recipe: broccoli & cheddar twice baked potato

these potatoes were another find of mine from my intoxicated journey through foodgawker.com this past weekend. the recipe is taken from Good Life Eats, although i left out the bacon and cream cheese to make them a little healthier (booo!), and added in a bit more seasoning to compensate for that sad, sad piggy elimination.

although i'm not a big broccoli fan (delicately put, i hate it and hope it dies), these were pretty good - enough so that i would make them again. while broccoli on it's own can be offensive IMO, here the flavor blends well with the rest of the potato/cheesy goodness, so it's more like secretly sneaking in veggies than it is being overtly "healthy". i topped these with crushed red pepper flakes and some smoked chipotle bacon sea salt, which gave me that little hit of bacon these needed.

ingredients list: 
- 4 russet potatoes
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1.5 cups (roughly) of broccoli florets, chopped (*the original recipe calls for the broccoli to be steamed, i left it raw since i prefer uncooked/crunchy broccoli)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 green onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper to taste

recipe: baked Sriracha potato chips

the Kettle brand cheddar beer chips are devine. the Kettle Sriracha chips look devinulous. i'm on a healthy streak and denied myself a bag. and proceeded to get mildly intoxicated and spend a good portion of Saturday night pouring over recipes on foodgawker.com and try to deny myself food. what resulted... was this little number from Oh My Veggies. if god gives you potatoes, you make yourself some damn potato chips.

they came out delightful (it took 5 minutes tops for us to devour these), although they were a little too soft to be perfect. a few were starting to burn when i took them out, so i think next time i make them i'll try to bake them low & slow versus the 20 minutes @ 400F degrees. (though in part, my inebriated inconsistently sized slicing could have played a part in that as well. perhaps.) a garlic Sriracha aioli for some dip dip on the side would not hurt either, mmmmm.  all in all - worth the effort, fun lil snack without having to feel -as- guilty as eating "real" chips.

ingredients list: 

- 1 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1 tbsp Sriracha

- 1 large russet potato, cut into 1/8" slices

- salt to taste

recipe: corned beef and potato pizza

so in yesterday's indecisiveness about what to have for dinner and even MORE corned beef left in the fridge, clearly the solution was a corned beef pizza. good mix of my Italian & Irish genes, on a plate. if you like corned beef and potato (and also are a big fan of potato pizzas), you really can't go wrong here. it was a total mouth party.

ingredients list: 
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought 
- 1/2 - 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 an onion, diced
- 1 potato, baked & thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 & 1/2 cups leftover corned beef, shredded 
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
- pinch salt
- olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- few dashes of parsley

to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees. 

roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the stone. spread the sour cream, cheese, onion, potato & corned beef over the dough. bake in preheated oven for about 10-13 minutes.

brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture within the last few minutes of cooking. allow to cool at least 5 minutes before eating. 

recipe: chicken and potato bake

i had taken drumsticks out with the intention of making some red chicken curry tonight, but it's so nice and fally out i wanted something a lil more comfort-foody today. i couldn't find any recipes that spoke to me and decided to just free-ball this one and throw some chicken and potato-friendly things in a pan. i had zero expectations, but this actually had a ton of flavor and was yum city (even if the picture doesn't look so yummy : ). super easy too which i'm always a fan of during the week.

update 10/7: made this again, but swapped out the rosemary for dried sage and baked at 400 degrees (the higher temp roasted the potatoes a tad more and made the sauce even thicker). even better!

ingredients list (serves 2)*:
- 4 chicken drumsticks, skins removed (thighs or breasts would also work)
- 3 medium red potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 small onion
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (roughly) olive oil
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- salt & pepper to taste
- cornstarch

*mushrooms would also be yumz in this if you had them on hand.

to make: preheat oven to 375 degrees. place potatoes, onion, chicken and garlic into a small baking dish. pour in wine, lemon juice, and drizzle with olive oil, then season with thyme, rosemary and salt & pepper. bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. half way through baking, flip chicken and stir potatoes, and remove some of the liquid to make a cornstarch slurry. stir cornstarch mixture back into the dish and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes. by the end of the hour, the cornstarched wine sauce should be thick enough to be a nice gravy.

recipe: red skinned potato salad

this was the potato salad i used for last weekend's bbq - it's taken from allrecipes.com, the Red Skinned Potato Salad recipe. i modified it slightly, omitting the eggs and adding in a little extra seasoning than what it calls for. i don't eat potato salad, but it seemed like it went over pretty well and is a good repeater recipe.

ingredients list: 
- 2 lbs new red potatoes
- 1 lb bacon
- 1-2 green onions, diced (green & white parts)
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 2 cups mayo
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
- 1 tbsp pickle juice
- 1/2 tsp paprika

to make: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. add potatoes and cook until tender but still a bit firm, about 15 minutes. drain and set in fridge to cool. 

place bacon in a large skillet, and cook over medium high eat until medium brown. drain*, crumble and set aside (note: CRISPY bacon works best in this recipe). 

chop the cooled potatoes into small cubes (roughly 1/2 in), leaving skin on. in a large bowl, mix together the bacon, onion, celery, mayo, salt & pepper, mustard powder, pickle juice, and paprika, carefully fold in the potatoes, being careful not to mash them up.  chill for a least an hour before serving.  

*i had reserved my bacon grease to add it into my burger patties... um YUM.

recipe: scalloped potatoes

yesterday we cooked prime rib for din dins. i wanted to make au gratin potatoes to go with it but didn't have much cheese, so i tried out the home-style scalloped potato recipe from allrecipes.com. looking at the ingredients it seemed like it would be hum-drum, but the reviews were pretty amazing and they were actually right. i followed the recipe almost to a tee, adding in some extra garlic and toppings.

ingredients list:
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3/4 tsp season salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 & 1/4 cups milk
- 3 potatoes, thinly sliced
- french fried onions
- shredded colby jack cheese
- parsley

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees. in a small bowl, stir together flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. in a large sauce pan, saute onion in butter until tender. stir in flour until completely absorbed. gradually add milk, then bring to a boil. stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until sauce has thickened. 

place half of the potatoes in a greased baking dish. pour half of the sauce over the potatoes. repeat layers. baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. add a sprinkling of french fried onions, colby jack, and parsley over the potatoes during last 10 minutes. the top should be lightly browned.

recipe: baked potato and proscuitto pizza

din din last night... the more pizza i make, the more pizza i want to make. there's a pizzeria in danbury CT, Tuscano's, that has a great baked potato pizza with potato, bacon, onion & cheese which was the inspiration. loved it even better than theirs :)

ingredients list:
- 1 russet potato, sliced into thin (roughly 3mm) slices
- 1 recipe for pizza dough or fresh store-bought
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2 a red onion, diced
- 2 slices proscuitto, diced
- 1-1.5 cups cheddar cheese
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 green onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
- black pepper
- 1/2 tsp parsley
- pinch salt
- olive oil

to make: mix 1-2 tbsp olive oil, salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and parsley in small bowl and set aside. heat a large skillet on medium heat; preheat the oven (with pizza stone in the oven also) to 450 degrees; and heat outdoor grill over medium heat (only do this last step if you are finishing the pizza on the grill). heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in the skillet, and sautee onion until it begins to brown.
roll out pizza dough on lightly floured surface. lightly flour the hot pizza stone, then carefully transfer the dough to the hot stone. spread ranch dressing onto the dough, then pile on first some cheese (cream cheese & cheddar), the potatoe, the onion, more cheeses, and the some garlic powder and black pepper (and any other desired seasonings). bake in preheated oven for about 12-13 minutes.

you can fully cook the pizza in the oven for a total of 14-16 minutes, or if you want to grill it, carefully transfer it to the preheated grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the bottom of the crust starts to get a nice char to it. within the last few minutes of cooking, add the proscuitto and the green onion to the pizza, and brush the crust with the garlic olive oil mixture. allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

easter lamb burgers

our quick/casual Easter feast. lamb burgers (couldn't find ground lamb in the grocery store so bought it fresh ground from a butcher... even better. we seasoned with them with minced garlic, oregano, and sherry, along with salt & pepper), topped with roasted tomato, carmelized red onion, and gorgzola cheese. yummmy.

served with rosemary fries (i used my Roasted Red Potatoes recipe, using russets instead of red potatoes, chopping up the fries, then adding rosemary instead of the paprika & oregano. easy peasy.)

st. patrick's day recipe 2 of 3: colcannon

so... next up for st. paddy's. i didn't want to do straight out cabbage with the corned beef, but the colcannon sounded like a great happy-middle between cabbage and a yummy side (it has bacon... so yep there ya go). i used another allrecipes.com recipe for this one, Diane's Colcannon. 

ingredients list:
- 1 & 1/4 lbs potatoes, cubed
- 4 slices bacon
- 1/4 small head cabbage, chopped
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp butter


to make: place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. bring to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, until tender when poked with a fork.


while potatoes are cooking, place bacon in a large skillet, and cook over medium-high heat until even brown. remove bacon, crumble, and set aside. saute the cabbage & onion in the skillet in the bacon drippings, until cabbage & onion are soft and start to turn golden. 


drain the cooked potatoes, mash with milk, the butter, and season with salt and pepper. fold in the bacon, cabbage, and onions and serve.
***
i wasn't sure if i would like these or not because of the "chunky" potato texture, but if i thought of it as a side and not "mashed potatoes", they were actually really good. the cabbage kind of made it like a egg roll flavor, mixed with a random potato bacon onion party (egg rolls are really my only experience with cabbage). would def make again, but next time i want to try adding a bit of cider vinegar when the onion and cabbage saute... a little bit of german potato salad vinegary twang would work nicely with it. 6******.

recipe: roasted red potatoes

i love roasted taters. crispy & seasony, but soft potatoey yum inside. usually when i make roasted potatoes, i have a hard time getting them to the crispy level. i read through a ton of roasted potato recipes on foodgawker.com earlier - all the photos that had a nice crisp finish had one thing in common - high heat. i used that as the premise for these:

ingredients list (serves 3):
- 6 small red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil (i used 2 tbsp EVOO, 1 tbsp mushroom & sage OO)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano

to make: preheat oven to 400 degrees. place all ingredients EXCEPT the potatoes in a large bowl, and mix until combined. add potatoes and toss until the potatoes are completely covered in the seasoning mixture.

grease a small baking dish, and add potatoes in a single layer in the baking dish. bake the potatoes for 1 hr, until golden crispy, making sure to gently stir the potatoes every 15 minutes or so (they WILL stick if you do not stir).
***
yum! these had a great level of crisp, seasoning, and were still nice and tender. they were a bit salty (and i personally love salt), but if you're not the biggest fan you may want to cut back and add more at the end if needed. i think from now on my roasted potatoes will all be at 400 - the 350 i've been cooking them at just doesn't bring them up to the texture they need. 7*******.

recipe: twice-baked new potatoes

i've made these taters from allrecipes.com a few times and they've always been solid... they were kinda a no-brainer for super bowl. i prefer using the red potatoes so they are a little more bite-sized... the russets are way too much of a tater commitment. 

ingredients list:
- 1 & 1/2 lbs small red potatoes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup shredded monte jack cheese (plus more for sprinkling)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 oz sour cream, softened (about 1/3 a package)
- 1/3 cup minced green onions
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt (plus more for sprinkling)
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 lb bacon, cooked & crumbled
- paprika

to make: pierce potatoes, then rub skins with oil. bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until tender. allow to cool to the touch. meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine monte jack cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, onions, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper. cut potatoes in half, then carefully scoop out insides, leaving a thin shell. add the potato insides to the cheese mixture and mash together, then stir in bacon. sprinkle potato shells with salt, then stuff with potato mixture. sprinkle with additional cheese, pepper, and paprika. broil for 7-8 minutes or until heated through. (instead of broiling, you can refrigerate these overnight and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes).
***
verdict: yummy. love these. perfect balance of junk food in a potato... nothing not to love. they are not the thin-sliced crispy skins if that's what you're craving, but they are cheesy creamy tasty taters. also good dipped in white bbq sauce. nom. 7*******.

recipe: chocolate covered potato chips

i love Cape Cod kettle cooked potato chips... nothing but pure taste of crispy tater, oil, salt. mmmmm. somehow this became a drunken craving to have the salty chips perfectly aligned with dark sweet chocolate. snacky opposite day. works for pretzels, and for jimmy fallon's icecream, so works for me

ingredients list:
- favorite potato chips (the thicker/crunchier, the better... i do not recommend original Lays here)
- few tbsp butter
- 1/2 bag dark chocolate chips

(very inexact measurements... i just kept making them until i got bored and started running out of melted chocolate)

to make: melt butter in double boiler (or a jimmy-rigged bowl over a saucepan filled with water, my fav), then stir in chocolate chips until melted completely. dip chips, then allow to cool on waxed paper.
***
YUM! taste exactly like you would imagine... a perfect drunken lady snack. super easy to make too. 7 *******.

recipe: hasselback potatoes

last night we make a big din, and i needed a tater recipe to go with prime rib. i had tried making hasselback potatoes once before with blah results (the bottom was too crispy), but of all the pics on foodgawker.com the hasselbacks really seemed to pull me in (i wanted to avoid a heavy potato dish with cheese/cream/etc... just something that actually tasted like a potato in it's pure form).  

ingredients list (for 2):
- 2 large russet potatoes
- 4 tbsp olive oil (i used Mushroom & Sage flavored OO from Saratoga Olive Oil Co... love that stuff) + more for bottoms
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- dollop of sour cream (optional)


to make: preheat oven to 400 degrees. mix olive oil, parmesan, parsley, salt, & paprika in small bowl. make slits width-wise down the top of the potato, about 3-4 mm apart, but NOT going all the way down to the bottom of the potato - they should be about 1/4 inch from the bottom. brush the potato with the olive oil mixture, making sure you get some in between each slit (you may have to use a fork to carefully pry the slits back open). rub additional OO on bottom of the potatoes. bake for 40-45 minutes, brushing with olive oil every 15 minutes or so. 


in small microwave-safe bowl, add garlic & butter, and melt butter. pour garlic-butter mixture over the potatoes before the last 5 minutes of baking.
***
these came out a lot better than last time... flavor from the OO was awesome, and they were cooked just right (no hard burnt bottom this time). i wish that each layer opened a bit more and could come out golden crispy, but it's still yum... like a regular potato except consistent toppings rather than butter only on the top layer. 6.5******~.

recipe: smashed red potatoes

we made beer can chicken for din tonight, with taters on the side. i was a little smitten from the Crispy Potatoes recipe i saw on whisked, and thought that would be a lovely yet easy side for them. 

ingredients list (for 3: 2 potatoes/person):
- 6 medium red potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for rubbin'
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- grated parmesan cheese

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees. rub potatoes in olive oil, and poke holes all over on them with a fork. bake potatoes for 35 - 40 minutes, until soft when poked with a fork.  heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. add potatoes to skillet, then crush with the bottom of a bottle of wine or large glass. cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, until crispy, and sprinkle to taste with salt, pepper & grated parmesan cheese.
***
so... these were alright. i added bacon chipolte sea salt to ours (which is AMAZING on burgers), but it actually just made the potatoes taste funny. mine got a little crumbly, but i think if i used a smaller sized potatoe they might work better. not sure. all in all though, these are simple and are a good potatoe side without a lot of calories... easy. if i take away my salt error, i'd say they are a solid 6.5 ******~. 

recipe: balsamic roasted red potatoes

i needed a side to make with pork roast tonight... which i was so happy about finally making the roast i hadn't bought any side ingredients or thought through a new recipe i wanted to test. i had a few red potatoes on hand and figured might as well make old-trusty Balsamic Roasted Red Potatoes recipe from allrecipes.com. i always fall back to this recipe, even though my fav potatoes ever are the simple seasoned roasted potatoes you get in little italy - i've just never ever been able to get that perfect toasty crunch to mine so avoid that version all together.

ingredients list:

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 2 lbs small red potatoes, quartered

- 1 tbsp chopped green onion-
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
- 1 tiny pinch ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- salt
- cracked black pepper

to make:
preheat oven to 400 degrees. in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. add onion and garlic to skillet, and sautee for about 1 minute. add potatoes, thyme, rosemary, and nutmeg and stir to combine, cooking for about 3 minutes until potatoes are hot.  

add potatoes to a 15" x 10" greased baking pan, stirring in balsamic vinegar. bake for 35-40 minutes until potatoes are fully cooked through, stirring frequently. season with salt and pepper to taste.

verdict on this one... it's always solid and an easy go-to recipe, but it's never AS good as it should be. balsamic = amazing, roasted potatoes = amazing, but it's always really good, just not knocking off my socks (and maybe it's because i'm always comparing it to little italy roasted potatoes?). still a good recipe that i will make, but will continue to struggle with that expectation time and time again. solid fiver *****.

recipe: garlic mashed red potatoes

this is my go-to mashed tater recipe... it has a lot of flavor without using many fatty ingredients (heavy cream, butter, etc) that a lot of mashed recipes have. it's taken from Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes recipe on allrecipes.com with just one variation on the garlic prep.

ingredients list: (even if i'm cooking for 2, i make the full recipe for 6 b/c the leftovers are just as good as new)

- 8 medium red potatoes, cubed into about 6 chunks/ea.

- 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

- 2 tbsp butter

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

to make: boil potatoes for about 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender and easily break with a fork. meanwhile, microwave the butter & minced garlic in a microwave safe bowl covered in wax paper for about 45-60 seconds, or until the garlic gets to a nice light brown color (i call this the "cheat-roast"). drain potatoes, and add butter/garlic mixture, milk, salt, and parm cheese. mash until they're at your mashed-texture preference (just not overmashed to that gluey texture... ugh) & serve.

nothing to say in this review to this other than the fact that this is a solid-ass recipe. love the garlic, love the red potatoes over russet, love everything about it. esp because they are fine to eat even without gravy, the ultimate goal in any good mashed tater recipe. 8.5 ********~.

recipe: potatoes anna

i stumbled across a picture of this dish online and thought it was ingenious. i have NO idea where that recipe went, but all recipes i saw for this online were mostly the same, so i made a fusion of them all:

ingredients list: (this was for 3 people, estimating 1 potato/person)
3 russet potatoes
3-4 tbsp butter, melted
salt
pepper

to make:
preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter (or grease) the bottom of a 9" pie plate. slice the potatoes as thin as you can get them (a lot of recipes call for them about 1/4 inch thick, i sliced until they were about 3mm). arrange potatoes in a circular pattern on the bottom of the pie plate, making sure your best potato slices are on this bottom layer since this will end up being the top of your finished dish (kind of like a potato gratin upside down cake). after the first single layer is down, brush with butter and season with salt & pepper. repeat layers until all potatoes are gone, baking between 45-60 minutes. potatoes will be done when a nice golden crispy crust forms. to serve, invert pie plate over your serving dish, being careful not to destroy everything AND to gently peel off any potatoes which may still stick to the pan.

mine didn't come out as crispy as i'd like throughout the entire dish (only the top), but i think some of that had to do with the juicy chicken that was cooking next to it... next time i'll drop the pie plate into the toaster and let these cook on their own in the dry oven. these came out with a lot of flavor for 4 ingredients, but would be really good to try with adding garlic, parmesan or cheddar, onion. definitely a cute company dish. 7 stars overall *******.

recipe: baked potato soup

mmm fall cooking. i used this Baked Potato Soup recipe from allrecipes, modifying just a little bit based on ingredients i had and time i didn't have (i forgot the original recipe calls for baked potatoes. seeing as i started din at 8pm, this was not an option).

ingredients list:- 3 strips bacon
- 1 cup chopped leeks
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp fresh basil
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 large russet potatoes, cubed
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tsp chopped fresh chives

to make: boil 3 cups chicken broth, adding cubed potatoes once it comes to a boil. cook bacon in the meantime. when bacon is done, set aside. saute leeks, onion, & garlic in bacon grease, stirring in flour, salt, basil and pepper after the onion mixture has cooked down. by this time, the potatoes should be softened and cooked through (and absorbed a ton of the broth). pour the remaining broth from potatoes into bacon grease/onion/flour mixture. add in remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth, stirring until all flour clumps have dissolved (additional broth or water may be required if mixture is still too thick). stir in the potatoes, cream, and hot pepper sauce and simmer on low until 2-3 minutes until mixture is at desired soupy thickness. garnish with bacon, cheese, and chives, and sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste.

this dish is so easy - no drama, no surprises, no cursing. perfect weeknight din din if you ignore the calories, 6.5 stars ******~.