Twice-Baked Potatoes with Feta and Rosemary

I had these last week and I have been waiting very impatiently to share them with you.  Omigoodness.  Now, I could bake little red potatoes covered in olive oil every day and probably be quiet happy.  They're definitely a favorite comfort food.  But add rosemary and feta cheese? Deliciousness.



We served these with some simply seared and baked bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and they were perfection. They're perfectly salty and fill my ever-existent carb need. They actually crisp up so nicely that you can pick them up with your hands, which means I think they can pass for appetizers (as long as you use little enough potatoes). This recipe is so super simple, I promise anyone can pull it off and impress their guests!



Twice-Baked Potatoes with Rosemary and Feta
from fresh365

Ingredients
10-15 tiny or 6-8 medium red potatoes
olive oil
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese (crumbled goat cheese would work too)
3 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Scrub potatoes and poke each one with a fork. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Place stabbed side up, in a single layer, on the baking sheet. Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil.
3. Bake 35-50 minutes, until fork can be inserted easily. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and cut a deep X into each potato. With a fork or a paper towel, push the top of each potato until it opens (it will look messy).
4. Drizzle each potato with a bunch more olive oil. Sprinkle with feta cheese, rosemary leaves, salt and pepper (they won't need much salt - I think I forgot the salt and pepper and they only were lacking the pepper). Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the edges and cheese are golden-brown and crunchy.


This recipe was featured on Full Plate Thursday on 10/18/12!

5 Ingredient Smashed Potatoes

This recipe is so easy you won't believe it!  It has only 5 ingredients - potatoes, creme fraiche, thyme, salt and pepper.  That's it!  But it is literally the most luxurious smashed potato recipe I've ever made.

I usually like to roast potatoes (like all my veggies) but this was a totally different recipe than my usual olive oil laden potatoes.  It's almost like mashed potatoes, but a million times better.  I made it for this week's Thursday night barbecue and it was a hit!  I wish I had made more!  Now, in the name of full disclosure, this isn't the cheapest potato recipe.  I don't grow fresh thyme (I wish I did) and creme fraiche is on the pricier side.  But  the end product is so good, you could serve it anywhere from a barbecue to a fancy dinner party.

I highly recommend this one!  Even if you aren't great in the kitchen, I promise you will impress.



Smashed Potatoes
from Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds red- or ivory-skinned waxy potatoes, or a mixture or both, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, scrubbed
1 cup (8 ounces) creme fraiche
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and place them in a large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 12 minutes or so.
2. Drain the potatoes and return them to the warm pan. Add the creme fraiche and chopped thyme and smash with a potato masher or fork until the potatoes are almost but not quite ready to break apart. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with the thyme sprigs, and serve right away.

What we had for dinner this week

OK I'm still behind on blogging.  I have no pretty pictures for you.  But I wanted to share the recipes we made this week to give you cooking inspiration!

Sunday night: Bibimbop from Cooking Light  We used steak instead of tofu (the Monkey Scientist is from the Midwest, I can't just be feeding him tofu!).  Bibimbop is my favorite Korean dish.  My favorite is from Kang's in Ann Arbor - I love how the hot stone makes the rice at the bottom crispy.  This recipe simulated it well by crisping up the rice in the cast iron skillet.  Lots of wonderful Asian flavors.

Monday night: Roasted Chicken with Red-Skinned Potatoes and Carrots
Washed a 5 1/2 lb chicken, covered in olive oil, chicken seasoning from the Christmas Tree Shop, and freshly ground black pepper, inside and out. Stuffed it with a lemon, cut in half.  Filled a dish with quartered potatoes and carrots (did nothing else to them beside clean and cut) and then put the chicken on top.  Baked at 475 for 25 minutes and then at 400 for 45 minutes.  I cooked it breast-side up for the first 45 minutes and then flipped it for the last 25.  Perfection, and still eating leftovers for lunch.

Tuesday night: We ate at Tesoro in Van Ness.  Not overly impressed.

Wednesday night: Spicy Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Avocado Salsa from Cookin' Canuck  - I'm now completely obsessed with this recipe.  Took 15 minutes to throw together, including cooking time, and tastes AMAZING.  The ancho chili powder (which I got at World Market) and cumin have almost a cinnamon-like spice to them.  The honey in the salsa is the perfect amount of sweetness and the lime gives just the right tang.  I loved the load of vegetables on top of the chicken - I didn't even need to make a grain to fill us up.  We made it on a cookie sheet with sprayed with olive oil rather than a rack and it was fine.  Definitely give this one a try!

Thursday night:  BBQ night!  Our friends have been organizing barbecues every Thursday at my apartment building.  This week I'm bringing Peanut Butter Cup S'mores Bars from Mel's Sweet Life.  The assembly wasn't so easy (forming that last bit into an 8x8 square? All I had was crumbs.)  But they've been sitting on my counter overnight and I'm quite confident they'll be delicious.

Hopefully I can get you some full recipes and pics over the weekend... I will do my best!

Chicken Massaman Curry [Guest Chef]

photo by Amanda Farr

I've been busy going to happy hours and Red Sox/Orioles games, so I haven't been cooking too much this week. However, I couldn't leave you hungry.  I'm going to welcome back my coworker, Amanda, who tested this recipe and took some photos to share with you today.

photo by Amanda Farr

Massaman Curry is my absolute favorite dish to get at a Thai restaurant... the only thing I probably order more often is Pad Thai.  We usually order beef, but lately I've been wanting to cut down on my red meat intake.  Massaman Curry is complemented by sweet and delicious coconut milk. You can't go wrong with coconut milk.

photo by Amanda Farr

There definitely are some unusual ingredients here so you may need to take a trip to the Asian market.  If you're buying fish sauce, BUY SQUID BRAND. It's the best I've ever used, and I have most frequently bought it at Asian markets.  I have to admit though, Amanda used some really good looking brand, so that might be better.  Either way, don't sniff the fish sauce... it smells terrible but it blends with all of the other ingredients to create the most amazing flavors.

photo by Amanda Farr

Amanda did make some adjustments from the original recipe.  I know when I make this, I'll probably use ground cardamom out of laziness.  If you use whole, and for the star anise, make sure you take them out when you're done making it.  Amanda almost broke a tooth at lunch the other day when there was a star anise left in the curry.

Photo by Amanda Farr

I really want to try this one myself.  Amanda really enjoyed it, and it looked scrumptious.  You can serve it up with a big side of jasmine or sticky rice... perfection.

Photo by Amanda Farr

Chicken Massaman Curry
adapted from the very hungry cook

Ingredients
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 tbsp massaman curry paste
8 whole cardamom seeds, crushed with the side of a knife and your palm
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 star anise
1 onion
1 can coconut milk
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
3-4 tbsp roasted, unsalted peanuts
2 tbsp peanut oil

Instructions
1. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces
2. Add 1 tbsp of oil and the massaman curry paste to the chicken.  Mix well, set aside to marinate.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan.  Once the oil is hot, fry the cinnamon, cardamom and star anise for 30 seconds.  Add the onion and fry until golden brown.
4. Add the chicken and turn to low.  Let cook 3-5 min.
5. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, water, potatoes and peanuts.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 30 min or until potatoes and chicken are cooked through.  If needed, remove the lid and cook until the curry reaches desired thickness.  Check seasoning and then remove the pan from the flame.
6. Stir in the tamarind paste and brown sugar.  Serve hot with jasmine rice.

Mom's Pot Roast [Guest Blogger]

I'd like to welcome to the blog a certain someone you might have heard me mention before.  I'd like to give a big welcome to the Monkey Scientist, who will be sharing his Mom's Pot Roast recipe.  He did take photos of the prep, but very unfortunately his house was robbed last night and his camera was taken.  A big thank you to him not only for blogging, but for cooking me this meal - it was super delicious! (And I'm glad you'll finally get to see how much he teases me!!)

photo by d.liff

Greetings everyone…Monkey Scientist here. Believe it or not I do actually have a name but I’m going to leave that anonymous to add to the intrigue.

D always gets mad when I made fun of the way she writes on her blog (she does actually talk this way in real life by the way), so in that vein I am going to try and imitate her style as much as possible…

photo by the Monkey Scientist

If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m not usually one to follow any sort of set recipe. I more just like to throw everything together in a big pot and see how it turns out. D introduced me to this thing called a “side dish” but I still don’t quite subscribe to that belief.

So today’s “recipe” comes from my mom’s kitchen back in Chicago. Pot roast is one of her the rarer dishes that she cooks, but when she does make it we all enjoy quite the feast. For Christmas she gave me my very own Crock Pot, and since then I have made some pretty fantastic meals (you’ll just have have to wait til February for the family Super Bowl Chili recipe…my personal favorite). I absolutely LOVE cooking with the Crock Pot! It brings together so many diverse flavors, and you don’t need to break the bank in finding the best meat out there. Just your typical run-of-the-mill top round roast from the local supermarket will do. When I went to the store, I was delighted to see that roasts were the “Big Buy” of the day. Over 2 ½ pounds of meat for under eight dollars!

I’ll admit there’s really nothing fancy about this pot roast recipe compared to any other. Just throw in a bunch of vegetables with the meat and let it all soak together throughout the day. Based on a limited veggie selection at our grocery store, I just went with some white potatoes, carrots, and celery, and to add a little twist, some chili peppers…not a necessary addition but certainly worth trying if you like a little kick.

photo by d.liff

When it was done we just scooped it out of the pot and served on toast to make some nice hearty sandwiches. You might find that when it’s done it will need some sort of sauce to add another dimension. We used Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce but you can probably also use a spicy mustard or throw some flour in the meat juice to make a thicker gravy. Also, you might want to brown the meat before putting it in the Crock Pot for the day, but I was a little pressed for time so I just skipped that part. I would recommend some mashed potatoes and maybe some steamed green beans if you’re into the whole side dish thing…or just grab more out of the pot and put that on the side!

photo by d.liff

Mom's Pot Roast 
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients

2.5 lbs top roast (you can use more or less depending on size of slow cooker)

7 carrots, unpeeled (but washed) and chopped

3 medium-sized white potatoes, quartered

2-3 stalks celery

2 whole jalapeños, fresh

1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (if you don't love really spicy food, only use 1-2 peppers)

1 packet of onion soup mix (can be substituted or augmented with 1 whole white onion)

*Note: amounts of ingredients may vary with size of Crock Pot


Instructions

1. Chop carrots and celery into ½ to 1 inch chunks, depending on width

2. Chop potatoes into about 8 pieces, or slightly bigger than the carrot chunks

3. Slice jalapenos and cut into half circles

4. Add about half of the chopped vegetables and 3-4 chili peppers from can into crock pot. Save the other half to top around and on top of the meat.

5. Rinse the meat and pat dry. You can brown lightly to add texture and cut some of the fat but if short on time this is not necessary.

6. Place meat on top of vegetables and fill the rest of the crock pot to about ¾ depth with remaining vegetables.

7. Add water to ¾ depth, or enough to cover all contents. Add onion soup mix and lightly stir to mix it all in.

8. Set crock pot to low, cover, and let cook for 8-10 hours

9. Meat should easily fall apart with a fork and be stringy in nature.

10. Dig in and put it all on toasted bread to make the perfect pot roast sandwich

Easter Brunch: Zucchini-Potato Frittata

Today, I want to welcome another wonderful new guest blogger, Beth! Beth is another one of my college roomates who taught me many new tricks in the kitchen. She left us for the great Pacific Northwest where she is able to eat a lot of local, organic foods.  She makes a lot of vegan or vegetarian dishes but manages to maintain all the flavor! Since I posted my Passover recipes, I'm glad I could have Beth post an Easter recipe as well!  I hope you all enjoy her vegetarian frittata! (and I'm going to enjoy actually getting to see her this weekend while she visits the East Coast, which makes me so happy!!)

Hello yelleBELLYboo readers! I'm so excited to contribute to Dani's wonderful blog. Easter brunch is definitely one of my favorite meals of the year. And even thought I was unable to spend this Easter with family, it didn't stop me from enjoying a great brunch!

Overall, this meal was pretty easy and very tasty. The main dish was a Zucchini-Potato Frittata.

I love the aroma that fills the kitchen when cooking onions and potatoes, yumm. Be sure to flip the potatoes occasionally and cook them until they are soft, this took me longer than the 20 minutes suggested in the recipe.

Salting the zucchini and letting them set in a colander for about 30 minutes before cooking prevents the final product from being too watery, definitely a must.

I made a few changes to the recipe, and one of them was doubling the zucchini and omitting the bacon. I wanted to roll with a vegetable frittata, so the bacon was served on the side. Next time, I will add some sun-dried tomatoes during this step. It will complement the other vegetables well and give the dish more color.

Combine all cooked vegetables with the beaten eggs and cheese in a medium bowl, then pour mixture into the warm skillet. I went with feta, but any cheese would be great (the original recipe called for cheddar). Make sure the skillet you use oven-safe, because after the bottom is set (~10 minutes) you pop this in the oven for another 5-10 minutes so that the top can set. And then you can enjoy this egg-cellent (ha) dish!

I paired this with the Easy Peasy Whole Wheat Bread recipe that Dani posted a while back and a simple fruit salad. All in all, a very satisfying Easter brunch.

Zucchini-Potato Frittata
adapted from goodLife {eats}

Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini, sliced
salt
4-5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. golden potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
6 eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c crumbled feta

Instructions
Combine the zucchini and 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and toss well. Set aside to drain for 30 minutes. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat in a large, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or ovenproof nonstick skillet. Add the potatoes and onion, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, flipping and stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft.

Increase the heat to medium-high and continue cooking, tossing occasionally, until the potatoes are are brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the potatoes but keep the skillet on the burner. Transfer the zucchini to a clean kitchen towel and pat dry. Add the zucchini to the skillet and saute over medium-high heat, until the zucchini is just tender, about 4 minutes. Remove the zucchini.

Keep the skillet over the heat. Beat the eggs and pepper to taste in a medium bowl until well blended. Fold in the potatoes, zucchini, and cheese. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil to the skillet as needed to lightly coat the bottom. Pour in the egg mixture, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook without stirring until the bottom is set, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the top is set, 5 to 15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes. Place a serving plate on top of the skillet and carefully invert. The frittata should fall out of the pan. Cut into wedges and serve.

Potato Kugel Klein

Potato kugel is almost nothing like it's noodle alternative.  It is more of a casserole, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its place at the Passover table.  I made it as my second vegetarian side for my Seder.

This recipe had loads of onions and potatoes.  What recipe can go wrong when you have onions and potatoes?  I used one GIANT onion to get 5 cups.

Instead of using the fresh herbs or dill, I used dried herbs de provence.  They contain most of the same herbs and worked great.

Again, this recipe shouldn't be served with meat if you're being strictly Kosher.  We served meat at my Seder, but it was a very loose interpretation of the rules. At least I didn't serve any bread!

I also made this a day before, and kept it in the fridge until I was ready to bake it.  Making food ahead of time helped me keep a low stress level on the day of the meal.

I really enjoyed this recipe! I never thought I liked potato kugel (I'm partial to the noodle version) but this was fluffy and delightful.  It was super easy to make and enjoyed by all!

Potato Kugel Klein
from my mom's friend Suzie, who got it from Gourmet, Sept 1996
Serves 12-18

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter or margarine
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh marjoram
5 cups chopped onion
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp dried dill
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
2 1/4 cups sour cream
1/2 cup matzo meal
3 russet (baking) potatoes, peeled (about 1/2 lbs)

Instructions
In a large, heavy skillet heat 4 tbsp butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook herbs 3 minutes. Add onions and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes, or until softened. Add mushrooms, dill, remaining 3 tbsp butter, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.

In a bowl, stir together eggs, sour cream, and matzo and let mixture stand.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 13- by 9-inch baking dish.

Under running water coarsely grate potatoes into a colander. Squeeze excess water from potatoes and drain 2 minutes. Stir potatoes and onion mixture into matzo meal mixture. Spoon mixture into dish.

(At this point, you can cover and let sit in the refrigerator up to 12 hours, as long as the potatoes are drained well)

Bake in middle of oven 50 minutes or until golden.

Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche (or Sour Cream)

 

There were a couple reasons I decided to make this soup.  I wanted to make something fairly light, and one of my farmer's market purchases this week was a big head of green cabbage, so I wanted to find something to utilize some of it, while still leaving some to make Asian Slaw later this week.

Now, I could have used this cabbage for some St. Patty's Day corned beef and cabbage, but that just didn't sound very good.  I wanted some soup.

And I wanted a nice hardy soup, that I could eat for dinner.  I tried to make potato leek soup for the first time during snowmaggedon, but I wanted to find a recipe that didn't use heavy cream to cut down on the calories.

This recipe uses cabbage instead of cream (it didn't make much sense to me either - but it worked!)  The soup is super creamy!  Especially because I got to use my new gift to myself....

My new immersion blender!  Isn't it pretty?  And it worked great!  Let's be honest, the real reason I made this soup was so that I could try it out.  But totally was a good choice because this soup was SO GOOD!  I used light sour cream instead of crème fraîche because it is way cheaper and has about 1/4 of the calories.  The lemony sour cream just made this soup, and the cabbage you garnish it with is super tasty.  LOVED IT, this is one recipe I will definitely make again!! I licked the bowl clean!

Potato, Green Cabbage, and Leek Soup with Lemon Crème Fraîche (or Sour Cream)

Halved from epicurious

yield: Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon (1/8 stick) butter, divided

1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups diced green cabbage (1/2-inch dice; from about 1/4 medium head)

1½  cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only; 1½ to 2 large)

1½ large garlic cloves, pressed

1½ cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 3/4 pounds) (I used white potatoes because they were cheaper)

1/2 2 x 2-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind (optional, I left it out)

1/2 Turkish bay leaf

3 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth

1 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (for garnish)

Instructions

Whisk crème fraîche, lemon juice, and lemon peel in small bowl to blend. Cover and chill. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage; sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté until cabbage is almost tender but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1/2 cup cabbage to small bowl and reserve for garnish.

Add 1/2 tablespoon butter to pot with cabbage; add leeks and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until leeks soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in potatoes, Parmesan rind, if desired, and bay leaf. Add 3 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard Parmesan rind, if using, and bay leaf. Working in batches, puree soup in blender (or use an immersion blender in the original pot) until smooth. Return puree to pot. Simmer until heated through, adding more broth by 1/8 cupfuls to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with some of reserved sautéed cabbage. Drizzle crème fraîche mixture over soup; sprinkle with chives and serve.