Crispy Gnocchi with Burst Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Upon our first bites, this immediately became a Payne Family favorite.  We already love gnocchi, but this was a new and simple way to enjoy the little potato pasta.  Pan-fried gnocchi is crispy and chewy, broiled briefly in a thick tomato-rich sauce with lots of cheese?  Yes, please!

2 Tbsp EVOO, plus more as needed

2 (12-18oz) packages shelf-stable or refrigerated potato gnocchi

1/4 cup unsalted butter

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving

salt and black pepper

2 pints small tomatoes, such as cherry, grape or Sungold

1/4 cup thinly sliced or torn basil leaves (optional), plus more for serving

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut or torn into 1/2-inch pieces

1. Heat the broiler with a rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
2. In a large (12-inch) skillet on the stovetop, heat enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan (about 1 tablespoon) over medium-high. Add half the gnocchi to the pan, breaking up any that are stuck together. Cover with a lid or baking sheet and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown on one side, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi and olive oil.
3. Add the butter to the skillet and cook over medium-high, stirring often, until golden-brown and toasty, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic, red-pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper, reducing the heat slightly if necessary to avoid scorching. Add the tomatoes and 3 tablespoons water and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes have softened and the liquid has slightly thickened, 4 to 6 minutes. Smash the tomatoes as they burst to help them along.
4. Add the seared gnocchi and 1/4 cup basil (if using), stir to coat, then shake into an even layer. Top with the mozzarella and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Broil until the cheese is melted and browned in spots, 2 to 4 minutes. Top with more basil, red-pepper flakes and black pepper as desired.

  

Baked Vegetable Stack

I bought a baguette and roasted some chickpeas to munch on the side of this delicious veggie dish and called it good.  We enjoyed the meal outside and soaked up one of our last relaxed summer evenings.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large zucchini
2 small turnips, peeled
2-3 medium tomatos
3-4 smallish potatoes, peeled
1 tsp. dried thyme
salt, pepper, whatever other seasoning you want to add
2 Tbsp butter, cut into small chunks
1-2 cups grated cheese (I'd suggest mozzarella, parmesan, or monteray jack)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Saute onion and garlic in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

Rub butter on inside of square baking dish.  Spread onion and garlic in the bottom.  Place sliced veggies in dish vertically, in an alternating pattern.  Sprinkle generously with seasonings and top with butter chunks.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Remove foil, top with cheese, and bake for another 20 minutes.  Broil for a minute to give the cheese a golden touch and you're done!

Adapted slightly from this recipe.

Kohlrabi, Carrot & Sesame Slaw

A while back, I purchased a Groupon for three boxes of organic veg to be delivered to my door.  I've just finished up my third box and I'm afraid they've got me.  The enhanced flavor of our veggies is noticeable, plus we're eating a lot more greens.  I thought I did a pretty good job of keeping a variety of vegetables circling on our table, but then I was given a kohlrabi, two eggplants, and some big leafy greens (which I'm still not entirely sure what exactly they were) and I realized that I haven't been branching out as much as I thought.  What to do with these exciting new treasures?!  I loved that challenge!
Thankfully, the kohlrabi came with a recipe card, which I will now gladly pass on to you.  Best served the same day, this slaw has a great crunch and vibrant sweet flavor with a little kick.  It'd go great with Thai turkey burgers!


1 kholrabi, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
4 carrots, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Dressing:
2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
a good squeeze of lime juice

Put the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan and gently heat them, stirring every now and then, for about 1 minutes, until they are golden.  Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl.  Add the carrot, kohlrabi and onion and stir together.  In a small bowl, whisk the chili sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and soy.  Add a squeeze of lime juice to taste.  Pour over the veg, add the cilantro and toss together.  Serve immediately.

Barley and Feta Salad

I threw this together and served it next to tilapia fillets.  I'm a big fan of barley, so I enjoyed the variety of chewy and crunchy textures mixed with simple spices.  I think this would also make a nice lunch with a loaf of crusty bread and would probably taste even better as a picnic food in the sun!

1 cup pearl barley
2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. chicken bouillon flavoring (optional)
1 Tbsp canola oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 head broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips (use red, orange, or yellow for additional color)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium pan, combine barley, water, and chicken flavoring.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 35-45 minutes until barley has absorbed all the water.  The barley should be tender.  Set aside.

Heat oil in frying pan.  Add garlic and broccoli and cook over medium heat until broccoli is tender-crisp.  Add pepper and onion.  Toss until everything is combined then remove pan from heat.

In a large bowl, combine barley and broccoli mixture.  Stir to combine.  Add feta and lightly toss.  Drizzle olive oil, lemon juice, and add cumin with a final stir to mix everything gently.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add more olive oil if it seems too dry.  Serve warm or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

These were yummy and a bit addicting.  I made a few changes from the original based on what I had on hand.  I expected the bites to be more dry and firm, but mine came out fairly wet after 20 minutes of baking time.  I might have put too much mixture in each muffin cup and probably could have baked them longer, but we just used forks instead of fingers and still enjoyed them!

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 large eggs

2 carrots, shredded

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

2 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper, to taste

parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top

Add quinoa and broth to a medium saucepan.  Bring liquid to boil.  Cover and turn heat down to simmer.  Cook 15-20 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients together, mixing until thoroughly combined.

Using a melon baller or a tablespoon, place rounded drops of the mixture into each cup of the muffin pan, pressing each one down lightly with your fingers to make sure that they are firmly packed.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.  

Bake until lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Spinach and Bacon Gratin with Hardboiled Eggs

My family finished off this dish in one sitting.  Kids included.  It wasn't my favorite dinner, but had just enough cheese and bacon to keep everyone coming back for more.  And it can be made ahead of time, which is a big bonus for me these days.


adapted from this recipe

2 10oz. packages frozen spinach
4-5 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
two shakes ground nutmeg
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup Monteray Jack cheese, grated
4 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs (just add a little herbs de provence or italian seasoning if you want to make your own or buy plain bread crumbs)


Thaw spinach and squeeze well, draining off as much liquid as you can.  Put in a large bowl, season lightly with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Heat a medium skillet on medium high and add chopped bacon (my kitchen scissors are perfect for cutting it up).  Cooke 1-2 minutes, then add onion and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are starting to brown and bacon is beginning to crisp.  Drain grease if you want to, or don't.  Either way, add bacon mixture to spinach and stir well.

Warm milk either on stove or in microwave until steaming.  Set aside.  Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Whisk in flour and continue whisking until clumps are gone, about one minute.  Remove from heat and slowly whisk in milk.  Whisk until smooth, then return to heat and bring to a low simmer.  Simmer 2-3 minutes until starting to thicken.  Add to spinach bowl and mix well to combine.

Pour spinach mixture into round casserole dish and even out the surface.  Sprinkle surface with grated cheese.  Cut hardboiled eggs in half and place on surface of cheese, cut side up.  Press eggs into mixture until level with the spinach.  Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and drizzle with olive oil.

You can made this ahead of time.  Leave off bread crumbs and olive oil and refrigerate up to 24 hours.  When ready to bake, sprinkle on bread crumbs, drizzle olive oil and follow the rest of the directions.  

Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until nicely browned on top.  Broil for 1-2 minutes if you want the bread crumbs extra crispy.

Sweet Potato Rosemary Biscuits

We loved these!  They are best warm and went well with a hot bowl of chili.  I thought they were just as good toasted again the next day.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 cup diced roasted sweet potatoes (I threw the raw bites in a skillet with some olive oil and tossed for about ten minutes)
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450.  

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the minced garlic and fresh rosemary. Mix in cold butter with your fingertips or use a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add roasted sweet potatoes and gently stir. Pour buttermilk over all of the ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined.

Drop round spoonfuls of dough, about four tablespoons, onto baking sheet. Brush biscuits with melted butter. Bake 15-17 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

I had a few slices of bacon that needed to be used up, so I decided to try something different with brussels sprouts instead of roasting them, which is what I usually do.  The result was flavorful and awesome - we loved it!

3-5 slices bacon, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3-5 cups brussels sprouts

salt and pepper, to taste

Cut the ends off the brussels sprouts and wash well, removing any crusty outer layers.  Drain well, then thinly slice and set aside.

In a large frying pan or wok on medium high heat, cook bacon until almost crispy.  You want it a few minutes away from being done.  At that point (don't drain the fat!), add garlic and cook for thirty seconds to a minute.  Finally, dump in brussels sprouts and cook 3-5 more minutes until they turn bright green and just begin to wilt.  If you cook them too long, they'll get soggy.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Cornbread

Thank you, Kendra, for sharing this recipe!  What could be bad about pumpkin cornbread?!  I served it with savory pinto beans and thought it was a good twist on the regular stuff I make.  But to be fair, my husband said he would have preferred a cornbread that wasn't as sweet to go with the beans.  Maybe it would compliment a sweet sausage soup better.  Either way, we all still liked the bread.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or just use 1 cup of all-purpose)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup cornmeal

2 whole eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp molasses

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Grease an 8x8 baking dish.

In medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal.

In small bowl, lightly beat eggs, then stir in pumpkin, oil and molasses.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until combined.  Pour batter into pan, smoothing out the top. Bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Sweet Potato Oranges

photo credit

With fall in full swing and Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought I'd share this recipe from my mother-in-law that she made for our meal of thanks last year.  She remembered her mother making something similar growing up, so I helped her track down a few recipes to work from and this was the result.  They were delicious and I'd say it will be hard not to make them again myself this year!    

• 
  
• 6 oranges 
• 3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 eggs, lightly beatenve
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup butter, softened, divided
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• mini marshmallows, optional for topping

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• 
  
• Prepare oranges by cutting each orange in half. Spoon out the flesh, leaving a shell.
• 
  
• In a large bowl combine sweet potatoes, sugar, orange juice, eggs, vanilla extract, 1/2 cup butter and grated orange peel. Spoon mixture into orange shells. Place in a deep casserole dish.
• 
  
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar, flour and pecans. Cook until sugar dissolves in melted butter. Spoon over oranges. Fill casserole dish with water about 1/4 inch deep.
• 
  
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  If you want to add the marshmallows on top, sprinkle a few on each orange at the very end and broil quickly.  They will cook fast and burn quickly if you're not careful, so keep an eye on them.

Broccoli Cheese Cornbread

If anyone you are serving likes this as much as my husband and I did, I would recommend making a double batch in a 9x13 dish!  I got the recipe from my Nana years ago and served it as a side with beans and ham.  Yummy!


1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
4 oz. frozen chopped broccoli, slightly thawed (I chopped mine even more, making the pieces fairly small)
4 oz. small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs
6 Tbsp. butter, softened so it's just beginning to melt
1/4 tsp. onion salt


Mix everything together well in a large bowl.  Pour into a lightly greased square dish.  Cook at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Gnocchi with Sage-Butter Sauce

While my husband was away, two of my dear friends from Seattle sent me an awesome care package filled to the brim with goods from Trader Joes!!  Knowing that I love this dish, they included a package of gnocchi.  I decided it was time to test out another use for the tasty little balls of dough.  This was fantastic and my family finished off every last bite.


2 (12 ounce) packaged potato gnocchi (I only used one, but made enough butter sauce as if I were using two packages.  There was a lot of sauce, but I like butter!)
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried sage (I used 5 fresh leaves finely chopped)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground black pepper


Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the gnocchi pasta, and cook until the float to the surface, 2 to 3 minutes; drain.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Stir in the garlic, and cook until the garlic has softened and is beginning to turn golden brown, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the sage and salt for a few seconds, then add the cooked gnocchi.  Toss gently with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and the pepper.  Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese to serve.

Applesauce

One of our neighbors has a full apple tree in her backyard and offered to let us have our fill.  The kids and I picked as many as we could carry home and have been making applesauce like crazy!  My 3-year-old loves the peeler-corer-slicer, and we all love the finished product!  There's really no way to mess this up (mushed apples with a little sweetener, right?!), but this is how we do it in the Payne kitchen.

8-10 apples, cored, peeled and chopped

1/3 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 cinnamon stick (or a little less than 1 tsp. ground cinnamon)

Place everything in a large saucepan.  Stir to mix well.  Cover pot with lid and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, or until apples are soft.  Remove lid, mash apples and try to be patient enough to eat without burning your mouth.

Zucchini Feta Tart

I knew Jessie would have a good recipe to use up my Gruyere cheese.  But when I went to get the Gruyere, it had mold.  Ugh.  I pulled out the feta instead and just went with it, making a couple other changes.  I cooked the crust a little too long, but other than that I thought the adapted result was delicious!

4 zucchini (about 2 pounds), shredded

3/4 tsp salt

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a colander, toss zucchini with the salt and let drain, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the rosemary, 1/4 cup feta and the butter. Press the mixture evenly into a 10-inch springform pan (I used a pie plate) and bake until set and golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 400°.

Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the zucchini. In a bowl, toss the zucchini and remaining 3/4 cup feta. Season with pepper. Top the crust evenly with the zucchini mixture and bake until lightly golden, about 45 minutes. Run a knife around edge of the tart before removing the side of the pan

Garden Vegetable Curry

This is a great way to use up those lonely vegetables in your cupboards and fridge.  Try out other vegetable combinations.  I'd like to add cauliflower next time.  You can also use tomato sauce instead of the fresh tomatoes, which would help the sauce thicken up better.  There's a lot you can do with this (I already adapted it from More-with-Less), and it was definitely good enough to make again.  We topped ours with yogurt.

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1 cup chopped tomato

4 carrots, diced

4-5 small potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 3/4" cubes

3 cups green beans

2 zucchini, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice (I forgot to add this, but I think it would have made the dish even tastier)

Heat oil in a 3-4 qt. saucepan on medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and fry lightly for 4-5 minutes (do not brown).  Add curry powder, tumeric, and cumin seed.  Continue frying 3-4 minutes.  Add chopped tomatoes and cook briefly until a thick sauce begins to form.  

Add vegetables and salt.  Stir until everything is mixed well.  Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.  Add water any time the sauce is below 1/3 depth of vegetables.   

15 minutes before serving, add lemon juice and salt to taste.  Continue to simmer until ready to serve over rice.

Light Wheat Rolls

• 
  
• I typically avoid yeast.  Baking with it, that is.  I love to eat it.  Oh, yes.  But baking with yeast just frightens me.  Too much chemistry.  However, lately I've had an itch to make my own bread.  I thought I'd give this recipe a go.  They were simple and turned out pretty good.  They did taste a bit light to me.  I enjoy a more dense bread.  But I would certainly make these again and my son even suggested putting chopped apples on the strips before rolling them up!

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 
  
• 
  
• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• 
  
• Mix sugar, salt, 1/4 cup melted butter, egg, and whole wheat flour into yeast mixture. Stir in all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• 
  
• Punch down dough, cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled again, about 30 minutes.
• 
  
• Grease 2 dozen muffin cups. Punch down dough, and divide into two equal portions. Roll each into a 6x14 inch rectangle, and cut rectangle into twelve 7x1 inch strips. Roll strips up into spirals, and place into muffin cups. Brush tops with melted butter. Let rise uncovered in a warm place 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and brush again with melted butter.
• 
  
• If you would like to freeze the rolls, bake for 8 minutes, remove from the oven, allow to cool, bag, and freeze. Then when ready to use, thaw and finish the baking process.

Zucchini Fries

I'm still here.  I promise.  I'd lost a bit of motivation to try new things while only having one pot and one pan to cook with.  But our stuff has arrived and the kitchen is almost at a fully functioning level!  I have some new recipes to try this week, but we'll start simple (so simple, I don't even have a picture to share).  These weren't crunchy or crisply like fries, but they were tasty and an easy way to change up the side of veg for a night.


several zucchini - I used 5
2 egg whites
salt
dry bread crumbs
parmesan cheese

Separate the egg and discard the yolk.  Place the egg white in a pie plate or shallow bowl; add a pinch of salt and lightly with a fork. Set aside.

In another shallow bowl or pie plate, place some dry bread crumbs, and about half as much Parmesan cheese. Unless you’re feeding an army, you won’t need a lot. I generally start with ½ cup of bread crumbs and a ¼ cup of Parmesan. You can add a shake of salt and dry herbs such as basil or oregano if you like. Set this mixture aside as well.

Cut the zucchini into similar-size pieces or wedges. The coating doesn’t adhere as well to the smooth skin as it does to the more porous zucchini itself so I usually trim off a bit of the skin on each side before slicing.  If you’re short on time—or don’t really care about how much coating adheres, you can skip trimming the skin.

Dip each slice or wedge first into the egg white and then into the crumbs. Lay the pieces on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the pan in a preheated 400° F/200° C oven for about 15-20 minutes. Use a spatula to turn them over halfway through the baking time. Depending on your oven, you may also need to switch the baking pans halfway through the baking time: move the one on the top shelf to the bottom and vice versa.

We enjoy them “as is” with perhaps a bit more salt. You can also dip them in a marinara sauce.

Dinner Penzeys Style

Here is another post from Tricia, highlighting Penzeys spices.  Tricia gets the credit for introducing me to Penzeys.  I love their spice blends!

Penzeys seasonings can make any food un-boring.  I had potatoes, fresh green beans, and a filet of orange roughy.  Kind of boring.  But with Penzeys, I had herb and vinaigrette marinated fish, creamy peppercorn smashed potatoes, and green beans drizzled with red wine vinegar pan drippings from the fish.  How un-boring!  Here's how:


2 fish filets or chicken breasts (I used one giant orange roughy filet I found on sale)
*2 Tbsp olive oil
*2 tsp red wine vinegar
*1/2 tsp ground Penzeys India tellicherry peppercorns
*1/2 tsp Penzeys California sweet basil or thyme (I used basil)
*1/4 tsp Penzeys granulated garlic
2 Penzeys bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground Penzeys sea salt
Enough fresh green beans for 2, cooked however you like


Mix *starred items.  Coat both sides of filets with marinade.  Break bay leaves into 3-4 pieces, and press on both sides of filets.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hr.-overnight.  Remove leaves, discard extra marinade, sprinkle with salt and cook in skillet.  Fish 3-4 minutes/side, chicken 5 minutes per side.  Remove meat from pan, but don't discard anything else.

In pan, add another 2 tsp red wine vinegar to remaining drippings and toss with cooked green beans.  Another idea for a side (instead of potatoes) is to toss the drippings and red wince vinegar with warm pasta.

Creamy Peppercorn Smashed Potatoes:

5 butter yellow potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes, skin on
1/2-1 tsp Penzeys Creamy Peppercorn seasoning (I just shook it in there, so I'm not exactly sure how much I used.  You can add more if it isn't flavorful enough)
1/2 Tbsp sour cream

Boil cubed potatoes until soft.  Drain and return to the pot.  Mix with creamy peppercorn seasoning and sour cream - that's it!


If you have more time, you can let 1/2 tsp seasoning soak in 1 Tbsp water for 5 minutes, then mix with sour cream.  It thins the sauce, but it might let out more flavor.  I just decided as I drained the potatoes what I was going to mix in it, so I didn't have time to let it set.  That's the beauty of Penzeys - just try their seasonings (a lot of salad dressing bases made good add-ins for potatoes, pasta, or veggies or to sprinkle on meat) and see what you like best.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

A few weeks ago, we joined some friends at their house for a little dinner party.  The hostess did an amazing job preparing salmon and served delicious mashed potatoes as a side.  We couldn't get enough of them!  My son literally ate three helpings, which I was okay with after I heard they had cauliflower in them.  A whole head of cauliflower!  I've since made them myself twice and thought I'd share the brilliance with you.  Make a large batch and use the leftovers for this recipe.  I've actually done this before, but used broccoli.  Neither broccoli nor cauliflower alter the taste much, but the green mash looks a bit less appetizing than the white.  I've also heard that spinach works well, but haven't tried that yet.

1 head cauliflower, chopped into medium-sized pieces

4-6 russet potatoes, peeled and chunked

2-4 Tbsp butter

1/2 -1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 - 1 cup milk (I love using up cream or half and half combined with milk to make it extra creamy)

sour cream, optional

3-4 cloves garlic, minced, optional (use at your own risk . . . apparently I really like garlic and 4 cloves is a lot!)

Place potatoes in a large pot of salted boiling water.  Return to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until potatoes are soft throughout, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam cauliflower until easily pierced with a fork.  I use a metal steamer on the stove.  You could also do it in the microwave, putting a bit of water in the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl and cooking until the cauliflower is all soft.

Once finished cooking, drain the cauliflower and potatoes and place in a large bowl.  Add butter, salt, pepper, sour cream and garlic.  Add just a bit of milk and beat on medium-high.  Add more milk until you reach the consistency you want.  Serve warm and enjoy!

Orange-Ginger Sweet Potato Casserole

 

Here is a fantastic idea for your Thanksgiving table.  I made this last year for our Christmas dinner and we loved it, so it will be making another appearance in two weeks. 

4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed 

1 tablespoon orange zest 

2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger root 

2 egg yolks 

salt and ground black pepper to taste 

1/4 cup orange juice, or to taste 

1/2 cup 2% low-fat milk 

1/3 cup chopped pecans 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place oven rack in middle position. Lightly grease a 1 1/2 quart baking dish, and set aside.  

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork, and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Roast the sweet potatoes in preheated oven until easily pierced with a fork, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Remove sweet potatoes from the oven, and cool about 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).  

When sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half, and scoop flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Discard potato skins. Add the orange zest, ginger; and egg yolks; process to make a smooth mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour in the orange juice and milk; if desired, add more orange juice to taste. Spoon sweet potato mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with pecans.  

Bake in preheated oven until heated through and pecans are toasted, about 30 minutes. 

*photo found here