Potatoes

Mashed Potato Eggs — Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner

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IMG_5386You perhaps look in the fridge on a regular basis and wonder how to use a certain leftover.  I mean, we try hard to be conservative with the food we buy or make  —  waste not, want not.  Some things are easy–pizza, for instance.  I like it just heated up, but I also like to take the toppings off a piece that has seen better days and use them with pasta or in an omelet.  Ham’s another.  Grind it for ham salad, make a sandwich, bean soup, or a chef salad.   But mashed potatoes sometimes get me.  I mean, I make gorgeous potato cakes, totally crispy in their hot butter.  But there weren’t enough for potato cakes for all of us.   If I had only thought of it, I could have thrown them in my potato soup last night.  But I didn’t. Think, that is.  There were just enough mashed potatoes for me.  (Actually it was colcannon — potatoes mashed with kale or cabbage-that I made with salmon the other day.) And I wanted them for breakfast. Why not?  You could be perfectly happy with these for lunch or dinner, too; after all, what are leftovers for?

Think of your eggs, desperate for you to try something new with them, next time you bring a scoop of mashed potatoes home from a too-big restaurant dinner:

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mashed potato eggs — breakfast, lunch, or dinner  serves 2

You’ll make one serving at a time.  Keep one warm in the oven while you make the other.

  • 2 teaspoons salted butter
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • 2 cups mashed potatoes or colcannon
  • 4 eggs
  • Kosher salt, fresh-ground pepper
  • Salsa or chopped parsley or scallions  for garnish, optional

Heat 1 teaspoon butter in an 8-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons milk and let warm.  Press 1 cup mashed potatoes into the pan and heat until hot and beginning to crisp underneath.

Push potatoes to the edges of the pan, leaving about a 4-inch diameter space at the center.  Crack two eggs, side by side, into the space and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover, lower heat a little, and cook until the eggs are done to your liking –about two minutes for runny, sunny side up.  Lift the whites a time or two to let the uncooked portions fall back into the pan.

Slide a large rubber spatula under the potatoes and eggs to loosen and slide the breakfast onto a plate.  Garnish with salsa or chopped parsley or scallions.  Serve hot.

Repeat for second serving.

Cook’s Notes:  If you like scrambled eggs, just beat your eggs together in a small bowl before pouring into the center of the pan. 

Just for fun, I thought I’d share a photo of my Irish Soda Bread from last night.  Instead of baking it in a heavy glass round dish, I baked it free-form and was much happier with the results.  It was scrumptious.  We invited our neighbor, Mary Pat, over for a serve-yourself potato soup and bread supper eaten in front of the tv so we could watch John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in “The Quiet Man” for a family-style Saint Patrick’s Day celebration.  We didn’t eat all of the bread, but almost.

IMG_5378KITCHEN CHANGES:

This may be the last time I look at my kitchen in exactly the same way.  Dave and I have finally decided to commit to a kitchen re-do, though we’re not sure what it will mean for us.  Our first choice is to move our kitchen entirely to the sunroom so that we have a room that is twice as big and has windows!  If that proves unfeasible, we’ll revert to updating  the footprint we currently have, albeit with a few changes.  What we have is a one-butt galley kitchen that also serves as the hallway to the deck and the garage — read that how everyone gets in and out, including all of the dogs.  You see what I’m talking about.

The designer arrives today and will take more pictures (she has some), look at my likes and dislikes notes on houzz.com, measure the two rooms, and give us a couple of design choices and price points.  I would love for this to be done in time for our 40th anniversary, which is 14 July.  What do you think?  It could happen!  As I write and wait for her, the wind whips between 50 and 60 miles per hour.  On my phone are dust storm warnings for today :  DO NOT TRAVEL!  it says.  We’ve also had bouts of swirling dervish snow squalls.  To the north are white-out conditions on the interstate.  Yesterday afternoon, I drank my tea out on the front porch in the 70 degree F sun.

IMG_5341Miss Gab and Tucker with Blue, one of our two grand dogs staying with us just now.  Though Blue often looks hangdog, she is loving, caring, sweet, and quite a watch dog.

Sing a new song,

Alyce

Colcannon and Salmon in the Little Skillet Pot

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(above:  Cliffs of Moher- A. Morgan, 2003)
 
    In 2012, I blogged daily in a Lenten journal.  You can go day by day or read as you like.  For instance, today is day 9 of the 40 days; read it here.
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Most St. Patrick’s Day dinners, you’ll find a pot of potato soup and a grand loaf of Irish soda bread on my table.  I’ve been making it for as long as I’ve been responsible for the dinner. So if that’s what you fancy, you’re in for a treat; I’ve blogged it already here. One year, however, I also did a great Guinness Beef Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuits. It’s not hard, but it takes a while to make. (Worth every minute of it.)
  
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This year I’ve a notion to create something — one meal — out of two favorite Irish dishes — colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale and milk) and salmon, a lovely, healthy fish that thrives along Ireland’s west coastline.  While I love both colcannon and salmon, I’ve never had them together and certainly never cooked them together in one skillet.  Today’s the day, but first listen to this sweet song (click on title for link) “Colcannon,” by the Black Family– sometimes known as “The Little Skillet Pot”.  Lyrics are below.
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Continue reading →

Green Chile Beef with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

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Thanks for visiting the new More Time at the Table, now hosted by WordPress.  This blog has for nearly five years been hosted by Blogger (http://www.moretimeatthetable.blogspot.com.)  I will continue to post at that url as well as this one for a while, but not for long!  Change your bookmarks, favorites,  and links, and follow me here!  Many thanks to smart-kid daughter, Emily Morgan (follow her at fightthebees.com) for managing the transition and migration.

♥♥♥

Over the holidays, and since, we’ve been making big pots of soup when we weren’t finishing off the leftovers.  Colds, strep throat, and the need for lighter fare after all the heavy meals were the instigators, but the weather contributed…  Today, the sun came out to melt the snow–

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and it was time for something else:  real cooking in the oven maybe?  Two big pot roasts called my name at the store the other day, and one of them simply jumped into the Dutch oven cut up with a big bunch of cooked green chiles and onions.  Sounded incredibly homey–a beef and green chile braise kept coming to mind (rather than chili, per se)–but I also decided to whip up a pot of cheddar mashed potatoes to keep it company.  A side of barely tender green beans, stirred up with just the teensiest bit of butter rounded out the meal.

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Dave’s on the road (he’ll have his share Friday night), but Sean and I each had a lovely bowl of this goodness and, when we did, we happened to look out the big, low window in the sun room that’s becoming my dining room only to meet eyes with a  great big, muscular bobcat (lynx.)  Living in Colorado has its beautiful moments.  And other things.  The dogs said zip. Scaredy cats. Which was good; they were staying inside. Continue reading →

38 Power Foods, Week 36 — Rainbow Trout — Pan-Fried Trout Brunch with Red Pepper-Zucchini Potatoes and Fried Eggs

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Skip the quiche this Easter and fry up a tasty rainbow trout to go with your eggs and a big platter of potatoes with peppers and zucchini. While this is a lovely and not too time-consuming brunch (no do-aheads), it necessitates planning and … well …and doing things in approximately the order (see below), as fish waits for no one.  
Servings:   One fish will serve two people generously.  There’s plenty of Avocado-Basil Mayonnaise and potatoes for four. If you do have four, you’ll need to buy two trout and cook one, putting it in the warming oven while you cook the second.   Alternately, each of the four of you could have a small serving of the single trout.  With the eggs, it’s a filling meal.
       

1.  Make the coffee.  You’ll need it.  Take four eggs out of the frig. 
2.  Set the table–including butter, jam, salt, pepper, water, etc. (Or have a helper do this.)
3.  Make the avocado-basil mayonnaise and place on table.*
4.  Slice half a lemon and put on table.
5.  Make the potatoes and vegetables; place in 200 degree oven to keep warm.*
6.  Set up toaster with bread, but don’t push down yet.
7.  Make the three large dishes with flours and wet mixtures for fish.*
8.  Heat oil in skillet to fry fish.
9.  Set up skillet for eggs; melt butter.  Turn off.
10. Fry fish.*  When you turn it over, start the eggs and push down the toast.
      A helper at this point would be nice.
11. Pour coffee.  Bring oven vegetables out and place on platter.
12. Drain fish on a paper-towel lined baking pan or platter.
13. Gently place fish on top of hot potato mixture.
14. Butter toast and serve up eggs.
15. Enjoy it while it’s hot served with the Avocado-Basil Mayonnaise.
*=Recipe included

AVOCADO-BASIL MAYONNAISE

To the work bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade, pulse together until pureed:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Flesh of one avocado
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 teaspoon whole grain or Dijon-style mustard
Pinch each:  kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Generous shake or two of hot sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Makes about a cup.  Refrigerate leftovers well-covered; use for vegetable dip or salad dressing.

POTATOES WITH PEPPERS AND ZUCCHINI

1 tablespoon each: olive oil and butter
 Pinch crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons crushed rosemary
2 large russet potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small onion, chopped
Kosher salt; fresh ground black pepper
2 small zucchini, sliced in 1/2-inch rounds
1 clove garlic, minced  
2-3 tablespoons water 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place potatoes in a microwave safe container with a splash of water, cover tightly, and microwave at full power for three minutes.  Drain.

Heat oil, butter, crushed red pepper, and rosemary in a large, deep skillet over low heat for a minute or two.


Pour the drained potatoes, red bell pepper, and onion into the heated skillet and season well with 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper; raise heat to medium.  Cook five minutes or until bell pepper is softening; add garlic and zucchini.  Spoon in water, stir, and cover.  Lower heat again and cook until all the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spoon vegetables onto an oven-safe platter or container and place in oven to keep warm while you cook fish and eggs.  When trout is about done (after turning over), remove from oven and place on a serving platter if needed.

PAN-FRIED TROUT

Don’t be scared; he doesn’t bite.

  • 1 cup all purpose white flour, divided

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided 

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided 

  • 1/2 cup cornmeal

  • 1 tablespoon each chopped parsley and dill

  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest

  • Pinch ground cayenne pepper

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk 

  • Hot sauce 

  • 1 approximately 3/4-pound cleaned rainbow trout, head and tail left on (rinsed and patted dry)

  • Olive oil

  • Canola Oil

 

1.  Into one of three shallow bowls, place 1/2 cup flour mixed well with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
2. Into another bowl, place the rest of the flour, the cornmeal, fresh herbs, lemon zest, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt,  and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well.
3.  Into the third bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and 4-5 drops hot sauce.
4.  Dip both sides of trout first in the flour-salt-pepper mixture, then in the buttermilk mixture, and last in the flour-cornmeal mixture.  Set on plate while you heat oil.
5.  Into a large, deep skillet, pour a mixture of olive and canola oil to fill the skillet 1/4 – 1/2 inch deep.   Heat over medium-high heat.  Gently lay fish in the oil and cook 4-5 minutes or until quite brown on one side.
6.  Carefully turn fish and cook another 2-3 minutes or until browned and, when tested inside, fish is firm and flaking.
7.  Drain fish on paper towels while you fry four eggs in prepared skillet (no recipe included.)  and make your toast.
8.  Gently transfer fish to the platter with the warm potatoes and vegetables.  
9.  Using a sharp, serrated knife and cooking fork, separate head from the body of the fish with a quick cut.  Gently pry apart the opened body of the trout to expose the spine, bones, and flesh.
Filet by removing as much of the skeleton as possible.  Cut fish in half and serve with eggs, potatoes, avocado-basil mayo, and toast.  I leave the tail on for serving.  Watch for bones!

You CAN also filet the trout before cooking; I think the trout is tastier cooked whole.

For detailed trout prep, check this out. 

… … … … …
rainbow trout are sustainable native American fish with a beautiful, delicate flavor.  To me, they’re the American version of sole, one of my favorites.  At about eight dollars a pound for fresh trout, they’re a perfect value for healthy, omega-3s and also have plenty of B vitamins and antioxidants.  Racking up a whopping! 260 calories per six-ounce serving (approximate) makes trout a top-value food.  Catch them yourself or buy farmed trout at your supermarket or fishmonger.
… … … …

 38 Power Foods is a Team Effort!

Stop by these other blogs and see what they’re cooking each week as we team up to bring you some of the healthiest cooking available:

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

All sites may not blog power foods each week.

  

ON MY DINNER PLACE BLOG THIS WEEK:

MY VERY BEST FROSTED BROWNIES, A SMALL PAN:  

 

Sing a new song,
Alyce

38 Power Foods, Week 12 — Sweet Potatoes — Warm Two-Potato Salad with Tarragon-Mustard Vinaigrette

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from a June, 2012 post

(A note to my readers:  This blog has been publishing with an odd display and, in an attempt to restore its appearance, I’ve inadvertently deleted all of the comments from this post.  Please accept my apologies and thanks for your lovely comments!  Now on to today’s post….)

Necessity is the mother of invention.
As is a determination to use what’s available in the larder.
Tonight, I had probably half a pound roasted pork loin and a nice dish of my favorite barbeque sauce leftover from a birthday dinner for my friend, Lani.    I had, however, eaten the side that went with it for lunch.  Of course I knew what I was doing, but I love toasted Israeli couscous with vegetables.

If this were in your frig, you’d heat it up for lunch, too.  Along with a nice big shard of parm Lani brought over Friday night as a “coming to dinner” gift.  Yow.

Anyway, when it came time for dinner tonight (and we are eating outside every night now), it was kind of, “Well, I know what half of it is.”  The rest I had to throw my eyes around the kitchen for.  Bad grammar, too.  I spy:

  • sweet potatoes
  • Idaho potatoes
  • shallots
  • fresh tarragon (out the back door)
  • red bell pepper (in the frig)
  • broccoli

And what to with it?  My first idea was to grill the potatoes and make a salad, but I didn’t want to heat the stove long enough for my big cast iron grill.  It was warm.   Dave was busy upstairs; I decided to not have him pull out the big Weber grill outdoors for me.   My 14″ saute pan was on the stove clean from yesterday’s frittata.  A little olive oil, a little chop, and the salad began. Here’s how:

warm two-potato salad with mustard-tarragon vinaigrette                4 serving for a side  (2 for a main course)

  • 2T olive oil 
  • 1/2 t kosher salt
  • 1/4 t each  fresh ground black pepper and crushed red pepper
    In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil, salt and peppers over medium heat.  Add:
  • 1 ea:  large Idaho and sweet potato, medium diced (peel sweet potato only) 

Cook, stirring often, until softened but not tender.  Add: 
  • 1 small head of broccoli, trimmed and cut into small florets  (about 1 cup)
  • 1 large red bell pepper, small dice
Cook, stirring often, until broocoli browned (not done) and potatoes are tender.  Add:
 
  • 1 shallot (slice half for salad; mince half for vinaigrette)

Cook another two minutes or so until shallot is softened.   Spoon into a large bowl and toss with vinaigrette (recipe below).   Top with

  • 1T fresh lemon juice
  • 2T grated aged Gouda cheese or Parmesan cheese

 Serve warm or at room temperature.

vinaigrette:

Whisk together:  
  • 1/2 large shallot, minced (see above-you’ll use other half with potatoes) 
  • 2T white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 t Dijon mustard
  • 1T minced fresh tarragon (or 1 t dried)
  • pinch salt and pepper

Drizzle in, whisking, until well combined or emulsified:
 
  • 4T olive oil

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Want more great sweet potato ideas?  Check out the other beautiful 38 Healthiest Ingredient bloggers:

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
.
As we go along, I’m guessing we’ll get some other writers involved.  If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

~~~~~~~~~~~

On my Dinner Place (Cooking for One) blog right now:  

shrimp-quinoa salad with feta and tomatoes:


 Hot nights:  if you skip the quinoa and buy cooked shrimp, this is a no-cook dinner.  Another option is microwave rice.

Sing a new song
Alyce

Homemade Potato Chip-Steak Salad

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Just add fork

Sometimes I don’t know what gets into me.  I know I have something leftover and simple from which to create a meal.  Say a piece of steak or two small pieces, in this case.  (Neither Dave nor I could finish our dinner the night before. Is there something wrong with us?)  I didn’t set out to make a homemade potato chip-steak salad…but here’s how it happened: 

First,  I take the steak out of the frig and begin casting around for something to go with it.  Toast?  I could make a sandwich.  Pasta?  I could cook up some vegetables to go with the steak while the water boils.  Stir fry?  Omelet filled with steak?  Steak and eggs?  I could make  mushrooms in velouté  sauce with cream (Supreme is the name, I think–I made it up as a young cook without knowing its name.) and Dijon mustard, add the steak and serve it over rice.  How about a childhood favorite, beef hash?  (Who would waste great steak on hash, Alyce?) 

Instead of beginning any of those dishes,  I  find myself at the Cuisinart making homemade mayonnaise, using Daniel Boulud’s method:
    

Who is Daniel Boulud?

 

Make a poached egg and cook it for only two minutes.  Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place it in a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  Pulse until well-blended. 

Into the food processor bowl, pour 1T good-quality  white-wine vinegar (such as Chardonnay or Champagne) and 1T Dijon mustard. (I like to use the whole grain variety.) Pulse until well blended.

Through the feed tube, with the machine running, drizzle 1 cup canola oil.* Process until thick.  Season with salt and pepper.

*Daniel Boulud uses peanut oil

~~

And then I take out a skillet, heat a little canola oil and fry up very thin slices of potato for potato chips.  This is coming together, I think:

Drain them on paper towels. Salt and pepper immediately.   Don’t eat them all.

~~

Meantime, I “boil” an egg in the microwave.  (Break an egg into a greased, microwave-safe cereal-sized bowl.  With a fork, poke the egg white all over several times and the yolk once.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for one minute.  Let sit one minute.  Remove wrap, tip egg onto cutting board and chop)

Next:  A large bowl comes out of the cupboard (nearly done now–pretty quick!) and I line it with  

4 cups of mixed greens topped with the steak, 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, the chopped egg, 1/4 cucumber, chopped, 2 green onions, chopped, 1 carrot, sliced, 1 stalk celery, sliced, 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley, 1/2 each yellow and red pepper sliced, and whatever other vegetables I can find–including a beautiful warm summer tomato (don’t refrigerate them ever) and even a little leftover grilled sweet corn.

When the chips are done, I put them around the outside of the salad bowl.

A half-lemon is located and squeezed over the entire salad.  Salt and pepper are next.  I’m generous, but don’t go overboard.  After all, the salad will be dressed with real mayonnaise, right?

I slip a few pieces of baguette under the broiler.  (brushed with oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper)

And dinner is served:

I serve the mayonnaise separately; no need to over-dress this lovely bowl of goodness.

This process made enough for Dave and me.  He ate two servings; I ate one.  So I’d say this was about 3 servings!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood

I’m tired of the daytime heat.  Like the whole rest of the country, I guess. Storms often arrive late afternoon or early evening.  Things blow and go; little rain arrives, though when it does, it’s incredibly forceful.  I water everything daily.  A beautiful part of near-mountain living is the coolness of the evening and night.   While we  resort to air conditioning during the day, in the evening after suppertime it’s turned off and the windows are thrown open wide to welcome the sweet breeze.  All night long the air graces our rooms unlike the midwest where the heat lingers heavily.

My favorite breakfast these days…when I’m not having yogurt and berries: 

On the dinnerplace blog now:  Egg+Egg White Omelet filled with Nonfat Cottage Cheese on WW Toast

If I don’t get out early to walk the doggies (by 7:30), and sometimes even if I do, I later get in a power walk on youtube.  Sometimes two! There are several walks from which to choose–3 minute for a desk break, 5 minute, 2 mile, etc. They are easy to fit into the day and I often stick up the laptop (with the walking video on and the sound off) next to the tv when a favorite show is on.   I do the walk/exercise and watch Ina all at the same time.

I’m working on the soups for the cookbook almost daily.  Once I develop a recipe, it must be tested several times and then I pass it on to someone else for testing.  Does it work when someone else makes it?  I’ve now made posole several times, shall we say.  (I think I’ve got it down.)  My dear friend, sommelier Drew Robinson, was to come today to taste three of the soups (and one secret very-fast dessert) in order to begin the process of pairing.  Long ago, at some far-away dinner with our wine group, Drew let it be known he would provide the wine pairings for a cookbook I would someday write.  Not sure either one of us believed it would ever happen, but it’s happening!  Anyway, Drew forgot he has another wine-tasting tonight and we’re rescheduling.   I am a bit relieved because as much as I love my new posole recipe, I’m ready for something else to eat.  The next soups are a quick vegetarian bean and a cold avocado.   As the book will not have photographs, I keep forgetting to take pictures….I must do it!

I play inside with Miss Gab in the afternoons for a few minutes–too hot for her to run outdoors. 

You’re throwing the ball, right?

We’ve had plenty of time to visit with old friends and worship at First Congregational…one of my very favorite churches anywhere.  Last Sunday, the ample sanctuary was filled to capacity.  Nothing special occuring…and it was summer when  a lot of churches are fairly empty.  Why is FCC so full?  While I might not be qualified to say why, I do know these things:  there’s a bow toward tradition…while embracing the new.  All are truly welcome and these folks are joyful; what more could you want?  Except that when the table is laid and communion is about to begin, these words are said, “Come, all things are ready.”  Such a breathing place.

    One of the best parts about being here is more time with my family

    off to a beer festival…

    and lunches/shopping trips in the middle of the day:

    Trip to Toys r Us:  expensive
    Smile on grandson’s face:  priceless

    Sing a new song,
    Alyce

    Warm Two-Potato Salad with Mustard-Tarragon Vinaigrette

    / More Time at the Table / 1 Comment

    Necessity is the mother of invention.
    As is a determination to use what’s available in the larder.
    Tonight, I had probably half a pound roasted pork loin and a nice dish of my favorite barbeque sauce leftover from a birthday dinner for my friend, Lani.    I had, however, eaten the side that went with it for lunch.  Of course I knew what I was doing, but I love toasted Israeli couscous with vegetables.

    If this were in your fridge, you’d heat it up for lunch, too.  Along with a nice big shard of parm Lani brought over Friday night as a “coming to dinner” gift.  Yow.

    Anyway, when it came time for dinner tonight (and we are eating outside every night now), it was kind of, “Well, I know what half of it is.”  The rest I had to throw my eyes around the kitchen for.  Bad grammar, too.  I spy:

    • sweet potatoes
    • Idaho potatoes
    • shallots
    • fresh tarragon (out the back door)
    • red bell pepper (in the frig)
    • broccoli

    And what to with it?  My first idea was to grill the potatoes and make a salad, but I didn’t want to heat the stove long enough for my big cast iron grill.  It was warm.   Dave was busy upstairs; I decided to not have him pull out the big Weber grill outdoors for me.   My 14″ saute pan was on the stove clean from yesterday’s frittata.  A little olive oil, a little chop, and the salad began. Here’s how:

    warm two-potato salad with mustard-tarragon vinaigrette                4 servings for a side  (2 for a main course)

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil 
    • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon each  fresh ground black pepper and crushed red pepper
     
    In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil, salt and peppers over medium heat.  Add:
    • 1 each:  large Idaho and sweet potato, medium diced (peel sweet potato only) 
     
    Cook, stirring often, until softened but not tender.  Add: 
    • 1 small head of broccoli, trimmed and cut into small florets  (about 1 cup)
    • 1 large red bell pepper, small dice
    Cook, stirring often, until broccoli is a bit browned (not done) and potatoes are tender.  Add:
     
    • 1 shallot (slice half for salad; mince the other half for vinaigrette)
    Cook another two minutes or so until shallot is softened.   Spoon into a large bowl and toss with vinaigrette (recipe below).   Top with

    • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoons grated aged Gouda cheese or Parmesan cheese

     Serve warm or at room temperature.

     

    vinaigrette:

    Whisk together:  
    • 1/2 large shallot, minced (see above-you’ll use other half with potatoes) 
    • 2T white wine vinegar
    • 1/2 t Dijon mustard
    • 1T minced fresh tarragon (or 1 t dried)
    • pinch salt and pepper
    Drizzle in, whisking, until well combined or emulsified:
     
    • 4T olive oil 

    Done!

    ♥
    Done just in time to see an episode of Downton Abbey.  (I got Season 2 for Mother’s Day.)
    And talk to my daughter for a while.  I miss her so; she’s out doing her pastor thing in Niagra Falls.  Thanks, God.

    on the dinnerplace blog right now: 

    Cranberry-Blueberry Orange Muffins

    two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood

    Miss Gab waiting for me to be done cooking.
    On a walk around Lake Como–heard music.  Looked up to see a wedding in process. Stopped yelling at dogs immediately!
    Another Lake Como View–Can’t see, but a turtle family sunning on rocks.
    If you liked today’s post, you might like this– French Potato Salad with Vegetables
    Sing a new song,

    Alyce

    Southwestern Turkey Meatloaf or Here You Go, Lori!

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    I have a friend named Lori.  She’s smart and tall, is mom to a big hulking chocolate lab, is beautiful and talented, and does things like run a salon and also fly airplanes.  Sometimes in the same day.  Did I mention she’s a runner and that she’s from Boston?  She also “did” my nails for several years in Colorado Springs.  When you spend an hour and a half every three weeks literally face to face with someone for years on end, you either become friends or sleep.  Lori and I chose to become friends. (I miss her.)

    So, being women and being friends, and being a foot apart so often, Lori and I talked food. (Also family, men, sports–her, not me, work, whatever)  Lori’s mostly vegetarian, though she eats some chicken, etc.  And Lori makes meatloaf.  Turkey meatloaf.  It’s good, says she, but she’s a bit bored with it.  More than once, she asked if I had another recipe.  Recipes, now that we have the internet, are a dime a dozen, but I hadn’t made turkey meatloaf in years.  I was intrigued and remembered someone saying, “You cannot season turkey meatloaf like beef meatloaf; it’s awful.  You must season it like turkey.”  While that brings sage, onions and celery to mind, for me it also brings hot peppers, feisty cheese, and salsa.  Living in San Antonio for four years and Colorado for 15 would do that.  Taking cooking classes in Santa Fe would definitely do that.

    One day, after months of turkey meatloaf ideas perking around in my head from time to time, I decided to try it.  Wow!  Both Dave and I loved it.  This loaf is full of chiles, onions, garlic, and salsa, and I stuffed it with overlapping slices of pepperjack cheese so that when you cut it (make sure and let it sit a while or you’ll have a gooey mess), there are lovely melting bites of sharp cheese right at the center.

    I mean, if meatloaf is good, people adore it–right? It’s filling, homey, stretches to feed a bunch, and makes great sandwiches.  Though, really, loving meatloaf isn’t something everyone wants to admit.  It’s not on top of the trendy list, though come to think of it COOKING LIGHT has a meatloaf article in the October Issue.  But trendy or not, if you make it, they will come.  And they’ll want the recipe.  It’s one of those emotional food-pingers like, “My grandma made the best meatloaf!”  Make this even if you have to invite people over to eat it.  ESPECIALLY if you have to invite people over to eat it.

    Side: Mashed potatoes is the usual suspect, but I did an all-in-one sauté of sliced new potatoes, onions, garlic, and late summer squashes that comes together just before the meatloaf comes out of the oven and while it rests before serving.  Top it with finely diced fresh tomatoes and sweet green peppers for color and crunch.   That’s not much for directions; let me look in the cooking journal and see if I kept amounts listed when I cooked it.  If I did, I’ll include a recipe.  How’s that for informality in the cooking blog?   Here’s the meatloaf recipe, for which I definitely kept the list of ingredients and, uh–techniques and methods!

    Here you are, Lori.  Sorry it took so long.

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    Southwestern Turkey Meatloaf Stuffed With Pepperjack Cheese  

    Serves 6-8  (or 2 with lots of leftovers for sandwiches or freeze half for later)

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided (one for oiling pan, one for the top of the meatloaf)
    • 2 pounds ground turkey
    • 1 ½ cups salsa, divided (1 cup in meatloaf, ½ cup on top for serving)
    • 2 cups whole wheat bread, cubed
    • 2 eggs, beaten
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1/3 cup minced onion
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 8 ounces (about 1 ½ cups) chopped button mushrooms
    • 4 ounce can chopped mild or hot green chiles, drained
    • 1/3 pound sliced Pepper Jack cheese
    • Chopped fresh tomatoes and bell peppers for garnish, optional

    Note about salt:  I do not include much salt as the salsa contains quite a bit.  If you’d like to check and see whether or not you’d like to add salt, make a small meatball of the mixture and fry it in a bit of oil.  Taste and see (great song, too!) if you’d like any salt

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil 9”x5” loaf pan using 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. 
    2. Wash your hands well and take off your rings and watch.  To a large bowl, add the second group of 11 ingredients—turkey through chiles– using only 1 cup of the salsa.  Put your hands down into the meat mixture and mix for about 2 minutes or until combined thoroughly.
    3. Pat half of the meat mixture gently and evenly down into the oiled loaf pan and place the slices of pepper jack cheese right down the middle of the loaf, overlapping, stopping before the very end. (So that the cheese doesn’t ooze out so much while the meatloaf bakes.)  Pat the other half of the meatloaf mixture on top of the cheese to create the loaf.  Brush top of meatloaf with the other tablespoon of olive oil.
    4. Place loaf pan on a foil-lined sheet pan and bake for about 1 1/4 hours or until instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F.  Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes; temperature will come up to 165 degrees F.  Invert onto serving platter, first pouring out excess liquid if necessary, and top with the other half-cup of salsa. (Carve in pan if easier.) Garnish with diced tomatoes and bell peppers as desired.  Surround the loaf with the Potato-Zucchini Sauté and serve hot.  Store leftovers tightly wrapped in refrigerator for up to four days. (Can wrap tightly and store in freezer up to 3 months.)

    {printable recipe} 

    Yes, it was in the cooking journal and here it is…

    IMG_4202
     
    Potato Zucchini Sauté  serves 6

    • 6-8 small (1-2″) new red potatoes, sliced thinly
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I like Penzey’s; choose your style.)
    • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1 each:  small zucchini and yellow squash, sliced thinly
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    •  Garnish, optional:  1/4 cup each:  diced fresh tomato and green pepper
    1. In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat oil and butter.  Add potatoes.
    2. Cook until potatoes brown on one side.  Stir and turn potatoes.  Add onions and dust with chili powder, salt, pepper, and oregano.  Cook one minute and add squash and garlic.
    3. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender–perhaps a total of 35-40 minutes and squash is al dente or grandma done (your choice)–another 2-3 minutes.
    4. Serve garnished with tomatoes and peppers if desired.

    {printable recipe}

    Two-Dog Kitchen and Around the ‘Hood

    It’s that time of year.  Keeping the cantata on the piano at all times (skipping my own piano lessons), planning holiday travel, getting the last of the outdoor chores accomplished before it snows, changing out the clothes, ordering wool socks, taking as many walks as we can with the doggies, and grabbing yet another bouquet out of the flower garden. This may have been the last rose of summer:

    Or maybe this one!

     

    While very dry, the grass is still mostly green.

     Here are the pies I baked for Pops and Pies, one of the monthly concerts at Prospect Park United Methodist:  

    Must be October if it’s pumpkin!

    Sour Cream Apple (above)

     I did make that beef-vegetable soup I mentioned (with three variations plus some ideas on how to make it a bit cheaper) and if you’d like to see how I did it, you’ll need to visit examiner.com where I write cooking and food articles for St. Paul.
    Basic Beef-Vegetable Soup
    Pumpkin Custard just for YOU

    Also, on my blog for The Solo Cook (Dinner Place), there’s a great pumpkin custard topped with cinnamon-kissed creme fraiche. It’s made for those who cook for one and is done in one minute in the microwave.  Your very own (crustless) pumpkin “pie.”

    Warm enough for flip flops yesterday.
    Stubborn Tucker:  wouldn’t turn around for his picture.

    Happy October, my friends.
    Sing a new song,
    Alyce

    St. Patrick’s Day Potato Soup and Irish Soda Bread-A Repeat Post

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    I had a farm in Ireland…….
    ——————————————————————–
    Not.  I did, however, visit once.
    I wish I could go back.
    I can’t go today, but I can make Potato Soup and Irish Soda Bread on
    St. Patrick’s Day……
    ———————————————————————–
    I’ve been making this meal for a long time.  I love it, but I don’t make it any other time of the year.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps it wouldn’t be special if I made it, say, in May or September.  You, however, have no holiday strings emotionally strumming over these recipes and could make them next week or next year.
    Go you.  So, here’s the soup………..and then the bread–
    Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
    Potato Soup
    2 slices of bacon, diced; 1/4# Canadian bacon, chopped*
    2 onions (different kinds are nice), chopped
    2 cloves of garlic, minced
    2 leeks, chopped
    3 large pototoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
    1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
    1 parsnip, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces, optional
    6-8 cups unsalted chicken broth
    Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
    1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
    parsley or dill
    In an 8-10qt soup kettle, sauté bacon until about half-done; add Canadian bacon.  Cook until well browned.  Remove meats  from pot and drain on paper towel-lined plate.  Cool and  refrigerate until you’re going to serve the soup.  Pour out all but enough bacon grease to coat the bottom of the pan well.  Add onions, garlic and leeks and saute until almost golden, stirring often.  Add potatoes, turnip and parsnip and cook 2-3 minutes until hot.  Add chicken broth.  Bring to a  boil and lower the heat.  Simmer until all vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes. 
    Salt and pepper to taste.    Puree in food processor, with hand-held blender or by hand using potato masher.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a bit of the bacon and ham and a garnish of fresh parsley or dill.  Make sure there’s fresh ground pepper at the table.
    *You could choose to use all bacon.
    There isn’t much better than soup and bread anywhere.  If you’re cold.  If you’re really hungry.  Can you think of anything better?  I have a friend whose husband doesn’t like soup,  Just doesn’t like it at all.  He did, however, eat soup at my house once.  And asked for the recipe later.  Such folks are few and far between.  Who doesn’t walk in a house, smell soup simmering or bread baking and go, “Wow!  It just smells so good in here.”  And, while we can’t always put our fingers on what makes us happy in life, we do know we like it when the house smells like something good to eat.  Those  “Wow”s come with big smiles and anticipatory movements that include looking around for the delighting elements.  So, here’s the bread.  More on the provenance later.
    Irish Soda Bread – American Style
    4 cups flour
    1/4 c sugar
    1 tsp salt
    1tsp baking powder
    1/4 c butter
    1 1/2 c currants or raisins
    1 1/3 c buttermilk
    2 large eggs (3 if at altitude)
    1 t baking soda
    Grease a 2-quart  round bowl (ovenproof), casserole or  deep cake pan. (Or bake free-form on a parchment lined baking sheet.)
    Preheat oven to 375F.
    In food processor, or large mixing bowl, measure dry ingredients except baking soda and mix well.  Cut in with blade attachment or with knives or pastry blender, the butter.  In a large mixing cup, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs; add the currants and baking soda.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix well to form a very wet dough.
    Turn dough into the prepared baking bowl and bake for about an hour or until bread is very well-browned and firm in the center.  A wooden skewer stuck in the middle of the bread should come out clean.  You may have to test several times.
    Let this bread sit 15-20 minutes before cutting or it will crumble.  Cool completely before wrapping tightly in foil and storing in the refrigerator.  Will keep 3-4 days.
     Excellent leftover just as it is, but even better for toast made under the broiler.
    2012 update:  If you’d like to make whole wheat Irish Soda bread (very traditional), read my post on Darina Allen’s bread here.
      
    copyright 2012 alyce morgan
     
    Me and the green.
    —
    A couple of notes on the provenance of the recipes:
    I began (and later changed) the potato soup years ago from a recipe called  “A Cold Winter’s Day Potato Soup” from THE EASTERN JUNIOR LEAGUE COOK BOOK, edited by Ann Serrane and published by David McKay in ??1980.
    The bread recipe is one I have no idea about from whence it came.  It’s on a recipe card I’ve had for so many years.  I’d guess I copied it out of a magazine or a book at the library one day as a young wife.
    ——————————-
    THE TWO-DOG KITCHEN IS REALLY SOMETHING ELSE AS TUCKER HITS FOUR MONTHS……

     

    While we are making the potato soup, Tucker tries to figure out if he likes onions skins.   Nah….
    Sing a new song,
    Alyce
    all photographs copyright Alyce Morgan 2003 and 2010
    PLEASE NOTE:  ORIGINALLY POSTED IN MARCH OF 2010…..REPEATING BECAUSE IT’S GOOD.   Happy St. Patrick’s Day, 2011!

    Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust or Get a Pedicurist Who Cooks

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    Having my toes done is one of the guilty pleasures in life.  I guess you might call it getting a pedicure.  I go every month in the summer, sit with my feet soaking, and allow someone to trim and paint my feet.   And I love it.  I do it in the winter, too, but not so often.
    There’ve been a few toe-artists over the years, but the latest may be the best.  She’s great at what she does, but also likes to cook.  Double dose of fun for me.

    Over Christmas, when my toes always turn bright red (called “I’m Not Really a Waitress” though I was for years of high school and college), she described this gratin that’s baked in a crust.   In fact, she described it so well (after a story about her new pans) that I knew I could go right home and make it.  Being able to describe a dish and its prep that well is a definite talent.
    Still, by the time I got around to making it (after Christmas!), I thought I’d see if I could find the recipe online.  Search, hunt.  Well, well.  The recipe came from SOUTHERN LIVING (which I knew), a notoriously fattening publication, but the award-winning food blog, The Bitten Word had blogged it and I got the recipe there. 
    Clay Dunn and Zach Patton of The Bitten Word blog (photo-Chris Leaman/CC)
    I’ll share it here, but note that it calls for store-bought pie crusts and I like to use my own.  Si place, as my conducting instructor (Angie, Angie)  at University of St. Thomas would say.  It means, “Do as you like.”  I have nothing against store-bought crusts, but can make a crust at home faster than I can drive to the store.   And I do like mine better.
    This is a show stopper dish.  Touted as a side for tenderloin or something equally luscious at holiday time, it could also be a brunch dish or a lovely vegetarian lunch with a big crunchy salad.
    I’m leaving the pics all in a row for you to see…
    While it was quite a process, it wasn’t difficult, and was well worth the effort.
    I agree with The Bitten Word that it needs to bake longer than the recipe allows, but then again, I’m at altitude.  I’ve made notes for adjustments.
    Just when I know you needed salads or stir fries (frys?)….here’s something gooey, warm, heartening, and fattening.  Sorry.  Check out examiner.com (Colorado Springs Entertainment–Food and Drink) for a healthy Chicken Minestrone–quick version I published yesterday if you need something slimming.  Meantime, this should be shared. Dave and I ate it twice and then I shared it with my book club.  I froze a little bit just to see how it’d hold.  I couldn’t throw it out.
    P.S.  As is sometimes the case, the Gruyere was cheaper at Whole Foods than at King Soopers.  (This is true of chicken broth, orange juice, other cheeses and other stuff, too.)

    Here goes… I forgot to photograph making the pate brisee (pie crust made with butter) in the food processor.

    I made my own version of pate brisee in the food processor.  Carefully possible.  You might want to wait to put the rosemary and cheese on until after you put the first crust in the pan.  See pic below as I roll the crust onto the pin.
    Do buy Gruyere.

    Grate the cheese in the food processor if you have one.  Save your hands.

    This is one way to move a crust from the counter to the pan–wrapped very loosely around the rolling pin.

    The edge of this crust is purposely quite thick and will be very crunchy.  There’s no way to get it looking perfect.  (Though is will taste that way!)

    Get a kitchen scale.  Don’t guess at weights. Scales at groceries are inconsistent.  3 potatoes can weigh 3/4# or 1.5#, depending on their size.

    I slice most potatoes in the food processor.  The mandoline, while perfect for some, is dangerous for me!

    Warm the cream and garlic in the microwave.  Buen idea!!!

    After removing foil and before second baking.  Looking yum already.

    Oh dear.

     

    Ready for its closeup.

    Once more for grins and giggles.

    And now that you’ve gained a pound just looking, you’re done.  Hey, let me know if you make this.  It’s not any harder than scalloped potatoes really…and the presentation is just WOW.  Here’s the recipe:

    Total: 2 hours, 20 minutes
    Yield: Makes 10 servings
    Ingredients

    • 1  (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts* (I make my own–recipe at end.)
    • 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh rosemary
    • 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground pepper
    • 2  cups  (8 oz.) shredded Gruyère cheese, divided (Grate in food processor)
    • 1 1/2  pounds  Yukon gold potatoes
    • 1 1/2  pounds  sweet potatoes
    • 1  teaspoon  kosher salt
    • 2/3  cup  heavy cream
    • 1  garlic clove, minced
    • Garnish: fresh rosemary sprigs

    Preparation
    1. Preheat oven to 450°. Unroll piecrusts on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle rosemary, pepper, and 1/2 cup cheese over 1 piecrust; top with remaining piecrust. Roll into a 13-inch circle. Press on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch springform pan; fold edges under. Chill.
    2. Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice Yukon gold and sweet potatoes. (Slice in food processor.)
    3. Layer one-third each of Yukon gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, and salt in prepared crust. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layers twice, pressing layers down slightly to fit.
    4. Microwave cream and garlic in a 1-cup microwave-safe measuring cup at HIGH 45 seconds; pour over potato layers in pan. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Cover pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet.
    5. Bake at 450° for 1 hour.  (I added 10 minutes here.) Uncover and bake 25 minutes (I added 5 minutes here) or until potatoes are done and crust is richly browned. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully transfer to a serving plate, and remove sides of pan. If desired, carefully slide gratin off bottom of pan using a long knife or narrow spatula. Garnish, if desired.  Note:  At altitude, I still though this could have used an extra 10-15 minutes.


    Alyce’s Double Pate Brisee Crust Made in the Food Processor


    2 2/3 c unbleached white flour
    1/4 t kosher salt
    12 T salted butter, quite cold, cut into chunks
    1/2 c ice water (you might need a tad more if flour very dry)

    In the bowl of your food processor, blend flour and salt.  Add butter and pulse until some pieces are pea-sized, some are smaller and some are bigger.  With machine running, pour water through food tube and process until dough comes together.  Stop machine and remove dough.  Carefully pat together into a ball and divide in half.  Sprinkle counter with some flour* and place one half of the dough on it.  Sprinkle dough and rolling pin liberally with flour.  Quickly (trying to keep it cold here), roll out into 12-13″ circle.   Roll the dough loosely around the pin and place crust in pan.  Sprinkle crust with the cheese and rosemary.  Refrigerate pan.  Roll out other crust, roll it around the pin, and place on top of refrigerated crust.  Press top crust into bottom briefly and turn edges under, trimming crusts if needed.   Pinch edges of crust together quickly; don’t spend long on this.  Continue as above.

    * You can also roll dough between  two pieces of waxed paper (some of the crust will escape!) and leave out the floured counter entirely:

    First–dampen the counter by wiping it well with a very damp cloth.  This insures the waxed paper will stay put and not slip around.  


    -Place half of the dough between two sheets of waxed paper, place “package” on damp counter and, with rolling pin, roll out (start at center, roll to edge, and repeat- Go around the crust clock-wise) until crust is 12-13″…

    –  Flip the crust over, quickly give one roll with the pin on that other side, take off that paper, flip again and, as you gently ease the crust into the pan, peel off the second piece of paper. 

    –  Throw that paper away, get new paper and repeat procedure. 

    Reading, Listening, Viewing, Whatever else and Cooking Currently:

    I’m so late.  I just finished THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein for book club.   I love the idea of a dog talking, but wish he’d re-write this in 20 years.  The club, over all, liked the book and, I think, all of them read it! 

    I am reading -all at once!- DEVIL’S TRILL by Gerald Elias (2009), THE APPRENTICE  by Jacques Pepin (biography) and MATHILDA SAVITCH by Victor Lodato.  I continue to read Dorie Greenspan‘s newest book, AROUND MY FRENCH TABLE, as well as Melissa Clark’s In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite.     Want cookbooks?  Buy these gems.

    I am listening to Hildegard von Bingen…a Christmas gift.

    We saw “The King’s Speech” last weekend and were bowled over.  Stunning film.  Go.
    This week, I made a point to find out when “Glee” was on and watched an episode.  Interesting, but I couldn’t figure out what all the hoopla was about.   Maybe because I’m a choir director.

    I am playing things I haven’t played in months.  Did Advent intervene here?  Maybe.  But I spent an hour playing and singing last night before I read DEVIL’S TRILL.  Singing your heart out is good for you.  Remember singing around a camp fire?  Or on a road trip?

    I am not dreaming this week (I’m not a big dreamer), but I did wake up over and over one night thinking about a new job I’ve applied for.  As I glanced out the windows in the dark, I saw (and  I’m near-sighted) a white bird–a big one–fly into a tree in the wildwood between our house and Mike and Sara’s.  I laid there a minute or two, wondering if I’d imagined it and finally got up to put my glasses on and peer out into the gloom of early morning.  No bird then, but there was a falling star!! I haven’t seen one since Emily and I beat it up the road of the campground in Brown County, Indiana to hit the outhouse in the middle of one long night.

    I talked to Tina from Prive (lovely, lovely Oregon winery)  today about our upcoming shipment.  While they did make wine, they made a lot less.  Oregon weather just didn’t cooperate for a large yield.  A cool fall meant delaying and delaying picking, though they had pruned hugely in September and knew they might not get much, but they’d get tasty.  And so it happened.  She’s concerned that the wine being shipped now (last year’s) will travel through places with temperatures under freezing, thus not just compromising, but ruining the wine–blowing the corks for the cardboard to drink the fine Pinot.  Tina and her husband Mark have a capital T Teensy vineyard in Oregon Pinot country, where they make boutique Pinot Noir (there’s another name, I’m thinking) from their own on-site grapes and also a couple of other wines  from grapes they borrow and whip into shape from Washington (a Syrah and a red blend).  Between the pristine, reminiscent of France winery and their house is a comfortable patio replete with tables, chairs, plants, flowers and, the piece de resistance, an outdoor pizza oven.  Now I envy Mark his vineyard and Tina her winery, but what I really covet is the pizza oven.  Wineries like Prive sell pretty much on futures only; you must buy ahead (barrel tasting that vintage sometimes) or  you get no wine.  These wines don’t appear in stores or restaurants often, though you might have a better chance in Oregon itself.  So our wine, waiting for shipment in her cellar, is well worth the wait for good shipping weather.   It’ll keep just fine right there.  Our Sunday weather promises a snow storm and -12.

    Our friends (and students)  Jacque, Tom, Joel and Miss Ellie moved this last week.  Current cooking includes a big pot of bean soup (I do this a couple of times a winter and make 20 qts or so), a slab of corn bread and hazelnut brownies (with Valhrona chocolate frosting)  I’ll take to them tonight for dinner.  A big, fat bottle of Cotes du Rhone goes with it, along with some sparkling apple cider for the kiddoes.

    For dinner, I’m trying a halibut with pico de gallo in the oven in foil.  Yes, I actually do have to stop eating things like Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust.  Let you know how it comes out.

    Two-Dog Kitchen–

    Was this a self-indulgent blog?  Surely was, but it’s been a while since I did one.  Thanks for putting up with and reading as you
    Sing a new song,
    Alyce