Posts Tagged ‘recipe’

If you have teenage boys, then you need this in your repertoire. My little five-year-old girl loves them too. They are always a hit and easy to prepare ahead of time. Just warm up before serving.

Ingredients for Twice Baked Stuffed Potatoes

• 4-6 smallish russet potatoes - depending on how many you are serving
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• A splash or two of milk/half and half/heavy cream - whichever you prefer
• 1 bunch fresh chives
• 1 package of cooked bacon - I like the HEB brand precooked bacon for this type of recipe to save time and effort. You usually crisp it up a bit in a frying pan then chop it into bits.
• 1 cup cheddar cheese - grated

Cooking Instructions

1. Bake the potatoes in a 475 degree oven for about 1 hr. 15 min. - this timing will vary according to the size of your potatoes.
2. Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool just enough that you can handle them.
3. Cut the top off each potato. You are not cutting them in half, but rather you are just cutting an opening from the top.

4. Once you cut the top off the potato, scoop out the potato into a mixing bowl. Set the potato skins aside on a baking sheet.
5. Once all potatoes are scooped out, add the butter and sour cream to your steaming hot potato mixture and mash with a potato masher. Add a bit of salt and pepper.
6. Splash your potatoes with the milk/half and half/heavy cream and stir with a large kitchen spoon until you reach the desired consistency.
7. Taste and adjust seasonings.
8. Add the chives, bacon and half the cheese then mix to combine.

9. Now stuff the potato skins until you have used all the potato mixture.

10. Sprinkle the top of each potato with the remaining grated cheese then pop in a 350 degree oven until warmed through and cheese is melted - about 10 minutes.

Ingredients for Fresh Southern Green Beans

• 2 strips bacon - diced
• 1 small onion - chopped
• a drizzle of olive oil
• 2 heaping handfuls of fresh green beans - ends snapped

Cooking Instructions

1. In a large saute pan with a lid over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until it begins to brown.
2. To this, add the olive oil and onions and saute until soft.

   I always like to add a bit of salt during this step.

3. Add the green beans and toss them with the sauteed onions and bacon.
4. Add about a cup or so of water.

   You just want the water to cover the bottom of the pan so the amount of water you add depends on the size of your pan.

5. Bring the water to a bubble then turn the heat down to low.
6. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

These are my daughter’s favorite cookies. What feels better than tucking your child’s favorite homemade cookie into their lunch box?

Ingredients for Scrumptious Snickerdoodles

• 1 cup butter - softened
• 2 2/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Baking Instructions

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl and whisk it with a balloon whisk. Set aside.
2. Add the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and cream it until it is light and fluffy.

   Reserve 1/4 cup sugar for later step.

3. Add the eggs to the mixer and continue to mix until all is combined.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients that you combined earlier to the mixer on a lower speed so it doesn’t fly all over your kitchen.
5. Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon in a small mixing bowl.
6. Take one spoonful of dough at a time and make a ball by rolling it in the palms of your clean hands.

   Don’t overhandle the dough, do just enough to make a rolled ball.

7. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar and place on a baking sheet.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15-18 minutes.

Delicious!

When your house is filled with the comforting smell of a chicken roasting, everyone just feels better. It is pure, roasted happiness.

A few things about buying and preparing your bird - -

First, buy a fresh roaster, if possible. A fresh bird from the butcher is tastier, not to mention easier to deal with. A roaster (about 5 lbs.), rather than a fryer or capon, is the perfect size for a family. I always get my roasters from Central Market. I like my butchers there and my chicken is always juicy and delicious.

Second, don’t fret over handling your bird. You don’t have to be a Cordon Bleu trained chef to prepare a chicken for your family. Here’s what you do. Give your bird a quick rinse in the sink and dry it inside and out with paper towels. Set your bird on its back in your roasting pan with a rack (I like the petit roti from All Clad) or another good-sized dish, like a casserole dish. Stuff your bird with the desired ingredients. Take some cooking twine (I like If You Care brand) and tie the legs together. You do not need to do this in any particular way, just tie them up. Then take each wing tip and tuck it behind itself so it does not flop about. Now you’re ready to go!

Ingredients for Classic Roasted Chicken

• about a 5 lb. chicken roaster
• kosher salt and pepper
• herbes de Provence
• 1/2 small yellow onion - peeled and chopped
• 1 rib celery - chopped
• 1 small carrot - chopped
• 1/2 lemon - sliced
• 3 cloves garlic - peeled
• olive oil

Cooking Instructions

1. Prepare your bird as described above.

   Before you stuff the bird, make sure the inside cavity has been dried fully with paper towels.

2. Season the cavity generously with kosher salt, pepper and herbes de Provence.
3. Stuff with onions, celery, carrots, lemon and garlic then tie up your chicken.
4. Top the chicken with some olive oil and sprinkle with herbes de Provence, kosher salt and pepper.
5. Roast the chicken in the oven at 400 degrees for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

There are a few cornerstones that make up our family dinner repertoire. This recipe is one of them. My mom made this gravy when I was growing up, and now I am doing the same. When I think of comfort, I inevitably think of this gravy - over mashies, over rice, over chicken, over pork chops, over a biscuit…

To master this recipe is to master a basic skill in the kitchen that will help you master other sauces and dishes. It will also make you a Gravy Goddess. It’s good to be a Goddess.

For this recipe you will absolutely need a flat whisk. It is a must.

Ingredients for Classic Gravy

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• kosher salt and pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth or stock - amount needed will vary but have this much handy
• splash of heavy cream or half and half or milk

Make sure all your ingredients are handy as you need to move somewhat quickly when preparing this gravy.

Cooking Instructions

1. In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat.
2. When the butter is melted add the flour and combine all using your flat whisk.

You’re on your way to making a roux.

3. Add a bit of kosher salt and a generous amount of pepper.

Adding your salt and pepper at this point in the recipe allows those flavors to “cook in” and really become a part of the overall gravy.

4. Keep stirring your mixture.

You will notice that the “raw flour” smell will cook off and the roux will eventually begin to change color. Pay attention here. You want your roux to be a nice caramel color but you don’t want it to burn.

5. Once your roux has turned to a caramel color, begin adding your broth or stock slowly (see note below).

When you add the broth you need to whisk like a maniac. As you add the broth you will find that your roux will thicken quickly.

6. Add more broth slowly and whisk vigorously until you have achieved a creamy gravy consistency.

The amount of broth needed will always vary. You will not need the entire 2 cups of broth, but have it handy to make life easier.

7. Allow the gravy to come to a slow bubble and add more broth if necessary to reach desired gravy consistency, only slightly thicker.
8. Turn heat to low and whisk in a bit of cream/half and half/milk.
9. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if necessary.
10. Pour gravy into a small pitcher or gravy boat and cover to keep warm.

Note - I have seen a number of recipes that call for you to heat your broth before adding it to your roux. According to the Cordon Bleu in Paris, the only time you need to heat your broth is if you are adding it to cooled roux (as in a restaurant, for example). The Cordon Bleu says that if your roux is hot, your broth should be cool (room temp). The temperature difference either way is necessary. Doesn’t that make things easier?

Creamy and delicious, mashed potatoes are a family dinner classic.  Who doesn’t love them?  There are many variations once you have a good basic recipe.  This is my favorite.

There are several keys to really good mashed potatoes with a nice texture and flavor.  First, avoid cutting the potatoes too small.  Doing so leads to a water-logged final result.  I normally only cut the potato in half, sometimes in thirds if it is a huge potato, but never more than that.  It is important to have a good sized pot so the potatoes are surrounded comfortably by water.  Finding that your potatoes are crowded or your pot boils over?  You probably need a larger pot.  I like to use a stock pot so I’m sure my potatoes have the room they need.

Another key is a good potato masher.  Using a mixer can lead to a gummy texture.  Hand mashing the potatoes yields the perfect texture.  Finally, the best flavor is achieved by adding course sea salt to your boiling water.  Boiling the potatoes in salted water gives deeper flavor without overpowering the natural flavor of the potato.  The amount of salt added depends on the size of the pot.  It is possible to over-salt your water but unlikely as you will eventually drain it off.

Ingredients for Creamy Mashed Potatoes

• 4-6 large russet potatoes - peeled
• course sea salt
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 dollop sour cream
• 1 splash heavy cream or half and half or milk
• pepper

Cooking Instructions

1. Boil peeled potatoes in salted water until they are tender when stuck with a fork.
2. Drain potatoes and return them to the pot.
3. Add butter and sour cream and mash all together.
4. When fully mashed, switch to a kitchen spoon and add cream/half and half/milk slowly as you stir to desired consistency.
5. Taste and add pepper and perhaps salt, if necessary (although you should not need salt if you properly salted your water).
6. Transfer potatoes to a pretty serving dish and cover to keep warm.