to give these potatoes a nice crust on the cut side. Start with them cut side down before tossing them around halfway through the cooking.

These potatoes are the perfect summer side and the leftovers go great with eggs for breakfast!

Lemon-Garlic Roasted Potatoes Original Recipe by Mary Ellen of Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations
Ingredients

• 1/2 lb baby red/new potatoes, halved
• 1/4 c olive oil
• Handful of fresh parsley
• Zest of 1/4 of a lemon
• Juice of 1/4 of a lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
• Using a food processor or handheld immersion blender, combine the oil, parsley, lemon zest and juice, garlic, and several pinches each of salt and pepper
• Toss the potatoes with the mixture in a large bowl
• Transfer to a metal roasting pan, cut sides down, and season with a touch more salt and pepper
• Roast for 20-25 minutes, flipping the potatoes once halfway through, until crispy on the outside and cooked through on the inside. 

Scalloped Potatoes

Sometimes when I'm doing my menu planning there is nothing I like hearing more than my husband say "I can make a meatloaf and scalloped potatoes." Yes, please. Especially on a cold winter night when all you want is comfort food.

My husband makes the BEST scalloped potatoes and that's really funny to me because he claims he hates potatoes. Actually, these are the only type of potatoes he will eat. His recipe is simple, but something about the ratio of cheese to potatoes, the onions, and the precise layering makes them the best I have ever had. They are so good that I always have him make a huge casserole full so we can have them left over for dinner AND breakfast. That's right - I love them with scrambled eggs.

Jon's Scalloped Potatoes Original Recipe by Jon Smith
Ingredients (for 8-10 servings)

• 3 Russet potatoes
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) Butter
• 2 Tbsp Flour
• 2 c Light cream
• 8 oz Shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 4 oz Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Salt and black pepper
• Paprika

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
• Grease a large baking dish with 1 Tbsp of the butter; set aside
• Peel and wash the potatoes. Slice into thin rounds (he estimates 1/16"). Jon does this by hand but you could also use a mandolin. Place into a bowl of water while you make the sauce.
• Heat 7 Tbsp butter in a medium saucepan until melted and starting to gently bubble
• Add the flour and whisk to make a roux
• Add the cream, salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a low simmer
• Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in 8 oz mild cheddar cheese
• Start your layers - 1 layer of slightly overlapping potato to cover the bottom of the dish, handful of onions, a sprinkle of the sharp cheddar, layer of cheese sauce. Repeat layers 3-4 times. On the top put more sharp cheddar, black pepper and paprika. 
• Cover and bake 45 minutes; uncover and bake another 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through, edges are golden brown, and the sauce is bubbling. Let sit 10 minutes before serving. 

Potato and Corn Chowder with Bacon

"Soup's not a meal!!"

Anyone remember that debate on a Seinfeld episode? Jerry is given a suit by his "friend" Bania and in  return owes him a meal. However when they go out Bania orders soup saying that he'll save his meal for another time. It goes on and on with Jerry insisting that this is the meal and there won't be another chance while Bania demands that soup is not a meal. Hysterical!!! Aah Seinfeld, the best show about nothing!!

Anyway, I have to agree with Jerry - soup IS a meal, especially when it is a hearty soup like this Potato Corn Chowder. I have made several chowders so I took my favorite things about them and created this chowder. Bacon is a must for me when starting a good chowder, and I love saving it to use as a topping for serving.

Potato and Corn Chowder (yes, it's a meal)
Original Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bacon
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Russet potatoes, diced or cubed (equal sized pieces)
• 8 oz creamed corn
• 1/2 c frozen corn
• 3-4 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3/4 c light cream
• Cheddar cheese for topping (optional)

Directions

• Heat your stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove from the pan (crumble and keep for topping) and leave 1 Tbsp bacon grease in the pan, discarding the rest.
• Add the butter to the pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and carrot. Saute 2-3 minutes until the onion is soft
• Add the garlic and potatoes; sauté 3 minutes
• Add the creamed corn, frozen corn, touch of salt, pepper, thyme, and cayenne. Stir everything and then add the broth slowly - you may not use all of the broth. You want your veggies covered but not lost in the broth. You can always add more if you need it. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes have cooked through.
• Lower the heat and add the cream; let simmer for several minutes.
• Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve topped with crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese.  
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Summer Vegetable Tian

  It may be September but it's still summer for a few more weeks. It's actually been hotter the past few days that it was all of August. I'm not happy about that, but I do like that summer produce is still available.   I first saw this recipe for a Summer Vegetable Tian on Pinterest from the blog Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Oh My!  All of the beautiful colors first caught my eye, and I pictured making it with some of the red and juicy Jersey tomatoes my dad picked up at a farm stand - there's nothing like a Jersey tomato!   The recipe is easy, but all of the slicing is a bit labor intensive. I highly recommend you use a mandolin to do your slicing, and that you slice the potatoes at about half the thickness of the other veggies.   Once the slicing is done, you get to do the fun part - assemble it! If you have OCD about things being in order and organized, you'll love this part. I had so much fun trying to make this look just right by perfectly alternating the ingredients and colors. But then I let it go a bit at the end since I had some extra veggies to "stuff" into the dish. It's still pretty though, right?   This was such a yummy and different way to enjoy these beautiful summer vegetables that we normally would have just grilled. I loved that the juice from the tomatoes actually ran throughout most of the dish keeping everything moist while giving it some of that sweet and tangy tomato goodness.

Summer Vegetable Tian

Source: Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Oh My!

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 medium yellow squash
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium russet potato
• 2 medium red potatoes
• 1 large tomato
• Dried thyme
• Salt & pepper
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°. 
• Spray 8″ round or square baking dish with non-stick spray. 
• Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. 
• Thinly slice all the vegetables. (Note: I cut the tomatoes the thickest, the squash in the middle, and the potatoes the thinnest. and  like the original author, I also cut the tomato slices in half to have twice as many, and because the tomato slices were much larger than all of the other veggies
• Place vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in alternating pattern.  Lightly pour olive oil over the entire dish and season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Top with the onion and garlic. 
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes (Note - I had to let it cook a little longer - maybe 40 minutes).  Remove foil, sprinkle cheese over top and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.



     

Soy Cilantro Roasted Potatoes

I was given a great blog for the most recent Taste of Home Cooking Blogger's Choice Recipe Swap - The Cookaholic Wife. Nichole, the author, has SO many recipes and I spent quite some time looking through the recipe list. I saw several things that I really wanted to make, but what made my decision was the ingredient list in the recipe I chose -

Soy sauce, cilantro, and potatoes.

I use soy sauce in a lot of marinades and sauces, but I never, ever would have thought to use it with potatoes. And cilantro is my favorite herb, so that sold me.

The recipe I chose was for Soy-Cilantro Roasted Potatoes, a recipe created by Nichole (Nichole - I'd love to know what made you try soy sauce with potatoes - so interesting!!) You toss the potatoes with the soy sauce and cilantro, and roast them for about 45 minutes. The soy sauce caramelized, and the potatoes got nice and crispy. These flavors worked so well on the potatoes, and I will definitely make this one again!

Ingredients

• 5 red potatoes
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp cilantro (I used a handful of fresh cilantro, then washed and roughly chopped it)
• I added several shakes of garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Rinse off the potatoes and cut into small wedges.

3. Transfer the potatoes into a large bowl. Add the soy sauce, cilantro, salt and pepper (and garlic powder). Toss well to coat.

4. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Put the potatoes into the baking dish.

5. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Potato Roast

I love potatoes. Baked, roasted, covered in cheese and gravy, fried, scalloped, au gratin, mashed, smashed, chips, sticks - basically any way you can prepare a potato, I love it.

Unfortunately my husband and daughter don't share my love of potatoes... seriously, how can you not like a potato!! So I made this recipe for my friend Jenny because she, like most people, likes potatoes. Jon and my daughter just don't know what they are missing.


The recipe for a Potato Roast was part of the most recent Taste of Home Cooking Recipe Swap and it came to me from the blog Prevention RD. I had seen this recipe floating around the blog world and Pinterest, so I was happy when I got it in the swap.


Crispy, herbed potatoes - yes please. And since I served them alongside a roast chicken, I had good, homemade gravy to pour over them. I loved these, and they were even great with some eggs the next morning.

The original recipe called for three pounds of potatoes. Since it was only the two of us, I used three potatoes, and it still made five servings. The recipe below reflects my small changes.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 Russet Potatoes, sliced thin using a mandoline or food processor
  
• 2 shallots, cut into rounds
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp dried thyme

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  
• In a cup or bowl, melt the butter in the oil. Pour a small amount in the bottom of a baking dish.
• Arrange the potato slices vertically. Wedge the shallots between the potatoes.
  
• Pour the rest of the oil/butter mixture over the potatoes.
• Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Add the thyme and bake another 15-20 minutes. Turn the broiler on high for 5 minutes.
  

Cheddar-Bacon Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes have to be one of my favorite foods. And with bacon and cheese? Yes please!

Over the weekend I made Lager Braised Beef Short Ribs. The author of the inspiration recipe served them with cheddar-bacon grits. I decided to use potatoes instead of grits.

I don't measure my ingredients when making mashed potatoes - you just have to go by look, feel, and taste. So here is a loose recipe for the potatoes.

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs red potatoes
• Salt
• Butter - approximately 2-3 tablespoons
• Whole milk - approximately 3/4 cup
• 2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese
• 5 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled
• Next time I will also add a tablespoon or two of sour cream

Directions

• Put potatoes in a large pot of water; bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender, drain water and return pot of potatoes to burner over low heat.
  
• Add butter, salt, and most of the milk.
• Mix with a hand mixer until creamy and smooth, adding more of the above ingredients as needed.
  
• Add cheese and bacon near the end, and garnish with more of the bacon.

YUM!!! Even better, these potatoes turn into great potato pancakes for breakfast the next day!

Beer Braised Sausages with Warm Potato Salad

I'm having a lot of fun participating in the Taste of Home Cooking Recipe Swaps, and the main reason I like them so much is that sometimes the recipes I am given are things I wouldn't necessarily choose to make. Like the one I got for the most recent swap featuring One-Pot Cooking. I was given a recipe for Beer Braised Sausages with Warm Potato Salad.

I like sausage, but had never had it braised in beer so I was intrigued when I first read the recipe. I had also never had warm potato salad - my grandmom made the best cold potato salad that has been passed down through the family over the years. It's a simple recipe, but so good that I really don't eat any other potato salad (even Jon will now only eat my potato salad!). So for that reason alone I wouldn't choose to make another potato salad. But the swaps push me out of my comfort zone and I was excited to try this recipe.

The sausage was SO good - even more flavorful from braising in the beer, juicy, and just delicious. I loved the sauce that came out of the beer once I reduced the liquid. The potato salad was good, just not my thing - I am not the biggest fan of vinegar on hot foods (fries and vinegar, not for me!). I would definitely make this again, however, and would just let the potatoes simmer in the sauce instead of tossing them with a dressing.

The recipe below is the exact recipe with 2 changes noted in italics.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian sausages (I used hot Italian sausages)
  
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 12 ounces pale ale beer
• 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, halved
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used dried parsley flakes)
  

Directions

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add sausages and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add onion and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add beer, potatoes, and 2 cups water; season with salt and pepper and press to submerge potatoes in cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Transfer sausages to a serving platter and keep warm. In a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon oil, vinegar, and parsley. With a slotted spoon, transfer potato mixture to dressing (reserve cooking liquid) and toss to combine.
3. Return pot to high heat; boil cooking liquid until reduced to 1 cup, about 12 minutes. Return sausages to pot and cook until heated through, 2 minutes. Place sausages and dressed potatoes on serving platter; drizzle half the sauce over top. Serve sausages and potatoes with remaining sauce alongside.

Roasted Jalapeno Mashed Potatoes

On Cinco de Mayo, I went out for Mexican for lunch - my favorite kind of lunch! I wanted to cook something Mexican for dinner, but since I had just enjoyed enchiladas, rice, beans, and nachos at lunch, I decided to go with Mexican inspired, instead.

Jon marinated pork chops in a tequila/chili marinade that he whipped up and then grilled them. I found potato inspiration in this recipe for Jalapeno Mashed Potatoes.

I love roasting peppers and the smoky flavor they bring to dishes. Jalapenos are spicy, but roasting them brings out a deeper heat, not the on the surface, tongue burning heat you get from raw jalapenos. To roast them, I simply placed them on the grates on my gas stove top. I flipped them around a few times until all sides were black and charred. Then I covered them for 10 minutes before gently removing the skins.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs red potatoes
• 2 jalapenos, roasted, peeled, seeded, chopped, then mixed with 1/4 c light cream and a few dashes salt to puree
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 pt light (or heavy) cream
• Salt to taste
• Shredded Mexican blend cheese
• Chopped chives

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375.
• Wash potatoes, halve them, and put in a pot of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain.
• In the meantime, transfer the jalapeno/cream/salt mixture to a blender and puree. I used my handheld immersion blender with one of the cup attachments since it was such a small amount.
• Add jalapeno puree, butter, salt, and cream to potatoes. Whip until creamy using a handheld mixer; adjust salt as needed, add more cream and butter if you want to get them lighter/creamier. Note, I normally use my hand masher, but wanted light whipped potatoes for this dish.
• Mix in the sour cream and transfer to a baking dish.
• Top with the shredded cheese and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese has completely melted into the potatoes.
• Top with chives and serve.

I wish you could taste these potatoes through your computer screen! The jalapeno added the best flavor - not overpowering, but deep and smoky with just a touch of heat. We both had seconds, and I have to admit that I finished the potatoes over the next 2 days... leftovers were great!

Potato-Green Chile Gratin

There are some days when I just feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Even after a long or hard day, something about focusing all of my energy and thoughts on chopping and sauteeing and tasting and creating is very therapeutic. I can turn off my head, forget about everything, and just cook...

Jon grilled last night, so I decided to spend a lot of time on a side dish. I found the original recipe for this Potato-Green Chile Gratin on the Epicurious web site. I made several changes, so my version is below.

Ingredients

• Peppers; I used 3 Poblanos and 2 Anaheims
• 1 large white onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 large Russet potatoes
• 2.5 c light cream
• 1 c shredded cheddar cheese; I used white extra sharp cheddar
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Roast the peppers over an open flame until the skins are charred. Transfer to a bowl or paper bag and cover. After 10 minutes, peel away the skins. Remove the seeds and slice into thin strips.
• Roast onions in a baking dish in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.
• Cut potatoes into slices just a bit smaller than 1/4 inch each. I did this by hand and was pretty impressed with how even all of the slices were! Cover with water until ready to assemble.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pot. Add garlic, saute for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and add half of the cheese; stir/whisk until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
• Butter the bottom of a large baking dish; I used a 9x13 Pyrex dish.
• Drain and dry potatoes; place potatoes in a single slightly overlapping layer along the bottom of the dish. Top with some of the onions and peppers, then cheese, as well as a touch of salt. Continue making layers - potatoes, onions, peppers, cheese, salt, until you can end with a layer of potatoes. Pour the cream mixture over the potatoes and top with a touch more cheese.
• Bake covered on 400 for 45 minutes; uncover and bake another 20-30 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes to set-up before slicing and serving.
  

Look at these beautiful creamy layers.

This dish was delicious, comforting, and worth the time. The roasted peppers added some smoke and a touch of heat, but the flavor was not overpowering at all. I'm so happy to have leftovers that will last me a few days - only 3 potatoes made enough to serve at least 6 people.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Last week, out of the blue, Jon said that I should make twice baked potatoes sometime. Jon asking for potatoes? He doesn't like potatoes. But if he's asking for them, I'll make them.

Twice baked potatoes seem very old fashioned to me - just good 'ol American food when meals always included meat, potatoes, and a veggie. And surprisingly, I can't remember ever having one. Well, maybe in a restaurant when I was a kid, but in my adult life, I don't think I have had a twice baked potato.

I looked at some recipes, but didn't feel that I really needed one. And then I had lunch with a friend and she told me how she makes them, and gave me a few tips. These potatoes are basically just a mix of baked and mashed, both of which are easy things to make, so I just pulled this together as I worked.

Ingredients (for 3 potatoes)

• 3 baking potatoes
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1/3 c light cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• Approximately 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
• Freshly chopped chives

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Lightly coat potatoes with olive oil and place directly on the rack. After 30 minutes, take them out and pierce a few times with a fork. Return to oven for another 45 minutes to an hour, or until potatoes are fork tender in the center.
• Cut off the long top of the potato; carefully scoop out the potato (transfer scooped potato to a bowl) leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the inside of the skin. Return skins to the oven to crisp.
• Mix sour cream, cream, butter, most of the cheese, salt, and chives with the potato. Whip or mash with a hand masher, depending on how whipped you want them.
• Fill the skins with the mashed potatoes, and top with cheddar cheese. Return the potatoes to the oven for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is slightly bubbly.

Although these take a lot of time to make from start to finish, it isn't all active time. I served the potatoes with steaks that Jon grilled and some roasted asparagus - the perfect all American meat-and-potatoes meal.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Garlic

I picked up some fingerling potatoes today to go with our Pork with Marsala-Sage Sauce. I love roasted potatoes, so decided to roast them to keep it simple.

I tossed the potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and 3 cloves chopped garlic and roasted them on 400 for 25 minutes. Perfect!

Leftover Potatoes become Potato Pancakes

When planning my meals each week, I try to buy ingredients that can be used in a few different meals. I bought a bag of peppers earlier in the week and used them to make Tofu Cacciatore, and am using the rest of the peppers in tonight's Chicken Stir Fry. Or if I buy fresh herbs, I try to plan meals throughout the week to use them up. Last night I made Garlic Smashed Potatoes, and this morning I used the leftover potatoes for potato pancakes.

I made this up as I went along -

Ingredients

• Leftover potatoes; I had about 1.5 cups
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 small onion, grated
• Olive oil

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
• Mix potatoes, egg, salt, pepper, and onion.
• Scoop out one spoon full and form it into a patty. Add to the hot pan. Continue until you have used up all of the potatoes, or until you don't have any more space in the pan - whichever comes first.
• Cook the pancakes approximately 5-6 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

To complete my meal, I made 2 eggs over hard and a serving of sauteed spinach.

Later I felt like a snack, so I had one of the smaller pancakes and topped it with some leftover sauce from last nights Mushroom-Blue Cheese Sauce that I made to go with filet mignon. THAT was a good snack!!

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

I bought new potatoes to go with our Filet with Mushroom-Blue Cheese Sauce. I had planned on roasting them, but then was craving mashed potatoes. Then I remembered that I had a new tool I wanted to use -

I purchased this double action potato masher at The Chopping Block in Chicago when I was there for an event back in October.

I normally roast the garlic when I'm making garlic mashed potatoes, but I didn't feel like waiting for it to roast tonight so I put the garlic cloves in with the potatoes when they were cooking. This recipe is something I threw together as I went along -

Ingredients

• 2 lbs new potatoes, washed and quartered (unpeeled)
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• Salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 c light cream
• Dried parsley - for color

Directions

• Put potatoes in a pot with the garlic. Cover with water, add approximately 1 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15-18 minutes.
• Drain water and return pan to the stove over very low heat.
• Add butter and cream and bring to a light simmer.
• Roughly smash the potatoes and mix in the dried parsley.
• Adjust salt if needed.

I normally don't like the skin to be left on when making mashed potatoes, but I liked it this time, most likely because the texture was chunky so the skins didn't get in the way.

Bubbles and Squeak

Sounds like a funny drinking game, or some sort of dance step, but Bubbles and Squeak is actually a traditional dish from the UK of fried meat and cabbage. Over the years it has evolved into a fried dish of any sort of leftover, usually involving potatoes.

It has been a while since I cooked (lovely week spent in the Caribbean - restaurant reviews and food pics to follow) so I wanted to do something that I could post in my blog this week! My parents made Thanksgiving dinner this year, and while eating, my mom and sister told me about a show on the Food Network where they made Bubble and Squeak from their leftovers. On Friday, I made my own version with their leftovers.

Ingredients

• Leftover mashed potatoes
• Leftover stuffing, crumbled
• Salt and pepper
• Grated white cheese (cheddar, Parmesan, asiago, etc)
• Dried parsley for color
• Optional - leftover veggies or turkey, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• Bread crumbs

Basically, all you do is mix up the leftovers, cheese, and spices, then form patties. I dipped each patty in egg, bread crumbs, and then fried in olive oil for about 3 minutes per side.

The Sauce...

On the show my mom saw, they took beef broth and corn, heated both, and then pureed the mixture with an immersion blender. Here is what I did -

• 1 can chicken broth (vegetable broth would be tasty, too)
• 1/3 bag frozen corn
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 c heavy cream
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

I heated the broth and corn and then transferred it to a food processor and pureed it. Then I mixed the flour with the cream, and slowly added it to the mixture along with the cheese. Blend well and season with salt and pepper. Return the sauce to the stove to reheat.

This wasn't the prettiest sauce, but surprisingly it was very good! Sweet and creamy, and the perfect taste for the potato-stuffing patties.

So there you have it, I made use of leftovers for my first blog post in 2 weeks. After the next week of business travel and meetings, I'll be back in the kitchen - I can't wait! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Chicken Marsala with Roasted Potatoes

Chicken Marsala is something I've never made - Jon doesn't really like big chunks of mushrooms, but since he was away yesterday, I decided to experiment with it. My friend Stacey came over and I love cooking new things for her.

I browsed several recipes before deciding on this one as it had many great reviews from cooks who have made it before. (Gourmet Magazine, June 2005, posted on Epicurious.com)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used half butter, half olive oil)
• 10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used a mixture of shiitake and white mushrooms)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb total)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.
• Bring broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat, then boil, uncovered, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes.
• Cook shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Put flour in a wide shallow bowl. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. \
• Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté half of chicken, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, then put platter in oven to keep warm. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and cook remaining chicken in same manner, then transfer to oven, arranging in 1 layer. (I was able to cook all of the chicken at the same time)
• Add 1/2 cup wine to skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, about 30 seconds.
• Add reduced broth, cream, and mushrooms, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons wine and 1/2 teaspoon sage.
• Serve chicken with sauce.

I needed to make a slurry of flour and water to add to the sauce to help thicken it. The sauce was a lot lighter in color than I thought it would be, but it was absolutely delicious. This sauce could be made on its own and poured over pork or steak, and it was even good poured over our roasted potatoes.

Roasted Potatoes

Stacey brought over some new potatoes. After cleaning them and cutting them into halves, we drizzled them with olive oil, then seasoned them with Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, fresh sage (minced), and dried thyme. They cooked on 400 for about an hour; we made sure to flip them 3-4 times during cooking.

Look at the color on these potatoes!

They were crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and the herbs gave them just the right type and amount of flavor.

After dinner we watched a horrible Phillies game...let's hope they have a better game tonight!! GO PHILLIES!!!

Scalloped Potatoes

We decided to stay in and cook again on Saturday night . Whenever we stay home instead of going out to eat, it seems that we always choose to cook beef.

Saturday night I picked up 2 filet mignons. I couldn't get Ruth's Chris off my mind after looking at the steak, so I decided to make scalloped potatoes and roasted asparagus. I had never made scalloped potatoes before - they are one of Jon's specialties. However, I wanted to tackle it on my own and try to make mine better than his!

My Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

• 5 baking potatoes, sliced into rounds (about 1/8 inch thick)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 pint light cream
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1.5 cups shredded cheese; I used a mixture of sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

• Melt butter in a pot, add flour and stir to make a roux
• Whisk in the cream and red pepper flakes and bring to a steady simmer.
• After about 3-4 minutes of simmering, remove the cream from the heat and let sit for about 2 minutes.
• Whisk in the cheese - adding the cheese after removing the pot from the heat is the trick for getting a smooth sauce. When I have added cheese to cream over heat, my sauce sometimes would become chalky (when making mac n cheese)
• Season with salt and pepper
• Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer in some potatoes, onions, and garlic. Pour more sauce and continue with the layers until your dish is full.
• Cover and bake on 400 for 25-30minutes; uncover and cook for another 10 minutes.

My sauce was delicious, but I used just a bit too much. Of course that didn't stop me from eating them with dinner on Saturday AND Sunday (ok, I confess - I had them for lunch today too!).

So Jon's potatoes win the challenge but only because of the sauce to potato ratio. I think one day we'll have to stage a showdown in our kitchen!!

Pan-Fried Trout with Bacon; Lyonnaise Potatoes

Jon loves seafood and I really want to like it, so on Sunday I picked up trout at the market.

As I've mentioned before, I don't like the overall seafood flavor that seems to be in every salt water fish I have tried. I don't mind catfish (farm raised), so I thought I'd try trout, another fresh water fish.

I found a recipe for Pan-Fried Trout with Bacon on my favorite web site for recipes - Epicurious. I made a few small changes noted below.

Ingredients

• 4 bacon slices
• 5 tablespoons butter (I used less butter and added some olive oil)
• 2 8- to 10-ounce trout, boned
• All purpose flour
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions (I didn't have any so I used finely minced white onion)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons drained capers (didn't use these)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon (used parsley after discovering we both don't like tarragon!)
• Added: 1/3 c chicken broth

Directions

• Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble bacon.
• Pour off all but 3 tablespoons drippings from skillet. (I had less than this so didn't need to pour any off)
• Add 1 tablespoon butter and stir to melt.
• Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Coat flesh side of fish with flour; shake off excess.
• Add fish, flesh side down, to skillet. Cook 2 minutes. Turn fish over. Cook until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes. Transfer fish to 2 plates.
• Pour off drippings from skillet; wipe skillet clean. (my skillet was such a mess so I just used a clean one for the next step)
• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium heat. (I used 1-2 tbsp butter and a bit of olive oil)
• Add all but 2 tablespoons onions; sauté 3 minutes. (I did all of the onions)
• Stir in bacon, lemon juice, capers, and tarragon. (I didn't use capers or tarragon; I added chicken broth at this step and a bit of the parsley; let simmer for a few minutes)
• Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Pour sauce over fish.
• Sprinkle fish with 2 tablespoons green onions. (I didn't want raw onions on the fish, so I topped it with the sauce and finished it with a sprinkling of fresh parsley).

This sauce was very good on the fish. I was hesitant about the bacon with the fish, but it worked. And I am so, so glad we both tasted the tarragon before I started cooking. It tasted like anise, a flavor we both don't care for at all. My only complaint was that the market didn't do a very good job of cleaning the fish. Trout is a very bony fish to begin with, but we shouldn't have had to pick out this many bones. I'd make this dish again, but maybe with something like flounder.

Fish needs light sides, in my opinion, so I decided on this recipe for Lyonnaise Potatoes, and also made Sauteed Spinach. Potatoes are normally a heavy dish, but I sliced them very thin and ended up with a perfect, light potato casserole. And I added my favorite secret ingredient...truffle oil. White this time.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced (I used 4 Yukon Gold Potatoes and used my mandolin to thinly slice them)
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• I added about 1 tbsp white truffle oil
• I also added freshly chopped parsley

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly coat a small baking pan with olive oil.
• Layer potatoes and onion in pan. Season with salt and pepper. I then poured some white truffle oil over the top.
• Pour stock over potatoes and onion
• Cover and bake 30 minutes.
• Lightly spray or brush with olive oil and return to oven, uncovered, 10 more minutes to lightly brown potatoes. I simply broiled them for the last 5 minutes instead of adding more oil - worked perfectly.
• Once done, I sprinkled them with some fresh parsley.

I love how light these potatoes tasted!! Thinly slicing them worked perfectly for this dish. The addition of the white truffle oil was a good call - how can you go wrong with the flavor of truffles? It was also very easy and is something I will make again.

My sauteed spinach is pretty standard - olive oil, spinach, and some kosher salt over medium high heat for about 2 minutes.

Have a delicious week everyone!

Mexican Potato and Corn Soup

Cilantro is something I never liked until about 6-7 years ago. Now I can't get enough of it and love trying recipes that call for it. Tonight's dinner called for a bunch of cilantro so I looked around for some ideas of what to do with the rest. I love having a pot of soup around for the week so I decided on this recipe on epicurious.com. The original recipe calls the soup Southwestern, but to me it tasted almost like the broths in different chicken tortilla soups I have had while visiting Mexico.

The original recipe with my changes noted is below:

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (I like heat so I used the seeds as well)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 lb large yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold (about 2)
• 3 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (26 fl oz) (I used 32 oz of broth
• 1 cup water (I used 4 oz of water)
• 1 (10-oz) package frozen corn (not thawed) (I used about half of this amount)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

• Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, jalapeño, salt, and pepper, stirring occasionally, until onion is pale golden, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces.
• Add broth, water, and potatoes to onion mixture and cover pot, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very tender, 12 to 14 minutes.
• Coarsely mash potatoes in pot with a potato masher. (I don't have one so I used my handheld immersion blender and just quickly pulsed it with fine results)
• Stir in corn and simmer, uncovered, 3 minutes.
• Stir in lime juice, cilantro, and salt to taste.

OH. MY. GOODNESS!! This is my new favorite soup. I kept tasting it as it was cooking and it kept getting better and better. Finally, the addition of the lime juice and cilantro took me right back to the Love Shack in Cabo San Lucas. Now I know the secret ingredients to tortilla soup and will definitely use this broth as a base when I try to make tortilla soup on my own.

If you love Mexican flavors and don't mind a little kick, try this soup!