Potato Pinchos

I discovered pinchos reading through the Food Network Magazine. It's basically a Spanish appetizer served on a toothpick. This is a really easy and great idea from the Food Network Magazine. You can also customize it to your liking. 

The first time I made it I used Manchego cheese as the recipe indicated. 

The second time I made it, I used Chile Jack with Hatch Pepper cheese made by Great Midwest that I found at Sam's Club. It's a Monterary Jack cheese with Habanero, Hatch, and Chipotle Peppers with added smoke flavor. I loved it and so did the party guests. The cheese added more flavor and a slight kick to these easy appetizers. 

Unfortunately Food Network Magazine didn't list out ratios for this recipe. Below is approximately the ratio I used so hopefully you will give these a shot as well! 

Potato Pinchos

In a pot, add a couple of Yukon potatoes, cover with water, and salt the water with some kosher salt. Bring to a boil until fork tender. Not too tender. You do not want it where it’s too soft. You want it to be able to pick them up and eat.

When cooked, drain the boiled potatoes and let cool enough to handle. Peel the potato skin. Then slice into about ¼  inch thick rounds. Then slice each round in half (it makes it easier to eat, otherwise it’d be too big).

In a small mixing bowl, mix together about ¼ cup of mayo, 1 tablespoon chopped capers, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, salt and pepper to your liking. Spread some of the mayo sauce on each sliced potato round. Then top each with a slice of the Chile Jack with Hatch Pepper cheese, slice of dried chorizo, and a piece of sliced green olive with pimento. Skewer with toothpicks and enjoy! 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/potato-pinchos-recipe.html

Golden Chanterelle Gnocchi

If you ever come across golden chanterelle mushroom, you must try them. Matt's coworker introduced us to these mushroom. His coworker found a ton on his hike and was nice enough to give us a couple bags. The mushrooms are meaty and very earthy. It adds a lot of flavor to this pasta dish. We really enjoyed them and are sad we don't see them at the stores around here. 

Golden Chanterelle Gnocchi

2 tbsp butter

2 c golden chanterelle mushroom

2 tbsp flour

1 pint heavy cream

2 c morel and leek cheese, shredded

1 lb gnocchi, cooked

Salt and pepper

Chopped parsley

Heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 mins. Add the flour and cook for a couple of mins to cook out the flour taste. Slowly whisk in the cream. Bring to a simmer. Slowly add the cheese, a little at a time so it can all incorporate. Cook over medium-low heat until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the gnocchi and finish with some chopped parsley. 

For the gnocchi, I tried Marc Forgione's Gnocchi recipe in Food Network Magazine's April 2012 Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage. It was really easy. And I was able to freeze the rest and cook it up real nicely. It wasn't gummy like another gnocchi recipe I tried. Below is the gnocchi recipe I used:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pour a mound of kosher salt onto a rimmed baking sheet. Prick 3 large russet potatoes (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lbs) all over with a fork and nestle them in the salt; this prevents the potatoes from browning and draws out their moisture. Bake the potatoes until fork-tender, about 45 mins. Let sit until just cool enough to handle. 

2. Halve the potatoes lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a bowl; discard the skin. Break the flesh with a fork. Put into a floured cutting board. Let cool 3-4 mins. Spread out the potatoes slightly. Beat 1 large egg with 1/2 tsp salt in a small bowl and drizzle over the potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes mixture with 1 c flour and knead until a smooth dough forms, adding up to 1/2 c more flour if the dough is sticky. When you press your finger into the dough it should come out clean. If it doesn't, continue to knead. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 10 mins. 

3. Lightly flour your surface. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and roll into "snakes," about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut into 1/2-to-1-inch lengths with a knife; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly dust with flour. 

You can transfer to a gallon sized bag and freeze any gnocchi you won't be cooking right away. 

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi; wait until they float to the surface, then simmer 30 more seconds. Scoop the gnocchi from the pot with a spider or slotted spoon.

Chipotle Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes

Creamy, cheesy, spicy scalloped potatoes. It was delicious!!

Chipotle Cheddar Scalloped Potatoes

3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 c half n half
1/2 c Mexican Crema
2 c smoked cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c Cotswold cheese, shredded
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
5 large russett potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp chives, chopped
1 garlic clove
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Then rub with a garlic clove.
In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for a couple mins. Whisk in the milk, half n half, and crema. Bring to a slight simmer. Then add in 1 c of each cheese a little at a time and the chipotle. Salt to taste. When the cheese is melted, mix in the potatoes. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake for 30-40 mins. Sprinkle the remaining 1 c cheddar and chives over the potatoes and bake for another 5 mins.

Twice Baked Leek Potato

Oh, this is not your ordinary twice baked or stuffed potato. This side dish could even serve on its own as a main dish. The idea for this came from a steak dinner Matt prepared. He grilled up some steak with this leek cream sauce served over it. There was a surprise in that sauce though. Whiskey! I thought this cream sauce would dress up a baked potato very nicely. And it did...

Twice Baked Leek Potato

6 russet potatoes
8 slices bacon
2 leeks, chopped
1/2 c chicken broth
1/4 c cream
1/4 c whiskey
1 bay leaf
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp chives, chopped
3 tbsp grated asiago cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pierce the potatoes in some spots with a fork. Rub some olive oil, salt and pepper on the outside of the potatoes. Bake directly on the middle oven rack for about an hr or until fork tender.

In a deep skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Set the cooked bacon aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Add the leeks to the bacon dripping and saute until tender, about 5-10 mins. Set aside until ready to use.

In a small saucepan, simmer the chicken broth, cream, whiskey, and bay leaf. Keep it warm on low heat until you're ready to use.

When the potatoes are done, remove potatoes from the oven, and turn the heat down to 375 degrees F.
Hold the potato with an oven mitt, trim off the top of the potatoes to make a canoe-like shape. Carefully scoop out most of the potato flesh into a bowl. Take care to leave enough potato in the skin so the shells stay together.

Mash the potato flesh with the sauce (discarding the bay leaf). Crumble in the bacon. Stir in the leeks, butter, parsley, and chives. Salt and pepper to taste. Refill the shells with the potato mixture mounding it slightly. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the potato filling. Bake for about 10 mins, or until warmed.

Easy Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients
1 c bisquick mix
1 c buttermilk
4 eggs
1 c shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
6 c frozen hash brown

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl whisk the bisquick mix and buttermilk together. Then whisk in the eggs. Next the cheese, salt and pepper. Then add the cream cheese and hash brown. Mix well. Pour into a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle the top with more cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 mins. Then uncover and bake another 10 mins or until cheese is golden brown.

This morning, I just threw together a bunch of leftover ingredients we had. The end result was a very simple, easy, and tasty breakfast dish!

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Matt took a bite of these scalloped potatoes, turned to me and said, "You're going to love this, it's so cheesy." If you know me, you'll know my favorite food of all is fries. Next is cheese. My dream is to go to Paris, and enjoy a bottle of wine and plate of cheese. Don't ask me why. But if there's cheese and fries together, oh boy I'm in heaven. Scalloped potatoes are similar to cheese fries, right? So of course I enjoyed eating this.

These scalloped potatoes are not only cheesy but creamy as well. I added mexican crema that we had left over, which I think added to the creaminess. There's also some smoked paprika in there, and if that's not enough, smoked gouda cheese as well. Then it's topped off with cheddar cheese, yes more cheese. It was cheesy, smoky, and creamy. Can you say yummy?

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

2 lbs yukon potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

3 tbsp butter, plus more for greasing

1 garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp flour

1 1/4 c half n half

1 1/4 c mexican crema

1 c milk

2 c smoked gouda cheese, shredded

shredded cheddar cheese for topping
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.

In a deep skillet over medium-high heat, melt 3 tbsp of butter. Add the garlic and shallot and cook till translucent. Next, add the paprika and flour, stirring for 1 min to allow the flour to cook. Slowly whisk in the half n half, mexican crema, and milk. After that cooks for a few mins, add in the potatoes. Simmer for about 5 mins. Add in the smoked gouda cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then transfer the mixture to the greased baking dish. Sprinkle the top evenly with cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 mins. Remove the foil and bake for about 10 mins, or until golden brown and fork tender.

Smoked Gouda Potato Cakes

So I still had some frozen hash browns left over even after making those Peas and Cream Cheese Potato Cakes below lol! So I decided to make more potato cakes. We still had some smoked gouda cheese left over so I decided to grate some of that in with the hash browns. Added a handful of chopped chives and salt and pepper. This time I did use egg and flour to bind the potato cakes. It sure made the potato cakes stand up better. Took a handful of the mixture and shaped it into a ball, then flattened it to form a potato cake. Heated some butter in a skillet over medium high heat and cooked the cakes until a nice golden brown crust set. The smoky flavor of the gouda was very good. And the chives really came out in the potato cakes too.
Which of the two potato cakes did we like more? I liked the one with the peas more and Matt liked this one more. I really loved the texture the peas gave; and Matt really liked the smokiness the gouda gave. We enjoyed both regardless. Potato cakes can be kinda addicting...they're so easy and yummy!

Peas and Cream Cheese Potato Cakes

I had some frozen hash browns and frozen peas still sitting in my freezer. I thought it was about time to get rid of it. Saw we also had some whipped cream cheese left in the fridge and thought potato cakes! Instead of adding egg and flour to bind the cake, I wondered if cream cheese could act as a substitute. Only one way to find out. I mixed the hash browns, peas, cream cheese, onion powder, salt and pepper together. Took a handful and formed it in a ball, then pressed it flat to form a potato cake. The cream cheese wasn't a very strong binder for the potato cakes. But it was do-able. Heated some butter in a skillet over medium high heat and cooked the potato cakes until a nice golden brown crust set. Be careful flipping them over though. Even though the cream cheese wasn't a strong binder compared to eggs and flour, it sure was yummy though. I loved the cream cheese in it and the burst from the peas added a fun texture.

Potato Salad

I wanted to make potato salad one day. When I told my husband Matt this he immediately was like "I don't like potato salad." I knew why. He doesn't like mayo, and we all know the typical potato salad is smothered in mayo. Some of them are sweet too, which I personally don't like.

I ended up creating a red potato salad recipe that Matt loves. And have been messing around with it and trying different ingredients. I just made a potato salad with some leftover russet potatoes I had laying around. I cooked up some bacon then set it aside for later. I added some diced celery and red bell peppers to the bacon fat. I also grilled some yellow corn and cut it up and added it to the pan. Cooked the veggies until it was a little tender and added it all to the diced potatoes I had already boiled and drained. I added a teeny bit of mayo - like less than 1/4 cup for 2 lbs of potato. I also decided to try adding a couple tbsp of dijon mustard, which gave it a little kick. Combined everything with some salt, pepper, smoked paprika, chopped parsley, and crumbled bacon.

My secret is adding that bacon dripping to the potato salad. It adds so much flavor. You'd think the bacon dripping would make the salad greasy but it doesn't. It soaks into those potatoes, making them softer, and have this kind of binding-like consistency. It works really well as a substitute to all that mayo you would have used. I wonder how well olive oil would work for a more health conscious meal. And I really enjoyed the grilled corn in this particular potato salad.