Tag-Archive for ◊ potatoes ◊

17 Oct 2010 Roasted Rosemary-Garlic Chicken with . . .
Author:  |  Category: Guest Recipe, Main Dish, Poultry, Veggies  | Tags: , , , , , , ,  | 3 Comments

. . .  New Potatoes and Seared Asparagus Spears!

My friend John, the rugged he-man, Lake Superior Chef (of Asian Glazed Thigh fame), has submitted another recipe.   I am posting this now because it sounds like it’s just the thing for a Sunday supper.  Go now! Get a chicken! You can have this for dinner tonight!

John says: “I adapted the chicken and potato recipe from Williams-Sonoma.  The recipe for the asparagus spears is my own.  I like this recipe for a number of reasons…, you only have to use two pans and one bowl, your kitchen smells wonderful when you’re done, you can drink chardonnay while you cook and the recipe is so easy.”

Roasted Rosemary-Garlic Chicken

with New Potatoes and Seared Asparagus Spears

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic (diced)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (rough chop)
1 roaster chicken (3 to 5 lbs)
1 ½ lbs small red potatoes, quartered
Olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Asparagus spears, washed and trimmed.

Directions For Cooking the Chicken and Potatoes:

Preheat oven to 400º.
Pour a glass of cool (not cold) chardonnay to enjoy while you cook.
Mix olive oil, garlic and rosemary in small bowl.
Coat chicken with olive oil mixture, reserving about ¼ of the mixture for the potatoes.
Place chicken in a large oven-proof fry pan, breast side up.  Tuck wings behind back, and tie the legs together.
In another bowl, stir together potatoes and remaining olive oil mixture.
Arrange the potatoes around the chicken, sprinkle both chicken and potatoes with salt and pepper, and transfer pan to oven.
Roast until instant read thermometer (inserted into thickest part of the breast, away from bone) registers 160º F, about 60 to 70 minutes.
Transfer chicken to carving board and cover loosely with foil.  Let rest for 10 minutes.

Directions for Roasting the Asparagus:

Rinse asparagus and pat dry.
Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Heat ribbed skillet over high heat until “screaming hot”.
Sear asparagus, turning frequently.
Transfer skillet to oven (still hot from cooking the chicken) for five minutes.

To Serve:

Carve the chicken and serve with potatoes and asparagus.  Another  glass of chardonnay wouldn’t hurt either!

Now doesn’t that sound good?  I think a slice of the Chocolate-Pumpkin cake–I just posted the recipe–would round off this meal quite nicely!

14 Sep 2010 Baked Potato Soup
Author:  |  Category: Rice and Potatoes, Soups, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , , , ,  | One Comment

I found this recipe in the crock pot cookbook “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook” by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman.  So, I tried this recipe in the crock pot.  When I was in the midst of it, I was thinking “WHY”?  Why cook potatoes for 5 hours in the crockpot, when they only take 20 minutes on stop of the stove?  It’s not like the crockpot did anything special to the potatoes, plus I still had to peel the potatoes, blend the soup, cook the bacon, chop the green onions and grate the cheese. Does cooking the potatoes for 5 hours in the crockpot make more sense than boiling them for 20 minutes?  I don’t think so.  I liked the soup though.  LOVED the soup, so I revised it to make on top of the stove (didn’t take much revising…).

This soup starts with water! You don’t have to find 2 or 3 quarts of chicken stock to get started (which makes it economical, too).  Just boil five pounds of potatoes (one small $1.99 bag) in water until done.  Blend.  Then serve with baked potato toppings of butter, sour cream, grated cheese, chopped green onions, and crumbled bacon.  Soooo yummy. So easy!

Baked Potato Soup

5 pounds russet potatoes
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz. bacon, cooked crisply, and crumbled (OK, so I used a bit more than 1/2 lb.)
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
2-3 cups grated cheddar and jack cheese blend (to taste)

Peel and dice the potatoes.  Cover with cold water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil.  Boil until potatoes are falling apart (cooked more than you would for mashed potatoes).  Depending on the size of your potatoes, this could take 20-40 minutes.  Turn the heat to low.  Add in butter and half-and-half.  Simmer until butter is melted, about another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Stir in sour cream.  With an immersion blender (the blender-on-a-stick thing), blend soup until creamy. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender.  Be careful, and don’t fill up blender more than half full.  Hot liquids tend to splash out when the blender is turned on).  Return soup to stove and turn on heat to medium.  Gradually blend in the grated cheese (to taste).  Stir in the chopped bacon and sliced green onions. Taste.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.  Serve hot. (I actually prefer this soup the second day.  I like to have the flavor of the green onions and bacon settle into the potatoes.)

Mmmm. Make this your first soup of the season. It was mine!  I’m happy!

 
05 Sep 2010 Blasted Sausages
Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Red Meat, Rice and Potatoes, Seasonal, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 4 Comments

Holy Moly, this recipe delivers in both taste and presentation. The original recipe stated this is a traditional Tuscan harvest dish, but I know I have never run across anything like this before (not that I have ever been to Tuscany…).  I found this recipe in “150 Best American Recipes”, but I changed it up a bit to suit my taste (and reduced the quantities to serve a small crowd, rather than a whole village).  Now’s the time to make this recipe.  The grape harvest is in.

My son came home from college last night for a quick 36 hour visit.  I almost fainted when he asked me to teach him to cook something while he was here.  Did he REALLY say that?  Be still my heart! Lucky for him, I had been wanting to make this recipe and had all the ingredients on hand.  This is an easy-easy recipe, a great one for newbie 19 year old cooks (and stretched-to-the-max parents of small children, and older folk who are tired of cooking but still want to eat well…)

I just had to give my son the MamaBear warnings about how HOT pans are after being in a 500 degree oven.  I’ll remind you, too.  Use thick pot holders. Be careful. Have fun with this.  It’s truly delicious.  If I had a Bistro, this would definitely be on the menu.

Blasted Sausages and Grapes

1 1/2 lbs Sweet Italian Sausages (usually 6)
1 can beer (or water)
3 T. butter,melted
1 lb red seedless grapes, stemmed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Rustic mashed potatoes (recipe summary included in body of recipe)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat cover the sausages with beer or water and parboil for 8 minutes to rid sausages of excess fat. Drain.

Pour melted butter into a baking pan (or a large ovenproof skillet). Add the grapes to the pan and toss to coat with the melted butter. Place the sausages in the pan with the grapes and butter.  Push the sausages down into the grapes.

Put the roasting pan or skillet with the grapes and sausages into 500 degrees for 12 minutes. Turn sausages over, and roast for an additional 12 minutes. (While the sausages are cooking, make some Rustic Mashed Potatoes.  Cube one russet potato for each guest, do not peel.  Put cubed potatoes in a pan of salted water and bring to a boil.  Boil for approx 20 minutes (could be longer if your potato cubes are larger).  When potatoes are soft, drain and place in large mixing bowl.  Add 1T of butter to mixing bowl for each potato.  Whip potatoes and butter lightly together with an electric mixer. Pour in 1T. milk, cream or sour cream for each potato.  Whip again.  Rustic Mashed Potatoes should remain a bit lumpy. Taste, then add as much salt and pepper as needed.)

With a slotted spoon remove sausages to serving platter.  Top or surround the sausages with the cooked grapes. Retain the pan juices in the bottom of the pan and move to a small saucepan.  Stir in  2 tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar.  Cook juices and vinegar over medium-high heat until the mixture is thick and syrupy. Drizzle the sauce over the sausages and serve immediately with the Rustic Mashed Potatoes.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.  Your visits help lift my spirits, as did the weather. I am always glad to open the door to you and close the door on summer. It’s going to be Fall soon, my very, very, very favorite season of the year. Enjoying a plate of Blasted Sausages and Roasted Grapes is a great way to celebrate.

25 Jan 2010 Fisherman’s Pie
Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Seafood  | Tags: ,  | Leave a Comment

I’m from England. Shepherd’s pie-a casserole of ground meat, veggies, and mashed potatoes-is my heritage (it was even my last name, Shepherd, not pie(!) for the first 21 years of my life). There’s also Fisherman’s Pie, you know! I’m guessing you’ve never made it, so here’s my basic recipe. Feel free to change it up a bit to match your tastes, just as you would any Shepherd’s Pie recipe. Fisherman’s Pie is a good way to introduce fish to someone who claims to not like it. The bottom layer is a creamy mixture of common veggies and fish or fish and shellfish. All of that is then topped with mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of cheese. The only spices are salt and pepper. What’s not to like? Remember to use a nice white fish, and make sure it’s fresh. Don’t cook with anything smelly. Smelly fish is not good fish.

Fisherman’s Pie

2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes
salt
2 1/2 lbs fish and/or shellfish (I use half cod and half shrimp, or half scallops and half shrimp)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup flour
2 1/2 cups warm milk
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 cup frozen peas
pepper
approx. 2 T. butter
approx. 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Peel and cube potatoes. Put into a large saucepan, cover with cold water, add a tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Boil for about 20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, cut fish into 1 inch chunks and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Add chopped onions to pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add in celery and carrots and saute for 3 more minutes. Heat milk in MW for 3 minutes. Stir flour into veggies in pan, stirring constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes (do this while milk is heating in the MW). Remove frying pan from heat and slowly stir in warm milk half a cup at a time. Completely incorporate each addition of milk-no lumps-before adding more milk. When all milk has been incorporated return mixture to burner over medium heat. Stir in 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Taste. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in 1/4 cup diced parsley, fish/shellfish, and frozen peas to veggie mixture then pour the whole thing into the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch casserole pan. Drain cooked potatoes, stir in butter, milk, salt and pepper to taste and then mash. Pour the mashed potatoes over the fish/veggie mixture in the casserole dish, smooth potatoes with a small spatula. Sprinkle cheese on top of potatoes. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Thanks for being a fan,

Polly

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