Nutty Gnocchi

We just had a REALLY rough evening.  I think we just got our first glimpse into the terrible twos.  From 5pm until about 5 minutes ago we battled tantrums, adamant assertions of independence, and irrational fits.  Our 19 month old has officially worn us out.  How can such a little creature suck the life out of two grown adults? Rex is normally very opinionated and particular, but not in a bad way.  He is a happy, silly little clown that just happens to know what he wants.  He has a routine and we are happy to oblige (we are the ones that created it after all).  But tonight was a different story.  Nothing went his way, he couldn't be pleased, he was miserable.   

Nights like tonight make me wonder how I ever pulled off a recipe like the one below.  Something from scratch that could easily be purchased pre-made in any grocery if needed to be.  I used to create time consuming recipes often - I didn't have any excuse not to.  These days, recipes like the one below are few and far between.  And if my toddler's behavior tonight wasn't a fluke then I don't see myself making much "from scratch" for a while.  Rice-a-Roni, here we come!

Please let tonight be a rare occasion...

Gnocchi with Browned Butter
Adapted from Cooking Light March 2012

Ingredients

• 2 (12-ounce) baking potatoes, unpeeled 
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• 6 quarts boiling water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecan halves
• 1/2 ounce fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Preparation

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 40 minutes; drain.


Cool; peel. Press potato flesh through a ricer or a metal colander in the absence of a ricer (as I did below, just no need to invest in a ricer if you don't already have one).



Spread potatoes on a baking sheet; sprinkle with salt. Cool.



2. Scoop potatoes into a large bowl. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup. Add flour, and toss.



Form a well in center. Add 2 tablespoons chives, pepper, and eggs; stir.



Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead just until dough comes together (about 1 minute).


3. Cut dough into 4 equal portions,



and roll each into a 22-inch-long rope.



Cut each rope into 22 pieces.



Score gnocchi with a fork, by rolling the gnocchi toward you and pulling the fork back in the same direction.



Cook half of gnocchi 3 minutes in boiling water. Repeat with remaining gnocchi; drain.

4. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Add nuts; cook 2 minutes or until butter browns and brown flecks appear.



Discard garlic. Set aside half of butter mixture. Add half of gnocchi to pan; toss. Cook 1 minute or until browned.



Repeat with remaining butter and gnocchi. Divide gnocchi evenly among 4 shallow bowls. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chives and cheese.



Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Movie Mayhem

When the remake of the Cowboy Flick True Grit was initially released, my husband wanted to see it really badly. At the time we had a newborn baby and trips to the movie theater were not on our daily agenda. So, in order to fulfill his desire he did a bad thing. He tried to download a bootleg version of the film on our home laptop. As it often goes when you do bad things, karma smacks you in the face. Mid download - our laptop crashed. Great! I had nothing to do with this illegal transaction, but now I had to suffer the consequences. Luckily (for him), he is an IT guy so he was able to fix the laptop in a few days and we were back in business. And he learned his lesson and figured he would have to wait to see the movie until he could do it legally.

Well about 3 weeks ago he announced that the new Tuesday release on OnDemand would be True Grit. He was so excited that he would finally see the movie he had patiently after not so patiently waited for for several months. I wanted to do something fun the night he had planned to watch the movie so I decided we would do a campfire breakfast for dinner. It was great fun using the skillet on the grill top and we had a blast cooking up dinner in the backyard pretending we were cowboys.....

Campfire Fried Eggs with Bacon Potato Hash
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living June 2011

Ingredients

• 1 pound baby Yukon Gold potatoes
• 8 ounces thick sliced bacon
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 large eggs
• 3 green onions, chopped (green parts only)
  

Directions

1. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.

2. Cook bacon in a cast-iron skillet set over a campfire or on a medium-high grill,

3. turning occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon, let cool slightly; crumble. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease. Leave the remaining grease in the skillet
   

4. Add potatoes to skillet, lightly smash each using the back of a spoon, and cook until just starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
   
   
5. Season with salt and pepper. Stir green onions into hash.
   
   
6. Stir crumbled bacon into skillet.
   
   Push hash to one side of skillet.

7. Working in batches, and adding oil as needed, crack 4 eggs into skillet,

season with salt and pepper, and cook until desired. Serve eggs with hash.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Bank Breaking Bacon

Very often, ingredients inspire my recipe searches. If I have left over herbs or a surplus of a certain meat due to a sale at the supermarket I will search those ingredients in my favorite recipe databases until I come up with the perfect find. This recipe was a result of one of those searches. Because after the Great Bacon Debacle of 2011 I had some bacon to use up. And that is putting it lightly.

The Great Bacon Debacle of 2011 started when Forrest so kindly agreed to accompany me to the grocery. I usually go it alone, especially since Rex was born as it is just quicker to get in and out when I am by myself. But on this particular occasion I had left the weekly shopping to a Saturday morning and Forrest and the baby came along. Our local grocery often has Buy 1 Get 1 Free deals and I try to take advantage of them whenever they involve products I know we will use a lot of in our cooking. On this day, as we passed the pork section we noticed that bacon was part of the BOGO deal so I picked up two regular sized packages of the cured pork and threw them in our basket. Forrest pointed out that the huge 5 pound "bricks" of bacon were also BOGO and that we should get those as we "always NEED bacon". I told him that 10lbs of bacon was an awful lot, but he promised to break them up into usable sized packages and refreeze them in Ziploc bags as soon as we got home. So I reluctantly agreed and we moved on to the next aisle.

"So why did that turn into a debacle", you ask? Things really went south as we arrived at the self checkout counter. I hurried along scanning my items and double checking to see that all prices and promotions were honored on our screen. As I rang up the first Bacon Brick I was astounded to see that is cost $16.99! Even at buy one get one free that is a whole lot more than I ever want to spend on bacon. So I rolled my eyes at Forrest and scanned the next brick. As usual, the price showed up on the screen (still $16.99 even though I was hoping it wasn't) and then I waited for the corresponding (-16.99) to appear in red indicating the second one was for free. Nothing..... They weren't buy one get one free, Forrest misread the sign! So now not only had I just rang up 10lbs of bacon, I just spent 34 dollars on bacon!

Looking for someone to blame, I immediately told Forrest that was ridiculous and he was a careless shopper. He volunteered to tell the attendant we didn't want it to have it voided off of our bill. This is where a normal, not hot headed human being would have obliged and the bacon fiasco would have come to an end right there and then at Self Check Out Register #4. But I am much too stubborn, easily embarrassed and wouldn't allow him to get it off the bill. So I stayed bitter the whole way home and then complained for about 2 days about the copious amounts of bacon in our freezer. Even though Forrest had broken them into manageable portion as promised, I still claimed we would "never" use it all. As if!

The bacon was gone in the span of the next month and every time I made a recipe with bacon that was a success like this one, I had to apologize to Forrest for my ridiculous generalized statements on that day.

Asiago, Potato and Bacon Gratin
Adapted from Cooking Light April 2004

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Asiago cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Drain. Sprinkle potatoes evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside and keep warm.

Heat a medium saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.

Add the flour to the milk in a measuring cup and whisk to incorporate. Gradually add remaining milk mixture, stirring with a whisk.

Cook over medium heat 9 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, Asiago, chives, pepper, and bacon.

Arrange half of potato slices in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of cheese sauce over potato slices.

Top with remaining potato slices and cheese sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Meal Time Mayhem

I fully intended to be the type of pregnant woman that had tons of previously prepared frozen meals stored in the deep freezer prior to delivery so that once baby was here all we had to do was defrost, heat and eat. I had visions of lasagnas, enchiladas, red beans and marinara sauce all perfectly packaged, lined up in the freezer with pretty labels just waiting to assist me in the early hectic days of new parenthood. I have been known to bring meals to my friends and family when they became new parents and I wanted to be ready with the same conveniences for my husband and me.

What I didn't anticipate was how miserable I would be at the end of my pregnancy. Just the thought of standing in my kitchen long enough to open a few boxes of Pasta Roni even wore me out. It was so hot, I was so swollen and the exhaustion was unimaginable. I did zero cooking towards the end and therefore I did zero preparation for what would happen at meal time after our little of bundle joy joined us in this world.

And as it turned out, the lack of frozen meals turned against us. In the early weeks of Rex's life, dinner time was by far his fussiest period of the day. Even though my energy was up, my feet were back to normal and I had the desire to cook again it wasn't exactly easy. It took everything we had for the two of us to calm the baby enough to even be able to have a 2 minute discussion about what we would have for dinner more or less cook an entire meal. To be honest, most nights we ate take out. But on the rare occasion we could pull off home made dinner, it was meals like this that really helped. Quick dishes do exist and if the mom of a 6 week old colicky baby could pull this one off, anyone can! This was delicious and surprisingly gourmet tasting for starting out frozen!

Bacon Pierogi Bake
Adapted from Cooking Light December 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 pierogies and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen potato and onion pierogies (such as Mrs. T's)
• Cooking spray
• 3 center-cut bacon slices, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup thinly diagonally sliced green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Arrange the frozen pierogies in an 11 x 7-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Cook bacon in a saucepan over medium heat until crisp; remove from pan. Set aside.

3. Add garlic to drippings in pan, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add 1/3 cup cream cheese to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until cream cheese begins to melt, stirring frequently. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. (My cream cheese is almost completely melted in the picture below.)

Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over pierogies.

Top evenly with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove from oven, and

sprinkle with bacon, green onions, tomato, and pepper.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Perfect Petite Potato Pancakes

I have made quite a few appetizers in my day, but this one is definitely on my list of all-time favorites. The flavors are so amazing, they make a beautiful presentation and they are a cinch to throw together. I first made these for a special Mother's Day dinner while living in my Mother-In-Law's home and then again later in the summer for another family dinner. They always satisfy the crowd and I really enjoy making them. Just blogging them has me craving another petite potato pancake!

Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Cream on Potato Pancakes
Adapted from Cooking Light November 2005

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
• 2 pounds of shredded frozen hashbrowns, thawed
  
• 1/2 cup grated fresh onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large egg whites
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons grated Granny Smith apple
• 2 tablespoons plain fat-free yogurt
• 4 teaspoons prepared horseradish
• 4 ounces smoked salmon, broken into 48 pieces
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through egg whites) in a large bowl,

stirring until blended.

Divide mixture into 48 level tablespoon-sized pancakes, squeezing each to remove excess moisture.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 16 pancakes; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

Add 1 teaspoon of oil at a time as needed. Arrange on two baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

Repeat procedure twice with remaining oil and pancakes. Bake at 400° for 5 minutes or until cooked through.

Combine mayonnaise, apple, yogurt, and horseradish in a small bowl; place 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise mixture on each pancake. Top each with a salmon piece; sprinkle with chives.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Perfect Potato

I was looking for an easy side dish to accompany my pan-seared filets and was intrigued by the seemingly simplistic preparation of this dish. I can honestly tell you that I chose it not because it sounded amazing or unique, but simply because it appeared to be a no fuss side. And while it did live up to its "Real Simple" promise, it exceeded my expectations in the flavor department. The grated Parmigiano Reggiano I used in the recipe blended with the olive oil to form an almost paste like substance that roasted along with the potatoes and morphed into a heavinly, crusty cheese-like jacket that surrounded each potato piece. This recipe was a real pleasent surprise and I will most assuredly add it to my arsenal of quick and amazing side dishes.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
Adapted from Real Simple June 2006

Ingredients

• 1 pounds new potatoes, unpeeled, quartered into 1-inch chunks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme

Preparation

Heat oven to 400° F.

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients.

Toss to coat the potatoes. Transfer to a roasting pan, baking sheet or 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Roast, stirring once,

until golden brown and crisp, about 40 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Click Here for My Adapted Printable Recipe

Yo Yo MA

My husband and I recently met our good friend Sarah's grandmother, Ma. We have heard a lot about Ma over the years and were excited to finally meet her. She is an 80 something year old spitfire who still lives alone in Northern Maine. As you can probably imagine, Norther Maine isn't the most conducive climate to navigate but Ma does just fine. Her husband was a potato farmer and she still lives on the land they owned while he was alive and she continues to benefit from the crop.

We had a lovely visit with her and when we left she sent us on our way with a care package as grandmothers often do. It was a little Christmas bag that weighed a ton. When Forrest and I peered inside we were tickled with our gift. She had given us potatoes from her farm in Maine - I was elated. I couldn't wait to cook with them. I put a lot of thought into what I should make with them. I thought about Ma and how many potato dishes she has probably eaten over the years. I doubt there would be any potato dish that I could find that Ma hasn't tried.

But then I found this recipe and I was really intrigued. It seemed a little strange, but equally delicious. So I figured it was worth a shot. And it was! It was amazing! Take my word and try this no matter how strange it may seem.

Potato Pie with Tomato and Fontina
Adapted from Food and Wine 1998

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes (about 5), peeled and halved
• 4 ounces of pancetta, diced
  
• 1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, drained and chopped fine
  
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Fresh-ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound grated fontina (about 3 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 450°. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in a strainer set over a medium bowl. Toss with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and let drain for 20 minutes.

2. Cook the pancetta until crisp in a small skillet; drain on paper towels and set aside.

3. Drain the potatoes and mash them in the saucepan with a potato masher or a fork.

Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the potato starts to stick to the pan, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the oil,

the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Remove from the heat.

3. Oil a large baking sheet. Spread the potato mixture onto the baking sheet, forming two 6-by-11-inch rectangles pressing down with the back of a measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray

for an even thickness.

Top the potato with the fontina,leaving a 1/4-inch border.

Sprinkle the garlic and pancetta over the cheese.

Top with the drained tomatoes

followed by the red pepper flakes,

oregano and Parmesan. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Bake the potato pies in the lower third of the oven until the cheese is bubbling and the edges are golden brown, about 25 minutes.