Scalloped Potato Gratin

I was passing through the kitchen yesterday trying to come up with a quick and easy side dish to go with the steak we were going to cook Tony for Father's Day on Sunday.  My mind instantly went to potatoes and I realized that I didn't get around to posting the delicious scalloped potatoes that I made for him for his birthday!

Super easy side dish especially if you use the slicer attachment on you food processor.  He loved them and might just be seeing a repeat performance on Sunday!

See all the cheesy goodness with the delicious little browned bits that everyone fights over?

Scalloped Potato Gratin (Food Network - Tyler Florence's recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Butter
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.
• While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes. 

Fish & Chips for #GoJunkFood

This month’s #GoJunkFood (a small twitter challenge) was chosen as Fish & Chips.  Truly this could not have come at a better time as I was craving me some beer battered and fried fish like you can’t even imagine and I was looking for an excuse, any excuse to make some.

Being from Canada which has a huge amount of British immigrants (my Mom being one!), we have a ton of Fish & Chip shops.  On of my fondest food memories from growing is the family going out and getting our Fish & Chips.  Usually we brought it home but we all went to the little shop and ordered our food and got it hot from the fryer wrapped up in unprinted newspaper.  I remember the smell of hot paper, grease (the good kind) and the fish in a very, very happy way…

Onto my Fish & Chips.  Now, I had to stay original with the fish because I really needed to satisfy my craving.  I did use cod this time.  Usually we use Grouper as it is a local fish but I wasn’t able to get any that I was happy with and there is no way I was paying for Halibut (my favorite fish for Fish & Chips) but I did put my own Southern spin on the chips.  I made Sweet Potato fries to highlight where I live now and the wonderful fall season!

Beer Battered Fish (this is the same batter I use for squash blossoms)

Heat 3 inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pot to at least 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of fish (thawed if frozen), I used cod but any firm white fish will do
2 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 cup for dredging
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup beer (I stole T.'s Yeungling for this one)
Coarse salt for finishing

Directions:

• While the oil is heating mix the batter ingredients until just combined. This batter should be the consistency of pancake batter.
• Dredge each piece of fish lightly in the plain flour and then dip into the batter and place gently in the oil. Do not crowd the fish in the oil, you may have to cook in batches. Cook turning once until a nice golden brown.
• Drain on a rack or paper towels and serve immediately

Double Fried Sweet Potato Fries (Ceramic Canvas)

Ingredients:

2 pounds sweet potatoes
Salt, to taste

Directions:

• Pour oil in a deep fryer or heavy saucepan to reach halfway up the sides of the pan. Heat to 325 degrees F, use a deep fry thermometer to determine this.
• While the oil is heating, peel the potatoes (if you want to…I left the skin on) and cut into uniform sticks. Place the cut potatoes in a bowl of ice water to release some of the starch and to keep them from browning.
• Dry the potato strips thoroughly, this will keep the oil from splattering (very important step as the sweet potatoes seem to hold more water anyway). Fry them in batches so the pan isn’t crowded and the oil temperature doesn’t drop. Cook for 3 minutes until they are soft but not browned.
• Remove the potatoes with a long-handled metal strainer and drain on brown paper bags.
• Bring oil temperature up to 375 degrees F. Return the par-fried potatoes to the oil in batches and cook a second time for 4 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain on fresh brown paper bags then place in a serving bowl lined with paper towels. Salt and serve immediately.

The Fish & Chips are part of the #GoJunkFood quest to take your every day bar food and put your own spin on it. Be sure to visit all of the other bloggers involved…

Elle at Elle’s New England kitchen
Paula at The Dragons Kitchen
Chris at Blog Well Done
Renee at Flamingo Musings

Thanks for letting me play guys and I can’t wait to see what next month brings!

Potato and Leek Soup

I get a weekly CSA box from Worden Farms. I kind of have a love/hate sort of thing going on with it. I thought I would really love it. Supporting the local, organic and sustainable farmer and all. Well turns out it’s really not the best thing for me. I am not very satisfied with what is being sent to me. Not that I am being ripped off or the produce isn’t great but I am so uninspired by a box full of veggies. I want to be at the market or the farm and be able to touch, see, smell and feel the vegetables. This past week I went so far as to go to their weekly farmers’ market to see what I was missing I walked out of there with about $30 worth of stuff but also totally inspired again!!! Sadly I think next year will be a Farmer’s Market year and no more CSA box for me!

Onto the Potato and Leek soup and how it fits into my CSA box story…

I have been getting a bunch of potatoes in my box lately and I had been wanting to make soup out of them but I have been waiting to get some leeks to make Potato and Leek Soup so when I went the other day I picked up a beautiful bundle of leeks.

I really like simple soups where the true flavors come shining through. T. is of the mindset that everything is better with bacon and could not even fathom the idea that I wanted to make a potato soup without bacon in it. Turns out it was a great recipe and he really loved it. Thanks Alana!!! Took it for lunch today if that means anything!

Potato and Leek Soup (Butter is Love)

Ingredients:

• 2 T butter
• 3 leeks (I used 4 because that’s what I had)
• 4 medium potatoes (I used a bunch of small red skins)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 qt. chicken broth
• I added garlic powder and onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• milk to desired consistency

Directions:

1. Thinly slice leeks to the top of the light green part and put in a bowl of water to soak out any dirt
2. Thinly slice potatoes (I leave the skins on for flavor and potassium)Heat 2 T of butter in a large pot over medium heat
3. Add potatoes to the pot and sautée until they start to brown
4. Add garlic and sautée for one minute, careful not to burn
5. Drain and add leeks, sautée until wilted
6. Add 1 qt chicken broth and simmer for 30 min (check your potatoes for doneness)
7. Immersion blend or blend in a regular blender (Be very careful if using a regular blender, only blend half at a time. Trust me.)
8. Blend in milk until desire consistency is reached
9. Salt and pepper to taste

This was a beautiful and simple recipe that let the wonderful ingredients shine without covering it up in bacon fat (which does have it’s place people! Just not in this soup)

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Yummy Fried Chicken!

See how nice and crispy it turned out? How could you resist?

The other night T. and I were both wanting some fried chicken. Seeing as we don't eat meat that is from a CAFO it really limits us on where we can eat out when we do. I usually follow a vegetarian diet when eating out. Solves the ethical issues I have. But this was different and very hard. I mean, I wanted fried chicken badly!!!!

We ended up buying 2 "happy" chickens from Costco and cutting them up and making a whole slew of fried chicken! We needed enough to feed 2 extra children and then have some leftovers. It went over well and yes, we still have a bunch of leftovers. Nothing quite like cold fried chicken is there???

Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

whole chicken cut up (or just pieces of your favorite parts)
1 carton of buttermilk
Peanut or Canola Oil
5 cups of flour
1 Tbsp cayenne
2 Tbsp onion salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp ground pepper
1 Tbsp garlic salt

Directions

• In a pan or a bowl soak the chicken in enough Buttermilk to cover for about 15 - 20 minutes (or longer if you have more time).
• Heat a cast iron skillet (or any other deep skillet) with about 1.2 to 1/4 inches of peanut or canola oil. It is hot enough when you drop a small piece of food in and it bobs right to the surface. If you have a thermometer you can place that in the oil and when it reaches 365° your oil is at the right temperature.
• * Mix together all of the dry ingredients and take the chicken pieces from the buttermilk and place it in the flour to cover.
• Remove the chicken from the flour and remove any excess flour and place in another bowl or pan and allow to sit until the oil is up to the right temperature.
• * Place each piece of chicken in the oil gently turn only when the chicken is a golden brown. Turn and cook the other side.
• You can test the chicken the old fashioned way (by cutting into it) or you can use a meat thermometer to check and ensure that it has reached 170 degrees.
• Allow to drain on a rack for several minutes and then serve immediately!

The french fries ended up incredible too. We like them nice and crispy and to acheive that with homemade ones you need to fry them twice. Do the initial fry in small batches and then toss them all back in in the end and fry them for another minute or two and they will end up nice and crispy!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Parsley Potatoes?

Sounds pretty bland huh? Well I thought so too until I tasted them!!! T.'s Mom made these for us when we were in PA on our vacation and we recreated them when we were in Toronto at my families then again last night. Yummmm. I like potatoes but I don't LOVE them the way some people do. I could pass a baked potato for rice or a salad any day. But I LOVE these potatoes!!! Really simple to make and compliments just about any food. We had these with some fried chicken and a salad last night and they worked great. The kids love them too!


Parsley Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 -2 lbs of small red skin potatoes, cut in quarters. (I'm sure any white fleshed potato will work)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 stick of butter
3/4 of a lg bunch of parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Cook potatoes.
• In small pan melt the butter and add the chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
• Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl. Add butter sauce and toss gently. Add parsley and gently toss all together.
  
• Serve immediately.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

My savory potato salad screw up!

Grilled Potatoes

The other night when I was making the stuffed grape leaves I saw that I had a bunch of potatoes that were sprouting eyes. I figured that I had better get hem used up. I also new that I had some beans so I originally had been looking for some inspiration in the way of a potato and bean salad. But when I decided on a nice easy light vinaigrette and got my beans out I realized this was not to be!! Those beans stunk...Enorma got those!

I finally decided on Potato salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Would have been really good to but I undercooked the potatoes???!!! Too many things going on at once. It wouldn't have been so bad but I didn't even notice it until I tasted it after I had it all dressed and ready to go in the fridge!!! I figured I could microwave it and then chill it again but that still sounded like a lot of work. I was grilling the goat cheese stuffed chicken anyway so I decided to add a bit more oil to the potatoes and put them in an aluminum foil packet and finish cooking them on the grill.

They actually turned out incredible and I would not hesitate to do this again. The nest time I might just microwave them and then do the dressing and then grill them. I have other ways that I grill my potatoes but this turned out very well with the vinegar adding something else to it! Here is how the recipe will go:

Grilled Potatoes

1-1/2 lbs potatoes, cooked and chopped into 1 inch cubes
2 + 2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried summer savory
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp powdered mustard

Directions:

• Bake the potatoes in the microwave until done. Allow to cool until you can handle them well enough to cut them into 1 inch cubes.
• In a separate bowl mix together the first 2 Tbsp of olive oil, vinegar, parsley, oregano, garlic, savory, pepper and mustard.
• Add the dressing to the potato pieces and allow to soak in at room temperature.
• Prepare aluminum foil packet and oil the bottom with the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the potatoes and cook on the grill for about 10 minutes turning once during the cooking time.

These would be great served as a side dish to just about anything. I was thinking that you could even add cherry tomatoes to cook with it on the grill. This could be a very versatile dish with a bit of creativity!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Nice relaxing dinner with a good bottle of wine!

Potatoes with onion, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and oregano

Anyone who has been following me on blogging adventure know that I LOVE fresh farmer's market food. This meal was all about that.

I had bought some potatoes on Wednesday when I was there and was really curious to find out how different an organic potatoes taste was compared to a regular potato. Our favorite way to eat potatoes is to oven roast them with garlic, onions, olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano (or any of your favorite herbs). They turned out so great tasting we were all very impressed.

I had also purchased some Romanesco which is described as a cauliflower. I don't know that it really did taste like that. We ate it raw sort as an appetizer. I had my oldest daughter help break it from the stem. In that way it was like broccoli or cauliflower but the taste was very different. It has a nutty, fresh taste to it. We ate it with blue cheese to dip.

Oldest daughter helping in the kitchen (no the knife was not hers)

For the meat we bought some steaks from Publix Greenwise. This was a treat for the girls because we hadn't had steak in a while! It was a treat for T. and I as well becasue we had a nice bottle of wine to go along with it!
All in all a real nice relaxing dinner...I find even the children seem better once I get a glass or 2 of wine in me (is that really the case or do I just not care quite so much???!!!), but regardless it was a perfect meal!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com