Recipes

Ingredients
4 russet potatoes, scrubbed
6 slices bacon, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475*F. Set rimmed baking sheet inside oven. Prick potatoes all over with fork, place on paper towel, and microwave until tender, 10 to 15 minutes, turning potatoes over after 5 minutes. (I don’t know if my potatoes were particularly huge, or what, but it took them 20-25 minutes in the microwave.)

2. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain bacon in a sieve set over a bowl.  Reserve the bacon fat and pat bacon with paper towels to remove extra grease. 

3. Quarter potatoes lengthwise, let cool 5 minutes, and then scoop out most of flesh (reserve for another use), leaving ¹⁄₄-inch layer of potato flesh. Brush exterior of potatoes with reserved bacon fat and season with salt and pepper. Transfer potatoes, skin-side down, to preheated baking sheet and bake until golden brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Combine cheese, cornstarch, half of bacon, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Remove potato shells from oven and top with cheese mixture. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer skins to paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with remaining bacon.  Serve with sour cream if desired. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual and baking the skins prior to filling them certainly helped to keep them crisp.  I used lowfat cheese which is why it doesn’t look quite as melty as it should in the picture – lowfat cheese always melts oddly.  These were great and enjoyed by all.  Do be sure to let them cool so you don’t burn yourself with the first bite!

I’m also experimenting with backgrounds in my photographs…

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
1-2 pounds top round steak, trimmed and cut into chunks (Eye round also works well.)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried dill
¹⁄₂ teaspoon black pepper
16 ounce mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
¹⁄₃ cup all purpose flour
1 cup beef broth
8 ounces sour cream (I use light sour cream which works well.)
Egg noodles, cooked for serving

Instructions
1. Place steak, onion, parsley, mustard, salt, dill, pepper, mushrooms, and garlic into slow cooker.  Stir well. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk flour and broth together until well blended.  Add broth to slow cooker and stir well.  Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour.  Reduce heat to LOW and cook 7 to 8 hours or until steak is tender.  (10 hours all on LOW will also work.) 

3. Remove lid and let stroganoff stand for 10 minutes.  Stir in sour cream and serve over noodles. 

Comments
This slow cooker is one of the many that I tried out when I was cooking for my parents in early 2009.  Slow cooker meals were perfect to get started on Fridays before I drove back to my own home.  This recipe is from Cooking Light: Slow Cooker and, as you may have noticed, I’m always game to try a new stroganoff recipe. 

We all enjoyed this quite a bit, and my parents were able to feast on leftovers for days.  This time around, Lance and I also enjoyed it quite a bit!  The steak ends up very tender and well flavored.

Cooking Light: Slow Cooker

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup slivered almonds
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes
¹⁄₂ cup fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic
¹⁄₂ teaspoon red wine vinegar
¹⁄₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Table salt
¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
1 pound pasta (linguine or spaghetti)
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Toast almonds in small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Cool almonds to room temperature.

2. Process cooled almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula.   While processor is running, slowly drizzle in oil.

3. Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve ¹⁄₂ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.

4. Add pesto and ¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coats pasta. Serve immediately, passing extra Parmesan at the table. 

Comments
This recipe, from the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual, caught my eye because I’m always interested in experimenting with pesto.  In some ways, the dish reminded me of Pasta Caprese because of the tomatoes and basil, but the other flavors helped to differentiate this dish from that one.  (Of course, it did make me long for summer tomatoes.)  After surviving the first bite, Lance polished off two helpings, so I’d say it gets his vote as well!  I will turn to this recipe in the future when I’m looking for lightly sauced, and extremely flavorful, pasta.  And I’m sure you could use pretty much any pasta shape you wanted to use.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
1 pound farfalle pasta
2 heads broccoli, trimmed to florets
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
5 anchovy fillets, diced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₂ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally.  After 5 minutes, add the broccoli to the pasta and cook for another 4 minutes.  Drain pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.  Return pasta and broccoli to pot. 

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.  Add the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sauce, salt and pepper to the broccoli and pasta.  Stir well to coat, adding some of the reserved pasta water if necessary.  Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving. 

Comments
This is another recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.  I used to be leery of cooking with anchovies, but I’m finding that they add a subtle and non-fishy flavor.  The broccoli was nicely done and everything tasted delicious. 

Shown here with Salmon with Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary.

Internet - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
¹⁄₄ cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
¹⁄₂ cup white wine
4 teaspoons capers
4 pieces of aluminum foil

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F. 

2. Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary.  Place each piece of salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal.  Top each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons wine, and 1 teaspoon capers.  Wrap salmon tightly in foil packet. 

3. Place foil packets on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the salmon flakes easily.  Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis and originally called for a grill or grill pan.  I opted to bake the salmon in the oven instead and found the dish to be very successful.  I served the salmon with the accumulated liquid from the foil packets, but found that this made things to wet.  Next time I’ll leave the liquid in the foil. 

Shown here with Farfalle with Broccoli.

Internet - Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
2 slices white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
³⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
2 pounds broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stems chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 ¹⁄₄ cups white rice
4 cups chicken broth
1 ¹⁄₄ cups half and half
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
¹⁄₈ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400*F. Pulse bread, ¹⁄₄ cup Parmesan, and melted butter in food processor until coarsely ground. (Or use a mini-grinder.)  Add garlic.

2. Microwave broccoli florets, covered, in large bowl until bright green and tender, 2 to 4 minutes; set aside. Melt remaining butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion and broccoli stems until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, half and half, and salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until rice is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Off heat, stir in cheddar, cayenne, remaining Parmesan, and broccoli florets.

3. Place Dutch oven in oven and bake until sauce is bubbling around edges and top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Serve. 

Comments
I thought this dish was fantastic.  It sort of reminded me of risotto, only in baked casserole form.  It was scrumptious.  The original recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual.  I did exchange the food processor for my mini-grinder and baked it in the Dutch oven instead of the 13 by 9-inch pan the recipe called for in order to spare my dish washer.  He appreciated my generosity and benevolence.  He was also pleased that this dish wasn’t as cheesy as he thought it would be – since he’s not a lover of cheese, this is a good thing.

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
1 pound thin spaghetti
Salt
4-8 ounces sliced deli pepperoni, stacked and cut into thin strips
1 onion, chopped
3 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
¹⁄₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes
³⁄₄ cup half and half
¹⁄₂ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475*F. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and return to pot.

2. Meanwhile, cook pepperoni in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Add onion and cook until softened. Stir in tomatoes, pepper flakes, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is thickened and reduced to 4 cups, about 15-20 minutes; cover and keep warm.

3. Transfer 2 cups tomato sauce to pot with hot pasta. Add half and half, basil and cheese and toss to combine. Transfer mixture to prepared casserole dish and press with spatula to flatten surface. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve, passing remaining sauce at table. 

Comments
The original recipe, which is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual, calls for a regular pie plate but there is no way I would have been able to fit all of this into a regular pie plate!  So I used a deep, round casserole dish instead.  This made a delicious, and filling, dinner.  The pepperoni adds fantastic flavor and heat to the sauce and the Mexican cheese blend adds a good depth to the taste.  I used about 6 ounces of pepperoni when I made this and, hindsight ²⁰⁄₂₀, I wish that I had used the entire 8 ounce package.  Next time!

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
For the chicken
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 egg, lightly beaten
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper
¹⁄₂ cup cornstarch
¹⁄₄ cup all purpose flour

For the sauce
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1-2 teaspoons sriracha (I used 1 teaspoon, which was nice.)
¹⁄₄ cup honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons white sugar
¹⁄₄ teaspoon sesame oil
¹⁄₄ cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Oil for frying (Peanut oil and vegetable oil both work well.)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced

Instructions
1. Toss chicken with egg in large bowl.  Mix salt, pepper, cornstarch, and flour in a small bowl and add to chicken mixture.  Stir well to coat chicken. 

2. Heat 1-inch of oil in large pot over medium-high heat.  (I use a Dutch oven for this.)  Once oil is hot, working in batches, fry chicken until cooked through and crisp, about 8-10 minutes per batch.  Be careful not to crowd the chicken in the pot and allow the oil to heat fully between batches.  (My chicken took 5-6 batches.)  Drain chicken on paper towels or sieve and set aside. 

3. Mix all sauce ingredients, stirring well to dissolve sugar and incorporate cornstarch. 

4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic and sauté, stirring, until onions have started to soften.  Stir sauce to recombine and add to saucepan.  Stir until thickened and add chicken.  Stir until chicken is well coated and serve over rice and/or vegetables, as desired. 

Note: If serving with stir-fried vegetables, cook the veggies between steps 3 and 4.  Once vegetables are cooked, remove to bowl.  Add vegetables back to sauce when you add the chicken in step 4. 

Comments
This is another great recipe inspired by the fantastic Crepes of Wrath.  The flavors in the dish, thanks to the honey, remind me of the sesame chicken I’ve gotten in restaurants.  The recipe came together very easily, the frying is the most time consuming part of the meal. 

I make a number of recipes that start off with frying coated chicken.  I know, from my earlier experiments with Orange Chicken, that I can fry the chicken the day before and keep it in the fridge until ready to use with no degradation in flavor.  I’m beginning to wonder if I could fry up a large batch of chicken and freeze it in recipe-sized containers.  Then I could just pull out a container and skip right to the sauce/vegetable part of the dish.  Hmm..

Internet - Crepes of Wrath

Ingredients
1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into ¹⁄₄”-thick pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 ¹⁄₂ cups Arborio rice
1 clove garlic, minced
6-8 cups chicken broth, warmed (I do this in the microwave because I’m a heathen.  Feel free to do it in a saucepan if you’re not.)
¹⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 green onions, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper
3-4 egg yolks 

Instructions
1. In large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon and onion until the bacon begins to crisp.  Stir in rice and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the rice is opaque.  Drain rice mixture in a fine-mesh sieve and return to pot.  Add garlic, stirring until fragrant. 

2. Stir in ¹⁄₂ cup warm broth and continue to cook rice, stirring, until the broth is absorbed.  Repeat this process, adding ¹⁄₂ cup broth at a time, until the rice is tender.  (This will take 20-25 minutes and use 6-8 cups of broth.) 

3. Stir in the cheese and green onions. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  (I added lots of pepper and no salt at all since the bacon and the cheese added enough for my tastes.)

4. While the risotto is still very, very hot, divide it among 3 or 4 warmed bowls. (I put them in the oven after I’d removed the roast and turned the oven off.  You could easily microwave them if you’d like.  Or just work quickly.)  Make an indentation in each mound of risotto for a yolk. Place a yolk in the center of each mound and serve immediately, instructing your diners to use their forks to mix the yolk in with the rice in order to cook the yolk slightly and make a sauce.

Comments
I love risotto.  I love bacon.  I love eggs!  And this recipe, from the brilliantly named Crepes of Wrath, combines ALL THREE.  Oh happy (and unhealthy) day!  It was scrumptious and extremely bacony.  So bacony that I believe I will only use ¹⁄₂ pound the next time I prepare this risotto version.  Still, it was delicious. 

Shown here with Herbed Roast Beef.

Internet - Crepes of Wrath

Ingredients
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 ¹⁄₄ pounds fresh tuna, cut into 1-inch cubes
¹⁄₄ cup teriyaki sauce (I used my favorite Soy Vey.)
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup onion, cut into thin half moons
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
1. Combine the lime juice and tuna in a medium bowl. Combine teriyaki sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add tuna mixture; stir-fry  for 2 minutes. Add teriyaki mixture; stir-fry 30 seconds or until slightly thick. Serve over rice, and sprinkle with cilantro.

Comments
As you can see by the title, this recipe from Cooking Light did not turn out so well.  The tuna was overcooked, which was all my fault, not the recipes.  I cooked it for longer than the recipe called for.  I was mainly displeased with the use of bottled teriyaki sauce, especially after having Teriyaki Flank Steak the other night.  Next time I make this dish, I’ll be using the teriyaki sauce from that recipe instead.  I also found the cilantro to be very… strange.  Which is unusual since I love cilantro.  I think that, next time, I might toss the lime juice and cilantro in with the rice prior to serving instead.  That could work. 

I will make this again, and it will be amazing.  Oh yes.

Cooking Light