Pork Tenderloin on Spinach with Potatoes

Do you like pork? Of course you do, that's why we're friends. I'll bet you also like crispy potatoes. I knew it.

Mince up some garlic, and rub it all over your tenderloin, along with salt and pepper. Throw it in the oven until it's done. Meanwhile, cut small potatoes in half, and cook them slowly in a cast iron skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Shake and flip for even browning.

When the tenderloin's done (internal temperature of 145 if you listen to the government), remove it to a plate and tent with foil. To the roasting pan, add a cup of stock (I used chicken) with about a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed in. Boil on the stovetop until reduced and nicely thickened. Note: Be careful about adding cold liquid to the hot roasting pan. You might end up with a cracked Le Creuset casserole. Not that I'd know for sure. *cough cough*

Slice the pork, and lay the slices on top of some spinach. Put some potatoes on the plate. Spoon the sauce over everything. Enjoy.

Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza

I had some fingerling potatoes and a beautiful bunch of skinny asparagus to use up. Searching Epicurious, I found this recipe for Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza. Why not?

I followed the recipe, except for reducing the amount of goat cheese, since neither my husband nor I like large amounts of goat cheese.

Was it good? Yes. Would I make it again? Probably not. I guess I just don't like potatoes on my pizza. As a matter of fact, I roasted the leftover potatoes and asparagus in some olive oil, and we preferred that over the pizza.

French Fries with Eggs

OK, it's not just french fries with eggs. There's other stuff. And the potatoes aren't deep fried. This is one of my husband's creations, and, I've got to say, it's pretty darn good, and also a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.

Buy yourself a bag of frozen french fries. Heat up a little oil in a skillet, and dump in as many fries as you want. Cook, stirring and tossing, until the fries are as crispy as you want. Beat up a couple eggs, and add them to the skillet. Cook and stir until the eggs are set.

That's the basic "recipe". We've added cheese to the eggs. We've also added roasted chile pepper strips, and bell peppers and onions (saute with the fries). Garlic can't hurt, and mushrooms would work as well. Various toppings we've used include tomatoes, green olives, avocado, and sprouts. If you're not vegetarian, add some bacon or other pork product. Serve with toast, English muffins, or by itself. And don't forget the hot sauce.

Pierogi with Squash Blossoms

I picked up a couple bunches of zucchini flowers from the farmers market the other day. I could've stuffed them with ground beef, breaded and fried (like my parents do). I could've made a quesadilla. Or tossed them to pasta. But instead, I decided to add them to pierogi.

First, start caramelizing an onion. Low and slow, this takes about an hour. While that's happening, cook up some bacon and crumble it. Cut the squash flowers in half lengthwise and crosswise, removing the reproductive part of the flower. Briefly sauté (more of a wilt, really) the flowers in a little butter. Boil your pierogi, then pan fry them until crispy. Top the pierogi with onions, squash blossoms, bacon, and sour cream.

Heaven in a bowl. Pierogi by themselves are good. With onions, bacon and sour cream, even better. Adding squash blossoms cuts through all the carb and dairy richness, lending a brightness to the dish, "almost like peas", the Husband says. I'm not sure if they taste like peas, but they definitely have that green taste that is a welcome addition. So the next time you have pierogi, add some squash flowers. That way you can say you ate your vegetables.

Cheese-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tots

Doesn't that sound incredible?

I thought so when I saw this post by Lori of Recipe Girl. So I ran out and bought some tater tots.

These are super-easy to make - partially thaw the tots, cut a lengthwise slit into each one, stuff with a bit of cheese. Sprinkle with hot sauce, and wrap in bacon, and stab with a toothpick.

Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes, turning once.

Not health food, but oh so good.

Pan-Fried Salmon with Garlic and Capers

Or, more accurately, my husband's pan-fried salmon with garlic and capers. He makes this dish, I never have.

Season the salmon with garlic powder, paprika, a little rosemary, salt and pepper. Fry in about a half inch of canola/vegetable oil until done. Let it get crispy at the edges - yes, it's technically over-cooked, but the crispy bits are really the best part.

Remove the fish to drain on paper. Saute minced garlic and capers in a mix of butter and olive oil until they start getting a little crispy. People always say "don't burn the garlic", and this isn't exactly burnt, but it's crispy. And good. Pour the garlic/caper/fat mixture over the fish.

Served with zucchini, potatoes, garlic cloves, shallots and pearl onions roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper, this was an awesome, if garlic-heavy, meal.

A Random Collection of Food

Once again, I bring you a random collection of stuff I've made.

Crab and green onion quiche, courtesy of Kathy from Cooking on the Side.

Some layered potato thing. It wasn't very good, except for the top layer.

Some sort of spiced glazed chicken. Meh.

Spicy tomato and blue cheese soup, from Leite's Culinaria via Desert Candy. Served with a grilled cheese sandwich, of course. I like that you can see the steam.

Macaroni and cheese (blue box) with ground beef, courtesy of my Youngest.

A Mishmash of Stuff I've Cooked

Yes, this is a copout post. But I've got a bunch of pictures that didn't warrant their own post, plus I cooked some stuff and didn't take pictures. So here goes.

Fried cauliflower. I vaguely remember blanching, oven-drying, and deep-frying. Tasty. But not worth doing again.

Kama, or Yellowtail collar. This is so simple, just salt, broil, done. And it looks like a duck.

Stuffed mushrooms. I've made them before. These had sausage, and I think a smoked oyster.

Panko-Parmesan-Parsley Pork Chops from urbanbundle. These were delicious.

I also did le pied de cochon again, but this time with a shank thrown in for more meat. Tasty.

And I made Noble Pig's kapusta, or sauerkraut with pork neck bones and hamhock. Hearty, wonderful Eastern European peasant food.

Oh, and I made a salad out of the 2 smoked chicken leg quarters I bought. I was going to do something all fancy with cranberries and stuff, but Hubby said "make it like you make your tuna salad". So I did. And it was good. (Celery, peperoncini, hot "sport" peppers, parsley, celery leaves, green onion, sumac, black pepper, sansyo, mayo or yogurt)

Homemade Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips

I had one lonely russet potato in the cabinet, and had a craving for potato chips. I've made microwave potato chips before, so decided to try something different.

I absolutely love salt and vinegar potato chips, so decided to try making them myself. How to get the vinegar into the chip? I saw some recipes that said bake them sprinkled with vinegar, but to me, that didn't seem like it would get the infused taste I wanted.

Then I ran across a Martha Stewart recipe for grilled fingerlings that were pre-simmered in vinegar for a few minutes before being grilled. Hmm...that crazy lady was on to something.

So, I sliced the potato about 1/4" thick, then covered in vinegar (just plain old white), and simmered for 5 minutes. Ms. Stewart said let the potatoes cool in the vinegar for 30 minutes, so that's what I did. I then drained the potatoes, tossed them with olive oil, coarse sea salt, and pepper, and broiled them 6 inches from the heat, turning them over so they got browned on both sides. I really don't know how long. Until they were brown. Then sprinkled with more salt.

Delicious. Better than store-bought. And cheaper.

For future forays, here's what I'd do differently:
1. Probably cut them thinner. Once they got cold, they had that...well...cold thick potato thing going on. And if they're thinner, you probably won't have to flip them during cooking.
2. Blot them dry after draining and before tossing with the oil.
3. Turn the vent on earlier in the process. Little dog was coughing. And my kitchen is going to smell like vinegar for days.

Cheesy Oniony Potato Pierogi

To accompany my wild mushroom soup, I also made some pierogi. I used this recipe from Bake List, which is an adaptation of Grant Achatz's recipe. Other than substituting parrano cheese for the Gruyere (since that's what I had, and my local supermarket doesn't carry Gruyere), I followed the recipe.

Well, I kind of followed the recipe. At the almost-done point in the assembly of the pierogi, I got fed up with the dough - very elastic and sticky. So I made one big-ass pierogi, about 10" across at the widest point. It fell apart into 3 pieces while boiling. But it didn't leak (too much), so I proceeded as normal with the pan-frying in butter. Ugly, but good.
















These are definitely not health food - butter, cheese, sour cream, fried in butter. Ironically, I found out that my cholesterol is "slightly high" right after I made these. I think I see a lot of salads in my future. Good thing I made the pierogi when I did.

What to do with a monster cabbage? (Part 1)

Hubby kept talking about a cabbage salad that he used to make, and I love cabbage, so I bought a monster. Seriously, I should've taken a picture of it next to my dog, because they were about the same size. But the cabbage wasn't furry (thank God!).

Said cabbage languished in the veggie drawer for about a week, so I had to take matters into my own hands.

I chopped up some cabbage, and made soup.

















Since I haven't posted an actual recipe of my own in a while, here you go. And since I like to be a pain in the ass, this is exactly how I made it.

<recipe>

Ham, Cabbage and Potato Soup

Chop slightly less than half of a monster cabbage. Slice the remainder of a bag of baby carrots, and 2 celery ribs. Mince 2 cloves of garlic, and chop half an onion. Dice 4 slices of a hunk of smoked ham. Dice 3 smallish Russet potatoes, dumping them into a bowl of water so they don't start turning brown.

Melt the chicken broth from your freezer, and discover you don't have enough. Search for some sort of chicken bouillon, and fail to find any. Pull out a leftover baked turkey wing from the fridge, and separate the meat from everything else. Make a quick unseasoned broth with the latter part. Dice the meat.

Saute the onion, garlic, carrot and celery in olive oil with a little salt and a lot of pepper. Drain the potatoes, dry them briefly in paper towel, and add them to the veggies after a few minutes. Dump in a bunch of paprika, remembering that it's fat-soluble, so you can't add it to the broth later. Saute until it starts sticking a little, then add in all your broth, a couple bay leaves, a bit of oregano, and the merest pinch of thyme, because your Hubby hates thyme.

Bring to a boil, and simmer until the potatoes are a little more done than you like, because you kind of forgot about it. Add the cabbage, and smoosh it down. Season with Vegeta (that's been in your pantry forever but still has flavor), because you're worried about the broth not being flavorful enough. Let it simmer until the cabbage cooks down a little.

Make Hubby try it. Smile when he says "That's good. Like holy shit, that's good."

</recipe>

Creamy Cabbage and Potato Stew

Somehow I ended up with way too much chicken broth in my freezer, so I've been looking for recipes that'll help use it up. I found this recipe for Creamy Cabbage and Potato Stew over at Food for Laughter, and it sounded just right for this gloomy weather.
















I followed the recipe almost exactly, except that I removed the bacon after crisping it, and added it back in right at the end. And I added a clove of minced garlic, because I do that with everything.
















At first glance, the recipe doesn't look like much - just cabbage, potato, bacon, onion, milk and broth. But it's sooooo good! Hubby couldn't stop eating it, and kept asking me what "the secret" was. No secret, just good eastern Euro comfort food. This was perfect for the cloudy day - creamy from the potatoes, which were just starting to break apart, slightly sweet from the cabbage, with the gentle porkiness of bacon.

And of course, it's better the 2nd day. Provided your Hubby doesn't eat it all on the 1st day.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

My MIL picked up some super-huge scallops from Costco the other day, and I just knew I had to wrap them in bacon. I decided I wanted to plate them on top of crispy potatoes, with some sauteed greens on the side. I also knew I needed some kind of sauce.

The wheels inside my head were turning - russet or red potatoes? Lemon cream sauce? Should I use wine? How should I cook the potatoes? Should I grill or boil the scallops? With the help of some friends, I settled on red potatoes, parboiled then broiled, and a tart mustardy sauce using Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce. And some blanched and sauteed broccoli rabe on the side.
















I am so completely happy with this dinner - I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, and it turned out to be one of the better things I've ever made.

So without further adieu, here's what I did. And please note that all measurements are approximate, because I can't measure to save my life (which is why I'm no longer a chemist).

Bacon Wrapped Scallops on Crispy Potatoes with Sauteed Broccoli Rabe

10 large scallops
10 thin slices bacon
2 red potatoes
1 bunch broccoli rabe
minced garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper & hot pepper flakes
white wine vinegar
chicken broth
aioli garlic mustard sauce (you could probably use equal parts mustard and cream to substitute)

Pat the scallops dry, and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Cut the potatoes into slices a little more than 1/4" thick, parboil them for about 5 minutes, then drain on paper towels. Blanch the bacon for 30 seconds, and drain. Separate the leaves from the broccoli rabe, blanch for 5 minutes in salted water, stop the cooking under cold water, then drain.

Stretch out the bacon and season with pepper. Starting at the narrow end, wrap a slice of bacon around a scallop, pulling the bacon tight. Secure with a toothpick if necessary. Toss the potato slices (gently!) with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the bacon-wrapped scallops and the potato slices onto a heavy baking sheet, and broil 6 inches from the flame, about 6-7 minutes per side. The bacon should get crispy, and the potatoes should start browning.

While the broiler is broiling, heat some olive oil in a skillet, add some garlic, and saute for a minute. Add in the broccoli rabe, some salt and red pepper flakes, and some white wine vinegar if you wish. Saute until cooked to your liking.

For the sauce, heat about 2 teaspoons olive oil with 2 teaspoons butter, add in some minced garlic, and let cook for a minute. Pour in some chicken broth, about 1/3 cup, a splash of white wine vinegar, salt & pepper, and about 2 teaspoons aioli garlic mustard sauce. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat and let simmer a bit, until it thickens. Right before serving, swirl in some more butter, because butter is good.

To plate, place a scallop on top of a potato, top with sauce, and serve the broccoli rabe on the side (the sauce goes good on the greens too).

Irish Beef Stew

In the ongoing effort to clean out my freezer, I defrosted what (I hoped) was about a pound of beef stew meat. Perusing the interwebs, I found Elise's recipe for Irish Beef Stew, and decided to go with it.

I had to make a few changes to Elise's recipe - for starters, the grocery store didn't have single bottles of Guinness, and what the hell am I going to do with a 6-pack, so I replaced it with Newcastle. Which I guess makes this an English Beef Stew. I added mushrooms because beef and shrooms go well together, and I forgot the parsley and tomato paste. I also had to improvise a substitution for Worcestershire sauce, since mine smelled moldy-funky and had to be disposed of. A smashed up anchovy, a little soy sauce, a little cider vinegar, and a dollop of oyster sauce - I'm not sure if it even remotely approximated W-sauce, but it seemed to work in the dish.
















After sauteing the veggies, I saw that I had all these delicious browned bits on the bottom of the saucepan, and couldn't bear the thought of all that happiness going down the drain. So I deglazed it with a little of the stew broth, and dumped it into the stew. Later, while simmering, I decided that the stew was more soupy than I wanted, so I ladled out a bunch of broth and reduced it, then added it back to the stew. Much better.
















Copious amounts of black pepper, a little salt, and done. Delicious. Although if you make it, I recommend you don't forget the tomato paste and parsley like I did, it seemed to need that extra punch. Maybe tomorrow I'll pick up some of each and doctor up the leftovers. Can't hurt, and beef stew always tastes better the second day anyway.

Twice Baked Red Potatoes with Feta and Green Onion

I love potatoes. I love feta. Why not combine them?

Twice Baked Red Potatoes with Feta and Green Onion

red potatoes (Russet would work too)
olive oil
feta
green onion
minced garlic
salt & pepper

Coat the whole potatoes with a little olive oil, poke with a fork a few times, and bake on a sheet or directly on the oven rack at 350 for about an hour. Let cool a little, then cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out the insides, leaving about a 1/4" shell.

Mix the potato innards with some crumbled feta, minced garlic, and chopped green onion, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stuff this back into the potato skins, and place in a lightly oiled baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350, until the skins are crispy, and the tops start browning.

Delicious. And that's all I have to say about that.

Corned Beef Hash

I like corned beef and cabbage, but what I really like is the corned beef hash you get to make the next day. Lots of work for a plate of hash, but sometimes you just have to do it.
















Obtain your corned brisket. Don't get one with a spice packet, get one that's vacuum sealed with the spices pressed into the meat. Cover with water, and simmer for at least 3 hours.

Appetizing, isn't it?
















This next pic isn't any more delicious-looking, huh?
















Let the brisket cool, then slice against the grain. While the meat's cooling, throw some quartered red potatoes into the water and boil until tender. Remove the potatoes, then add chopped carrot, celery and onion, and boil until tender. Remove those, then add cabbage wedges, and boil to your desired doneness.
















No, there's no cabbage in the picture. 'Cause I forgot about it until I walked by the cutting board and saw the wedges. Doh!

Anyway, on to the hash. Next day, chop up a little of everything into bite-size pieces. Heat a skillet, spray with a little cooking spray (you could use butter or oil), and fry until you start getting crusty bits.

Top with an over-easy egg and some hot sauce.
















Is it worth 4 hours of active cooking and an overnight rest just for a plate of this? Yes, definitely.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

I picked up a bag of fingerlings at the market today, a mix of half "regular" and half purple. Aren't they adorable?















I figured the best way to enjoy them would be to roast them. Then add garlic. Mmm...garlic.

So here's how:

Cut your fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise. Cut any larger pieces in half again. Remember, folks, potatoes taste better when they have maximum surface area touching the pan - you get the happy crispy bits that way. Toss your potatoes with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. A sprinkling of paprika can't hurt. Throw in a few cloves of unpeeled garlic too. Roast at 375-400 until they're done. Sorry, I can't tell you how long that takes. Just mix them up every 8-10 minutes or so, when they get crispy edges, they're most likely done. Taste one. You'll know.

Remove the garlic from the pan, peel it, and mash it. Add it back to the potatoes, and toss. And if that's not enough garlic for you, I also like to finely mince 2 cloves and sauté them slowly in lots of olive oil, seasoned with salt. When it's softened, add the garlic mince to the potatoes, leaving most of the oil in the pan.















Best part? The leftover garlic infused oil for dipping bread into.

Baked Chicken and Potatoes with Cider and Parsley

Once again, through my blog-hopping addiction, I came across another great recipe. This time it's Baked Chicken and Potatoes with Cider and Parsley, from Linda of Thinking About Food.

















You slice some potatoes and put them in a casserole dish, top with chicken pieces and bacon, pour over a mix of apple juice (or cider), water and butter, and bake it. When it's almost done, you pour off the liquid, which you reduce for a gravy. The chicken and potatoes go back in the oven at a higher temperature to finish cooking and get nicely browned. When it comes out of the oven, you top it with a gremolata.

Linda, thank you so much for this recipe! The flavors work so well together - the apple juice tenderizes the chicken and prevents it from getting dry. The potatoes get a little crusty on the bottom, with a beautiful chickeny-appley stickiness. And the gremolata - I love the little punches you get from the parsley, lemon zest and garlic. Top it all off with a moistening of the gravy, and you're in heaven.

This is definitely a keeper.

Potato and Kipper Gratin

Yup. I said kippers.

I had never had them before today. I bought a tin a couple weeks back, for reasons that completely escape me. Perhaps there were no reasons. I was completely prepared to hate this dish. MIL said she wasn't even going to try it.


















I followed the recipe from Epicurious (Gourmet, January 1995) almost exactly, except I used half the called-for amount of capers, and less onion.

Basically, you slice a russet potato very thin, lay half of the slices in a dish, sprinkle with capers and chopped onion, scatter your bits o' kipper, then layer on the rest of the potato. Salt and pepper, then a cup of heavy cream, and bake at 450 for 30 minutes. The original recipe said 20 minutes, but my potatoes weren't done, and there wasn't that happy crustiness until 30 minutes.

This dish was so good. I'm now thoroughly convinced that anything with potatoes and cream in it is delicious, even if the other ingredients are potentially nasty. It was rich and creamy (duh), with a smokiness from the fish, and only a very slight tang from the capers (I was expecting much more tang, and I'm glad my expectations were not met).

I'm thinking that this would make a good brunch dish, with a salad dressed with something vinegary, to cut the creaminess. But we ate it right out of the dish, standing at the kitchen counter.

Twice Baked Potatoes with Gruyere and Escarole

This is my favorite twice-baked potato recipe by far. The original came from Great Greens by Georgeanne Brennan. The book has some great photography (by Frankie Frankeny), good enough to make you want to eat your vegetables. The first part of the book is a comprehensive guide to everything green, giving information on nutrition, preparation, gardening and storing.

Then come the recipes. Chard and Lentil Soup with Duck Confit. Yes, please. Gratin of Belgian Endive with Pancetta. Don't mind if I do. Don't worry, there are plenty of vegetarian recipes too, like this one.


















Coat your potatoes in olive oil, then bake for about an hour at 400, depending on size. The skins will get shiny and crinkly, which helps them hold up to stuffing and more baking. Let cool so you don't burn your fingers, then cut in half, and scoop out the insides to form a shell for stuffing.

While the potatoes are baking, wilt chopped escarole (tough stems and darkest outer leaves removed) in butter, covered. Add a little chicken broth, cover, and braise for a bit. Remove the cover and raise the heat a little until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Mix the scooped-out potato with cubed Gruyere, the braised escarole (drained), ground pepper and a little salt. Careful on the salt, 'cause there's cheese. Top with a little grated Gruyere, and bake for about 30 minutes.

These make a great side dish, but I usually have a couple halves by themselves for dinner (doused in hot sauce, of course).