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Friday, April 30, 2010

Chris's BONUS Week Seventeen Recipe: Garlic Chicken

My brother Pete is in town and came over for dinner this evening. Since I can never get him to eat tofu, I decided to make garlic chicken based on this recipe.

Garlic Chicken

Crush

2 cloves of garlic

and add in a small saucepan to

1/4 c olive oil.

Heat gently to infuse the garlic into the oil.

Mix:

1/4 c cracker crumbs
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Dip

3 large boneless chicken breasts

into the garlic-infused oil, then coat with the cracker-Parmesan mixture. Place in an ovenproof pan and bake at 425F for 30-40 min or until the chicken is no longer pink & the juices run clear.

If you like, put the crushed garlic cloves on top of the chicken before baking. Garlicky!

Would I make this recipe again? Peter says it was "delicious!" but could have had even more garlic in it as far as he was concerned. I wonder if adding garlic powder to the cracker-Parmesan mixture would be good?

Karin's Week Seventeen Recipe: Kohlrabi Remoulade

This recipe is a result of still having 1/2 of my Giant Kohlrabi leftover from last week's recipe. Two people cannot eat a 3lb kohlrabi in a single sitting.  Looking around for a recipe that had ingredients that I had on hand, I found this by using SimplyRecipes.com. As I had already had on-hand the ingredients for making guacamole, I thought that this might be an interesting recipe to try. Kohlrabi has the flavor of a cross between cabbage and broccoli, with a bit of radish thrown in. It's nice and firm, so once you get it peeled, it's very easy to chop or grate, etc.

Kohlrabi Remoulade

For the remoulade:
2 small-ish, kohlrabi, thickly peeled
2 heaped tablespoons of good quality mayonnaise (see below)
3 fat green olives, pitted and finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
Small palmful of hazelnuts, roasted, cooled and chopped
2 teaspoons of grain mustard
Sea salt and pepper

What I did was grate the half kohlrabi I had left on the large holes of a box grater, which made it about 2x the amount called for in the recipe. So I doubled the mayo, garlic, and mustard, and omitted the olives and hazelnuts. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

For the guacamole:
2 ripe but firm large Hass avocado
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 heaping tsp of sweet chilli sauce
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1.5 tomatoes chopped
juice of 1 ½ lemons

Handful of leaves (arugula, spinach, whatever you like)


Smash the avocados in a small bowl or molcajete*. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the greens) in order to the bowl, mixing thoroughly after each addition. You could also use your own guacamole recipe.


To serve: Place some greens on the plate, top with a mound of guacamole, then a mound of the remoulade.
 

*Using the molcajete always reminds me of visiting Mexico or one of the other Latin American countries. I picked mine up on a trip to Juarez from a small housewares store in the city center - a true molcajete is made of volcanic stone. Now that it is summer, I can use it to make sauces from all kinds of fresh veggies, so you may be seeing more of this nifty device.

Verdict on this was very delicious, and kohlrabi is much better raw than cooked. I think I will be making this again, albeit with a much smaller kohlrabi to start with. Nate's point was, anything that is 50% guacamole has to be delicious. The remoulade gave it more of a salad flair, and we ate it alongside brats on the grill. I think this would make a great summer picnic dish, but I might use a food processor for all the chopping/grating.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Karin's Week Sixteen Recipe: Roasted Kohlrabi

As last weekend was the first Saturday of our local Farmer's Market, it is time once again to begin Adventures in Vegetables. This week I decided to buy a kohlrabi, mostly because it was funny looking, and seemed to be a good bargain - $3 for a kohlrabi weighing in at about 3lb. Having no idea of what to do with it once I got it home, I perused my cookbooks to no avail, and then decided to check allrecipes.com where I got this recipe for Roasted Kohlrabi.

What I did, seeing as I had a Giant Kohlrabi was this:

Roasted Kohlrabi
1/2 giant kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1/4 in slices
olive oil
minced garlic

Preheat oven to 450deg. Place kohlrabi slices onto baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with minced garlic to taste. Roast for 15-20 min, stirring once part way through to ensure even browning.

We served it with panfried pork steaks, so I didn't use the Parmesan called for in the original recipe. It was tasty, but I think I'd use much less olive oil and bake them slightly longer to achieve more of a chip-like texture. Not sure if I'd make this again, but it was quick and easy.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Chris's Week Seventeen Recipe: Twice Baked Potatoes for Two

When having lunch with Tricia and Jenni a couple weeks ago, I received precious little sympathy when I complained that I had twenty more years than they did of recipes that I couldn't duplicate.

Well, it really can be a problem, but fortunately there are enough significant variations on "I've made this before" that I think I'll be able to pull through. I've made twice-baked potatoes in the past, but the filling didn't include veggies and bacon like these do.

Today's recipe is a variation of the recipe found here. Knowing that even one potato would be enough for two meals for me, I used only one large baking potato. This recipe would make a great side for dinner for two. I should note that I actually sauteed twice the amount of vegetables called for. I'll put the extras into spaghetti sauce later in the week.

Twice Baked Potatoes for Two

Bake 1 large baking potato at 400F for one hour or until soft inside.

Cook 4 slices bacon - I used the microwave.

Saute together in 1T of olive oil until the onions & peppers are soft:

1/4 large onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 package fresh mushrooms, chopped

Slice the baked potato in half the long way and scoop out its innards! Mash up the insides a bit, add the vegetable mixture and mix with:

1/2 t Penzey's Black & Red
a couple of grinds of black pepper
1/2 t salt
1 T chopped fresh chives
2 heaping T whole yogurt
most of 2 oz grated extra sharp Cheddar

Put the potatoes in a baking dish/pan and fill. Sprinkle on top:

cracker crumbs
the rest of the cheddar cheese.

Return to the oven and bake for about 15 min or until the cheese is bubbly.

Would I make this recipe again? Oh, I think so! Note that even 1 T of fresh chives is not very strong, but the Penzey's Black & Red spice certainly is!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Karin's Week Fifteen Recipe: Random Fruit Pie

This recipe is a result of moving things from our basement deep freeze into the new freezer in the kitchen. And we were having friends over for dinner, and I needed a dessert recipe that went well with the vanilla ice cream I had made earlier in the week to test the freezing power of the new freezer. I basically took what I've done for other fruit pies and threw a pie together out of what I could find.

Random Fruit Pie

1 full pkg Pillsbury Pie Crusts (or crust for a 2 crust pie)
~ 4-6 c frozen fruit of your choice (I used mostly rhubarb with some strawberries)
2 T tapioca
1 c sugar (or to taste)
1/2 tsp or so lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450 deg.

Bring pie crust to room temperature and fit into 9-in pie plate - I usually use a glass one, as it's a bit deeper than my metal ones. Thaw fruit just enough to break into individual pieces. Place fruit into pie crust. Sprinkle with tapioca, sugar, and lemon juice. Place top crust on pie and tuck in edges. Make slits in pie to allow for steam to escape.

Place pie in oven, with pie plate on cookie sheet so as to catch any drips. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 deg. Bake for 40-50 minutes more, covering edges of pie crust for last 10 minutes to prevent excess browning. Actual time needed depends on amount of fruit used.

Consensus was Yum! I also had enough leftovers to serve for another dinner when my parents & grandmother came to visit. This is a great way to use up the random bits of fruit around the house, and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Now, I just need to learn to make a pie crust that doesn't split on me, then it will be even more homemade.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Tricia's Week 16 Recipe: Pizza Pasta Salad (working on a name)

I had some leftover noodles from a batch of spaghetti earlier this week. I also had a few pepperoni, but not enough for a pizza, mozzarella cheese, and ham (pretend it was Canadian bacon).  I thought I had olives, but alas, they had given up the ghost!   I asked Trev to grab a green bell pepper on his way home from work, and a recipe idea was born! 


Pizza Pasta Salad - I need a better name for this!


Ingredients
Pasta - I used two kinds of squiggly pastas, probably totalling 2/3 a box.  In the future I will use one box of mulit-colored pasta
One green bell pepper
Pepperoni, cut into fourths - I had 15 left, and it needs more!
Ham - honey cured, three deli slices, cut into 1/2 in cubes
Mozzarella cheese - 1.5 handfuls (yes, these are very precise unit's of measure, for me!  What do you call an English "foot"!)

Place all above into a large bowl, add dressing - below


Dressing (very similar to week 15)
1/4+ a little more white wine venegar
2 generous teaspoons sugar
1/8  teaspoon dry mustard/ground mustard (I didn't have dijon and didn't want to go buy some)
1/2 teaspoon Essence (from back a ways)
A few shakes of Penzy's Pizza Seasoning
A few shakes of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
 2 tablespoons canola oil
*put all ingredients in a shakable container, shake til mixed.

Pour dressing over salad, cover bowl and shake, or mix w/ spoon.  Eat!

Would I make this again?  Yup!  Quite delish.  I would make a few amendments, however.  I would use more pepperoni, perhaps cutting out the ham.  I would use fun colored noodles, and I would add some sliced black olives.  I think I would also add more than 'a few shakes' of the crushed red pepper, because they are tasty. 







Chris's Week Sixteen Recipe: Italian Nachos

The lovely Erica B. came over this evening for the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who and of course I took the opportunity of experimenting on her. (Culinarily! What did you think I meant?!) Nachos sounded good, but I wanted to try a variation, so here are...

Italian Nachos

Saute together:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb hot Italian pork sausage

In a casserole dish, layer

tortilla chips
sausage mixture
black beans
sliced black olives
mozzarella cheese

If your dish is deep enough, do another layer like the first. Erica & I used different kinds of tortilla chips on each layer.

Bake at 350F for 10 min or until the cheese melts to your liking. Top with diced avocado and your favorite salsa. Trader Joe's peach salsa was a good counterpoint to the Italian sausage.

Would I make this recipe again? Erica approves! We debated whether to add diced green chiles, but decided the hot Italian sausage was spicy enough for us this evening. Erica suggests that diced or even stewed tomatoes would be a good addition.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Jennifer's Week Sixteen Recipe - Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

So, Chad and I have been together for 9 years. One of Chad's favorite foods is pot roast. I had never made a pot roast before... until today. I know, what kind of wife am I?! I figured it can't be too hard, but I wanted to do research (quiet, Chris) to make sure the roast didn't dry out. What should I use as a liquid in the slow cooker? So I found this recipe on the ever-handy allrecipes.com. I used it as a guideline and finally made a pot roast!



Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients

  • 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
  • 1 1/4 cups water (I used beef stock)
  • 5 1/2 pounds pot roast (I used a 4 pound chuck roast and that was plenty big!)

Directions

  1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
  2. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.
I seasoned the roast with kosher salt, pepper and rosemary. I then seared it with a bit of olive oil before putting it in the crock pot. After letting it cook for 2 hours on high, I added some onion, baby red potatoes and carrots and turned it down to low for about 4-5 hours.


Would I make it again? Well, Chad has demanded a repeat performance next week.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Jennifer's Week Fifteen Recipe - Mushroom Pork Chops

I was tired of making chicken and Chad was asking for pork so... here you go. From allrecipes.com. Again.





Mushroom Pork Chops

Ingredients

  • 4 pork chops
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch garlic salt, or to taste
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Directions

  1. Season pork chops with salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.
  2. In a large skillet, brown the chops over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms, and saute for one minute. Pour cream of mushroom soup over chops. Cover skillet, and reduce temperature to medium-low. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, or until chops are cooked through.


Would I make this again? Yep. Both gentlemen approved which is enough for me to make it again.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Jennifer's Week Fourteen Recipe: Chicken Riggie

Ok, so I'm a little late with posting this, I know! I don't even have an excuse other than laziness. So, without any further ado, here you go! (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 ounce) package uncooked rigatoni pasta
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
  • 2 cups red spaghetti sauce
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1 (15 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
  • 1 (8 ounce) jar hot cherry peppers, drained (I skipped this for Erik's sake)
  • 2 cups Alfredo sauce

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
  2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute chicken for 5 to 7 minutes, until well browned. Add spaghetti sauce, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Add green bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, olives, and hot peppers. Stir all together and simmer for 40 minutes.
  4. Add Alfredo sauce, stir until blended, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Spoon over hot, cooked pasta and serve.

Would I make this again? Yep! It was very yummy and was good as leftovers, too! Leftovers were served with fettuccine, but I'm sure any pasta with this dish is just fine. Just adjust the name accordingly.

Tricia's Week 15 Recipe: Cranberry, Wild Rice, Turkey Salad

I scoured the internet looking for recipes that involved things I had at my house and needed to eat up.  These things included: carrots, celery, almonds, cranberries, wild rice.  This is what I found: Chicken and Wild Rice Salad with Almonds

I made some adjustments to the above, mostly because I didn't have any chicken and was too lazy to cook some.  So I went to the deli and asked for a very thick slice of turkey...works like a charm!

Dressing
1/4+ a little more white wine venegar
2 generous teaspoons sugar
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard/ground mustard (I didn't have dijon and didn't want to go buy some)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (again, no cloves in house and I had no desire to go to the store today)
a few shakes onion powder (onion ban still on for in salad, so I added a bit of flavor to the dressing)
d 2 tablespoons canola oil
*put all ingredients in a shakable container, shake til mixed, set in fridge until salad is mixed up

Salad
1.5 cups cooked wild rice (I had a tupperware full of leftover, and didn't bother to measure, I was likely closer to 2.5 cups)
1 lb turkey from deli, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (because I wanted a time saver)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 ish cup shredded carrots (I used my trusty carrot peeler and went to town making shreds)
1/3 ish cup dried cranberries ( I shook til I was happy with the colors in the bowl, really)
1/4 cup chopped almonds - toasted (I toasted the leftovers from the package I used to make the wild rice soup)
*mix all in large bowl

Add salad dressing to salad, put lid on large bowl, and shake.  Have I mentioned I was looking for a quick recipe to use my leftovers?  :P

Would I make it again?  I will get back to you.  The few bites I had tonight were quite tasty, but the salad is in the fridge thinking about itself and will be lunch, tomorrow.

Tricia's Week 14 Recipe: Andes Grasshopper Cake

One day, a while  back, I was at the store and saw a Andes mint display.  Prominant on the top of the display was a 'buy 2 get 1 free' (refund by mail) coupon.  I grabbed it, and two packages mints and checked out.  Funny thiing about mail in rebates - I am terrible at mailing them in.  I ate one package of mints, and the other has been sitting there, staring at me.  The good news about this mail in rebate form is that on the back, there are two recipes.  One is for 'Andes Grasshopper Cake, which I endeavored to make for my week 14 recipe.  The theme this month seems to be about using up food in the house, or sharing something from one week to the next.

Andes Grasshopper Cake

Ingredients
1 devils food cake mix
eggs, water and oil necessary for said mix
16 oz non-dairy whipped topping
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 pkg Andes mints

Cake
Make as directed in 2 rounds.  cool completely

Frosting
Shave off  about a 1/2 cup of the mints into curls, place in fridge.  *note: my mints didn't curl, they made bits, but the bits are just as tasty as the curls
Freeze remaining mints for a while until hard enough to put in mini chopper to make many small pieces without making a melted chocolate mess.  Take mini chopper bowl and put in fridge.
Soften cream cheese and blend on medium speed til smooth.
Add non-dairy whipped topping (aka Cool Whip) on medium low til smooth
Fold in mints from mini chopper
Take one round, place on platter.  Smooth out top and cover w/ 1/3 to 1/2 topping  Add second cake round, top w/ remaining frosting.  (the picture uses 1/2 and only has a middle and top layer. I decided I wanted side layers because I had a bunches of frosting left after adding it to to top of the cake in what I felt was an acceptable layer.)
Take shavings or curls, whichever you were able to accomplish, out of fridge and sprinkle on top of cake.  Serve cold.

Would I make this again?  My goodness, yes!  I then started thinking, what about pinapple flavored cake and this frosting but instead of mint, I'd do mandarin oranges...a version of 'pea pickin cake'...then I thought i wanted the real 'pea pickin cake' which I will likely make when this wonderful cake is gone, and post that recipe too.  I must now remember to only eat one slice cake per day, and to share.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Chris's Week Fifteen Recipe: Creamed Eggs

What to do when you need a new recipe for the week and have leftover biscuits? Make chipped beef, of course!

Right.... Like I keep dried beef in the house.

But I always have eggs! So I got down my beloved Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook (c. 1950) and made...

Creamed Eggs

In a saucepan, melt:

2 T butter

Whisk in:

2 T flour
1/4 t salt
1/8 t white pepper
1/4 t grated horseradish

Take off the heat and whisk in:

1 c milk

Return to heat and bring to a boil for one minute. The sauce can be kept ready on low heat if stirred occasionally.

Pour over biscuits and chopped, freshly-cooked medium-hard-boiled eggs. (I use the cold-start method to boil eggs. Put the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then remove the pant from the heat, and let stand covered for 15 minutes. Drain off the hot water and rinse with cold water or you'll burn your fingers! Go for 25 minutes if you want hard-boiled eggs.)

Would I make this recipe again? Yes! The grated horseradish was my own addition and added just a hint of spiciness to the sauce. You'd probably have to use at least a teaspoon before you really noticed it, though.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Chris's Week Fourteen Recipe: Vegan Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits

I came across this recipe whilst toddling around allrecipes.com. I have a lot of friends who are vegetarian, allergic to cow's milk, and/or just plain lactose intolerant and thought it might be a nice 'staple' recipe to have when I cooked for them.

My version of the biscuits cuts the salt and was made with just whole-wheat flour... well, whole wheat flour mixed with a little all-purpose flour, and therein lies a sad kitchen tale... but if you wanted to make them lighter, you should use half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour.

Vegan Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits

Mix together:

2 c whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt

Add:

1/4 c grapeseed or canola oil
3/4 c unsweetened soy milk

Mix until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Add a splash of soy milk or a pinch of flour if you need to adjust the consistency. Bake at 450F for 8-10 min or until the biscuits are starting to brown on the top.

Would I make this recipe again? It's a keeper! They were good 'on the side' and especially tasty with orange marmalade. (Oh, the price we pay to be thorough recipe bloggers!) I think this recipe would work well on top of a pot pie, too.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Karin's Bonus Week 14 Recipe: Lime Pork Chops with Tomato Sour Cream Garnish (but not with pork)

This recipe is from a book that we got for a wedding present, The Big Book of Backyard Cooking. I have made this recipe in the past with boneless pork chops and it was amazing.  This time, I didn't have the pork chops, but had some nice tuna steaks thawed.  I thought, hmmm, citrus and seafood usually have an affinity, I wonder what would happen if I used the tuna?

Lime Pork Chops with Tomato Sour Cream Garnish

6 - 5oz boneless centercut pork loin chops, 3/1-1" thick, trimmed of fat (I used tuna steaks instead.)
1/4 c olive oil
3 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
2.5 T fresh lime juice (2-3 limes) (I used bottled)
1.5 tsp ground cumin
Kosher salt
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Garnish
3/4 c sour cream
12 small cherry tomatoes, quartered & seeded
3 green onions including 3" of green stems, finely sliced
Kosher salt
3 T chopped fresh cilantro

*I ended up using 2 tsp of red pepper flakes in the marinade, as I forgot to buy the chile peppers. I also used 1 med tomato instead of the cherry tomatoes, as there were none at my market.

1. Place pork chops in a shallow glass dish that will hold them in a single layer. Whisk together 1/4 c oil, chiles, lime juice, cumin, 1 tsp salt and red pepper flakes. Pour over pork. Cover & refrigerate. Marinate 6 hr or overnight, turning several times. Bring to room temp 30min before grilling.

2. Prepare the garnish 30 min before grilling. Mix all garnish ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside at room temp.

3. When ready to cook, oil a grill rack & arrange 4-5 in from heat source (we don't usually oil the rack). Prepare grill for a hot fire. Remove pork from marinade and pat dry. Grill until cooked all the way through, 6+ min per side. Arrange chops on a platter. Garnish with sauce, and pass extra sauce separately.

Results: Just as good with the tuna steaks. However, I would cut in half the spicy pepper if I do it again with tuna, as it was WAY spicier than with the pork, even with only half of the marinating time. We had to use the sour cream sauce to cut the spice. But, still, the tuna was a great alternative to the pork. I wonder what would happen if I used chicken? Hmmm....

Karin's Week Fourteen Recipe: Garlic, Black Bean & Sausage Soup

It was a cold, rainy, and dreary day... so I decided to make soup.  As what else would make a filling, warm comfort food - fast?  I have a book called Fresh and Simple Quick Simmering Soups, by Better Homes and Gardens, and usually I make the Red Pepper Soup out of it.  Paging through, this soup looked easy, and we had all the ingredients on hand.

Garlic, Black Bean & Sausage Soup

12 oz bulk mild Italian sausage
1.5 c chopped onion
10 cloves garlic, minced (approx 5 tsp)
1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed
2 - 15oz cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 - 14/5 oz can beef broth (I just measured approx amt from my box 'o' broth)
Dash ground red pepper (optional)
1/4 c sour cream
2 c chopped tomatoes (I used 1 14oz can, so approximated)
2 T snipped fresh oregano (I used Penzey's dried, approx 1 T)

In large saucepan cook sausage, onion, garlic and fennel seed over med-high heat for 10-12 min or until sausage is no longer pink. Drain well. (I didn't have anything to drain at this point.)

Stir in black beans and beef broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 min.

Meanwhile, if desired, stir red pepper into sour cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (I didn't do this, as Nate does not like sour cream.)

Just before serving, stir in the tomatoes and oregano into soup; heat through. Top each serving with sour cream mixture.

This soup turned out quite nicely - it got 4 thumbs up. The only thing I might change, is to use a slightly spicier sausage, as the mild we used didn't seem to add much in flavor. I did put sour cream in mine, and liked that it made the soup thicker. I had the leftovers for lunch the next day, and it was even better after it had sat in the fridge overnight.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Karin's Week Thirteen Recipe: Potatoes Lyonnaise

This recipe was mostly chosen by Nate.  He wanted a potato dish that was made with slices of potato and butter to go with the giant ham that I was baking for Friday dinner.  This fit, and also had onions to boot.  It's from the Test Kitchen Favorites 2007 cookbook accompaniment to the America's Test Kitchen TV show on PBS. The show tests not only recipes, but kitchen equipment too.  The cookbook shares some of their findings.  This recipe is supposed to be an easier-to-make take on a classic French potato recipe.  I did look in my Julia cookbooks to see what she had to say, and sadly it was not in there, so I couldn't compare the two. Make sure to read this all the way through before starting, as you have to do somethings simultaneously.

Potatoes Lyonnaise

3 T unsalted butter
1 large onion (about 14oz, or smaller ones to equal such), halved pole to pole and sliced 1/4 in thick
3/4 tsp Kosher salt or 1/2 tsp table salt (I used the salt grinder)
2 T water
1.5 lb medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced crosswise into 1/4in rounds*
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 T minced fresh parsley (I forgot to use this)

*The cookbook is very specific on the type of potato. They say that Russets will not work right, so I made a special trip to get the Yukon Golds.

1. Heat 1 T of butter in a nonstick skillet (I used our cast iron pan) over med-high heat. When the foaming subdies, add the onion and 1/4tsp of salt and stir to coat; cook stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften, about 3 min. Reduce the heat to med and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the onions are light brown and soft, about 12 min longer, deglazing with water when the pan gets dry, about halfway thru the cooking time. (I didn't use any water, and also forgot to cover the pan. My onions stayed moist.) Transfer to a bowl, and cover. Don't wash the pan.

2. While the onions cook, microwave 1 T of butter on high power in a large bowl until melted. Add the potatoes to the bowl and toss to coat with the butter. Microwave on high power until the potatoes just start to turn tender (aka bendy), about 6 minutres, tossing halfway thru the cooking time. Set aside.

3. Melt 1 T of butter in the onion skillet over med-high heat. When the foaming subsides, add the potatoes and shake the skillet to distribute evenly. Cook, without stirring, until browned on the bottom, about 3 min. Using a spatula, stir the potatoes carefully and continue to cook, stirring every 2 to 3 min until the potatoes are well browned and tender, 8-10 min more. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.

4. Add the onions back in to the skillet and stir to combine. Cook until the onions are heated thru and the flavors have melded, 1-2 min. Transfer to a large plate, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

This was a pretty quick dish to make, and all eating it liked it quite a bit, especially the onions. I thought it could've used a bit more seasoning, such as garlic. Either way, it was a great way to use up potatoes and onions, especially if you have the Yukon Golds on hand. I'd probably make this again.