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Pommes de Terre Au Gratin

April 29th, 2009

There is a new variety of potato in the supermarkets that I have not seen before. It is called Klondike Rose and it is a red skinned Idaho potato. The flesh is a golden color and it has a buttery taste. It sounded like the perfect vehicle for a potato gratin because the potatoes would hold their shape when arranged decoratively in the dish. Russet potatoes fall apart when cooked and are better suited for baking or mashing and because they have a high starch content make excellent french fries, potato pancakes, or galettes. The Klondike Rose is a waxy potato and is good roasted, boiled, or in au gratin dishes. When I peeled these potatoes they indeed were very golden and it was easy to slice them thinly. They held up well, but I have adjusted the recipe because I cooked them for 8 minutes on top of the stove and they did fall apart somewhat. I tucked the broken potatoes under the perfect rounds which I overlapped to make the dish look better. Cook for only 3 minutes on the stove top because they are in the oven long enough to finish cooking. This was a very satisfying dish – shades of Patricia Wells in Provence.

POMMES DE TERRE AU GRATIN

2 pounds Klondike Rose potatoes ( or any waxy potato ), peeled and sliced thinly
1 chicken bouillon cube and enough water to cover potatoes
4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
Fresh thyme sprigs, chopped
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put thinly sliced potatoes in large sauce pan. Cover with water and add bouillon cube. Bring to boil over medium high heat and cook for three minutes. Drain potatoes and cool slightly. Combine rest of ingredients, excluding 1 ounce of Swiss cheese and breadcrumbs, in large bowl. Toss potatoes in mixture. Arrange coated potatoes in buttered au gratin dish, overlapping them slightly. Pour contents of bowl over potatoes and sprinkle top with remaining grated cheese and the breadcrumbs. Bake for 45 minutes.

Printable recipe

One Potato, Two Potato

April 4th, 2009

We are back from our motorcycle trip south. Instead of going to Sanibel we decided to ride A1A, which skirts the east coast of Florida. We had beautiful ocean views the whole way and ended up stopping in Jupiter, near Palm Beach. Now I have to tell you, I could not be near Palm Beach without shopping on Worth Avenue.

Every famous designer in the world has a shop on this posh avenue. Above is the Hermes store. David was thrilled that I came away empty- handed. I mean really – would you pay $980.00 for flowered beach pants? I think not. Instead I spent my money on a lovely lunch of Cuban crab cakes with black beans and rice and a nice white zinfandel.

Now that we are back in Palm Coast I am cleaning the refrigerator and pantry in preparation for our return to Lake Lure. I had sprouting potatoes that needed to be put to good use, so I made a potato galette, pictured above. I love potato dishes. If you hand me two baking potatoes, my first thoughts are not of baked potatoes, but something more complicated like a gratin or a scalloped casserole. And I am always on the look out for good recipes. We had a wonderful signature potato dish at a bistro in Jupiter and I am going to see if I can get the recipe from the chef. I ‘ll report back if I have any success. It is best to use russet or Idaho potatoes for galettes as they are starchier and you need that for them to adhere into a cake. The outside is crispy and the interior is creamy with flecks of thyme. Four wrinkly, knobby potatoes were turned into a thing of beauty. The magic of cooking!

POTATO GALETTE

4 medium Idaho or russet potatoes, peeled
3 Tbls butter, divided
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, minced

Melt 1 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a 10 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Grate potatoes and add thyme leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Add to skillet and press down and cook until underside is nicely browned. Place a plate over the skillet and invert potato cake onto the plate. Add 1 1/2 tablespoon more butter to skillet and slide potato cake back in to brown the second side. Serves 4.

Printable recipe

Roasted Vegetables

February 18th, 2009

We have had a lot of company lately. I enjoy all of our friends and family who visit us in Florida. And soon we will have more. It is a pleasurable challenge for me to come up with great meals that everyone will like. I don’t know about you, but one of the things that always has me fretting is – what kind of vegetable dish should I serve with my stupendous main course. I spend so much time with the entree that sometimes the side dishes become whatever is easy or expedient. Easy peasy is green beans or broccoli. A salad would do and usually does. But sometimes I really want vegetables that stand on their own. I love to roast vegies. The caramelization they receive in the oven renders them sweet and succulent. Even cauliflower loses it’s bitter bite. Carrots and sweet potato chunks are beautiful roasted and you can add cumin to them for an unexpected flavor. I like to halve baking potatoes lengthwise, place a pat of butter, fresh rosemary sprigs and salt and pepper on them and bake cut side down until done. The cut side becomes deeply brown with the rosemary embedded decoratively in the flesh. For this particular meal I was looking for something colorful. We had been to the farmers market last week and I had peppers, squash, onions, and asparagus that needed my attention.

Placed on a baking sheet, the vegetables are so colorful and the roasting process maintains their vibrant color. Maybe next time I will experiment with red and yellow beets. What do you think?

ROASTED VEGETABLES

1 Green Pepper, cut into 2″ chunks

1 Red Pepper, cut into 2″ chunks

1 Red Onion, cut into large chunks

4 small Yellow Squash, cut into chunks

12 to 14 Asparagus Spears, trimmed

3 to 4 Tbls. olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put all vegetables except the asparagus on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 3 Tbls. of olive oil and salt and pepper and toss to cover. Roast for approximately 20 minutes turning once. Add the asparagus and toss again. Roast an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Printable recipe

Winter Tomato Casserole

January 31st, 2009

There is nothing better than a vine ripened tomato warm from the summer sun. I have not always liked tomatoes, but over the years I have learned to appreciate them. What can I say – I was a picky eater as a child and the closest I came to liking vegetables was canned corn and french fries. Tomatoes took a while, but now they are my friends. In the summer I love a slice of tomato on lightly toasted bread with basil leaves tucked beneath, a drizzle of olive oil and pepper on top and placed back in the toaster oven to warm and soften the tomato. Speaking of friends, I discovered last year that I have a friend from high school who has published a complete book on tomatoes. And it was nominated for a James Beard Award! It is now out of print, but I bought a copy on Amazon. It is called Tomato Imperative and you can buy it here. There are more than 130 recipes and it covers everything from using the first green tomatoes, to recipes for canned tomatoes. Sharon is also a fellow blogger and you can visit her at . . . thrice shy, listed in my favorite blogs. One recipe that Sharon included that is unusual is for Sweet Tomato and Bread Pudding which turns out to be very similar to a recipe that I have been cooking for a while.

My recipe came originally from a woman nicknamed Mama Dip. She has become well known in North Carolina because she has a restaurant in Chapel Hill. But she is known nationally because she has published several cookbooks, one of which is Mama Dip’s Kitchen.

The thing that is so refreshing about Mama Dip is that she never follows recipes. She learned from an early age the process of “dump” cooking – dump in a little of this, a little of that, a pinch of seasoning, a palm full of sugar. And then taste. By trial and error a dish was created. Mothers passed the recipes to children by hands on cooking and observation. When Mama Dip was asked to write a cookbook she was forced to measure for the first time in her life in order to be sure that all of us who lacked her innate sense of taste would not fail. Another feature of her dishes is cooking with what you have- no fancy ingredients required. It is good down home cooking and usually seasonal in its approach. Since this time of year we are relying more on canned tomatoes, Mama Dip’s tomato casserole is a winner. I have to warn you, you may think you are eating dessert when you try this because it is a little sweet. But what better way to get non-lovers of tomatoes to eat what is good for them. This recipe was printed in Southern Living magazine.

MAMA DIP’S TOMATO CASSEROLE

2 (14 1/2ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups soft white bread cubes (about 3 slices) – I used 5 slices of Pepperridge Farm Original White Bread
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 t. pepper

Stir together all ingredients. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 9 inch baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Portion Control

January 11th, 2009

Oh what a food orgy the holidays were! And I loved every minute of it – from Kristen’s Christmas Eve Short Ribs of Beef, to Jeff’s Christmas Baby back ribs seasoned three ways and smoked slowly all day, to our New Years Day meal with friends. We have been gathering for New Years with our motorcycle “gang” ( or should I say over the hill gang) for a long time. The menu has become a tradition and each of us has a speciality. We have slow roasted fall apart pork roast, sweet potato casserole, black-eyed peas, turnip greens and Rosa’s corn bread, which is redolent of buttermilk, butter AND oil. But this post is supposed to be about restraint! I’m trying, I’m trying . . . I don’t believe in diets anymore. What works for me is portion control. OK, I was in the library the other day and ran across “The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook”, so the chicken recipe came from this obvious diet cookbook. But what I liked about it was that it was full of flavor and in order to get the 4 oz. chicken breast it called for, I had to cut the standard breasts I got from the grocery store in half. With this I served jasmine rice cooked according to package directions but with the addition of orange zest to complement the chicken. And to be sure we were eating the right portions, I put the rice in individual 1/2 cup molds, kept them warm in the oven and unmolded on the plates when dinner was ready. From The Barefoot Contessa ( does she ever fail to deliver?) I made Broccoli Rabe with garlic. If you don’t like bitter greens I’m sure you could substitute broccolini. It was a satisfying meal and I felt righteous in my restraint even as I scoured the pantry for chocolate. Just a small piece.

MANDARIN ORANGE CHICKEN

3 Tbls frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed)
3 Tbls lower-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbls freshly minced garlic
1 Tbls hot sesame oil
1 tsp chili garlic sauce or chili paste
3/4 cup canned unsweetened mandarin oranges in juice
6 4oz. trimmed boneless, skinless breasts

In a large, resealable plastic bag or container, mix the juice concentrate, soy sauce, garlic, oil and chili sauce or chili paste. Gently stir in the oranges and their juice. Add the chicken, submerging it in marinade. Seal the bag or container and marinate in the refrigerator at least 6 hours or overnight, rotating once or twice.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Transfer the chicken to an 11″ x 7″ glass baking or casserole dish (or the equivalent) in a single layer and pour the remaining marinade on top. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

BAREFOOT CONTESSA’S BROCCOLI RABE WITH GARLIC

2 bunches broccoli rabe
3 Tbls good olive oil
6 large garlic cloves sliced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Cut off and discard the tough ends of the broccoli rabe and cut the rest of it into 2 inch pieces. Place the broccoli in a colander and rinse. Drain well.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the garlic and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 6 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
Add the broccoli to the hot oil. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook covered over medium to low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally with tongs, until the stalks are tender but still al dente. Add the reserved garlic, check the seasonings, and serve hot.