Recipes

Ingredients
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch-thick sliced, rinsed well, and drained (4 to 6 medium potatoes)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1-1 ¹⁄₂ cup whole milk
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded
Ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Place potatoes in large saucepan; add water to cover by 1 inch and add 1 tablespoon salt. Partially cover saucepan with lid and bring potatoes to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender and just break apart when poked with fork, 12 to 17 minutes. Drain potatoes and dry saucepan.

2. Transfer potatoes to food processor; add butter, garlic, and 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt. Pulse until butter is melted and incorporated into potatoes, about ten 1-second pulses. Add 1 cup milk and continue to process until potatoes are smooth and creamy, about 20 seconds, scraping down sides halfway through.

3. Return potato mixture to saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir in cheese, 1 cup at a time, until incorporated. Continue to cook potatoes, stirring vigorously, until cheese is fully melted and mixture is smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. If mixture is difficult to stir and seems thick, stir in 2 tablespoons milk at a time (up to ¹⁄₂ cup) until potatoes are loose and creamy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. 

Comments
Let me first say that I should have put these potatoes in something like a bowl before taking a picture of them, they spread out quite a bit on the plate!  This recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual and is pretty much the opposite of what every other recipe for mashed potatoes says to do.  The result was smooth, elastic, and extremely flavorful.  The combination of cheeses and garlic worked very well together.

I’m not sure that I’ll make these often, since I prefer mashed potatoes with a chunky texture, but this dish definitely has its place in the continuum of mashed potatoes!

Shown here with Salisbury Steak.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ pound pasta (I used linguine.  Next time I’d use a whole pound instead of half.) 
1 tablespoon butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
4 ounce cream cheese
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 cups frozen peas
4 ounce smoked salmon, skinned and cut into small pieces (This works with lox as well.)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried dill
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Cook pasta 1 minute less than package directions until just al dente, drain and keep warm. 

2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add broth and cheese; cook 4 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Add tomato, peas, and salmon; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in dill, salt, and pepper.

3. Combine pasta and salmon mixture in a large bowl; toss gently.

Comments
I believe this recipe is from the 2006 Cooking Light Annual and I think it was one of the first recipes I made with fish once I had Lance to eat fish with me.  I picked it to make this week after Aikido because I knew it would be quick and easy to pull together.  I did think that the salmon sauce to pasta ratio was a bit too high and, next time, I’ll try to remember to use a pound of pasta instead of the ¹⁄₂ pound the original recipe calls for.  Aside from that, this is a very flavorful dish and it was extremely satisfying after an evening of training.

Cooking Light 2006

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup milk (I used whole since I had it on hand from the mashed potatoes.)
7 tablespoons instant potato flakes
1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, halved and sliced thin
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 ³⁄₄ cups beef broth
¹⁄₄ cup ruby port, tawny port or dry sherry (I used dry sherry, I haven’t even heard of those ports.)

Instructions
1. Whisk milk and potato flakes in large bowl. Add beef, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper and knead until combined. Shape into 4 ¹⁄₂-inch-thick oval patties and transfer to parchment-lined plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

3. Add onion and remaining butter to empty skillet and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt and cook until liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and flour and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Slowly stir in broth and port (or sherry) and bring to simmer. Return patties to skillet, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual.  I don’t think I’ve ever had Salisbury steak before, so I thought it would be fun to try out.  I did goof while making the patties and made 6 instead of 4.  Oops.  I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this recipe yet.  The patties were very tender, but they weren’t very flavorful.  I also found the sauce to be a bit too thin, but I think I could fix that next time with a bit more flour and perhaps a short simmer of the sauce after removing the patties in the end. 

Shown here with French Mashed Potatoes with Cheese and Garlic (Aligot).

Cook’s Country 2007

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon turmeric
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground coriander
¹⁄₄ teaspoon paprika
1 pound russet potatoes, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes
1 ¹⁄₃ cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup frozen peas
Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Instructions
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander and paprika and sauté 1 minute. 

2. Add in potatoes and broth.  Stir well, cover, and cook 5 minutes.  Uncover, increase heat to medium-high and cook until potatoes are tender and liquid is reduced to the consistency of glaze, stirring gently, about 8 minutes more. 

3. Reduce heat to low.  Season generously with salt and pepper, add lemon juice and stir well to combine.  Add frozen peas and stir until thawed.  Sprinkle with cilantro, if using, and serve. 

Comments
I knew that I wanted to find a potato and vegetable dish to serve with Tandoori Chicken this week, but I didn’t have one in my files that was calling to me.  I found this recipe on epicurious.com and, with the addition of peas, it fit the bill.  The flavor was fantastic, the potatoes were nice and yellow, and it was delicious. 

Shown here with Tandoori Chicken.

Internet - Epicurious

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup plain yogurt, whole or low-fat
Juice of 2 limes, divided
2 teaspoons salt
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Instructions
1. Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garam masala, cumin, and chili powder; continue to cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds longer. Transfer half of garlic-spice mixture to medium bowl; stir in yogurt, juice of 1 lime, and set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine remaining garlic-spice mixture, juice from remaining lime, and salt. Using sharp knife, lightly score the smoother side of each piece of chicken, making 2 or 3 shallow cuts; transfer to bowl. Using hands, gently massage salt-spice mixture into chicken until all pieces are evenly coated; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325*F. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated with thick layer. Arrange chicken pieces, scored-side down, on wire rack set in foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Bake chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 125*F, 15 to 25 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to plate as they reach correct temperature.)

4. After removing chicken from oven, turn oven to broil and heat 10 minutes. Once broiler is heated, flip chicken pieces over and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165*F, 8 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with foil, and rest 5 minutes.

Comments
I believe I saw this recipe made on an episode of America’s Test Kitchen so I was pretty happy to see it in the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual.  I modified the recipe slightly to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and we were very pleased with the results.  The chicken was very moist, tender, and extremely flavorful.  The 30 minute marinade really does the trick. 

This was also easy enough that I can envision preparing chicken this way to use in other Indian recipes, such as my beloved Butter Chicken. 

Shown here with Indian Potatoes with Peas.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
²⁄₃ cup pepperoni
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
¹⁄₃ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons garlic salt
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons dried oregano
3 ¹⁄₄ cups bread flour
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons bread machine yeast

Instructions
1. Place two layers of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate.  Spread pepperoni out on paper towels and place two more layers of paper towels on top.  Microwave for 30 seconds.  (Do this in batches, if necessary.)  Dice pepperoni and set aside. 

2. Place all remaining ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions.  Select basic bread setting, medium crust, and 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds for loaf size.  Press start.  (This recipe is not suitable for use with the delay timer.)

3. Just before second kneading cycle begins, add pepperoni.  (Or whenever your machine beeps at you to add nuts and other mix-ins.) 

4. When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

Comments
A friend of mine mentioned that she was going to be making “pepperoni and cheese bread” in her bread machine and my ears immediately perked up, especially since I had quite a bit of pepperoni leftover from pizza-making earlier in the week.  I asked her for the recipe and she gave me the Recipe Zaar link.  Sure enough, I had all the ingredients, so it went into the machine that very day.  I did use the pepperoni degreasing trick that worked so well for the pizza and it worked just as well with the bread. 

The house smelled like pizza while this was baking and the taste was phenomenal.  This would make fantastic garlic bread, toast with butter, or even the base for a quick and easy English muffin-style pizza in the toaster oven.  I will definitely be making this whenever I have leftover pepperoni on hand!

(Please ignore the blade hole in the top slice of bread, I didn’t hear the “remove blade now” beep!)

Internet - Recipe Zaar

Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti (I used Barilla Thin Spaghetti.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₂ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
³⁄₄ cup half and half
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
¹⁄₄ cup parsley, minced
¹⁄₂ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook spaghetti 2 minutes less than directed by packaging. 

2. In a large skillet over low heat, sauté oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. 

3. When pasta has been cooking for 5 minutes, add lemon juice and a ¹⁄₂ cup of cooking water from the pasta to the garlic mixture.  Add half and half to garlic mixture, increase heat to high, and simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes. 

4. Drain pasta.  Add lemon zest, Parmesan, parsley and basil to garlic mixture in skillet.  Stir well and remove from heat.  Add pasta and toss for 2 minutes to coat and allow pasta to absorb some sauce. 

Comments
I’m not sure where this recipe is from, it’s been in my files for quite some time.  The pasta has a great, strong lemon flavor and the red pepper flakes add just enough heat.  Lance and Art both had seconds, so this was quite a hit!

Shown here with Lemon-Garlic Chicken.

Unknown

Ingredients
³⁄₄ cup lemon juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F.  Spray a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. 

2. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic together in a medium bowl.  Dip each chicken breast into juice mixture and place in bottom of pan.  Add mushrooms to juice mixture and pour all mushroom mixture to surround chicken. 

3. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until done.  Chicken should reach 160*F before serving.  Serve chicken with mushrooms. 

Comments
This is another recipe that I’ve had in my files for a very long time and no idea where it originally came from.  The chicken looks sort of boring when it comes out of the oven, but the flavor is anything but boring.  Delicious, lemony, tender, and nice mellow garlic.  I think that I might double the mushroom content the next time I make this recipe.  It would also be pretty fantastic with artichoke hearts. 

Shown here with Lemon Spaghetti.

Unknown

Ingredients
For dough
1 ¹⁄₃ cups water
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
3 ¹⁄₂ cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
2 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons bread machine yeast

For assembly
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Pepperoni and other toppings of choice

Instructions
1. Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Program for the Dough or Pizza Dough cycle and press Start. The dough ball will be soft.

2. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug machine. Immediately remove the bread pan from the machine and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide into two portions. Flatten each portion into a disc by kneading a few times then folding the edges into the center. Cover with a damp towel on the work surface to rest for 30 minutes until the dough has increased about 20% in size.

3. With pizza stone in the oven preheat to 500*F.  Roll out and shape the dough into two large rounds, place each round on a sheet of parchment paper. 

4. Place two layers of paper towels on a microwave safe plate and spread pepperoni out on towels.  Top with two more paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds.  (This will reduce the amount of grease in the pepperoni significantly.) 

5. Spread sauce onto pizza dough, leaving an inch of dough unsauced at the edge.  Spread cheese on top of sauce.  Top as desired. 

6. Slide parchment paper onto pizza stone and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is slightly brown and crisp.  Remove pizza from stone by sliding parchment paper with pizza onto a cookie sheet or large plate.  The cool for a few minutes before serving. 

Comments
The dough recipe is from my favorite Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook.  The last time I tried to make pizza in the oven it flopped and turned into pretty tasty calzones instead of proper pizza.  Nothing worked right, I couldn’t get the pizza onto the stone, the pepperoni was greasy, and it was not fantastic.  Using parchment paper and microwaving the pepperoni first really made a difference.  I feel like I’ve finally gotten the hang of how to make pizza at home and I’m psyched.  Next up, sauce from scratch instead of a can!

The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook

Ingredients
1 pound potato gnocchi (The kind from a box.  Although you could easily use your own if you have them!)
²⁄₃ cup half and half
¹⁄₂ teaspoon all purpose flour
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon black pepper
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground nutmeg
15 ounces baby spinach
¹⁄₂ cup ricotta cheese
²⁄₃ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Preheat broiler. 

2. Bring large pot of water to boil and cook gnocchi according to package instructions.  (My package said “3-4 minutes or until gnocchi float to the top.”)  Drain well. 

3. Whisk together cream, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet, then bring to boil over medium heat, whisking.  Continue to boil, whisking frequently, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.  Add spinach and toss with tongs to coat.   Cook until wilted, about 2-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in gnocchi. 

4. Spoon ricotta over gnocchi mixture in 4-5 large dollops then sprinkle with mozzarella.  Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until cheese is browned and bubbling in spots, about 2-3 minutes.  Season with pepper. 

Comments
A friend of mine linked me to this recipe at least a year ago and I’ve just never gotten around to making it.  I finally picked up a box of gnocchi at the store and said “I will do something with this, or else!”  I remembered this recipe and decided that it would be my first gnocchi preparation experience.  And it was delicious!  The flavors all worked very well together, the sauce was light and scrumptious.  The gnocchi were fantastic and almost fluffy.  I would make this again in a heartbeat and will be on the lookout for other gnocchi recipes to make in the future. 

Shown here with Broiled Steaks.

Internet - Epicurious