Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Chicken Au Champagne or Champagne Chicken

Over the years myself, my husband, my mom, and many of my friends have belonged to one wine club or another. It's always fun to try new wines and find new favorites, not to mention having the wine delivered directly to your door. At some point Mr. L and I looked around and realized we actually had too much wine (I know, that seems like such an impossible possibility) so we decided to join a champagne club and have champagne delivered directly to our door instead.

Believe it or not, every once in a while, after we open a bottle of champagne, there is actually some left. Again, such an impossible possibility, but it does happen. So I usually go looking for some dish I can use the leftover champagne in. This time I found a recipe on Pinterest that used the champagne and included ingredients I had on hand.

This dish was good enough that I'd actually open a bottle of champagne to make it again. And again. And again. One of the reasons I chose this recipe as opposed to others was that there is no cream, which I think makes this a lighter (and therefore healthier, and therefore I feel no guilt in eating this) dish.

You can find the recipe on Cooking with Curls website here.

Chicken au Champagne
(Cooking with Curls)

Main ingredients you'll need:

chicken breasts or thighs (skin on, bone in)
shallots
brut Champagne
mushrooms
fresh tarragon

NOTE: I used chicken thighs.

NOTE: You'll need a cup of champagne so when you open the bottle in the morning for those mimosas, you might want to set aside the champagne for dinner before you begin. Otherwise you might drink more than you think and not have enough...then you'd have to open another bottle of champagne. And then if you forget again, you'll just keep opening bottles...and then you won't be awake to be able to cook the dish for dinner. Trust me. I have personal knowledge.

Mini Oreo Halloween Cheesecakes

Every year, when the Halloween Oreo's first hit the store shelves, I buy quite a few packages. I always say I'm going to make some great Halloween edible with them. And I do. Halloween Slutty Brownies were a big hit. But I also know that most recipes don't call for every single Oreo in the package. You'll have some left over. It's nice to think you can use those leftover orange tinted Oreo's for some new Halloween concoction but you won't be able to. Because it's Halloween. And the Halloween ghosts and goblins make any leftover Halloween Oreo's disappear. Usually within a day of the package being opened. So again, I buy multiple packages. Just so I have enough Halloween Oreo's to bake with after the packages have been pilfered by the Halloween spirits. Yeah. That's the ticket.

These were, for lack of a better descriptive word, delicious. Basic cheesecake (with some Oreo cookie mixed in) baked on an Oreo cookie. Couldn't be simpler. Because they were bite sized, once you bit into one, you could see the inside of the orange Halloween Oreo  which made for some great reactions from those eating them.

You can find many versions of this recipe online. Some incorporate pumpkin into the cheesecake. Some call for milk instead of sour cream. The original basic recipe came from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook. My favorite version is by Big Mama's Home Kitchen where she topped the cupcakes with a small quarter of Oreo or little marzipan pumpkins.

MINI OREO HALLOWEEN CHEESECAKES
(Martha Stewart Cupcakes)

15 Halloween Oreos (left whole)
6 Halloween Oreos (for mixing in with the cheesecake)
1 lb cream cheese (Two 8-oz. packages)
1/2 cup sugar (granulated)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt
Orange gel food coloring

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line muffin tins with 15 paper liners. Place one whole Oreo in the bottom of each lined cup.

Pulverize the remaining six Oreos in a food processor. Set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in pulverized Oreo's by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tin) at least four hours or overnight. Remove from tins just before serving. Makes 15.

Note: I cut the original recipe in half as it made 30 cupcakes and I knew I'd eat half if I made that many.

Note: Some recipes called for just chopping up the Oreos that get mixed in with the cream cheese. I liked the look of them being a finer texture so I used the food processor. 

Note: Oreo's have a "basic" side and a "Halloween" side. I'd say to make sure you put the Halloween side down when you put them in the cupcake liners so the Halloween picture shows...but lets be serious, who is going to try to look at the bottom of the cupcake, it will be making it's way to your mouth much to fast for you to see the bottom.

Note: Marthas recipe didn't call for the orange food gel. I wanted the Halloween color to coincide with the Halloween Oreos orange middle. Some just added regular food coloring. I liked the color in the recipes I saw that used gel coloring so I used that instead (orange food gel can be found at Michaels. you don't need that much to get some nice color. Add a bit at a time until you get the color you desire).

Note: I didn't use paper liners, I used silicone cupcakes liners. It was kind of difficult taking the cupcakes out once they had cooled. I'd try paper liners next time.

Note: I tried eating one of these after only a few hours in the fridge. It really needed to set up more (they were still delicious but I kept thinking the cheesecake would collapse).

Note: I thought for sure the Oreo would be soft after sitting under the cheesecake mixture but it didn't. Of course we pretty much polished these off within a day of making so I'm not sure how crispy the cookie will stay if you let them sit for several days.

These were a big hit. And I can see using the different colored Oreo's to make different cheesecakes depending on the holiday or special event.

Halloween Slutty Brownies

I realize that the name for these brownies is not the best. But it wasn't something I came up with. They seem to be the popular Halloween dish that folks are making this year. And the blame for making these goes to Mr. L.  When I asked him if he wanted me to make "Knock You Naked Brownies" or "Slutty Brownies" he chose the slutty kind. I didn't ask why.

This is not the best photo of this dish. In fact, these are the "unphotographable" ends of the brownies. We were so busy eating the good stuff that I didn't realize I hadn't taken a photograph until the good stuff was gone and all we were left with were the ends. It's a good thing I remembered to grab my camera otherwise there would have been no evidence of these brownies.

I believe that the original idea came from The Londoner Blog (you can find her recipe and tips here along with step by step photos). Variations on this are rampant on the internet and Pinterest. Some folks make this entire recipe from scratch. I'm not one of those. I knew when I first saw this recipe last year that I would be making a version for pretty much every holiday. All it takes is the colored Oreo of your choice.

And these are good. Damn good. People raved. People swooned. People clamored for the recipe. I can't tell you though, if it made any of those people slutty. 

I will give you the basics of the recipe which couldn't be simpler and then the notes that worked for me.

HALLOWEEN SLUTTY BROWNIES

1 Box of Cookie Mix
1 Box of Brownie Mix
1 bag of Oreos
Ingredients called for on your boxes of mixes (this usually consists of some eggs but may also require butter, oil, water, etc.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with parchment paper so that a good inch of the paper extends over all four sides (it will make it easier to pull the brownie out of the pan).

Make the cookie mix. Press it into the bottom of the parchment lined pan.

Cover the cookie dough with a single layer of Oreos.

Make the brownie mix. Pour it over the layer of cookies.

Bake for the amount of time required for the brownie mix.

Remove the brownies from the oven and pull the brownies out of the pan and let them sit for twenty minutes (if you have the willpower). Cut into desired quantities (see below). You can eat these warm or room temp. You may serve with ice cream should you actually be able to spend the time getting the ice cream out of the freezer and on to the plate. Time which could be better spent eating a brownie.

Serves 4. Okay maybe more than four. Maybe six. And it depends if you eat them all in one sitting. You could get up to 30 servings if you really want to ration your friends of Slutty Brownies. But if you give them a tiny bite they will come stalk you for more. Be warned.

NOTE ON INGREDIENTS: Depending on what brand of cookie and brownie mix you use, the ingredients called for in them may be different. Just follow the directions on the boxes with one exception. Per The Londoner, since you are going to be cooking the cookie layer longer than normal, add some extra liquid to the cookie mix. Since her boxed cookie mix called for oil and water, she added an extra teaspoon of each.

The cookie mix I used was a box of Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (17.5 ounce mix which said it made 3 dozen cookies).  The recipe on the box called for 1 stick of softened butter and an egg. I added another tablespoon of butter to make the cookie mix a bit wetter.

The brownie mix I used was Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix (my favorite) which had chocolate chips in the mix. (This box requires water, vegetable oil and an egg.)

NOTE: I used an 8x8 pan and was able to get in 16 of the orange center Halloween Oreos. There are more than 16 Oreos in a regular pack. I think you know what to do with the rest.

NOTE: The instructions on the brownie mix said to bake for 39 to 43 minutes. I baked these for the shorter time so they were a bit gooey in the center but you don't want to overcook the cookie layer. (The Londoner likes hers really gooey and she only bakes hers for about 30 minutes. I may try that next time). Even if these were cooked full time and had no gooeyness in them, they'd still be good.

NOTE: Though the edges of the brownies were much more cooked than the center they weren't tough or dry. But since they didn't fit the gooey photographs shown on many blogs I figured they were errors and ate them so no one would know I didn't have perfect Slutty Brownies.

NOTE: These look very cool when you cut them through the Oreos instead of around them. Makes a great presentation with the Oreo middle showing.

NOTE: You will need milk

NOTE: Oreos come in a variety of colors. Pink. Yellow. Green. Red. Orange. So this recipe can be converted to pretty much any holiday. As a last minute thought, I put some Halloween sprinkles on the tops of the brownies. Kinda of made them a bit more festive but totally not necessary.

Seriously, these couldn't be simpler to make and if you followed not one of my notes, these would probably come out just fine. Except the milk one. Trust me.

 

Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry-Bacon Barbecue Sauce

You know I had to make this. Pork. Bacon. Blueberries. What's not to like? And with the fresh local blueberries on their last legs (I bought a bunch from the Farmers Market a few weeks ago as I knew it was their last hurrah of the season) this was the recipe to try.

I found this on Pinterest but it actually comes from one of my favorite food bloggers, Noble Pig. I swear sometimes she just posts recipes that are directed entirely at me. This was actually quite yummy. I thought the sauce might be too sweet with the blueberries and brown sugar, but it wasn't at all. As Noble Pig mentions, this sauce is both sweet and savory and is a great combination with the pork.

I did mess up the recipe a bit. I completely forgot to baste the pork with the sauce during the last five minutes of the cooking time as we were having trouble with our meat thermometer and the pork hit temp in the blink of an eye. This required having to take the pan out, put in a different thermometer, having that not work, putting the pork back in, setting the broken thermometer to a ridiculous temp of about 170 (that's how much our meter was off) and then going through the process again...so yes, time to get a new meat thermometer. If you check out Noble Pigs photos you can see the nice sauce crusted pork which made for a wonderful presentation. I can say that the dish tasted pretty dang good even though I missed this step.

You can find the recipe on Noble Pigs site here:

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH BLUEBERRY-BACON BARBECUE SAUCE
(Noble Pig)

Main ingredients you'll need:

bacon
shallots
jalapeno
blueberries
brown sugar
balsamic vinegar
dijon stone ground mustard
garlic powder
lemon juice
pork tenderloin

NOTE: I didn't have any thick bacon so I used regular Oscar Meyer....and because it wasn't thick I used six slices instead of 3. The horror.

NOTE: I used a cast iron skilled to both sear and cook the pork in the oven. The two pieces of pork were way to big to originally fit in the skillet but once the meat was seared on all sides, it fit into the skillet just fine.

NOTE: Mr. L made it a point to remind me that if the skillet handle was black (ie the cast iron pan) I was NOT allowed to touch the handle without big fat oven mitts (ahem, I still think he has nightmares from the last time I picked up the just out of the hot oven cast iron skillet handle with my bare hand).

NOTE: I used the blender to mix this (be sure to leave the little vent thing in the top open because the sauce was hot and you don't want it to explode)

We probably used way more sauce than required on each serving of pork but who can blame us. The sauce reheated very well by the way and made an excellent lunch the next day with some leftover pork. Would definately make again.

Guinness-Glazed Lamb Chops

This is one of those recipes, that while the execution might not have been exactly what was intended, the results still turned out pretty dang good.

Being that it was near St. Patricks Day (you probably just realized I'm a bit behind on posting...taking a month or so off of blogging means lots of catching up) I wanted to cook with some Guinness. I originally saw this on various Pinterest boards and found that it came from Epicurious.com. I figured lamb with a Guinness glaze would be a prefect dish to serve pre holiday.

We bought a non-frenched small rack of lamb. Mr. L and I like having a little meat on the bone to chew on since that little bit of meat has such great flavor*. We've found we'd rather get the rack and cut it up ourselves than buy individual lamb chops (of course your butcher can do that for you). We usually have to ask the guy behind the counter for the non-frenched rack of lamb as it's not always out on display.

As I mentioned, this ended up having great flavor...but somewhere along the line I had problems. You see my nice "glaze" that was supposed to be brushed on the lamb before cooking and then drizzled on after? Didn't happen. Instead I had nice solid round discs of what seemed like candy. My glaze seized up on me and became a solid mass and I had no idea how to fix it. We microwaved our little solid discs a bit and tried pouring it on the chops but the glaze immediately became hard again. It looked like we had a disc of caramel candy on each chop! The good thing is that once the lamb was cooked, the disc became a sauce and coated the chops nicely. We ended up just cooking the lamb chops with the little discs on top and not worrying about having sauce to drizzle over after cooking.

Really good flavor. This was super simple to put together and gave the lamb a nice finish even if our sauce was a paste (or not even a paste really...caramel disc is what I'd call it). This recipe is also a great way to use up some leftover Guinness (if there is such a thing) or you can be like me...specifically buy Guinness to cook with so you have leftover to drink. And if you think about it, candy discs of Guinness might not be all that bad.

GUINNESS-GLAZED LAMB CHOPS
(Epicurious)

2 cups (16 ounces) Guinness stout
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
16 rib lamb chops (buy separately or buy two 8-rib racks of lamb and cut them yourself into individual chops)

Bring stout, sugar, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 2-quart nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then continue boiling (keep an eye on it and reduce heat to keep it from boiling over) until glaze is syrupy and reduced to about 1/2 cup, 20 to 30 minutes.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard solids.

Preheat broiler.

Pat chops dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Divide glaze between 2 small bowls and set aside for use later. Brush both sides of chops with glaze (from remaining bowl) and arrange on rack of a broiler pan.

Broil 5 inches from heat, 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium rare. (Don't hesitate to cut and peek to check on doneness of the meat.)

Transfer chops to a platter and drizzle with reserved glaze.

Note: We cut the recipe in half.

Note: We ended up having much more glaze since it seized before we got down to th 1/2 a cup syrup it says to reduce to. But we liked having lots of the "candy" on each chop.

Note: Obviously we didn't strain our glaze as it's hard to strain a solid mass of candy-type sauce!

Note: We actually did have a bit of Guinness leftover (no worries, many bottles were opened) and Mr. L heated that up, added some butter and such and sauteed some mushrooms that we ate with the chops. Great combo. Just in case you open too many bottles and accidentally really do have a bit of Guinness left.

*Some of you may think that getting non-frenched racks of lamb means lamb bones for the dogs once dinner is over. But we don't have dogs. So we have to gnaw on the bones ourselves because it would really just be wrong to let those little tidbits go to waste. But if you are so inclined, get the non-frenched version and give the bones to your dogs. They will love you. Trust me.

 

Mint Oreos Dipped In White Chocolate

Currently that thing called work is still kicking my butt. I'd also like to point out that Murphy's Law has taken up residence at my job as we've had some of the busiest days on record. So though I'm cooking a bit (or at least providing Mr. L and I with food to eat when it's my turn), I'm still not finding time to try out all the great recipes I seem to be coming across. Or maybe it's just by the time I get home from work it takes all my energy just to push the on button for the television. Huge props go out to Mr. L who has taken up the daunting task of not only cooking every other week, but doing all the meal planning (and that's breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks), shopping and cooking for that week.

For St. Patrick's Day this year, Mr. L cooked our traditional Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage. He also scored some wonderful Irish Soda Bread from the caterer at his work. With this wonderful holiday meal, I figured I needed to come up with a dessert...something that was quick and easy. These White Chocolate Dipped Oreos fit the bill.

I have several "holiday" recipes that are basically the same, it's the color that changes. Cookie Bark and M&M Topped Brownies are two of the ones I've already posted here. Dipping Oreos in white chocolate and topping them with holiday coordinated sprinkles is another quick idea that makes for a festive (easy, quick) dessert. You only need three ingredients....Oreos, white chocolate, and sprinkles. The easy part is that Oreoss usually come out in coordinating colors around the appropriate holidays. Orange for Halloween, Peppermint for Christmas etc. In fact, I've taken the Peppermint Oreos, dipped them in white chocolate and then, instead of sprinkles, topped them with bits of crushed peppermints (you can get bags of the stuff at Trader Joes during the Christmas holidays).

I've had this link from Dandelions and Dust Bunnies pinned for a while. You can find lots of "recipes" out there for dipped Oreos if you look.

Note: You don't need specialty Oreo's, plain old white ones will do. You could even tint the white chocolate to the appropriate holiday color.

Note: To make these look more professional pay attention to the location of the logo on the cookie. I just dunked them in the white chocolate without even looking (or honestly, caring).

Note: You can find holiday sprinkles at Michaels. If you are local, Lunardis bakery area always has tubs of the stuff during holidays. Your local grocery store may do the same thing. I've already picked up Lunardis "Easter" version just in case. I think they'd go well on the Berry Oreos.

Note: I used a couple of mini muffin tins to stand up the dipped Oreos in so that both sides looked good.

Note: You can use sprinkles, colored sugar, Nonpareils, sparkle dust, edible paints, and sugar pearls as toppings on these.

 

Peanut Butter Football Dip

I loved this dip. And pretty much anybody who tried it also loved it. Did I mention it was actually quite easy to make? Dessert in an appetizer. My kind of food.

I made this for the SuperBowl. Which if you were a 49er fan, wasn't so super. I originally found the idea for this on Pinterest. I believe the original recipe came from the blog Crazy for Crust (though the recipe is not new, putting it into the football shape might be). I decided to go with her recipe for the dip as it sounded good. There are a ton of Peanut Butter Dip recipes online that you can use if the one from Crazy for Crust doesn't appeal to you.

I served this with football shaped pretzels that I found at Cost Plus World Market. Everyone liked the dip though some had to have it explained that it actually was a dip and that you used the pretzels to scoop up the mixture. My favorite reaction though was from one of The Men Who Drive The Cars. I brought the mixture into work and let my co-workers and drivers have a taste. I knew that I had a hit on my hands when the driver came back the next day asking if I had any of the football left. The success of the dip kinda (though not really) made the 49er loss just a tad bit less painful.

You can find the recipe for this here:

 

PEANUT BUTTER FOOTBALL DIP
(Crazy For Crust)

 

NOTE: Didn't add the extra half cup of powdered sugar. I wanted the dip to be easy to use since the football shaped pretzels I got were pretty flimsy. I think I might like it just a bit thicker next time and would add a bit more powdered sugar. I think regular pretzels would hold up just fine.

NOTE: I might draw a football shape on the wax paper before trying to shape the dip into a football since I sucked at the football shaping by hand. I definitely put this back into the fridge for a bit so that it made it easier to shape.

NOTE: I used a flat spatula to level the top and sides of the dip after it was shaped. Once I shaped the football to my liking I trimmed the rest of the wax paper so it didn't show so much.

NOTE: I found the Jimmie's at Cost Plus (couldn't find them in any of my local or gourmet markets). They had a milk chocolate and a dark chocolate...I used the dark. A bit tough to finagle the jimmies on...I used that small flat spatula to help adhere to the sides of the football shape.

NOTE: I used a tube bottle of white frosting to make the laces. You can check online for folks who really got creative and tried to make it all look like a real football...I figured an approximation would work.

I thought this was a very cool dish to bring to a football party. The dip itself was pretty good so if you are creative, you could shape it into just about anything you want. And you don't really need pretzels, you could use fruit (apples seems to be the thing). Or a spoon.

 

Bloody Mary Flank Steak

I know Guy Fieri gets a lot of crap these days. I have eaten in one of his restaurants locally here in San Jose and though some of the dishes weren't my favorites, some were very good. He might be a little crazy but I kinda like that. I've eaten at several of the places he's featured on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives and cooked from one of those cookbooks and had great success (American Chop Suey). I've always felt he would be a kick to hang out with. But he does seem to be the one to make fun of.

We enjoyed this recipe. I put the flank steak in the marinade and reduced the sauce the night before so it made a quick dinner when I got home from work. Both Mr. L and I liked the flavor and liked having something different to go with our steak. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? No. But it's something that we will make again.

I found the recipe through Pinterest and the Serious Eats Website. The recipe comes from The Guy Fieri Food cookbook. No I do not own this cookbook. Yes, there is actually a cookbook out there I do not own LOL.

BLOODY MARY FLANK STEAK
(Guy Fieri-Serious Eats)

1 cup vegetable juice (Guy recommends V8)
1/2 cup vodka
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Guy recommends Tabasco)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 garlic gloves, crushed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground celery seed
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound flank steak
Small celery stalks and leaves, and grilled tomatoes, for garnish (optional)

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix all the ingredients except for the flank steak and the garnish. Pour half the marinade into a resealable 1-gallon plastic bag and add the flank steak. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.

Pour the remaining marinade into a saucepan over medium-high and simmer until it is reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Preheat a grill to high or heat a skillet over high heat. Remove the flank steak from the marinade and wipe off the excess liquid with paper towels. (Discard the meat's marinade.) Grill or pan-sear both sides, then lower the heat to medium and cook to medium rare (135 degrees F), 8 to 10 minutes.

Let the flank steak rest, covered with foil, for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut the steak on the bias across the grain and serve with the reduced marinade. If desired, garnish with celery and tomatoes.

Serves 4 to 8

NOTE: I used V8 and Tabasco...not because Guy recommended them, but because they are favorites of mine too.

NOTE: I left the actual cooking of the steak to Mr. L who just broiled the steak to medium rare.

NOTE: Did not garnish with celery and tomatoes. I suck at garnish. Always forget even if I have bought the ingredients. Luckily garnish is usually optional.

Again, very tasty, not too much work, something I can put together the night before if I have time and then come home and put a decent meal on the table.

 

 

Baked Mashed Potatoes With Bacon And Cheddar (or Twice Baked Potato Casserole)

So when I first came across this recipe on Pinterest, it was the name that got me. Twice Baked Potato Casserole. Yummy. Visions of baking potatoes (skin and all) and then making it into some sort of casserole (skin and all) were my thoughts. It wasn't until I looked closer at the instructions that I realized there was no 'twice' baking. You boiled the potatoes and then baked them. Dang. That meant having to peel potatoes. Searching the interwebs I found that this is actually a Martha Stewart recipe called Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Cheddar. But that title didn't do the recipe justice either as it then gets lumped into regular mashed potato recipes (no pun intended with that lumped comment). So, I've renamed this Baked Mashed Potatoes. You can call it whatever you want. Cuz you will call it. Because it's potatoes and cheese and bacon. Which all work in my book.

One of the changes that the other recipes made to Marthas was leaving out the grated onion which I did. Not that I don't like onions, I just got lazy and didn't feel like grating them. Or maybe I just completely forgot to add them. Your choice.

BAKED MASHED POTATOES WITH BACON AND CHEDDAR
(Martha Stewart Living November Holiday 2002)

5 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
8 ounces bacon (about 10 slices)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
1 small onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater, juice reserved
1/2 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain; return to pan, cover, and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp and browned, turning once. Transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool, and crumble into pieces.

Using a fork, mash the potatoes in pan until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream, and stir until combined and smooth. Add the onion and any onion juice, chives, 2 cups cheese, half the bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir until well combined.

Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until top is slightly golden and potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; garnish with remaining bacon. Serve immediately.

Serves 8 to 10.

NOTE: I bought one of those five pound bags of russet potatoes thinking that was making it easier. Bad idea. Besides the fact that several of the potatoes were bad (which I couldn't see because the offending potatoes were hidden behind that brown plastic wrapper), they were smaller and took tons of time peeling (do you get the feeling that I don't like to peel potatoes!). Next time I'd just get five pounds of the large russets.

NOTE: Of course I made more bacon than the ten slices called for, who do you think this is anyway? I used regular Oscar Meyer bacon as I thought my regular thick cut stuff from the market might not incorporate as well into the dish. I wanted maximum baconness in each bite.

NOTE: I left out the grated onions entirely. Which I meant to do. You can have a brain fart do that too.

NOTE: Yes, I put more than half a cup of grated cheese on the top. In fact a lot more. I like cheesy.

NOTE: No I did not use a fork to mash five pounds of potatoes. I was lazy and just used my potato masher. I mean who mashes five pounds of potatoes with a fork anyway? (except for Goddess Martha of course).

NOTE: The recipe states that you can make this through step 3 (which is through adding the onion, chives, cheese, bacon, and combining) the night before and bake it the next day.

I did find the dish to be a bit on the dry side (which might be because I used more of a flat rectangle dish to bake in instead of a deep round dish?) but nothing that a bit of butter or some added sour cream on my part didn't fix. Or maybe that was just because I usually like my baked or mashed potatoes swimming in butter and sour cream? Definitely make this again (and it really would be great for a pot luck).

Linguini with Roasted Beets, Fresh Tarragon and Caraway

I do not like beets. I will eat all sorts of strange vegetables like okra, turnips, and brussels sprouts...but I've never been fond of beets. I'm sure this aversion started with those rubbery rounds of beets that tended to be in any salad one ordered at restaurants years ago. The kind where the beet coloring would leak all over pieces of the salad making it totally inedible on my part. So last year when we started receiving our CSA box, and it always had some beets included, I happily gave away most of the beet bounty. Friends and co-workers were thrilled. Unfortunately they kept trying to give me wonderful recipes that incorporated said offending vegetable because they were sure that their recipe would cure me of my anti-beet ways. I almost came up with a "beet allergy" just to stop the kind offers. But I am weak and felt bad rebuffing their kindness so I decided to stop giving out the beets. I then figured I better use the beets in a recipe (which I knew I'd hate) so that when asked I could at least say I tried to like the beet.

Somewhere in my anti-beet mind, I remembered reading or hearing that roasting beets gave them a very nice complex flavor. Since I'm all for roasting vegetables, I went in search of a roasted beet recipe that would tantalize the taste buds (or one that wouldn't leave me with a scrunched up OHMYGODTHISBEETSUCKS look on my face). I came across many different variations on a theme...roast the beets, cook them with something (be it spinach, pine nuts, cheese, beet greens, chard), and lots of different types of pasta used to put the beet concoction over. But it was Viviane's linguine roasted beet recipe from the wonderful blog Food & Style that caught my eye. Her photograph of the finished dish was amazing! Such wonderful rich color to the pasta. I figured no way my dish would turn out that beautiful, but I was willing to give it a try.

I still hate beets. But oh my I loved this dish. I ate this for days (it reheated well). And the color! Wow, best presentation ever. It looked so appetizing served on a white plate with a bit of greens for a pop of contrasting color. And again, it didn't taste like beets. Or maybe it did. Suffice to say it didn't taste like any beet I'd ever encountered. The roasted beet flavor wasn't overpowering and maybe, just maybe, should I ever be gifted with some beets in the future, I'll keep them. If you are a fan of beets, then you really need to try this dish. Even if you are not a fan, maybe this will make you one. Just cook the dang dish!

Do check out the original recipe here from Food & Style. It's a wonderful blog full of great recipes and amazing photographs. I love her style section where I got some wonderful ideas on presentation of dishes.

LINGUINI WITH ROASTED BEETS, FRESH TARRAGON AND CARAWAY
(Reprinted with permission from Food & Style)

6 medium red beet roots - washed and trimmed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoons sea salt for the pasta water
1 lb (454gr) linguini
4 large garlic cloves - skinned and minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
3/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

tarragon sprigs as garnish
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C)

Step 1: Place the beets in a medium baking dish. Fill the pan with 1/2" water. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until tender. Remove from pan and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Step 2: Peel the beets with the back of a knife. Using a mandoline, cut the beets in 1/16" julienne slices. (If you don't have a mandoline, slice the beets crosswise in 1/8" slices and then cut them in julienned strips.) Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Cooks Note: The beets can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Step 3: Heat a large, non-stick heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add the oil, caraway seeds and beets. Saute for 10 to 12 minutes until the beets have caramelized, tossing from time to time (the beet slices will lose their moisture, shrink by half and look very dark around the edges.). Remove from heat and set skillet aside.

Step 4: Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the salt and the pasta. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain well.

Step 5: While the pasta is draining, return skillet to the stove and heat over high heat. When the beets begin to sizzle, add the garlic and vinegar. Saute for 1 minute only, until the vinegar has completely evaporated and glazed the beet slices. Add the pasta, reserved pasta cooking water, fresh tarragon, salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce. (It's while tossing the pasta with the beets that the pasta acquires it's gorgeous red color. You'll marvel at how fast it happens and how intense the color is!)

Step 6: Spoon pasta in bowls. Garnish with tarragon sprig, drizzle with a little olive oil and serve immediately.

Serves 4

The above recipe was reprinted with permission from Food & Style. The notes below and the photograph of the finished dish are from me.

NOTE: I actually used a different recipe (which I can't currently find but will post if I do) to roast the beets.

NOTE: I did not use a mandoline, I used a knife which turned out to be pretty easy to do. I did roast the beets the day before to make it easier and quicker to put together the dinner after work the next day.

NOTE: Viviane recommends serving Roasted Beet Linguini with Bonny Doone Vineyard wines (which you can read about here).

This is probably one of the top ten dishes I've ever made. Surprisingly good flavor (considering it included that disgusting vegetable call a beet), and such a vibrant looking dish to serve to guests!