Potato Fondant

As I've said before, I love potato. I've heard of potato fondant on tv and finally decided to make it. I served it with a filet mignon and lobster tail and made my kitchen feel like a high end steak house. 

Ingredients: 
3 large russet potatoes
2 tbsp avocado or canola oil
3 tbsp butter
4 sprigs fresh thyme 
1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Cut off the ends of the russet potatoes, stand potatoes on end, and peel potatoes from top to bottom with a sharp knife to make each potato into a uniform cylinder. Cut each cylinder in half crosswise to make 6 potato cylinders about 2 inches long. 

3. Place potatoes into a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes to remove the starch from outsides. Pat dry with paper towels. Do not do these steps too early before cooking for the potatoes will brown. 

4. Place a heavy oven-proof skillet (like a cast iron skillet) over high heat. Pour in oil. Heat until the oil is hot and slightly shimmers. 

5. Place potato cylinders with best-looking ends into the hot oil, lower heat to medium high and pan-fry potatoes until well browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

6. Flip the potatoes onto the opposite ends. As they cook, use a paper towel held with tongs to carefully blot out the oil from the skillet. Add butter and thyme sprigs to the skillet. 

7. Pick up the thyme sprigs with tongs and use it to paint butter over the top potatoes. (you can use a spoon to baste the potatoes as well) Cook until butter foams and foam turns white to a pale tan color. Season with more salt and pepper. Pour chicken stock into skillet. 

8. Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and cook until potatoes are tender and creamy inside, about 30 minutes. If potatoes aren't tender, add 1/4 cup more stock and let cook 10 more minutes. 

9. Place potatoes on a serving platter and spoon butter remaining in skillet over potatoes. Garnish with thyme sprigs. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving. 

Make Ahead Breakfast Caserole

This is a great dish for the holidays or if you have guests staying over. Make it anytime the day before, refrigerate overnight and simply bake it in the oven while hanging out with friends of family. What's also great about this dish is you can change the vegetables and seasonings. I like to start with a egg, bacon, and potato base and then change up the toppings. You could do a country style like I did with peppers and onions or go for a vegetarian version without the bacon and adding in broccoli and mushrooms. 

Ingredients:
1 lbs. bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, seed removed and finely diced
12 large eggs
1 cup milk
3 cups frozen diced potatoes (no need to thaw or cook the potatoes)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
salt and pepper
2 green onions, chopped 

Directions:

1. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper lined towel. 

2. While bacon cooks, whisk eggs and milk in a large bowl. Add in 1 cup of the cheese, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, and half of chopped green onions and whisk to combine. 

3. Drain bacon fat from skillet but leave 1 tsp. in pan. Add onion and bell pepper. Season with a small sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender and slightly charred, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat and set vegetables aside. 

4. Thinly coat a large baking pan or casserole with butter. Add potatoes evenly to the pan. Top potatoes with the cooked vegetables. Add a thin layer using half of the bacon bits. Top everything with egg mixture. Gently stir everything in the pan with a fork to make sure everything is evenly distributed and coated with the egg mixture. Top with the remaining cheese. 

5. At this point you can either cover the casserole over night until ready to bake or bake it right away. If refrigerating, make sure to cover the top of the casserole directly with plastic wrap. Then cover with aluminum foil. 

6. When ready to cook the casserole, preheat the oven to 350. Cook in the oven, uncovered for 20 minutes until the eggs start to set. Carefully add remaining bacon to the top of the casserole. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the eggs are firm and the top is slightly golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm. 

Lobster Salad Crostini

I was given an afternoon off from work so I decided to spend it cooking! I had some lobster tails in the freezer and I wanted to come up with an upscale appetizer to utilize them. I decided to combine a basic lobster salad and top it on a garlic crostini. The biggest tip for this appetizer is to make sure not to overcook the lobster, it will get tough and rubbery. 

Ingredients:

1 large Lobster tail
Baguette - cut into 1/4 in slices, enough for 8 pieces
1 tbsp Mayo
2 tsp lemon juice, divided
1 tbsp chopped parsley, divided
2 tsp finely diced shallot 
1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole
2 tbsp butter 
Salt and pepper

Directions: 

1. Cook lobster tail. Boil a large pot of salted water. Boil lobster for 3 minutes (a little longer if it’s a larger lobster tail) the key here is to not over cook it or it will get tough and rubbery. Remove cooked tail to a cutting board to cool. Once cool enough to handle, cut lobster into large chunks. 
 
2. Make shallot and Mayo mixture. In a small bowl combine diced shallot and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to “cook” shallots. Add Mayo, 1 tsp of parsley and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. 
 
3. Make crostini. Toast baguette slices under a preheated broiler until lightly browned. Rub garlic clove over toasted bread. Top crostini with a spread of butter. 
 
4. Assemble crostini. Add chopped lobster into Mayo mix. Stir until combined. You want a lot of lobster with a small amount of Mayo just holding it together. Taste mix for salt and pepper and add more if needed. Top crostini with a small mound of lobster mix. Top with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and chopped parsley to garnish. Serve immediately 
  

 

Latkes

It's Hanukkah and all of these posts about latkes was making me crave them. I'd never made them before but I love potato so I knew it was going to turn out fine. This recipe is from Ina Garten. I think my favorite part of the latkes (besides the crispy delicious potato) was the fun of topping them. I know it's not very traditional but topping them with sour cream, bacon bits, and green onion was incredibly delicious. 

Ingredients:
2 large baking potatoes (russets)
3 tbsp grated onion
1 large egg, whisked
3 tbsp flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
canola or avocado oil

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes and grate them on a box grater. Wrap the grated potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Combine the potatoes in a bowl with the grated onion, egg, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. 

2. Add a light coating of oil in a large saute pan. Heat over medium high heat until oil shimmers. Place a tablespoon of the potato mixture into the pan. Form pancakes around the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Turn the pancakes over and cook for another 2 minutes until second side is crispy as well. 

3. Place cooked pancakes on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Make sure to season with a small pinch of salt as soon as they are cooked to season them. Serve warm. 

Chicken Piccata

 I'm always looking for new ways to cook chicken. This chicken piccata is a dish I'm super familiar with but have never made at home. I couldn't believe how quickly this dish came together. This recipe is for the chicken only but I served mine with some israeli cous cous (tiny balls of pasta). This dish could also be served with a leafy green salad, pasta, or some herb rice. 

Ingredients:

1 lbs chicken cutlets or chicken tenders
1 cup flour, for dredging
10 tbsp. butter, divided
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tbsp. capers, lightly drained
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the flour on a plate. Dredge the chicken in flour and shake off any excess. Discard the flour when finished dredging. 

2. Heat 3 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet set over medium high heat until the butter has melted. 

3. Working in batches, taking car not to crowd the pan, add the chicken pieces and saute until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side, and cooked through. Set the chicken aside on a plate while you finished the sauce. You can cover the chicken loosely in foil to keep warm. 

4. Add rest of butter and olive oil to pan with chicken drippings. Add the shallot to the pan and saute over medium low until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. 

5. Add chicken stock and simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. 

6. Reduce heat to low, then stir in capers, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Taste sauce and check for salt and pepper. Add parsley to sauce if using. 

7. Place cooked chicken on a plate. Top with piccata sauce. Serve with your favorite pasta, salad, or rice. 

Quiche Lorraine

 This recipe is such a hit, I was immediately slice into the quiche and always forget to take a photo LOL. If you're feeling extra fancy you can make your own pie crust but the frozen pie shells save a lot of work. This quiche is great for lunch with a small green salad. 

Ingredients:
1 frozen pie shell

1 tbsp. butter

1 small yellow onion, very thinly sliced

3 strips of bacon

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/2 cup shredded gruyere

2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. 

2. Thaw pie shell according to package directions. Press a piece of parchment over the crust, then fill with pie weights, raw beans, or rice. Put the pan on a baking sheet. Bake pie shell until crust is set and golden around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and discard parchment paper and weights. Allow crust to cool for 20 minutes. 

3. While pie crust is baking, cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium low heat until bacon is crispy. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool. Once cooled, cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside. 

4. Add thinly sliced onions to saute pan with 1 tbsp. of bacon fat. Add the fresh thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook onions for about 10 minutes until slightly browned and softened. Allow to cool slightly in pan. 

5. Once pie crust is cooked and cooled, add onion mixture to bottom of pie shell. Next add a layer of the bacon bits. Finally add a layer of the shredded gruyere. The key to this step is even distribution around the pie crust. That way you get a little bit of each ingredient in every bit. 

6. In a small bowl whisk the heavy cream and eggs until combined. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour cream mixture over the ingredients in the pie shell. Try to make it an even layer. 

7. Bake quiche on the baking sheet until set and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving. 

Serving Options:

1. Serve a wedge of quiche as is with a sprinkle of chives to garnish. 

2. Serve a wedge of quiche with a small side salad of mixed greens with a lemon vinaigrette. 

Tomatillo Salsa

I was making some street style tacos with carne asada, chopped onion, lime, and cilantro. I wanted to add some more flavor and spice so I tried out a salsa made from tomatillos instead of tomato. The tomatillos added a really nice acidity which brightened up the whole dish. Took me about 10 minutes to make and was really easy. 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, outer papery husks removed
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves (or parsley)
2 jalapeno peppers or 1 serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut in half
1 tbsp. lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the tomatillos in half and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Add garlic cloves in their skin as well as the jalapenos to the sheet tray. Place under broiler for about 5 minutes until the tomatillos and jalapenos are slightly blackened. Remove from pan and allow to cool. 

2. While tomatillos, garlic and jalapeno roast, put all other ingredients into a blender. 

3. Once cooled to the touch, roughly chop jalapeno and add to blender. Remove garlic skins, roughly chop, and add to blender. Add tomatillos to blender. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to blender.

4. Blend everything together using the pulse button. Combine until desired texture is reached. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if needed. 

5. Put salsa into a air tight container and allow to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Serve over some tacos or enchiladas and enjoy.