Roasted Domino Potatoes

I'm too busy to give out candy today, so don't ring my doorbell, I am busy slicing my fingers off.

I must have been insane to make these, so I thought as I was slicing all those potatoes on the mandolin.

You peel and cut the potatoes to resemble long rectangular sticks of butter, then slice them and fan them.

Good luck.

This took some time, but I have to be honest, if you like potatoes, then you will love these.

The mandolin slices the potatoes paper thin and the herbs with the melted butter were delicious. This was fabulous served an hour after roasting, at room temperature.

The original recipe calls for 24 fresh or dried bay leaves (which I did not have), but I had sage still in full gear in the garden, so I figured roasted sage, butter, potatoes: match made in heaven.

I sprinkled everything with fleur de sel at the end and we all had greasy potato chip hands.

Pass the napkins.



Roasted Domino Potatoes: (adapted from Bon Appetit)

3 large Idaho potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp of melted butter
24 sage leaves (or bay leaves)
kosher salt & fleur de sel
black pepper

Lay a piece of parchment on a half sheet pan and brush with some olive oil.

Cut the ends off of the potatoes and trim them to resemble sticks of butter.



With a mandolin, slice the potatoes into squares (no more than 1/8" thickness).

Stack the potato slices and fan them out onto the baking sheet, resembling dominoes!!

Tuck a sage or bay leaf in between the squares, here and there.



Brush with the 2 tbsp of melted butter and sprinkle w/ kosher salt and pepper.



Roast in a 425F oven for 30 minutes, until the edges are browning (the original recipe calls for 1 hour, but mine were burning, so half hour was plenty of time because they were paper thin).

Sprinkle with fleur de sel and let sit a few minutes before serving.



Yum!

PS Have a Happy Halloween! Sorry I didn't make something more festive! Booh!

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Good Morning: Dutch Baby

Breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day.

I can't eat until 10 a.m., and then I like to have an omelet of some kind or a piece of toast w/ maybe a smear of avocado. I force it down. I am more of a lunch kind of girl.

I would not consider this to be breakfast. This is a TREAT!

I love the word "Dutch Baby". I like saying it (I know I'm weird).
Some people call this a "German pancake" or a "Bismarck". Call it what you like, but you will call it delicious!

This version has apples in it, though the original pancake was more like a sweet Yorkshire pudding.

If you google Dutch Baby, a million different recipes come up with all different measurements of flour and eggs and sugar. This one is more labor intensive, but I was attracted to the caramelized apples and the brown sugar.

It puffs up beautifully, then deflates a bit. You can sprinkle powdered sugar on top or serve it with syrup, but I liked it plain.

It's the perfect autumn Sunday breakfast before pumpkin or apple picking.



Apple Dutch Baby (or German Apple Pancake): (adapted from the kitchn)

2 large apples, (I used fuji)
4 tablespoons white sugar, divided (3 tbsp + 1 tbsp)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup unsalted butter (5 tbsp)
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup milk (I used 1% lowfat)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 eggs
Powdered or cinnamon sugar, to serve

Heat the oven to 400°F. Peel, core, and quarter the apples, then cut them into medium slices. Then cut the slices in halves or thirds. You should have about 3 cups of chopped apples (I left mine in slices).



In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon and ginger and set aside.

Cut the butter into chunks and place them in a deep cast iron skillet or 8x8-inch baking dish.
Put the skillet or baking dish in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the butter is melted.

Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the 1/3 cup brown sugar over the melted butter.
Carefully spread the apples on top of the brown sugar and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the apples.



Put the pan back in the oven to caramelize the apples and sugar, about 6 minutes.

While the apples are caramelizing, whisk the flour with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly with a large wire whisk to beat out any lumps. When the flour is smoothly incorporated into the milk, beat in the vanilla and the eggs one by one. Beat by hand for 2 minutes, or until foamy. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.



By now the sugar should be bubbling around the apples.



Take the pan out of the oven and pour the batter over the apples. Bake for about 20 more minutes or until center is set and sides are lightly browned and puffed!

Pancake will deflate a bit. Serve warm or at room temperature.



I hope you try this deliciousness this fall weekend! Enjoy.

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Penne w/ Chicken, Broccoli & Chopped Olives

I had high hopes for this dish, since Fine Cooking magazine usually delivers.
This is not your ordinary boring broccoli chicken pasta dish, which is usually bland and tasteless.

Not only was this an easy weeknight dish, but it was healthy, low fat (unless you have a third helping, like me!) and FANTASTIC.
My husband loved it and asked me to make it again.

I was skeptical about rosemary and chopped Kalamata olives with the pasta, but this is what made the dish work.

I had no lemons (how could I run out of lemons?), so I splashed 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar, and I would do that again! Sometimes these things just work out.

Some helpful hints from Heloise (just pretend that's my name):

~ Slice the chicken breasts while still partially frozen, this makes life easier.
~ Have all your ingredients ready ahead of time (mise en place).
~ Cook the broccoli during the last 3 minutes in with the pasta (saves a pot!).



Penne w/ Chicken, Broccoli & Chopped Olives: (adapted from Fine Cooking) serves 6

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
kosher salt & pepper
olive oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tsp of chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 lb. penne
1/2 lb. fresh broccoli florets, cut into 1 1/2" pieces (about 3 cups)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (yum)
1/2 cup of saved pasta water

Start boiling the salted water for the pasta.

In a large, heavy 12" skillet, heat the olive oil to coat the pan on medium heat and add the smashed garlic cloves, the rosemary and hot pepper flakes. Cook only until fragrant, about 2 minutes.



Season the chicken pieces liberally with kosher salt & pepper.

Now turn up the heat and add the chicken to the pan, and cook only about 2-3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked thru. Add the chopped olives and splash the lemon juice or vinegar on the chicken. Remove the pan from the heat and keep covered.



I cooked the broccoli in with the pasta, so time it for the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking time. Once the broccoli is bright green (2-3 minutes) and the pasta is done, drain and save 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water. Don't forget!

Add the pasta and broccoli to the skillet w/ the reserved pasta water and gradually add the grated cheese. Mix together with a big spoon and serve immediately.



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More B.S. from me

B.S. meaning Brussels sprouts. The usual b.s. will never end on this blog.

These beauties are from MY garden! Yes, our first year growing Brussels sprouts (really, my husband grew them, I just harvested them).



We were supposed to wait for the first frost, but they were getting too cabbagy and leafy, so I had to pick some of them this weekend, the weather has not been cooperating with gardening this year, that's for sure.

Here, I roasted them and tossed them with a caper anchovy vinaigrette, not something I usually would think to toss these babies with, but they were DELICIOUS!

This recipe is from the Thanksgiving issue of Food & Wine and the recipe comes from Michael Symon.

Warning: This is not for the faint of heart. You have to like strong flavors here.

I only made 1/3 of Symon's dressing. I can't even imagine using a whole tin of anchovies as the original recipe reads. Yikes! and he wants you to use 3 tablespoons of capers? This is for someone who doesn't really like brussels sprouts, it seems.



I would add the dressing slowly and taste it. I wrote out the recipe how I made it (3/4 cup of olive oil? I don't think so). I also omitted the 2 cloves of garlic, I wanted people to actually TASTE the sprouts and not just the dressing.

One last criticism about the recipe (and I roast a lot of veggies): The recipe wants you to roast the sprouts at 425F for 45 minutes. If you did this, they would be BURNT TOAST, trust me. Too high of a temp and too long to roast them. Roast them at 400F for only 15-20 minutes (unless they are huge).

Still, with all my complaining and changes to the recipe, this was a delicious, different way to make a vegetable dish ahead of time for Thanksgiving. The toasted walnuts and the pungent flavors really worked well with the roasted sprouts to make a nice salad.

I told you this post would be a lot of B.S.



Roasted Brussels Sprouts w/ Capers, Anchovies & Walnuts (adapted loosely from Food & Wine):

3 lbs. of Brussels sprouts, stems trimmed and halved
olive oil, kosher salt & pepper
1/2 cup of walnuts, toasted and chopped

Dressing:
1 tsp of grainy French mustard
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
1 shallot, minced
3 anchovies, rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup of olive oil

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside.



On a large baking sheet, toss the sprouts with the olive oil and sprinkle w/ kosher salt and pepper.
Roast for about 20 minutes, turning them once, in a 400F oven.

Toast the walnuts in a toaster oven and chop them.

Mix the warm Brussels sprouts with the walnuts and some of the dressing, just to coat them.

You can make this 2 hours ahead and serve at room temperature.



Enjoy!

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What's for Dinner? Stuffed Chicken Breasts Mediterranean Style

This was a last minute idea to make use of some defrosted frozen spinach I had in the fridge.

Stuffed chicken breasts are always elegant, yet easy.
The hard part is keeping the little packages closed so the stuffing doesn't ooze out.

I recommend flattening the cutlets. Either with a meat mallet or with your hands, by working them up thru the muscle so they get nice and thin for rolling.

Make a stuffing with anything you have (any cheese, herbs or vegetables).

Last night I used:

10 oz. package of defrosted frozen spinach, water squeezed out
1/4 cup of feta cheese
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
kosher salt & pepper
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp oregano leaves (because I had them in the garden)

1 package of chicken breasts (this makes enough stuffing for 6 breasts)
1 slice of prosciutto or speck for each breast

In a small skillet, cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil until translucent.
Add the onions along with all of the ingredients in a bowl. This is your stuffing.



Now comes the fun part.

Season the chicken breasts w/ kosher salt & pepper.

Spread the chicken breasts (your hands are going to get dirty) on a plastic wrap lined cutting board and spoon some of the filling down the center of the chicken breast.

Fold or roll as best you can and set aside.
Do this with each of the breasts.

Carefully wrap a prosciutto slice around each stuffed breast. You can secure it with a toothpick if you like, or just wing it.



Once you have all the chicken breasts wrapped, place them in a large oven proof skillet with some oil and cook on the high heat on the stove for 4 minutes.

Flip carefully with a flat fish spatula and cook the other side for 4 minutes.

Place in a 375F oven for 20 minutes (make sure your skillet is ovenproof).

Remove the rolls and let rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.
Now you are ready to slice them in half or cut into roulades. Serve over rice if you like.



These were really easy and delicious.



Enjoy!

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Torrisi's Eggplant Parm

Remember last winter I had this amazing eggplant parmigiana at Torrisi Italian Specialties in NYC? After I wrote about it, someone emailed me and said the recipe was available on line!



I saved my calories and waited for a Sunday (so I could be a slave to my stove all day frying up eggplant slices) to make this.

This is a labor of love. I HATE frying eggplant. I was going to show you a photo of my disgusting stove afterwards, but didn't want to discourage you from making this dish.

Eggplant Parm is probably my favorite dish in the world, however, there is a disclaimer attached to that statement.

It can only be made by certain people with homemade tomato sauce. The eggplant has to be sliced PAPER THIN and there can be NO ricotta cheese in this dish (even though I love eggplant rollatine with ricotta).

(I have had to eat mushy, oily, thick, disgusting eggplant and that can turn anyone into an eggplant hater).

I found out that Torrisi's secret to success is that they fry the eggplant with garlic and use Progresso breadcrumbs. They also use fresh wet mozzarella and a big bunch of fresh basil leaves. The assembly is pretty easy and it truly is the best version I have had. Even my husband loves it (and he is not an eggplant lover like me).

If you have a bottle of Windex (to clean your stove), then I suggest you make this for Sunday dinner.



Rich Torrisi's Recipe for Eggplant Parm: (courtesy of Food & Wine)

One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for frying
Salt
All-purpose flour, for dredging
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups seasoned dry Progresso bread crumbs
One 2-pound eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
12 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (they use Wisconsin cheese)
1 cup basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 375F°. In a blender or food processor, puree the tomatoes with their juices and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the sauce with salt.
You can make the sauce a few days ahead.

Put the flour, eggs and bread crumbs in 3 large, shallow bowls. Working with 1 slice at a time, dredge the eggplant in the flour; shake off any excess. Dip the slice in the egg, letting any excess drip back into the bowl, then coat with the bread crumbs.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/8 inch of oil until shimmering. Line a rack with paper towels. Add one-third of the garlic and breaded eggplant to the hot oil. Cook over moderate heat, turning once and adjusting the heat as needed, until the eggplant slices are golden brown and tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer the fried eggplant to the paper towels to drain. Using a slotted spoon, discard the fried garlic. Repeat 2 more times with the remaining garlic and breaded eggplant, wiping out the skillet and adding more oil as needed.

Lightly oil a 10-inch springform pan or baking dish (I used a Pyrex casserole). Line the bottom with a single layer of eggplant (don't put the sauce as the first layer, or it will be too mushy).

Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce over the eggplant.

Top with a few mozzarella slices and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of the parmesan.
Tear one-third of the basil leaves over the cheese.



Repeat with the remaining ingredients for a total of 3-4 layers, ending with a layer of eggplant and a thick layer of tomato sauce. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top. I added some fresh oregano leaves to the top as well.



Wrap the entire pan in foil and set it on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake the eggplant for about 45 minutes, until heated through.

Increase the oven temperature to 400°. Remove the foil from the top of the eggplant and bake for about 20 minutes longer, until lightly browned on top.



Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 15 minutes before unmolding. Cut into wedges and serve.



Worth every spot of grease on my stove.

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Hello!? Fig, Bacon & Black Pepper Scones

Holy Guacamole.

My first time baking scones (told you I'm not a real baker) and this was the result?

Not exactly symmetrical, and far from perfect, but the taste?
I can't imagine anything better. Really. Savory, exotic, a bit sweet but not. What am I even talking about?

These scones. Please make them. They are special and wonderful, and what do I know from scones? (except that they are usually dry and miserable, except for my mother-in-law's).

I think these were best served with wine, or maybe I was drinking wine while I wrote this post.

I LOVED these.

The original recipe calls for dates with the bacon, but I had dried figs, so that's what it was going to be.

I made my own buttermilk by adding 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice to 1 cup of whole milk. Let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes until thick and gross looking. Voila, buttermilk.



P.S. It wasn't easy finding whole wheat pastry flour, but Whole Foods had it, but if you can't find it, then just use 2 cups of regular flour, like the original recipe states.

Fig, Bacon & Black Pepper Scones (adapted from Bitchin Camero & Bon Appetit):

7 slices center-cut bacon slices
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried figs (I used black mission)
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter
2/3 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup of whole milk w/ 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice)
turbinado sugar for the top

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until cooked through but still tender and not crisp, turning occasionally. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; cool. Pour bacon drippings from skillet into small heatproof bowl and reserve.

Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper in large bowl. Coarsely chop cooled bacon. Add bacon and figs to flour mixture; toss to coat.



Coarsely grate the cold butter into flour mixture with a box grater. Using fork, stir in butter. Add buttermilk; stir until large moist clumps form. Using hands, knead mixture briefly in bowl until dough forms. The dough will be very sticky.

Transfer dough to floured work surface. Pat into 8-inch round. Cut into 8 wedges.



Transfer scones to sheet. Cover and chill scones for at least 2 hours (you can chill them overnight, so you have fresh baked warm scones for breakfast).



Preheat oven to 400°f. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush with reserved bacon drippings (BEST PART!) . Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Cook 16 minutes till golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.



Scones are always best baked and eaten that day or they get stale. I froze the rest of them for best results.

Try them and let me know what you think!

PS The winners of the fig balsamic vinegar HATE contest are:

Tracy, whose husband HATES onions (poor girl) and Jenny B. who HATES stinky cheese of any kind. Please contact me with your addresses so you can receive your vinegar!

xo

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Cottage Ham w/ Green Beans & Potatoes

Remember that weird smoked pork shank I received as a gift last year?

I have had many emails from readers from Ohio, saying that this is called a "Cottage Ham" in their parts. Strange that I found it in New Jersey, but the butcher is from Ohio. That makes sense.
It's all coming together now.

A few of the commenters sent me their recipe for Cottage Ham w/ Green Beans and Potatoes.
Sounded simple enough, and since I had one more smoked ham shank in the freezer, this was an easy weeknight dinner.

There's nothing much to it, except maybe finding this alien thing called a Cottage Ham.



You throw it in a pot and cover it with water and simmer the pork shank for an hour.

Add a chopped up large onion and 2 cups of fresh green beans to the pot (you have to have like well done green beans......Hank!).

Simmer this with the lid on for 45 minutes then throw in some baby new red potatoes and simmer on the stove another 45 minutes. (The pork shank needed about 2 1/2 hours to cook).



Shred the meat (it will fall off the bone) and serve over the mushy smoky green beans with the boiled potatoes.
Don't throw away the cooking liquid, it makes for a delicious soup stock.

This was delicious and I see why I got all those emails about this type of ham.
It's fun learning about foods that are from different parts of the country.



Thanks to all my Ohio readers.

PS this made wonderful sandwiches the next day on buns w/ dill pickles and honey mustard!

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