3 Potato Gratin With Rosemary, Parm and Gouda

You know how the experts say we first eat with our eyes? Here's a dish that's as delicious to those baby blues (or browns or hazels....) as it is to the palate. Three varieties of potatoes - Japanese sweet potatoes, Garnet sweet potatoes, and Yukon golds, fresh rosemary and garlic infused cream, melty gouda and sharp and tangy real parmigiano reggiano all meld together in the oven to become one satisfying and comforting side dish to delight both company and family.


If you have the time, arrange the potatoes into stripes like I did for a recent dinner. If there isn't time for that nonsense, just jumble up the potatoes and get on with it! Without further adieu, here's the recipe.

3 Potato Gratin With Rosemary, Parm and Gouda

• 2 Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (I used the slicing blade of my food processor for ALL the potatoes to cut prep time)
• 2 garnet sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 C heavy cream
• 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 C)
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with the flat side of a knife blade
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 C gouda cheese, shredded
• 1/2 C Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter a large gratin dish or a large, shallow baking dish. 

In a medium, heavy bottomed pot, combine cream, garlic and rosemary and bring the mixture to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and set aside while you assemble the dish.

To make it the pretty, striped way, arrange the potatoes in alternate stripes in the dish; to make it the easy way, just toss the potatoes together as you peel and slice them and it will still be pretty...win/win!

Potatoes arranged the pretty way...the whitest potatoes are the Japanese sweet potatoes!

Make a layer of potatoes, sprinkle with gouda, salt & pepper. Make another layer of potatoes, sprinkle with parm and pepper (parm is salty, so I don't use salt on the parm layers), make a third layer, sprinkle with pepper and parm and then pour the cream mixture through a strainer over the top of the potatoes. The strainer keeps the big chunks of garlic and rosemary pieces from going into the casserole.

Bake at 400 for half an hour. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees, cover the dish with foil and bake until browned and tender all the way through and the cream has been absorbed by the potatoes - maybe another half an hour. Remove foil and serve. Don't be surprised if you're asked to make this ALL the time!

Potato, Apple and Bacon Waffles

A week ago or so I made up a batch of these lovlies for breakfast and have been craving them ever since. Sweet and savory Potato, Apple and Bacon Waffles are kind of a mashup of a hearty German potato pancake and a sweet apple pancake baked on a waffle iron for extra crispiness and crunch. A little bacon is thrown in for a salty, smoky contrast to the sweet apple and for balance.

Why I waited to make them again is a puzzle to me, because they're so easy to put together...especially if you use precooked real bacon bits. Making dinner (or breakfast if you're more of a traditionalist) is simpler still when you start with frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes and just a little Bisquick. Who doesn't like a quick and easy breakfast-for-dinner recipe in their arsenal?!

Ready to make an easy "brinner" for the fam? Gentlemen (and ladies), start your waffle irons!

Potato, Apple and Bacon Waffles

Makes 8 waffles

• 4 C frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes, thawed
• 8 slices bacon, cut into dice, fried crisp (or 1/2-2/3 C REAL bacon bits
• 2 apples, peeled and cored, cut into 1/4" dice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 6 T Bisquick (I use gluten-free Bisquick to make these GF)
• 6 T milk
• 1 t salt and extra for sprinkling on the finished waffles to really make the flavor pop!

Preheat your waffle iron while you toss the batter together.

In a large bowl, mix the potatoes and sprinkle with Bisquick. Add bacon, apples, egg, milk and salt. Mix all together well.

My waffle iron uses no oil; if yours needs to be oiled, prepare your iron as needed.

Use half the batter for the first batch of waffles, if your waffle iron makes 4 at a time like mine. I like to press down firmly on the waffle iron handle for 30 seconds or so to get good initial contact on both sides of the waffle - I think it produces a crisper waffle in the end.

Carefully remove the first batch of waffles and do the second. 

Serve with real maple syrup and a sprinkle of salt. Yes, I said salt. It makes a BIG difference!

NOTE: Leftover waffles? Put thinly sliced cheddar between two waffles and grill on both sides in a buttered skillet until the cheese is melted and the waffles crisp. Delish!

NOTE 2: Although I haven't tried it, I can't help but think these would make a kickass base for sausage gravy! Hmmmmmm......

Sunday Supper One Pan Roasted Chicken N Ribs

Time for a kitchen quickie! Here's one that's almost dinner in a dish. With only four ingredients to the marinade for the chicken, ribs and veggies that all roast together, it's a true one dish wonder. And, it makes more than enough to have leftovers for a second quick and simple weekday meal. Sunday supper can hardly be easier than this one.....

Sunday Supper One Pan Roasted Chicken N Ribs

• 4 skin on, bone-in chicken thighs
• 2 skin on, bone-in chicken breasts, cut in half crosswise
• 1/2 rack of lean babyback pork ribs, cut into individual ribs - I get mine at Costco...the meatiest ribs anywhere!
• 3 baking potatoes, scrubbed, skin left on, cut lengthwise into wedges
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into large pieces
• 1/2 pound baby carrots

• 1/3 C olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 2 lemons, juice 1 for the seasoning mixture, save the other to squeeze over the chicken & ribs before roasting
• 1 T Slap Yo Mama Cajun seasoning, or other BBQ seasoning rub - plus extra for seasoning the chicken & ribs before roasting
• 1 T Jane's Krazy Chunky Mixed-Up Garlic Seasoning, or other garlic seasoning salt

Just 4 ingredients to the marinade...and here they are!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large ziptop plastic bag, combine olive oil through garlic seasoning salt. Close the top securely, then mix/shake the ingredients well. Add all the veggies to the bag, zip it securely again and shake and turn until all the veggies are well coated. Set aside.

In the center of a large roasting pan, arrange the chicken and ribs skin side up leaving space around the edges of the pan for the veggies. Season the chicken and ribs very liberally with more Slap Yo Mama. Shake up the veggies again and arrange them around the chicken and ribs evenly.

Meats piled in the center, veggies all around the edges and ready for roasting.

Drizzle the chicken & ribs with more olive oil, then squeeze the juice of the 2nd lemon over the meat/poultry, as well.

Roast at 400 degrees for an hour, raise the oven temp to 450 degrees and roast until the chicken is browned and the veggies are tender and slightly crispy/browned.

Note: Next time, I'm definitely throwing in some cherry or grape tomatoes for a pop of color and a sweet/tart contrast to the rest of the veggies. Mmmmmmm......

There you go, a one dish Sunday supper! And an easy weekday dinner to boot.

Angry Orchard Beef, Pumpkin & Apple Stew

Giant orange orbs are appearing everywhere these crisp, chilly and windy days, whether they're scattered across the hills and fields of our beloved local farms or piled high in grocery store bins. Pumpkins are everywhere! Even in my CSA box.

That big ol' sugar pumpkin presented a few possibilities. Should I just plunk it out on the porch with my other warty pumpkins, gourds and rusty mums? That would be the easy way out. I did briefly consider roasting pumpkin chunks and making a roasted pumpkin and cinnamon syrup for fall cocktails, but decided on a hearty and warming stew instead.

I just happened to have a nice chuck roast in the freezer, so I pulled that out and after it was thawed, cut it into nice sized cubes, browned them and started building the base for the stew. The hardest part of the stew? Cutting and peeling the pumpkin! Ugh. Maybe the porch sitting pumpkin idea was better after all. But no, I soldiered on and peeled that sucker! 

After browning the beef in batches and then putting just a little caramelization on the pumpkin pieces, I simply added peeled potatoes (also from my Dillner Farms CSA box), lots of onion, a nice big peeled and cubed apple (yep, CSA, too!), poured a bottle of Angry Orchard hard cider over all, put on the lid and simmered the mixture away for a few hours. Oh, it smelled wonderful all throughout the house!

Best of all, the pumpkin-y, apple-y, onion-y and richly beefy conglomeration of flavor was worth every bit of the pumpkin peeling process. Here's a little hint...don't feel like peeling a pumpkin? Try subbing in peeled butternut squash in those plastic containers from the grocery store instead. It works!

Angry Orchard Beef, Pumpkin & Apple Stew 

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into stew-sized cubes
• Salt and pepper to taste - use to season the meat liberally before browning
• 4 C fresh pumpkin, cut open, seeds removed, cut into strips and the rind peeled, cut into cubes (or buy pre-peeled butternut squash at the grocery store - perfectly acceptable substitution!)
• 2 large onions, approx 2 C,cubed 
• 1 1/2 t fresh garlic, minced finely or pressed
• 4 C peeled and cubed red or Yukon Gold potatoes - don't use Russet potatoes as they have a tendency to fall apart
• 1 bottle (12 oz.) Angry Orchard Cinful Apple hard cider - or another variety, but I like the subtle cinnamon hint it infuses the stew with
• 1 1/2 C apple - peeled, cored, cut into cubes
• 2 t Beef soup base - I like Better Than Bullion, it's gluten free!

In a heavy bottomed enameled cast iron Dutch oven, melt the butter and oil together and bring it to high temp. Add the salt and peppered beef chunks - in 3 batches - and brown well on all sides. Remove each batch to a bowl as each is done.

When all the beef is browned, add the pumpkin pieces to the oil and brown, giving a nice caramelization to the edges. Then add the onions and garlic and stir well until the onions and garlic are softened. 

Add the beef back into the pot along with the potatoes, pour the bottle of Angry Orchard over all, stir everything up from the bottom, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let it go for about an hour, then add the apple and the soup base. Stir well again, cover and let it simmer for another 2 hours or so until the beef is tender.

Delicious!

Fresh Corn, Potato, Tomato, Jalapeno and Bacon Chowder

Our weekly CSA box has been bursting with beautiful ears of corn! Just my small share has produced 4-6 ears every week - not a problem, right? Well...not unless you shouldn't be eating things like corn, nuts and seeds.

It's so frustrating to wait all year long for fresh and local corn season to roll around - so fresh that when you press a fingernail into a kernel, juice squirts so high you sometimes get hit straight in the eye - and then not be able to eat any. (You did know the fingernail test is the gold standard test for corn, didn't you? If a corn kernel doesn't squirt when you press a fingernail into it, just step away from the corn, ma'am.)

Having to miss corn season this year had me mentally scrambling for ways to still enjoy the sweet goodness of the season without encountering any of the unfortunate side effects of the whole kernels. Soup. Fresh corn soup. Specifically, fresh corn, potato, tomato and jalapeno chowder with BACON!

What if I cut the kernels off the cob, simmered them long and slow in a rich broth (WITH the kernel-naked cobs to infuse an even corn-ier flavor), then whirred the bejeezus out of them with my stick blender? Would I end up with a big pot of corn flavor without the dreaded whole kernels? 

Ladies and gentlemen, the experiment was a success. No, the resultant chowder base wasn't smooth as silk, but it didn't matter when nice chunks of potato, tomato, onion, jalapeno and bacon studded the chowder making for a good and hearty meal-in-a-bowl.

Gilding the lily, I topped each bowlful with a sprinkle of chopped tomato, diced avocado and crisp bacon pieces. Ahhhh, summer corn goodness!

Fresh Corn, Potato, Tomato, Jalapeno 

and Bacon Chowder

• 4 slices bacon - thick sliced, cut across into 1/2" lardons - reserve the cooked lardons for garnish
• 4 ears of fresh corn - cut the kernels from the cobs and transfer to a bowl, then take your knife and scrape the bare cobs over the bowl to capture all the last vestiges of corny goodness
• 3/4 C red onion, diced 
• 1/2 stick butter - unsalted
• 2 large jalapenos, seeds removed, minced
• 4 large red potatoes, scrubbed and skins left on - diced small - like hash brown size
• 72 oz. store-bought chicken stock - a good gluten-free one to make this GF
• 1 T Jane's Crazy Salt
• 3 large fresh tomatoes, diced small - same as potatoes, reserve the last tomato for garnish
• 1 avocado, diced - for garnish
• shredded cheddar - for garnish

Saute bacon until crisp in a heavy bottomed soup pot. Remove and reserve the lardons for garnish. Add corn kernels and onion. Saute until the onion is translucent and then add the chicken stock. Next add the naked corn cobs, bring the soup to a boil and immediately lower to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook until the corn is tender as can be, about an hour. 

When the corn gets to the tender point, remove the cobs, letting as much broth as possible drip back into the pot. Now it's time to get out the stick blender (aka, immersion blender). Whirr the hell out of the kernels until they are all pulverized and return the soup to a simmer. 

While the soup is simmering, melt the butter in a heavy skillet, then add the jalapenos and potatoes. Once they soften, add them to the soup as well, along with 2 of the diced tomatoes and the Jane's Crazy Salt. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked through and beginning to get a little mealy. (Be sure to put the lid back on the pot.)

Once the chowder comes together nicely, ladle it into bowls and garnish with healthy handful of shredded cheddar, topped with reserved chopped tomato, bacon and avocado. Enjoy!

Dark n Stormy Stew

"It was a dark and stormy night." Remember Snoopy at his typewriter, sitting atop his doghouse, clicking out that cliched opening line to his novel? That thought may have just brought a smile to your face, it certainly does to mine.

You may not know (then again, you might just be hip to it already!), but there's another kind of Dark n Stormy that brings a smile, too...the classic cocktail of dark rum, ginger beer and lime by the same name. Not only that, there's Dark n Stormy Stew, too. Yep, why not put the same flavors that work as a cocktail into a rich, hearty and spicy beef crockpot-simple stew? No reason not to...so I did!

Rum and ginger paired perfectly to make a satisfying winter stew loaded with butternut squash, pearl onions, fingerling potatoes and lots of savory gravy redolent with ginger, clove and allspice to echo the spice notes of fine dark rum and good ginger beer. As the stew simmered slowly over the hours, flavors melded into such a conglomeration of sweet, savory, gingery, rummy goodness that even butternut squash became as one with the sauce.

What do you accent the inspirational cocktail with? Lime. And there's no more proper finish to the stew either than bright and fresh lime. Just as the green citrus fruit perks up the dark sweetness of the cocktail, freshly grated lime zest and a hefty squeeze of a lime wedge do the same thing for this savory stew. Lime and gingery beef stew may sound like an odd combo, but trust me...the accent of lime takes the party to new heights.

As for the perfect cocktail pairing? A Dark n Stormy, of course! Here's the recipe for BOTH the stew AND the cocktail.

Dark n Stormy Stew

• 2 T canola oil
• 2 1/2 pounds beef flapsteak (that's what I had in the freezer - use your own favorite, tender stew beef)
• 2 1/2 C butternut squash, cubed - you know I use the already peeled and cubed squash the grocer conveniently has waiting in plastic tubs in the produce section (repurpose the plastic...wash it out and use it to store cookies!)
• 12 oz bag of frozen pearl onions (hey...if YOU want to go to the trouble of peeling all those teeny, tiny fresh pearl onions, go ahead....we'll wait for you to catch up....)
• 2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut in half 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 t. ground cloves
• 1 t. powdered ginger
• 1/2 t. allspice
• 1/2 C dark rum - I used Meyer's
• 7 oz bottle ginger beer - I use Fever Tree
• 2 T cornstarch
• 5 oz. (1/2 a can) beef broth
• 2 limes - 1 zested, 1 cut into wedges

To get good deep beefy flavors going in a crockpot stew, you know I always like to start by browning the meat in a skillet - that's where we're starting this time, too.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. While the oil is heating, season the beef liberally with salt and pepper. Brown the beef cubes in 2 batches. Remove each to the waiting crockpot.

Add the rum to the skillet and stir well to get all those browned bits into the rum. Set aside.

Add the squash, onions and potatoes along with the spices to the crockpot and give it all a good stir. Pour the rum that's still in the skillet and a bottle of ginger beer over the contents of the crockpot. Cover.

Start the crockpot on high and cook for an hour, then lower the temp to low (my crockpot only has settings of "off" "low" and "high.") and continue cooking 4-5 hours until the beef is tender and the squash has nearly disintegrated - it becomes part of the rich sauce.

To thicken the gravy, mix 2 T cornstarch with half a can (5 oz) beef broth and stir into the stew. It will thicken in minutes.

To Serve: Ladle the stew into bowls, sprinkle a little lime zest over each and serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the top. 

Classic Dark and Stormy - The Cocktail

• 2 oz dark rum - Gosling's preferred
• 3 oz. ginger beer - Fever Tree or the excellent Pittsburgh-made Jamaica's Finest by Natrona Bottling
• a nice big lime wedge

In a collins glass filled with ice, add the rum and top with ginger beer. Add lime juice, stir gently and serve.

Autumn Pot Roasted Lemon, Fennel and Garlic Chicken

Sometimes a simple pot roast or roasted chicken is just what the doctor ordered for a relaxing Sunday. Something easy to throw in the oven while you're busy around the house or the yard can't be beat. A one pot wonder!

I got to thinking, why not "pot roast" a chicken? No reason why not to at all, so that's exactly what went on the menu. I still had a fennel bulb and one lone leek in the veggie drawer...sounded like a good start to me. Sliced leeks, fennel and whole garlic cloves went into my enameled cast iron Dutch oven before anything else. 

Then I created a mixture of softened butter, more garlic, lemon zest, finely chopped fennel fronds and my secret ingredient, fennel pollen. (You remember fennel pollen, don't you? Here's the link again!) Rubbed and massaged between the skin and breast of the chicken to intensify the flavor (and to keep the bird nice and moist), the flavored butter became the next layer of flavor.

Why stop there, though? Those long celery-like stalks of fennel - you know, the ones that stick out from the bulb - went into the cavity of the chicken along with a well-pierced whole lemon to further infuse the chicken with flavor...this time from the inside out. 

Once in the oven, the fennel-y, lemon-y, garlic-y, chicken-y aroma emanating from the oven repeatedly led us into the kitchen by our noses! 

Part way through the roasting, tiny potatoes were added to make it almost a complete meal. Beets - roasted separately but in the same oven at the same time was the only other thing that was added to the meal. Okay...and a green salad. 

Don't you just love a simple, yet very special Sunday dinner? Me, too. Especially when that one-pot-wonder Sunday dinner was simply delicious! 

Autumn Pot Roasted Lemon, Fennel and 

Garlic Chicken

• 5-6 pound roasting chicken

• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1/4 cup fennel, fronds only, chopped
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon fennel pollen - see below for link to buy this magical stuff!
• zest of one lemon - then juice and reserve the naked lemon - set the juice aside

• 1 leek, sliced in half lengthwise, washed thoroughly and sliced across into 1/2" pieces
• 1 fennel bulb, stalks cut off and reserved, stem end cut off, bulb cut in half lengthwise and sliced across
• 1 garlic bulb, Separated into cloves, peeled and smashed, make 2 piles of the smashed garlic
• 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, small ones - cut in half if larger

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
 
Remove the guts from a whole roasting chicken - rinse in cold water and dry well with paper towels. Set aside.
 
Fennel garlic butter: Put the softened butter, fennel, lemon zest, garlic, kosher salt & pepper and fennel pollen into the bowl of a food processor. Process until well combined, stopping and pushing the contents down as necessary. Set butter aside.
 
Pile the leeks, half the garlic cloves and sliced fennel bulb into the bottom of a covered roaster or enameled cast iron Dutch oven. (I use a deep oval one that holds the chicken perfectly.)
 
Loosen the skin on the breast of the chicken by gently running your fingers between the flesh and the skin to loosen - be gentle so the skin doesn't tear. Rub about 2-3 T. of the fennel butter under the skin on one side of the breast and do the same with another 2-3 T. of the butter (more or less) on the other side. Rub what's left of the butter over the outside of the bird all over the breast and legs. Squeeze the lemon you used for the lemon zest over top of all.
 
Roast the chicken UNcovered at 450 for 30 minutes. Add the potatoes all around the chicken, put the lid on, lower the temperature to 350 degrees and roast another hour. Remove lid and continue roasting until the chicken is lightly browned. 

Let rest. Remove chicken from pot onto a large serving platter, lift the veggies out with a slotted spoon and arrange them around the chicken. Carve and serve!


NOTE: Want more veggies? Feel free to add carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, onions...whatever strikes your fancy. It's a pot roast! There aren't many rules where pot roasts are concerned now, are there? 

Chilled Fennel Leek Soup With Lemon

When you think of seasonal fall veggies, what's your first thought? Cabbage? Acorn or butternut squash? Maybe sweet potatoes? What about one of my favorite fall veggies, fennel? Is fennel even in your top 10? Whoa! You're not familiar with fennel? Okay, maybe you know it as anise since it goes by both names. (A veggie with an aka?! Is there a veggie witness protection program? What has fennel done?!)

Even if you haven't actually tried it, I hope you've at least noticed the bulbous, celery-like, ferny-topped pretty veg in the produce aisle. Did you get close up enough to get a good whiff? Licorice! At least a nicely mild licorice scent. It tastes gently licorice-y, too.

Raw, fennel has the almost the same crunch of celery and resembles the cooked texture of celery. A fresh raw fennel salad is wonderful with buttery greens and a nice fennel/orange vinaigrette...with maybe a few sliced, toasted and salted almonds over the top. My friend, Marti, makes a fabulous fennel gratin! that appeared here in May of 2012. 

This time, it was soup I had in mind. Specifically, a nice chilled cream of fennel soup with leeks, brightened with just a squeeze of lemon before serving. One nice thing about making this cream soup ahead is you end up having a choice. Hmmmm...to serve it chilled like vichyssoise or warm? Our warm October day made the choice an easy one - chilled!

Since fennel is such a subtle flavor, it was the perfect opportunity to use one of my new favorite spices, fennel pollen. It really amps up the fennel volume. You know how heat intensifies flavor and releases more of the bouquet of a soup, chilled soups often need just a little more oomph of flavor. That's where the lemon came in, too. A little squeeze of fresh lemon just before serving took the flavors over the top!

Next time you see fennel in the produce aisle or at you local farmers market, pick it up, inhale the sweet scent and give it a try. Oh...and those beautiful fronds? Use them for a garnish or chopped in salads or make fennel simple syrup. It makes for a lovely cocktail! Just wait and see in a few days when my fennel syrup is done and gets together with a little gin! See you then.

Chilled Fennel Leek Soup With Lemon

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 4 cups leeks, sliced almost to stem end lengthwise into quarters, run under water while fanning out the leaves, being sure to wash all sand and dirt from top to bottom - pat dry and slice across into about 1/4" pieces - I used 3 leeks
• 4 cups fennel bulbs - remove the stalks and fronds, remove any tough outer layers, slice in half lengthwise and cut into slivers - I used 3 medium bulbs - be sure to reserve the fronds for garnishes and other uses
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup potato flakes, be sure it's a gluten-free brand to make this GF (Why potato flakes? They thicken the soup without using flour...one of my favorite tricks for thickening soups and still keeping it gluten-free!)
• 1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
• Tabasco sauce, just a couple drops or so for zing
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon chicken soup base - similar to bouillon, but not as salty
• 1 teaspoon fennel pollen, plus more for garnish

In a large, heavy soup pot, melt the butter, then add the leeks, fennel and garlic. Cook and stir over low until the veggies are very soft. Add the stock, bring to boil and lower to a simmer. Cover and cook until the veggies are VERY soft. Remove from heat.
 
Cool slightly, then buzz with a stick blender until smooth. Check the bottom of the stick blender occasionally. If the bottom gets clogged with fibers from the veggies, pull them out and discard them. I had to do that a couple of times.

Once the soup is smooth, return to low heat and add the half & half, potato flakes, nutmeg, Tabasco, soup base and fennel pollen. Stir well with a whisk or wooden spoon. - you don't need the stick blender here! Refrigerate overnight.
 
The next day, adjust the seasonings - add salt only if necessary. Whisk well and ladle into bowls if you're serving the soup chilled. Warm it up if you want it hot...your decision...both equally yum!
 
If serving chilled, garnish with a fennel frond or chopped fennel, a pinch of fennel pollen and a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!
 
NOTE: If you want the soup extra silky and creamy, after pureeing the soup with the stick blender, put the soup through a food mill. I don't think it's necessary...I like a bit of texture!

NOTE 2: If you use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock, you've got a vegetarian soup!

NOTE 3: You can get fennel pollen online at Gourmet Delights. LOVE this site! (That's where I get my truffle salt, too!)

Low Country Grilled Shrimp, Andouille & Veggies with Old Bay Beer Butter

Feelin' beachy? Me too! So much so that I've been craving a good ol' shrimp boil...something to help assuage the longing for sand, sun and seafood until we hit Ocean City next month. This one easily qualifies under my "Quickie" category because there's almost no prep and it cooks in minutes. Nope, not in a steamer as is traditional for a boil, but on the grill. And it's done in a flash!

Usually we haul out the propane-fueled turkey fryer/steamer to do a boil...and that's just perfect with a big crowd. With just the two of us for dinner on Sunday, that method didn't make any sense at all. Out came the grill!

To get the same Maryland-style flavors we were craving, Old Bay beer butter was basted onto heaps of shrimp, small red potatoes, onions, Andouille sausages and corn right on the grill.  Yes, there were some flare ups, but that just helped to give a desirable blackened quality to the andouille and shrimp and made the corn almost caramel-y. 

The result? It seemed just like being oceanfront at the beach with the same hoppy, spicy deliciousness of a boil, combined with the smoky flavors only a grill can produce.  We were happy campers!

Even though the cries of seagulls were missing, I swear I caught just the faintest whiff of salt air. Not only that, I think our grilled "boil" may have been even better than the original! Now bring on Ocean City and crabs....I'm READY!

 Low Country Grilled Shrimp, Andouille & Veggies

with Old Bay Beer Butter

 Serves 2 - with plenty of leftovers

• 1 pound shrimp, jumbo, raw, peeled, tails on - threaded onto metal skewers (or wooden skewers that have soaked in water (or beer) for at least an hour)
• 1 pound sausage, andouille if you can find it - kielbasa is good, too!
• 1 pound red potatoes, small ones, cut in half - cooked in the microwave for a few minutes until almost done, but not quite
• 1 large vidalia onion, peeled, cut into eigths - leave stem end intact so the layers don't seperate
• 4 ears of corn, husked, silk removed

• 2 sticks butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons Old Bay Seafood seasoning
• 1/4 cup beer, gluten-free beer to make this GF - your favorite regular beer if gluten isn't an issue

Baste: In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, beer and Old Bay. Set aside.
 
Heat up your grill - keep it low because the butter baste is going to flare up...even with the heat low. It's okay because that smoky, blackened flavor intensifies the sweetness of the corn and the veggies...YUM! Also, be SURE to use a long-handled basting brush and work quickly to avoid the flames. No burns or catching on fire, please!

 

Once the grill is ready, pile on the corn, potatoes, onions, sausage and last, the shrimp. Baste liberally with the Old Bay Beer Butter. This will flare up. Be very careful,! As each item is done, remove to a platter. The shrimp won't take long at all. When everything is done, it's dinner time! All you need is some good crusty bread and a bottle of your favorite beer or wine. So easy! So good!

Dilled & Lemoned Fingerling Potato Salad

Summers demand salads that are a) Simple. b) Scrumptious. c) All of the above. We all know the correct answer is C because nobody wants to swelter and sweat in the kitchen when it's beautiful outside.

This one is quick because you don't have to peel fingerling potatoes...the skins are so tender...and you don't have to cook the potatoes very long either because fingerlings are so small. I used Golden Fingerlings, cooked them whole and just sliced them in half lengthwise to allow them to absorb the dressing easily.

This isn't just easy, it's light, too. Yes there's mayo in the dressing, but just a little as all the flavor comes from lemon zest, lemon juice and a healthy handful of fresh dill...and just a smidge of whole grain mustard, too, for zip.

The simple salad went quite nicely with a very simple summer meal of smoked ribeyes and corn on the cob. It would be just as happy with burgers, dogs or grilled chicken, too. What was it they used to say? K.I.S.S.? Keep It Simple Summer!

Dilled & Lemoned Fingerling Potato Salad

 Serves 4

• 1 pound tiny fingerling potatoes, cooked until just tender, cooled, sliced in half lengthwise - do NOT peel
• 3 hardboiled eggs, peeled and cut into pieces - an extra one cut into wedges if you want to garnish the salad
• 3 green onions, sliced well into the green
• 1/3 cup fresh dill fronds, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, zested first and then juiced

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice, reserved from above
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon stoneground mustard

Put potatoes, hardboiled eggs (not the extra one for garnish), onions, dill and lemon zest into a large bowl. Set aside.
 
Mix well the mayo, lemon juice, salt and mustard with a small whisk.
 
Pour dressing over the potato mixture and gently fold together well.
 
Chill until serving time. Wasn't that simple?!

NOTE: Feel free to substitute tiny red potatoes or mixed red, fingerling and blue potatoes...that would look pretty cool, don't you think?

Samosa Potato Tacos with Smoked Corn, Jalapeno & Poblano Salsa

  

Have you been to the PGH Taco Truck yet? Maybe more accurately, has the PGH Taco Truck been to YOU? That's the beauty of a free-range, free-roaming, cage-free food truck - it isn't tethered to one solitary spot. All the goodness of whatever specialty food is on-board travels the area if not directly TO you, at least NEAR you.

The outskirts of Pittsburgh (occasionally within the city limits, but that's another story...sigh) are blessed with a herd of these behemoth trucks representing all variety of foods. In the mood for sushi? The Fukuda Truck. Burgers? Ah, you have a selection here with BRGR or Steer & Wheel. Cupcakes? Hot dogs? Grilled cheese? Respectively, Dozen Dessert Truck, Franktuary Truck and Oh My Grill. Even Pittsburgh's Polish favorite pierogies are represented with the PGHPierogie Truck! Essentially, if you have a craving itch, there's a food truck to scratch it.

Lately, Mark and I have often been scratching the itch for tacos at the PGH Taco Truck. The bright red truck hangs out regularly at the Coffee Budhha on Perry Highway (Rte. 19) in the North Hills. James, the talent behind the tacos, cooks up some out-of-this-world and out-of-the-ordinary tacos to please the waiting crowds wherever he goes. Not only do we buy tacos for ourselves, they make wonderful take-along treats when visiting friends!

So far Mark and I have tried the SeaBak (named for Rick Sebak, Pittsburgh's WQED documentary treasure) consisting of scallops (Sea), bacon (bak), cheddar and guacamole - I LOVE this one! (the sea part changes with the tide - shrimp or lobster or any combination thereof may show up on the menu at James' whim); spicy jerk chicken and avocado cream - fantastic!, Mark's favorite - juicy pork with sweet Thai chili slaw, a more traditional taco of Angus ground beef with cheddar and fresh salsa - another Mark fave and organic curried potato with sriracha-lime cream just to name a few. The curried potato one? I tried to duplicate it - you know me...gotta try it at home!

I'd been craving the curried potato taco for a while. One of the things I've missed since being gluten-free is the savory Indian treat known as a samosa. Back in our Maryland days, samosas at the Columbia Fair were an item I never missed...okay, and fried dough too. I imagined a curried potato taco would taste very much the same as my long lost Indian pastry. Did it? Well, almost. 

The tender potato filling was delicious and I will most DEFINITELY be ordering it again! But it wasn't quite the samosa flavor I craved. Could I capture the flavors of both the PGH Taco Truck version and a samosa? I did! The best of both samosa AND taco all rolled into one suddenly became our new favorite vegetarian entree.

My version? Instead of ghee I toasted whole coriander seed in butter (for a vegan version try using coconut oil instead), diced cooked potatoes, onion, garam masala and at the very end added the traditional peas for a textural "pop" and sweetness against the potato and spices. Then I made a smoked corn, smoked jalapeno & poblano salsa with lime and cumin to add a little brightness and even more texture to my tacos. Even meat-loving Mark is a fan!

One more BIG plus in my book for the PGH Taco Truck. They use corn tortillas exclusively and EVERYTHING is coincidentally and naturally gluten-free. Even the soy sauce is GF. THANK YOU, James! Check Facebook and Twitter to find out where the truck is on any given day - James usually posts or tweets his schedule at the beginning of each week and updates throughout the week. Who knows? We may just see each other in line in front of the big red truck some evening soon!

Samosa Potato Tacos 

with Smoked Corn, Jalapeno & Poblano Salsa

• 2 tablespoons butter, or coconut oil to make this vegan
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, very small dice
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 pound potatoes, cooked in their skins till just tender, cooled, peeled and cut into 1/4" dice
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (see recipe for homemade below)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

• 6 corn tortillas, warmed

Melt the butter (or coconut oil) in a large skillet. Add coriander seeds and toast - don't let them burn. Then add diced onions and cook gently until translucent.

Add the potatoes, garam masala and cayenne. Stir gently so the potatoes are thoroughly coated with the butter and spices - try not to let them break up too much. Remove from heat.

Add the frozen peas (the hot mixture will thaw the peas, but still let them retain the "pop" for a contrast in texture. Sprinkle with lemon juice and combine well. Keep hot.

Assemble tacos: Lay out a warmed corn tortilla and spoon some of the potato mixture down the center. Next spoon some corn salsa down the center, too. Fold over and eat with a squeeze of fresh lime.
 

Homemade garam masala: 

• 1 t. cumin
• 1 1/2 t. ground coriander
• 1 1/2 t. ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ground cloves
• 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg. 

Combine all the spices well. You will only use 1 teaspoon of this mixture for the potatoes so be sure to store what's left in a small bag or extra spice bottle. Be sure to mark it so you know what it is when you dig it out of the bag of the spice cabinet the next time!
   

Smoked corn salsa: Cut smoked corn or roasted corn from the cobs into a large bowl. Use about 2 cups. Set aside. While you're smoking or roasting the corn, put on 1 jalapeno and 1 poblano and cook until soft. Remove the peppers to a plastic container and cover with a lid tightly. Set aside for at least 15 minutes. When the peppers are cool, remove the skins, stems and seeds. Finely dice the peppers and add to the corn.

In a molcajete or mortar and pestle, mash 1 small garlic clove, a handful of fresh cilantro leaves, 1 finely miniced, seeded jalapeno pepper with about a teaspoon of Kosher salt. When the mixture is pulverized, add it all into the corn and peppers. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over all with a pinch or two of cumin and mix well. The salsa is ready to top the tacos. Use any leftover salsa with chips or to top hot dogs or nachos.

 

BBQ Chicken Chippers (Don't Call Them Fingers!)

There once was a very little girl who was very opinionated. We'll call her...oh, let me see...how about Kimber? On a family outing to cheer on her sister (just for haha's, we'll call her Mieke) who competed for the Central Michigan University gymnastics team, we found ourselves in Ohio. Kent, Ohio to be specific. 

Following the meet, a family dinner was in order. Lo and behold, around a bend a sign said "Mike's Place - Country Food." Sounded good to us! As this very curious and obstinate little girl heard the words "country food," she was as horrified as a 4-year old could be. Kimber promptly told us, "I HATE that country food!" 

Yeah, she was 4. She was outnumbered. It was 7 to 1 against her and besides, I did mention she was FOUR, right? Really, should she even have had a vote? So in we went.  

The place was cavernous and the menu was massive. How could a 4-year-old NOT find something she liked? Right there, prominently in the kids' section of the menu was every kid's dream dinner - chicken nuggets. Whew. 

Only they didn't call them nuggets, they called them chicken fingers. Little did we know this very little girl would be horrified (again) by the thought of eating chicken FINGERS! Apparently the child had visions of "chicken fingers" being feet and toenails! What did she know from chicken fingers?  

Apparently entirely too many McDonalds visits had her convinced chicken only came in nuggets. If only we had thought with a 4-year-old's mind and had recognized the potential for trouble. 

Lovely planks of golden chicken strips arrived at the table. Nope she wouldn't eat them, she wouldn't even touch them. Clearly this adamant tyke was not going to budge an inch. She KNEW she wouldn't like that country food! And she didn't.
 
Which brings me to a recipe for chicken fingers even Kimber would like.  What kid, or even grownup, wouldn't love tender chicken, dipped in sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, breaded in salty, crunchy potato chips mixed with crisp smoky bacon, oven-fried and served with a even more BBQ sauce?  What's not to LOVE?!

 BBQ Chicken Chippers 

(Don't Call Them Fingers!)

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 cups potato chips, crushed fine in the food processor
• 3 slices bacon, thick sliced, cooked crisp, minced fine in the food processor
• 1 - 1 1/2 pound chicken tenders, approximately 12
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, your favorite bottled brand - be sure it's gluten-free if you want to make these GF - PLUS extra to drizzle & dip

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
 
Put BBQ sauce in a shallow bowl. Mix crushed potato chips and minced bacon together and spread on a plate. Dip each tender well in BBQ sauce. Dredge well on all sides in the chip/bacon mixture. As each tender is done, place on a plate until all are done.
 
Spray a baking sheet with a rim all around with Pam. Put it in the oven to heat, but watch carefully so it doesn't smoke. Lay each tender on the baking sheet keeping space between them. Spray the tops of the tenders with more Pam.
 
Bake 15 minutes, turn each one over and bake another 10 minutes or until browned, crisp and crunchy.
 
Remove to plate and serve with additional BBQ sauce for dipping.
NOTE: I used baked chips to help reduce the fat & calories.