Sweet Potato Hash Browns

We are buried under a couple of feet of snow here in Chicago and it is still coming down this cold Sunday morning.  It feels like the perfect time for an omelet and hash brown brunch, topped off with two slices of the Sourdough Whole Wheat Flaxseed and Sunflower Seed Bread that I have been working on and is just about perfect.  (But that is for a future post.)

I have also been working on hash browns.  A few years ago I wrote this post about my father's hash browns and how I never had the patience to make them myself.  Now I find that it is no trouble at all - it's funny how things change.

I had part of a sweet potato in the refrigerator so I decided to make my hash browns with those.  I don't really follow a recipe, but I thought I would share my technique with you.

This is about a third of a large sweet potato, cut into 1/4-inch cubes.  I wanted a smaller cut so they would cook faster.  I filled my non-stick 10-inch skillet with about 2 teaspoons of grapeseed oil and heated the oil over medium high heat.  When the oil was shimmering I added the potatoes and shook the pan to coat the cubes in oil and to get them as close to a single layer as possible.

I lowered the heat and let them cook for 10 minutes without touching them.

After that first 10 minutes I shook the pan to get the cooked sides up and then left it again for about 5 minutes this time.  I shook the skillet to redistribute the potatoes and then left it for another 5 minutes.  I tested a piece with a fork for tenderness and it was almost there.  I left it alone for another 3 minutes and the potatoes were perfectly tender when I did the fork test this time.

And then I added my spices.  I try to incorporate turmeric and cinnamon into my diet on a daily basis so whenever the opportunity arises I use those first.  Those flavors work well with sweet potatoes so I added about a fourth of a teaspoon each of turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, and cumin and cooked it for about a minute until the potatoes were well coated and the heat had released the oils of the spices.  I added salt at the end and then transferred the potatoes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

I made the omelette while the potatoes were cooking.  I used the method that I wrote about here.  I will be posting my recipe for the bread soon.

Cottage Pie

What is the difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherds' Pie?  Short answer:  the kind of meat you use. At least if you are in the UK, where the recipe seems to have originated.  Traditionally, a cottage pie is made with beef and a shepherds' pie is made with lamb.  Both were made utilizing leftovers from the Sunday roasted meat and vegetables.  Here in the states, however (at least in my memory), shepherds' pie was introduced using beef, so shepherds' pie is what we called it.  And that is what I called it when I first wrote about it in this post.

But now that I know the difference, I am calling this dish Cottage Pie.  For reasons that are irrelevant to this post, I made a 4 or 5-pound pot roast over the weekend, thinking I would freeze half of it, but I am embarrassed to say I did not have enough room for half of a pot roast in my freezer (and there you have the reason after all).  So I chipped away at it all week and still had half left by the weekend.  What to do with the leftovers?  I thought about soup, but a chance encounter with a rutabaga at the Green City Market changed my mind. I thought about mashing it and that thought led to adding potato, and from there it was a short hop to cottage pie, and an even shorter hop led to my decision to add cheese to the potato-rutabaga mash.

I am quite proud of my achievement on this dish.  The vegetables are tender but still firm and the meat becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender.  The rutabaga lightens up the potatoes and keeps the cheesy topping from taking over completely, but it has that rich buttery flavor and texture that you want in a mashed potato topping.

And as much as I have always enjoyed this dish with ground meat, it becomes transcendent when you use leftovers.  I think I will be adding too much meat to my roasting pot more often just so I can keep making it this way.

Home Cookin Chapter: My Recipes

COTTAGE PIE WITH CHEESY MASHED POTATOES AND RUTABAGA

Makes 6 servings

FOR THE FILLING:
2 TBSP olive oil
1 carrot, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 oz pot roast, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 TBSP fresh chopped herbs (thyme, rosemary, etc.), or 2 tsp dried
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup port or other rich red wine (or broth, or water)

FOR THE POTATO AND RUTABAGA TOPPING:
3 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
whole milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

Heat  the oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add the carrot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the celery, onion and garlic and cook until tender, approximately 5 more minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the beef and the peas and cook until they are heated through.  Add the herbs and parsley, stir them in, and remove from the heat.  Adjust seasoning as required.

To make the potato and rutabaga topping, combine the chopped potatoes and rutabaga in a medium saucepan and fill with just enough cold water to cover the vegetables.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until a knife slides easily into both the potato and the rutabaga.

Drain the vegetables and return them to the saucepan and place it back over the low heat.  Mash them well, adding enough milk to bring them to the desired consistency.  Add 1 cup of the cheese and the butter and stir to melt them into the mixture.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Place the cooled meat mixture into a 2-quart round or 8 x 8-inch square baking dish.  Add the wine, being sure that the liquid does not rise more than halfway up the mixture.

Drop spoonsful of the mashed potatoes and rutabaga evenly over the beef mixture and then spread it out, making sure that it reaches all the way to the sides of the dish.  Sprinkle the remaining half cup of shredded cheese evenly across the top.

Bake at 350 deg. F. for 50 minutes.  The beef mixture should be hot and bubbling.  If desired, place under the broiler for 2 minutes to brown the potatoes.

Exported from Home Cookin 6.46 (www.mountain-software.com)

Aloo Gobi Redux

The last (and only) time I made this dish I was pleased with it, but it was more dry than I had expected it to be.  That was most likely because I used twice as much cauliflower and potato as the recipe required but did not increase the amounts of the rest of the ingredients.

This time, I used the amounts of cauliflower and potato that was called for in the recipe, and even added the extra ounce or two of tomato that was in the jar I was using.  I was pleased with the result.  The smaller proportion of vegetables allowed the spices to shine in a way they had not done in the earlier version.

But I still like the earlier dish.  In that one, the cauliflower and potato were the main stars and they were delicious.  In this version, all of the ingredients blended together into a more integrated meal that was delicious when scooped up with fresh chapatis.

So here is what I have concluded.  The earlier version would make a lovely side dish for a meal that featured meat.  This version makes a lovely meal in itself, especially when paired with chapatis or rice.

I got this recipe from the October 2011 issue of  Saveur  Magazine.  You can find it here.  For a drier version that highlights the cauliflower and potato, double those two ingredients.  For the wetter, main dish version, follow the recipe as written.

Asparagus, Potato and Paneer Frittata

This frittata deserves a post of its own. I had some fried paneer left over from the saag paneer I made a couple of months ago and it was getting close to the time that I needed to use it or lose it (a common theme for me, as I am sure it is for you). I had a small potato and a last little bit of asparagus as well, so I decided to throw it all into a frittata.

I followed my usual method, cooking the garlic, onion and potato in olive oil until the potato was done, then adding the asparagus and cooking it for a few minutes while I prepared the eggs. I added the paneer to the egg mixture, as it did not need to cook any more. I used a subtle hand with the spices so it did not overpower the eggs, and I also used a light hand with the Parmagiana so as to give just the slightest bit of crisp on top.

The result was outstanding, and a combination that I would definitely use again.

Creamy Leek and Potato Soup with Bacon

We are having an unseasonably warm winter this year. Need I bother to say that I am not at all happy about it? All right, yes, I agree that it has been beautiful outside in this 30 and 40-degree (even 50 on some days!) weather, but it makes it difficult to know how to dress for the day. If I take my usual late January/early February attire, I get overheated almost immediately. But if I dress for the weather, I end up cold in the mornings and the late afternoon. I feel like such a killjoy every time someone comments on how lucky we have been this winter. I am not happy about it, and I know I am not alone.

Another thing that suffers in this abnormally warm weather is my winter cooking. It has been rare so far that I have felt the urge to make those slow-cooking, hearty, it's-below-zero-outside comfort dishes that I wait all year to make. This year I have been making pimento cheese, salsa, frittatas, and stir fries. Ok, I am happy about the stir fries, but I would be happier to be interspersing them with carnitas, stews, chicken and dumplings, and hearty soups. But alas, that is not to be.

But winter is not over yet, and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so it looks like we are in for at least six more weeks of it. From a cooking perspective, that makes me happy, even if his accuracy rate is only 39 percent. It could happen!

So it is a little late in the season that I have made my first winter soup. It is not a true winter soup, however, as I did not roast any vegetables. But I had a beautiful leek and a pound of baby yukon gold potatoes and a last little bit of bacon ends in the freezer, and they were just begging to be put together, and soup seemed the best way to do that.

I had originally bought the leek because I had a vague thought of making a leek and potato tart with some gruyere cheese I needed to use, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of making a nice creamy soup.

It was a wise decision. The leek was the perfect foil for the potatoes, and the bacon added just the right amount of smoky goodness and a little bit of texture. This was delicious for dinner the day I made it, and traveled well to work for lunches the rest of the week.

Normally, I would have peeled and diced the potatoes and cooked them with the leeks, but these were baby potatoes and it would not have been an easy job to peel them. Instead, I cooked them whole in a separate pan until they were just getting tender, drained them, let them cool for a few minutes, and slipped the peel right off of them. Then I put them into the pan with the leeks and broth and cooked them until they were tender enough to blend. I wrote the recipe for larger potatoes, which is what I would usually use for this kind of dish, but any kind of potatoes will work.

This is rich, hearty soup that takes less than an hour to prepare. Perfect a winter evening. Add a salad and a crusty country bread and you have a delicious, satisfying meal.

Home Cookin Chapter: My Recipes

CREAMY LEEK AND POTATO SOUP WITH BACONMakes 4 main or 6 side servings

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
4 ounces bacon, diced
1 leek, split, rinsed well and thinly sliced
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 cup marsala wine or sherry
1/4 cup heavy cream
Balsamic truffle vinegar for garnish (optional)

Heat oil in 4-quart saucepan. Add bacon and cook until the fat has rendered out and the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and put on a paper-towel covered plate. Set aside.

Remove all but 2 Tbsp of the bacon grease from the saucepan. Add the leeks and cook until wilted, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and the potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook,
covered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

Using either a stick blender, a regular bender, or a food processor, puree the leek and potato mixture until it is smooth. Return to the heat and bring it back to a simmer.

Add the sherry and the cream and remove from the heat. Add the bacon, reserving some for garnish. Serve garnished with bacon bits and balsamic truffle vinegar.

01/25/2012

Exported from Home Cookin 6.46 (www.mountain-software.com)

Mashed Potatoes with Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic

Here is a new take on an old Thanksgiving work horse. It's a little bit of a twist, because it looks like those are sweet potatoes mashed up with the potatoes, but they're not. That's butternut squash in there. And it adds a more complex, savory dimension to the potatoes. Mix in some roasted garlic and a little gruyere cheese and you have an exciting new addition to the Thanksgiving table.

This is another one of those dishes that came about by accident. I was making mashed potatoes and accidentally poured in too much cream and butter, so it was quite soupy. I had to think quickly to figure out how to save them when I remembered that I had some roasted squash in the refrigerator for which I had no clear plans. I knew they would mash well so I figured I had nothing to lose. I mashed them up and added them to the potatoes. They turned the potatoes a lovely shade of orange, so it was a little disconcerting as I was eating them because I kept expecting that sweetness that sweet potatoes added. I don't remember what kind of squash it was, but it was a subtle flavor, adding just a hint of nuttiness.

It was intriguing enough that I decided it was worth playing with it to see if I could come up with something intentional. This time I thought a butternut squash would work better, given it's sturdier texture and more pronounced flavor. I peeled, deseeded, cubed and roasted it in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. I separated, but did not peel, two heads of garlic and scattered the cloves among the squash. I baked it for about 35 minutes at 350 deg. F., until both the squash and the garlic were soft.

The most time-consuming part of this dish is roasting the squash and garlic, and you can do that up to two days ahead of time. After that, it's pretty much like making regular mashed potatoes. But it adds an unexpected, wonderful new dimension to an old favorite so you get the best of both worlds - tradition and innovation.

Home Cookin Chapter: My Recipes

MASHED POTATOES WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND ROASTED GARLIC
Serves 6 to 8

1/2 medium butternut squash, (about 1-1/2 cups) peeled, seeded and cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes*
2 heads of garlic, separated but not peeled
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup cream (or milk)
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
Salt and freshly grated black pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish (optional)

*I usually roast the whole squash and use the rest of it for soup, or a frittata, or some other purpose.

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Place squash and unpeeled garlic cloves in a large bowl and add salt, pepper, and the olive oil. Toss well and lay out onto a baking sheet that is large enough to allow for a single layer. Place on a center rack in the oven and cook until the squash and the garlic are tender, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. (This can be done up to two days ahead of time.)

Place the cubed potatoes in a pan with salted cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan, placing it over the low flame. Let the potatoes sit for a minute or two to dry.

Take a potato masher, a ricer, or a food mill (whatever is your usual process) and mash the potatoes, adding the milk and butter about halfway through. Add the mashed squash and mix it in with the potatoes. Add more cream as needed if the mixture gets too thick. Add the cheese and roasted garlic and stir until the cheese is melted and the garlic is blended in.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

11/19/11

Exported from Home Cookin 6.46 (www.mountain-software.com)

A Good Idea That Didn't Quite Work

Here's a good idea that just didn't make it. The spices are right, it's potatoes and onions, and the yogurt should have made it nice and creamy.

But alas, it was not to be. The potatoes developed that tightness that comes when they are too dry as they cook, and the sauce curdled.

I think the main problems were that the dish I used was too big, so there wasn't enough of the yogurt and stock to cover the potatoes. It's one of those things that I noticed as I was putting the dish in the oven, but for whatever reason decided to keep going instead of pulling it out and adding more liquid.

It's a decent enough idea that it should have worked, so I hope to try it again, since the flavors were there. At least this mistake was still edible, even if it wasn't perfect. You can't always hit a home run, but if you learn something in the process then it's not a total loss.

When I figure out how to make it work, I will let you know how I did it.

Potato Fennel Soup

How often does this happen to you? I was looking for some fennel the week before last to make pot roast out of a beautiful chuck shoulder roast that was on sale at the Apple Market, but it just didn't look good, so I passed it over and used celery root instead. No biggie - it was just as tasty that way.

But last week, of course, the fennel looked gorgeous so I had to pick up a couple, even though I no longer had a specific use for them. I also had a five-pound bag of organic yukon gold new potatoes (they were cheaper than the three-pound bag) I had to find ways to use. So I started thinking about the two together. I try not to eat too much meat, so I didn't want to make another roast so soon after the last one (although the other half of that chuck shoulder is sitting in the freezer, waiting). I thought of chicken, but I'm just not in the mood for that, either (although there are four Amish chicken quarters also waiting in the freezer thanks to Amish Healthy Foods, which if you live in Chicago and haven't visited yet you really ought to treat yourself to a visit).

What does that leave to make in this colder-than-usual winter? (Not that I'm complaining. I'm not. I much prefer winter to summer, no matter how cold and snowy it gets. At least I keep telling myself that.) Soup is the next logical step. I had the fennel, potatoes, some beautiful chickpea broth from the last time I cooked chickpeas, and a little cream. That seemed possible, so I got to work.

And now I feel the need to say a word about chickpea stock, or whatever you call it. I no longer remember where, but a few years ago I read a tip that you should save the cooking liquid from when you make chickpeas, if you're not going to use it in the dish for which you cooked them. So I started freezing it whenever I had it, and whenever I was out of chicken or vegetable broth I would use it. As it turns out, it's quite tasty and adds a beautiful, velvety texture to your soups. It doesn't smell like much, and you wouldn't think it had any taste, but it also adds just the hint of nuttiness that enhances just about anything. I cannot recommend this highly enough. I wouldn't use the liquid in canned chickpeas (even organic, but that's just me), but it is worth it to cook your own chickpeas so you can have this wonderful, rich broth as much as it is because the chickpeas themselves are much better cooked from fresh than out of a can.

It made a huge difference in the Potato Fennel soup. I only added about one-fourth of a cup of cream, but it tastes and feels like much more due to the creaminess of the chickpea liquid. Do yourself a favor and give it a try. I think you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

And because I had fresh dill around, I thought it would complement the potato and fennel, which it did. Some fennel fronds and toasted fennel seeds make the perfect garnish.

Home Cookin Chapter: My Recipes

POTATO FENNEL SOUPMakes 8 servings.

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2 medium fennel bulbs, quartered, cored and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp coriander
3 cups liquid from cooked chickpeas (or vegetable broth)
1 cup water, plus more as necessary
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp toasted fennel seeds for garnish
Fennel fronds for garnish

Heat oil and butter in a large dutch oven over medium low heat. Add the onions and fennel and sweat them until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add coriander, salt and pepper and cook for about one minute, until the coriander is fragrant.

Add the chicken broth and the potatoes. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that accumulates on top of the pot. Lower heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are all tender.

Remove from the heat puree with a stick blender or in a blender or food processor. Return to the heat. Add more water if it is too thick. Add the cream, lemon juice, and dill. And stir to incorporate.

Taste and adjust for seasonings. Serve hot, garnished with fennel fronds and the toasted fennel seeds.

Exported from Home Cookin 6.46 (www.mountain-software.com)

Chickpea Stew with Six Vegetables

Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian cookbook has not disappointed me yet, and Chickpea Stew with Six Vegetables is no exception. This recipe is marked as a Moroccan dish, but the spices are subtle, and there is no cinnamon in it, a spice with which I have come to associate Moroccan cuisine. The result is a vibrant, colorful stew with a lovely blend of flavors. The addition of a few strands of saffron infuses both the look and the flavor with an extra shot of richness. I don't usually have saffron on hand, given the expense, but a little goes a long way and I am glad I used it here. It only takes a few threads to make a difference, and there really is nothing like it.

I took this to our work potluck lunch, and it was well received. I cooked a batch of whole wheat couscous in vegetable stock to serve with it, but it looked like most people were happy with the stew by itself. It's certainly hearty enough to stand alone.

The beauty of this recipe is that you do not have to use all of the vegetables. The first time I made it I totally glossed over the fact that I needed potatoes and sweet potatoes, so I had neither. I simply cut the cooking time of the chickpeas and spices and added the carrots after ten minutes instead of twenty.

I also only had canned crushed tomatoes the first time I made it, so I drained them as best I could, added the crushed pulp first, then the liquid. The second time I purchased canned plum tomatoes and used them. Each provided a different effect, but both worked equally well.

Home Cookin Chapter: Soups and Stews

CHICKPEA STEW WITH SIX VEGETABLES
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked, liquid reserved*
1 28-oz can plum tomatoes, finely chopped, liquid reserved
2 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
5 to 6 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
5 to 6 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
3 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ginger powder
Saffron threads (optional)
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch thick pieces
3 small carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large zucchini, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces

Put the oil in a large pot and place over medium-high heat. Add the onion and stir and fry for 5 minutes, or until it begins to brown around the edges. Add in the garlic and stir for about 1 minute, or until it turns golden.

Now add the chickpeas, 1-1/4 cups reserved cooking liquid, the tomatoes, potatoes, parsley, cilantro, salt, cumin, turmeric, ginger, saffron, and cayenne. Measure the reserved tomato liquid and add enough
water to make 2-1/2 cups of liquid in total. Add to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes.

Add the sweet potato and carrots. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat again, and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Add the zucchini, bring to a boil once again, and cook, covered, on low heat for 7 to 8
minutes or until the zucchini is tender.

*You can use canned chickpeas, but if you do, be sure to buy organic beans so you can use the liquid.

from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian, by Madhur Jaffrey (Clarkson Potter 1999)

Exported from Home Cookin 6.46 (www.mountain-software.com)

Indian Lamb Chops with Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes

If I had to pick a favorite cut and type of meat, it would have to be lamb shoulder chops. I know they are tougher and have more fat and gristle than their loftier cousin, the loin chop, but they have so much more flavor.

It is most likely because the shoulder chop was the only lamb we had when I was growing up. And it was a rare treat. My father took charge of the broiler when we had meat, and he liked his meat on the rare side, so the chops were always cooked perfectly medium-well, which is how I liked my meat back then. A little mint jelly on the side was the path to pure heaven.

After I left home, I still considered lamb chops as something special, something for a special occasion. The mint jelly morphed into dried mint sprinkled along with the salt, pepper and garlic powder before broiling. Why mess with a good thing? As with flank steak, I just couldn't imagine there could be a better flavor profile out there than the one which I had always used.

Until I ran across a recipe for lamb chops that involved cauliflower and curry powder. I like cauliflower, but I don't love it. I downright hated it as a child, and never really cooked with it, but I have liked it in restaurants so I always have an eye out for recipes that call for it. When I saw how easy the recipe looked I decided to give it a try.

And it was delicious. The curry powder punched up the flavor without interrupting the intense lamb taste that I love so much in the shoulder chops. The cauliflower was delicious in the curried sauce, and the mango chutney added a sweet heat that rounded out the overall effect. I thought it needed some starch, though, so I cooked up a batch of cilantro rice that was the perfect accompaniment.

I also forgot the green onions, but I did not miss them. They would have been good, but they were not a make-or-break ingredient.

As good as it was, though, I thought I could make it better. I liked it enough to make it again the next week, and I decided to add potatoes and peas to the cauliflower for more of a vegetable curry. It was quite delicious. I don't know when my lamb chops will be seeing mint again.

This is just as good with just the cauliflower, or with the added potatoes and peas. If you decide to make it with just the cauliflower, then steam the cauliflower for about 4 minutes and use 1/4 cup each of the chicken stock and the cream.

Home Cookin Chapter: Beef and Lamb

INDIAN LAMB CHOPS WITH CURRIED CAULIFLOWER AND POTATOES

2 cups small cauiflower florets
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
2 lamb shoulder blade chops
2 teaspoons curry powder, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons mango chutney
2 large green onions, chopped, divided

Steam potatoes until just starting to get tender, about 5 minutes. Add cauliflower and steam for another 4 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the cauliflower is tender, but still crisp. Transfer to a colander and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Season lamb with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle generously with some of the curry powder. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Place the chops in the skillet, seasoned side down, then
add the salt, pepper and curry powder to the other side of the chops. Cook the lamb to the preferred doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer the chops to a plate and cover with foil.

Drain excess oil from the skillet, leaving about a tablespoon. Add flour and remaining curry powder and whisk until the mixture is blended in with the oil, about 15 minutes. Add the chicken broth and the
cream. Add the mango chutney and cook until the mixture is thick, about 3 minutes, whisking constantly. Add the vegetables and half of the green onion, allow to heat through. Serve the vegetables with the lamb chops.

adapted from Bon Appetit, January 2010

Exported from Home Cookin 6.45 (www.mountain-software.com)

Potato Garlic Pizza

A few weeks ago I decided to try my hand at a potato pizza. It was not terribly successful, but it had enough possibility for me to try again. Armed with the experience of what had not worked before, I was more successful the next time.

I did not use any sauce on the first try. Instead, I used a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. I did not want to use a tomato sauce or a white sauce, and I thought (hoped) that the olive oil would be enough to make the pizza moist and succulent. Alas, it was not.

Also a few weeks ago, I bought a container of sour cream for some vague purpose about which I completely forget. And there it sat, alone and unoccupied, patiently waiting for me to notice that it was ready and available to be put to use. And ticking, every now and then, with the impending expiration date.

My pizza dough makes two pizzas. This last time I only had enough tomato sauce and mozzarella for one. What to do with that second round of dough? Was there anything I could do with the sour cream? I have been craving potato salad the past few weeks - maybe I could do something with potatoes and the sour cream.

I also had some huge purple-skinned heads of garlic I found at Whole Foods, and of which I had bought copious amounts. A good Swiss Gruyere and fresh dill would round it out perfectly.

And it did. I stretched out the dough and smoothed a thin layer of sour cream over it, then I seasoned it with salt and pepper. I sliced a Yukon gold potato as thin as I could without a mandoline (wish list for sure) and spread them over the sour cream in an even layer. I was going to overlap them a little for the visual effect, but I was worried they might not cook if I did that. I think I was right, so if you are going to try this I would not overlap the potato slices.

I sliced the garlic and sprinkled those over the potatoes, and then some finely-grated Gruyere, and then finally I sprinkled fresh dill over the whole thing. I cooked it in my usual 450 deg. F. oven for about 18 minutes.

Right off the bat it looked it much better than my first attempt at a potato pizza. It was still a little dry, though, so I put a dollop of sour cream on each slice and spread it out before I ate it. That did the trick, but I still need to find a way to make the pizza itself more moist. I don't know why I am shying away from a white sauce, but for whatever reason, I just don't want to use one.

I was a little leery of using too much sauce because I like my crust to be crispy, but I think I could maybe have used a little more. Next time I think I will spread another layer of sour cream over the potatoes before I add the cheese, garlic and dill.

Yes, I think that will do it. In the meantime, however, I will be thoroughly enjoying this potato garlic pizza.

And thinking about what other pizza varieties might be worth a try.

Spicy Eggplant Stew with Potatoes, Mushrooms and Chickpeas

Spicy Eggplant Stew with Potatoes, Mushrooms and Chickpeas was the first recipe I made back when I decided to eat less processed foods. This was some time at the beginning of 2000. It was a new century and I wanted to start off on a healthy note. I had just quit smoking, and it was such a rush I was eager for more things to give up. White flour, white sugar, white bread, white rice - my main rule of thumb, which actually came from my brother, was that I couldn't eat anything white.

I have always been interested in vegetarian fare, starting with my brief fling in my high school days when my sister convinced me it would be a good idea. That lasted six months. The next time, I think I lasted almost a year. After that, I decided maybe it would be all right if I just cut back on my meat consumption, since I seemed unable to give it up completely.

One of the cookbooks I received at the time was Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. It had just come out in hardcover and I was looking for it, hoping to find a recipe or two that was not too intimidating. I don't know why I opted for the Spicy Eggplant Stew with Potatoes, Mushrooms and Chickpeas. Maybe I had an eggplant in the refrigerator. Maybe the ingredients were familiar enough, at least most of them.

Well, except maybe for the asafetida. I didn't have that. I'd never even heard of it. And when I looked it up, I figured it wasn't anything I ever needed to get. I figured they didn't call it Devil's dung and stinking gum for nothing. But I also read that it replaces onions and garlic, so I figured I could just stick with the garlic and not worry about the stinkweed. I also didn't have cumin seeds the first time I made it, so I used ground. Not having anything against which to compare, I was pleased with the results. It went well with whole wheat couscous.

As it became a dish I made with some regularity, I started thinking about the cumin and the asafetida. I picked up the cumin seeds on my next trip to the Spice House, but when I asked about asafetida, they said they didn't currently have it but might get some in in the next month or so. I didn't expect that they really would get it in, but the next time I was there and asked, they had it. It came in a small plastic jar in a plastic bag, and even before I opened it I could smell it. I can't even begin to describe the way it smells, but Devil's dung and Stinking gum are, indeed, apt names.

But I have to admit, it made a difference in the Spicy Eggplant Stew. The unpleasant odor mellows in the heat, and the spice adds a warm, mellow flavor that is hard to define, but having tasted it once, I know when it is missing. I have since had occasion to use it in other Indian dishes I have made, and while I would not want to use it every day, there are times when it is a necessary component to a dish, and nothing else will do.

In between those times, however, I keep the little plastic jar in a plastic bag in yet another jar, and store the whole thing on the top shelf of my spice cabinet, as far away as possible.

If you're feeling adventurous, pick up some asafetida and follow the recipe. If not, just chop up some garlic and use that instead. Either way, you can't go wrong with Spicy Eggplant Stew. It's smoky, spicy, and travels well for work lunches. Or add a salad and a nice, crusty loaf of bread and you have the makings of a mighty fine dinner.

I was talking to my sister while I was making this, and I mentioned my mise en place. "Take a picture of that for me," she told me. So I did. And here it is. Minus the oil (I used ghee) and the chickpeas, which I almost forgot about entirely.

Anyhoo, I have gotten in the habit of setting all of my ingredients out when there are a lot of them that need to be added in a certain order. It takes a little longer, but it does make the process easier.

Home Cookin Chapter: Soups and Stews

SPICY EGGPLANT STEW WITH POTATOES,
MUSHROOMS AND CHICKPEAS

India--Shorvedar Baigan Aur Aloo

Serves 4-6

1/4 cup peanut or canola oil
1/3 tsp ground asafetida
1-1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
3 whole dried hot red chiles
2 cloves lightly crushed peeled garlic
3/4 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1-1/2-inch chunks
3/4 lb. eggplant, cut crosswise into 1 1-1/2-inch chunks
3/4 lb. large white mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters to match other vegetables
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cup tomato puree
2-1/4 tsp salt
3/4 well-packed cup (3 ounce) very finely minced fresh cilantro
2-1/4 cups drained cooked chickpeas

Put the oil in a large, wide pot and set over high heat. When hot, add asafetida and cumin. Let them sizzle for 10 seconds. Add the red chiles. As soon as they swell and darken (a matter of seconds), add the garlic and the potatoes. Stir and fry for a minute. Add the eggplant chunks. Stir and fry 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, and stir and fry another 2 minutes.

Add the turmeric and ground coriander. Stir once, and then add the tomato puree, 4 cups of water, salt, cilantro, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer gently for 35-40 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender.

Serve over brown rice or whole wheat couscous.

adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian (Clarkson Potter, 1999).

Exported from Home Cookin 6.45 (Beta 1) (www.mountain-software.com)

Purple Potatoes with Chorizo and Onions

My first encounter with chorizo was when one of my housemates would scramble up some eggs with it back in Austin. It was greasy and it smelled funny to me, and I wanted nothing to do with it. Much like a different housemate who brought home some squid and, not having the least idea how to prepare it, scrambled it up with some eggs. I don't really remember a taste so much as little strips of rubber that, no matter how much I chewed, refused to go away. I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I was in no hurry to experience either chorizo or squid ever again.

When I moved to Chicago, I encountered squid fairly quickly on the menu of almost every Italian restaurant, cleverly disguised as calamari, but I wasn't going to fall for that. And then I was dining with someone who ordered it and convinced me to take a taste. So I took the teeniest, tiniest little fried ring I could find and drowned it in the marinara with which it had been served. And then I took another, bigger, ring and only dipped it in the sauce. And then I asked my dining companion what he was going to have for his appetizer. Just kidding, but it was that good.

So I started thinking about chorizo, and I began to wonder if maybe it was the preparation that made it so unpalatable to me. I had run across references to it over the years, in recipes and online discussions, and I began to think maybe I should give it a try. So I decided to pick up a package the next time I was at Treasure Island.

I wasn't completely sure how I was going to prepare it, so I wandered over to the produce department to see if I could find some inspiration there. As luck would have it, I saw some beautiful purple potatoes, not something I see every day. I know potatoes and sausage go well together, so I decided to go with that. I thought it might make a good accompaniment for my corn casserole.

I thought it would go faster if I roasted the potatoes first, rather than cooking them in the skillet with the onions and chorizo. I washed and quartered them, but did not peel them.

You can see how pretty they are inside Unfortunately, they just turn brown when they are cooked and aren't so pretty.

I tossed them in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and a little chili powder. I roasted them in a 350 degree (F) oven for about 20 minutes, until they were tender, but not too soft. I knew they were going to cook some more in the skillet and I didn't want them to fall apart on me.

The chorizo came in a plastic-wrapped tube. I split it open and squeezed the sausage out into my heated cast-iron skillet. I knew it would be greasy so I did not add any oil to the pan before I started heating it. I mashed it around with the wooden spoon until it broke down like ground meat, and then I added the onion. Chorizo already has garlic so I did not add any more, just the sausage and onion. No salt or pepper, either.

I let the onion and sausage cook until the sausage was thoroughly browned and the onions were nice and translucent. I added the potatoes at the end and left them in just long enough for them to get coated and to be completely heated.

They were good on their own, and they nicely complemented the corn casserole. I will definitely experiment with chorizo again. And I have since discovered that they are supposed to be good with scrambled eggs, so I believe I might just have to try that myself, now that I know how the sausage is supposed to be cooked.

Skillet Sausage, Cabbage and Potato

My cooking has reached a point where I am as likely to wander into the kitchen, see what's available, and whip something up on the fly as I am to plan what I am going to make and shop accordingly. This pleases me for several reasons. For one thing, there is a certain freedom in knowing that I have the experience and palate to look at several disparate items and figure out how to put them together into a cohesive, flavorful dish.

For another, it allows me to buy ingredients based on what looks freshest, costs less, and offers me the most inspiration. And when I do buy the ingredients for particular dishes, I can find quick uses for any leftover items.

This Skillet Sausage, Cabbage and Potato is a good example. I had a quarter of a cabbage left from an earlier dish, and I almost always buy more potatoes than I need for any given dish. I almost always buy cabbage for specific uses, and it's not something we ate often in our house when I was a child, so I'm not used to dealing with extra.

But I had the cabbage, and one russet potato, and some vague idea of putting the two together. I realized I could round it out with the Italian Sausage I had in the freezer and some swiss chard left over from one of my more ambitious pizzas.

I didn't write down what I was doing so I can't provide a recipe here, but I can describe the technique that I used, which can easily be translated to just about any ingredients you have handy.

I chopped half an onion, cubed the potato and thinly sliced the cabbage wedge. I heated a little bit of grapeseed oil in the pan and added the sausage and let it render for a minute or so, then I added the onion, potato and cabbage. I let it all cook together until the sausage was browned, seasoning it with a little salt and pepper. When the sausage was browned, I added a 14.5-oz. can of diced tomatoes, thyme and oregano. I brought it to a simmer, lowered the heat, covered it and let it cook for about 15 minute, until the cabbage and potato were tender. I added the Swiss chard and cooked it for another 5 minutes.

With the sausage, this made a satisfying main dish. Without the sausage, it would make just as satisfying a side dish.

Scalloped Potatoes

We did not always use recipes when I was growing up. For main dishes, more often than not my mother followed a recipe, but with sides we always pretty much winged it. Most likely, a recipe was used originally, and then the dish was re-created from memory. I do remember a spinach dish for which my mother had found a recipe that involved eggs, sour cream and the oven, which morphed into a stove-top concoction of spinach, eggs, cottage cheese and dried minced onion (a staple in our kitchen).

I had all but forgotten about scalloped potatoes until recently. I don't remember ever having a recipe for those. You just peeled and thinly sliced some potatoes and an onion, layered them out in a shallow baking dish, seasoned with salt (no pepper in our kitchen!), dotted them with margarine (no butter in our kitchen!), sprinkled them with a tablespoon or so of flour, poured in some milk, sprinkled the whole thing with paprika, covered the pan, and baked it in the oven until the potatoes were nice and tender. It was delicious and so easy to prepare.

I don't know why I forgot about them. Or why I remembered them for that matter. Maybe it's because russet potatoes have been on sale for a ridiculously cheap price at the grocery store and I have been buying them frequently, and there are only so many hash browns I can make in a short period of time. Maybe it's the center-cut pork chops I wanted to braise in Shiner Bock beer that were just begging for some potatoes on the side. Maybe it's the cooler weather.

Whatever it was, I'm grateful. These are just as easy to make as I remembered, and they're soft and creamy and go extremely well with any form of meat. I guess I really am just a meat and potatoes gal at heart.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

Preheat the oven to 375 deg. F. Peel and thinly slice 3 to 4 medium-sized russet potatoes. Peel the outer layer off of a medium onion, then cut it in half and thinly slice it. Grease an 8 x 8" baking dish. Layer half of the potatoes and onions on the bottom of the dish. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of flour over the potatoes and onions, and then dot it with about 2 tablespoons of butter. Cover with the remaining potatoes and onions and season with more salt and pepper. Add about a cup of milk (to come up to about half the height of the potatoes). Sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of paprika (sweet smoked Spanish paprika works really well here).

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned and the potatoes are tender.

Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Onion and Potato Galette

I have been playing with pastry. There are certain skills I never got around to developing in my years in the kitchen, and pie crust is one of them. There was a certain level of fear involved, I am ashamed to say. I don't know why I have been so afraid of such a simple thing. I suppose it's partly because so much pride is attached to a tender, flaky crust. The other part has to do with something that is unusual for me. I am usually quite adept at all things physical, so it came as something of a shock to me to discover that I could not perform the simple task of rolling out a pie crust. Or, to be more precise, I could not roll the pie crust out into anything resembling a circle.

Something I have been learning in the kitchen over the past few years is this: If you want to learn a new technique, you simply have to do it. And do it again. And again. And . . . well, you get the picture. I first discovered this simple secret when I was trying to learn how to knit. At first I was all thumbs and tangled yarn, but as I persevered I began to be able to see the structure of the stitches, and once I could see that there was nothing I couldn't do.

It's much the same in the kitchen. Of course your first attempt at something new will be less than stellar (unless you encounter that wonderful occurrence known as beginner's luck, and it does happen). But the next time you make the attempt you will have a little more knowledge than you had before, and you will be able to make adjustments based on that knowledge, and you will get a better result. And each time you try, you get better at making those adjustments until before you know it you are turning out a consistent, nearly-perfect product each and every time.

This is related to my other newly-discovered Law of Three. That applies to a new recipe; when learning a new technique it can take more than three tries, for me at any rate. It took about eight times for me to get comfortable with pizza dough. By now I've made at least ten crusts, and I'm just now beginning to feel like I've got it.

Earlier this summer, my friend Nicole, who had been in Washington state for quite some time, finally came home, and brought me a lovely gift of some bona fide original Walla Walla onions. They were big and round and absolutely beautiful. As I was working on my piecrust, I had already experimented with an onion tart or two, with mild success. None of them had gone anywhere interesting enough for me to share them here, but I felt that I had enough information to make something that would really bring out the sweetness of those beautiful Walla Wallas.

And I was pleased with the outcome. Rather than baking it in a pie pan, I decided it would have more rustic charm as a galette. I was going to link to the Wikipedia definition, but it appears that Wikipedia's definition is either a crumbly cake or a buckwheat crepe. I have seen the term widely-used, at least in this country, to describe a rustic free-form pie cooked on a baking sheet rather than in a pie pan, so I am going with that and am calling this a galette regardless of what Wikipedia says it is.

I wanted the onions and the potatoes to be the stars of this dish, so other than salt and pepper I did not use any other spices. It was a wise decision. The flavor of the sweet onions is subtle, and just manages to hold its own with the toastiness of the browned potatoes. Any other spices or herbs would just have gotten in the way.

And the crust came out beautifully, too. Flaky, buttery, rich and tender. Yum! I really love the free-form style of the galette.

This is not a light dish. It's best saved for special occasions. Or when you are lucky enough to have some Walla Walla onions on hand. Hey - if you happen to find yourself in that neck of the woods, pick some up for me, will you?

Home Cookin Chapter: My Recipes

ONION AND POTATO GALETTE

Makes 6 servings

1 single crust pate brisee
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large Walla Walla or sweet Spanish onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp buttermilk or heavy cream

Prepare pate brisee. Dust with flour, form a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator while working on the onions and potatoes.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they have caramelized and turned a rich, deep brown. This will take about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

In same skillet, adding more oil if necessary, leave the heat on medium-high and add the cubed potatoes. Season liberally with the salt and pepper. Cook over the low heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are well browned and almost tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Take the pate brisee out of the refrigerator and let it sit for 10 minutes. Roll it out into a 9-to-10-inch circle and lay it on a baking sheet. Place the onions in the middle of the circle, leaving a good two inches of the dough free. Top with the potatoes. Fold the outside of the dough up over the potatoes and onions, crimping as necessary and leaving a good six inches or so of the center uncovered. Using a pastry brush, spread the buttermilk or cream lightly over the pie dough.

Bake for 50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Let sit for ten to fifteen minutes before serving.

8/3/09

Exported from Home Cookin 5.9 (www.mountain-software.com)

Corn Chowder: The Law of Three

Over the years that I have been working on this blog, I have started looking at every aspect of the cooking process: following recipes, learning new techniques and discovering new ingredients and figuring out how to use them. And as I have been looking at all of these things, I have come to a few conclusion about how one learns to cook.

It started out as an awareness, which turned into a theory. Over time, the theory has been tested and, with some exceptions, has turned out to be valid, at least in my kitchen.

I'm calling it the Law of Three. To wit: In order to get comfortable with a new recipe, technique or ingredient, one must use it at least three times.

I took my theory and articulated it into this law while I was working on corn chowder. It took longer than usual for the corn to show up at the green market, and even longer for it to go down in price, but that finally happened a few weeks ago. I bought a lot. And I was looking for new ways to prepare it. Potatoes have also been plentiful at the market, so I had a few of those too, and thought to combine the two.

Since my recent success with vegetable stock, I have been more serious about finding uses for corn cobs once I have removed the corn. I decided to look for some ideas for a corn chowder. And, as usual, found something that looked right up my alley at Elise's Simply Recipes.

I thought any corn chowder recipe would involve a roux, so I was surprised to discover that the version on Elise's blog did not call for one. I liked that, so I decided to use her version as the base for my attempt.

I followed Elise's version fairly closely for my first attempt. The main difference was that I used leeks instead of onions. I have been playing with a leek and potato soup (which I have not perfected yet, so I am not ready to write about it), and I really like that combination. Corn seems like a natural companion, so I decided to stay with that combination. I also had three beautiful leeks I had bought at the green market. You can't argue with that.

All in all it was a success. The main problem, and it was minor, was that I cooked the potatoes too long and they turned into mush. But the flavors were there so I decided it was worth making again.

For my second attempt, I made sure not to cook the potatoes too long. Unfortunately, however, I did not cook them long enough. There were also too many of them, as well as too much corn. I usually do not bother too much with proportions, especially in soups and stews, but the chowder lacked balance between liquid and solid. The slightly underdone potatoes did not help, either. It was edible, but not as good as the first batch.

So I went at it one more time. Armed with what I knew worked from the first batch, and what didn't work from the second attempt, I knew when to check the potatoes to make sure they had cooked through without turning to mush. I knew how much potato and corn to add. I knew how low to have the burner on to cook the potatoes without scalding the milk.

The end result? Pretty near perfection, I must say. A rich flavorful broth, soft creamy potato and crisp sweet corn. A beautiful way to enjoy the fresh bounty of summer. It's substantial enough for a meal, while at the same time being light enough for the season. Of course, by this time I had run out of leeks so I used an onion. It would be just as good with either.

And there you have it. The first try gives you the base of a recipe. The second time you make adjustments that may or may not work, and compare them against the first. By the third time, you know how you want it, and you have some experience in how to make that happen. The Law of Three.

There's a good chance that you will like this recipe just as it is. But if you think you can improve on it, I bet it will take you two more attempts to get it just where you want it.

Home Cookin Chapter: Soups and Stews

CORN CHOWDER

3-1/2 Tbsp butter
1 large leek, well rinsed and chopped, or 1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 ears of blanched corn, cut from the cob, plus the cobs (broken in half)
3 cups milk
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 medium potato, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika
1/4 lb. ham, cubed

Melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add carrots and celery and cook another 5 minutes.

Nestle the corn cobs in among the vegetables and cover with the milk. Add the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to the barest simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Do not let the milk scald.

Remove the corn cobs and the bay leaf and add the potatoes and bell pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender.

Add the corn, ham, thyme and paprika and cook another 5 to 10 minutes, until the corn and ham are warmed through.

Adapted from Elise's recipe on Simply Recipes.

Servings: 4

Exported from Home Cookin 5.9 (www.mountain-software.com)

Clapshot, Anyone? Mashed Turnips and Potatoes

No baking class today. Instead, I want to talk about turnips. I saw them at the Green Market last Wednesday, and they looked so fresh and pretty that I had to bring some home with me. It didn't help that Lynda was right there whispering in my ear about how good they were mashed with potatoes. And they had the most beautiful greens, which I am really getting into this season.

We were not a big root vegetable family. In fact, other than carrots and potatoes (do those even count?), the only root vegetable we ate with any regularity was canned beets, which I absolutely hated with a passion exceeded only by my hatred of black-eyed peas (which continues apace).

Until I tasted my first pickled beet (which was the canned beets marinated overnight in a vinegar/salt/sugar mixture with onions). The vinegar brightened up the musky, somewhat earthy taste and completely transformed them into a slightly sweet, slightly tangy salad, served chilled, that complemented the flavor of any meat with which it was served. I still did not like them any other way, but at least I recognized some value to the beet, which developed into a full-blooded passion for them over the past couple of years.

Other than that, we never came into contact with the likes of turnips, rutabagas or parsnips at our dinner table. Oh, I'm sure I must have come across them at some friend's house now or then, but to my knowledge they never passed my lips. Nor would I have wanted them to, given their reputation.

Until I was in my twenties and we were visiting my grandmother in Houston. Her cousin Sylvia brought over a huge salad made with vegetables fresh from her garden, dressed with a tangy home-made honey-mustard vinaigrette. In addition to the easily-recognizable lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and celery, there were round white thin slices of something that was bigger than a radish, but had a similar consistency. They were milder, and slightly nutty, and I fell in love with them. Imagine my surprise when Cousin Sylvia announced that they were turnips. It immediately changed my opinion of them, and I determined to explore them when I got home.

And promptly forgot about them. Until I saw them at the market last week and (with Lynda's help) brought them home with me. I happened to have potatoes in the pantry, not something I generally keep on hand, so it seemed like fate.

I looked up several recipes and techniques for making mashed turnips and potatoes. In my searching, I discovered that it's a Scottish dish called Clapshot. Although there seems to be some confusion (on my part, at least) over whether Clapshot uses turnips or rutabaga. Some recipes that I saw called for turnips and some called for Swedish turnips or swedes, which is rutabaga. I don't think it matters much, and for my purposes the turnips worked out just fine.

So fine, in fact, that I have discovered a new love. The turnips add a light, slightly nutty flavor to the potatoes, and they also lighten up the texture. As you can see in the picture above, they are light and fluffy. And very white

I love mashed potatoes, but I have found a new love in Clapshot. And I found I didn't have to use as much liquid (read milk and butter) as I do when I'm mashing potatoes all by themselves. And it's quick and easy, too. At only thirty minutes from start to finish, this would make a brilliant side dish to any meal.

Home Cookin Chapter: My Recipes

CLAPSHOT

Makes 4 servings

3 medium turnips, peeled and cubed
1 large russet or red potato, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup milk
1/8 cup cream (optional)
1-2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp finely chopped fersh parsley, for garnish

Place turnips and potatoes in saucepan and add cold water just enough to cover. Bring to a boil and remove any scum that forms on the top. Lower heat and cook at a simmer until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Drain the water, and return the pan with the turnips and potatoes to the burner, leaving it on low heat to get rid of any excess moisture, shaking the pan often to keep the turnips and potatoes from burning.

Remove pan from heat. Add milk, cream and butter and mash with a potato masher. Adjust amounts of milk, cream and butter to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If not serving immediately, keep warm or reheat just before serving.

Garnish with parsley just before serving.

6/25/09

Exported from Home Cookin 5.7 (www.mountain-software.com)

Braised Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes and Broccolette

Sunday nights have become the equivalent of meat-and-potatoes night around here. Center-cut pork chops were on sale at the Apple Market, and I had bought some potatoes for some reason I can't even remember, so I decided to braise the pork chops and mash the potatoes. I had the Marco Real Tempranillo left over from my beef shanks, so I used that to braise the chops, using my usual method.

For the potatoes, I peeled and cubed some russets and boiled them. When they were done, I mashed them up with fat-free milk, adding just a touch of cream and butter.

And the vegetable? It looks like broccoli, but it's something called broccolette. It was on sale at Treasure Island so I bought a couple of bunches and brought it home. It's something new from Earthbound Farms, but I couldn't find any info on their website. Apparently it's a mix of broccoli and kale. You can see the kale a little in the leaves. Each floret has it's own stalk, which is kind of nice.

After washing it, I chopped the stems and left the florets whole. I heated a little olive over medium high heat in a large skillet, then added a diced shallot and a little bit of crushed red pepper. After it had caramelized I added the broccolette and sautee it for about five minutes. Then I added a little bit of chicken stock, lowered the heat, and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

At least I meant to let it simmer for 10 minutes. It was more like 15-20 because I forgot to set the timer and I got sidetracked. You can see in the picture how much it was overcooked. But what can you do? I sliced up some of the roasted red pepper I used for the Baked Chicken and Blood Orange with Fennel Couscous and added it right at the end. And while it could definitely have been a bit crunchier, it was absolutely delicious. Keep an eye out for it next time you're at the grocery store.