Scrounge Dinner - Stuffed Hash Browns

On a recent Friday night, I found myself just home from traveling all week and in the midst of a strict Gluten-Free trial run and had "no food" in the house.  As we know, that's when I tend to shine...

I knew I couldn't fall back on any of my quick pasta creations thanks to the GF trial so it was time to scrounge.

I cooked up a few slices of bacon in a non-stick pan. When thoroughly crispy, I pulled the bacon out of the pan and drained it on a few paper towels.

Added about 2 cups of frozen shredded potatoes (Gluten-free!) to the pan with the bacon drippings and started cooking over medium-high heat.  (A number of companies make prepared frozen shredded potatoes now. Mine happened to be from Trader Joe's.)

While those were starting to cook, I beat one whole egg and mixed in some Parmesan cheese (about 3 Tbs), very similar to what I'd do for Spaghetti Carbonara. I wasn't looking to scramble the eggs but make them act as a binder for the potatoes. I poured the egg over the potatoes and continued to cook.

I'd pushed the potatoes all towards the middle so it was looking like one big panake.

After a few minutes, I was able to flip the whole thing but in about 3 sections.

I squirted a healthy amount of Sriracha sauce on top of the potato/egg mixture (Sriracha is a type of hot sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. You could use Tobasco or any other favorite hot sauce)

I flipped the potato "pancake" one more time, crumbled the bacon on top and covered the top with shredded cheese (I used a mixture of cheddar, monterey jack and mozzarella) I found a cover from a pot large enough to over the "pancake" and continued to cook covered until the cheese melted.

Slid the entire thing on a plate and ate it too fast to remember to take a picture. If I'd had some sour cream or Greek yogurt and a few scallions, it would have been a perfect version of a stuffed potato skin. That's certainly what it tasted like! So they became Stuffed Hash Browns. YUM!

"Cream" of Broccoli Soup

This recipe has been floating around for the last few years, mainly in email and text messages. It should be on here for all to find.  Really easy, quick and delicious:

“Cream” of Broccoli soup

2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water (you can use 3 cups stock - I ran out!)
6 cups broccoli florets
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed well and drained
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp herbes de provence
salt/pepper to taste
handful (~1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese


Combine chicken stock, water, garlic, cayenne, onion powder, dried thyme and herbes de provence in a medium stockpot.

Bring to a boil.

Add broccoli, cover and cook for about 8 minutes, until broccoli is tender.

Add cannellini beans, salt and pepper and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes until heated through.

Using an Immersion blender or regular blender*, carefully puree the bean/broccoli mixture.

Return puree to pot, taste to adjust seasoning. Add in shredded cheese and stir over low heat until heated through and cheese is melted.

* Note: If using a regular blender, USE CAUTION when blending hot liquids. Puree in batches, never filling more than ½ way and be sure to cover the lid with a kitchen towel (just in case).

**serving suggestion: top with bacon bits, prosciutto or browned pancetta.

Visions of Prosciutto Dancing in My Head

Dreaming about food again! This time it was part food shopping, part eating and part cooking.

In the dream, I went to visit some friends (real) who own a gourmet Italian market (not real). After the tour, where I learned those amazing Gigante beans (used in Antipasta) actually came in a can (I learned this years ago, not sure why this came back to the surface now), it was time for lunch.  The phrase "kid in a candy store" could not have been more accurate.

Burrata Cheese

Deciding a sandwich was in order, we began with fresh Ciabatta rolls and added some imported Prosciutto and Burrata cheese. If you've never had Burrata, it's like an incredibly creamy Mozzarella. It has two layers to it - the outer layer being more like a traditional fresh Mozzarella and the center being a combination of Mozzarella curds and cream. It's an odd choice for a sandwich - almost like making meatballs out of Kobe beef. Why would you take a meat that's so tender and grind it up to make it tougher?? And yet somehow it works. The same happened with the Burrata in my dream.

The next question was what sort of 'dressing' should I put on it? The obvious choice would have been a pesto but I wasn't looking for obvious. The dream shifted to me being in the kitchen, food processor in front of me.

The creation became a spread made from Italian anchovy fillets, garlic, capers, a little Parmesan cheese, olive oil and lemon juice. My mouth waters now just thinking about this! In the light of day I'm afraid this spread may be a touch salty with the already salty Prosciutto but I think if I add something like Arugula or other peppery green to the sandwich, it will help the balance.

Sadly, I don't remember getting to eat the creation in the dream but this is one I will most definitely be making while awake. 

Enjoy!

Healthy and Hearty In a Hurry

When the first chill of Autumn arrives, many of us have visions of slow-cookers and hearty stews dancing in our heads. And yes, these are definitely needed in my arsenal for cold-weather days. However, what do you do when you want something warm and comforting but it’s Wednesday night and you don’t get home from the office until 8:00pm?

How about Braised Kale with Prosciutto and White Beans in less than 15 minutes? Yes, it IS possible!

1 Tbs Olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

16 oz Kale (I had a bag of pre-cut/washed Kale. Look in your produce aisle)

1 (15 oz) can tomato puree (could use diced, whole, or stewed – whatever you have)

1 (15 oz) can Cannellini beans (kidney, small white or even black beans could work!), rinsed thoroughly

2 slices prosciutto, diced

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add Kale and tomatoes. Stir to coat. Cover, reduce heat to simmer for about 7 minutes. Stir in rinsed beans, replace lid and simmer for an additional 3 minutes or until Kale is wilted. Stir in prosciutto and serve.

This could have been an even heartier one-pot meal by starting the dish by sautéing onions, garlic and browning 2 chicken sausage links (cut into ½ inch pieces) before adding the kale, tomatoes and beans. If omitting Prosciutto, add salt and pepper to taste when adding the beans.

Enjoy!

Ring Around the Yolk

Recently, my friend’s 6-year old daughter was at my house. She was hungry so I served her an egg salad sandwich I’d made earlier that morning. As she’s scarfing it down she declares, “I like hard-boiled eggs but I don’t like the gray part.”

“Gray part?” I ask, puzzled and a little bit horrified.

“Yeah,” she said, “there’s the yellow part, the gray part* and the white part.”

“Honey, hard-boiled eggs should not have a gray part. Who is making these for you?”

Of course she refused to answer that question. While her mom, a dear friend of mine, is a great cook (I’m still hoping she was not the one making the eggs although I don’t think I ever flat out asked her) I thought it would be helpful to give a little tutorial on a fool-proof way to make hard-boiled eggs.

*Note: A gray or sometimes greenish-brown ring around the yolk is a sure fire indication that your eggs have been overcooked.

It used to be that eggs were eggs were eggs. But now there are so many different kinds! Brown, white, organic, free-range, cage-free… each yolk will have a slightly different color and flavor.  Which you choose is completely a subjective thing – my only tip here is that when cooking a recipe that calls for eggs, unless it says otherwise, when it calls for “2 eggs” they’re talking about Large eggs. Not X-Large or Jumbo. 

Now, onto the hard-boiling… This technique works for anywhere from 1-12 eggs.

- Gently place eggs at the bottom of a medium saucepan

- Fill with cool water until eggs are just covered

- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat (this could take 10-12 minutes, depending on your stove output). You may cover the pot while waiting for the water to come to a boil as it can speed up the process but note that it makes it a bit more challenging to notice when the water begins to boil

- Once you see the water just come to a boil, remove the pot from the heat, cover the pot and let sit for exactly 14 minutes

- Carefully transfer eggs from the pot to a colander and discard the water from the pot

- Run eggs (in colander) under cold water until the egg feels cool when you wrap your hand around it (2-4 minutes)

- Whether you’re going to eat the eggs immediately or store them, a tip is to peel them as soon as they’re cool. It’s MUCH easier to get the shell off

- Remember to rinse the peeled eggs to ensure there’s no rogue shell clinging

- Store what you’re not using right away in a lidded container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

This will give you a perfectly hard-boiled egg with only yellow and white. No gray ring!

Some ideas for hard-boiled eggs:

* Egg salad: the possibilities here are numerous from simple mayo, salt and pepper to smoked tea soaked egg salad to dill, capers and mustard

* Deviled eggs: basically taking the yolks, making any of the egg salads above and spooning the mashed yolks back into the halved whites

* Cut them up and include them in green salads for added protein

* Eat them plain with a sprinkling of any kind of salt – eggs are a great canvas for playing here. I often use smoked salt or lavender salt (see photo above)

Enjoy!