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I made this the night after I made the savory pancetta tart, since I had some pie dough left. I filled this savory pie with sauteed ground beef, onions and garlic, mixed with chopped baked potato, sour cream and a mix of cheeses (cheddar & jack?). I might have enjoyed it better if the potatoes were pureed or in smaller bits, but overall, it was quite tasty!
This is a simple and easy way to enjoy cabbage. Simply steam the cabbage until it's crisp-tender, saute the bacon in a separate pan, and toss the two together right before eating. This way, each of the two have different textures instead of cooking together and meeting somewhere in the middle. =)
When I want a quick go-to warm dish, I often turn to a plate of lightly-curried potatoes and spinach. It's not too spicy, but has a hint of Indian flair, and costs much less than heading to the nearest Indian restaurant for take-out.
I start by sauteing cubed potatoes in a little butter, a little oil, a liberal sprinkling of curry powder, and salt.
Once the potatoes are fork-tender and getting crispy, I add a few turns around the pan of cream, and toss a handful of fresh spinach on top.
The spinach wilts quite quickly, so be ready to eat!
Once the spinach is wilted, I check for seasonings and add salt (or pepper) if necessary.
My mom introduced me to this Cooking Light recipe last month: it's a delicious beef stew, and instead of adding the potatoes to the stew, the stew is served over creamy and slightly smokey mashed potatoes (I added in a bit of Maldon smoked sea salt). The grassfed stew beef is from Willow Hill Farm (my mom said it's the leanest beef she's ever seen) and you can find the recipe for the stew here.
28-Dec-2008
We got into Barcelona a little before 8 am on a Sunday... Not the prime time to get the true feel of a Spanish city. =)
After dropping our bags at the hostal, we set out to find some coffee and warm food. We settled on a small restaurant near Las Ramblas that serves both tapas and classic Spanish fare.
We started off with café con leche (coffee with milk) and a bocadillo (cold sandwich) of chorizo (garlicky pork sausage seasoned with paprika), cheese and tomato. Then we moved onto tapas: patatas bravas (fried potatoes served with a spicy sauce), warm marinated mushrooms, and txistorra (or chistorra -- chili and paprika seasoned pork sausage).
Let's face it, I'm predictable. As soon as the thermometer drops below 40, I break out the potatoes. There are so many heart-(and soul)- warming dishes that are based off of (or include) potatoes -- creamy chowders, shepherd's pie, New England boiled dinner, and my favorite -- colcannon!
Colcannon is a delicious Irish concoction of mashed potatoes, boiled cabbage or kale, butter, salt & pepper. It can also include leeks, ham or bacon, but mine's always got ham.
I usually make it pretty standard, the way I learned from Tyler Florence -- boiled mashed potatoes, mixed with cream or half&half, butter, boiled cabbage and bits of ham. It usually looks like this.
Just the other day, I thought I might branch out and use some other ingredients I had on hand. I boiled some local purple potatoes (from River Berry Farm) along with some green lacinato kale, then fork-mashed them with half&half, butter, salt & pepper. Then I threw in some shredded imported Spanish Serrano ham. This ham has got a completely different texture than boiled ham -- it's sliced thin and is very waxy to the touch. The result -- a delicious mix of healthfood (kale) and satisfaction (salty ham!!).
I challenge you to make your own version of colcannon -- try different greens or different ways of preparing the ham... Hey, you could even make it with a different kind of meat. Check out a few different recipes here, here, and here.
With all the rain we're getting hit with, I've been more in the mood for winter-type comfort food. So, I've been breaking out the casserole dishes, serving up mac & cheese, chili and hot soups. Pictured here is one of my favorite comfort foods - my take on Ireland's colcannon. It's got creamy mashed potatoes, boiled green cabbage bits, and ham. Serve it up with a pat of butter, and you're on your way to feeling warm.
I layered together sautéed potato slices and sautéed green pepper strips with smoky paprika, drizzled the whole thing with ranch dressing (ok, I know it sounds weird but try it out!), sprinkled it with Mexican-style shredded cheeses, cracked an egg in the middle (make sure you season it with salt and pepper!) and popped the whole thing in the oven until the egg was cooked (I cooked it until the yolk was set). Let me tell you, it was amazing!
You could experiment with adding different vegetables and using different sauces or herbs for seasoning. Test it out!
Once the potatoes are fork-tender and getting crispy, I add a few turns around the pan of cream, and toss a handful of fresh spinach on top.
The spinach wilts quite quickly, so be ready to eat!
Once the spinach is wilted, I check for seasonings and add salt (or pepper) if necessary.
With all the rain we're getting hit with, I've been more in the mood for winter-type comfort food. So, I've been breaking out the casserole dishes, serving up mac & cheese, chili and hot soups. Pictured here is one of my favorite comfort foods - my take on Ireland's colcannon. It's got creamy mashed potatoes, boiled green cabbage bits, and ham. Serve it up with a pat of butter, and you're on your way to feeling warm.
In all honesty, this is a flashback-type post. A while back, I was tooling around with my borrowed (now owned) stovetop smoker. All in all, I smoked some
skewered shrimp, some potatoes (all over mesquite chips), and later made a wrap sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and a lightly-smoked slab of haloumi. 
My favorite so far is still the haloumi wrap. Soooo good!
I layered together sautéed potato slices and sautéed green pepper strips with smoky paprika, drizzled the whole thing with ranch dressing (ok, I know it sounds weird but try it out!), sprinkled it with Mexican-style shredded cheeses, cracked an egg in the middle (make sure you season it with salt and pepper!) and popped the whole thing in the oven until the egg was cooked (I cooked it until the yolk was set). Let me tell you, it was amazing!
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