Potato Love---Sage advice

In recent weeks, more than one of our friends has expressed how much they love oven roasted red potatoes. Cleo said a restaurant that she loves in Orlando serves Sage Roasted potatoes, then she said, uhm, maybe it was Rosemary Herbed Roasted Potatoes. Well, I have been making Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Onion Roasted Potatoes for a few years now, but I do love Sage, so I set about to alter my good recipe and transform it into Sage Roasted Potatoes and have found it to be very good. Our neighbor Richard declared it so and asked for a copy of the recipe. Now, if only my Sage plant can keep up with the demands being placed upon it, we'll be in business! In case I have to give the sage plant a little rest, I have also included, and may I suggest the Rosemary and the Onion recipes too. Have fun!


Sage Roasted Potatoes with Shallots and garlic

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Butter
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 c Fresh Sage; chopped
4 lb Medium-size Red Potatoes; cut in half
1 teaspoon Dried Sage
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
4-5 unpeeled cloves of garlic
16 Shallots, peeled and halved
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425-F degrees. Melt butter with olive oil and fresh sage in small saucepan over medium heat until the
butter simmers and is well flavored with sage, usually about 4 minutes. Toss prepared red potatoes with the
dried sage and two tablespoons of the sage butter in bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Potatoes should be well oiled. Transfer potatoes to 2 baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes,cut side down.
Toss shallots in same bowl with one tablespoon of sage butter.
Season with salt and pepper. Divide shallots and garlic cloves between baking sheets. Flip the potatoes and roast until potatoes and shallots are
tender and golden, about 15 minutes longer. If desired, transfer potatoes and shallots to large
serving bowl. Pour remaining sage butter on top, re-heating in the microwave if butter has congealed. Toss
gently, season with salt and pepper, and serve warm.

*Note, and variation: substitute fresh rosemary and dried rosemary for the sage and change the name to Rosemary Roasted Potatoes with Shallots.


Lipton Onion-Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 Envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix
4 lbs red potatoes, cut in half or into large chunks if the potatoes are large
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In 13 X 9 baking or roasting pan, combine all ingredients. (use a plastic zip lock bag to mix the oil, seasoning, and potatoes together before emptying contents of bag into the pan)

Bake, stirring occasionally, 35 - 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown. (make sure they are tender before turning off the oven)


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Simple Abundance--give thanks for the bounty we are about to receive

Gene planted green beans this year. Does that make him Gene and the Beanstalk? So far, so good, as the photos confirm. I don't think it will be too long for the blossoms and subsequent beans to appear. I am a bit impatient though, so I bought beans at Costco to try this recipe. My report to you: try it, I liked it. The beans retain some of their crunch; the combination of soy sauce (sweet) and crushed red pepper (hot) give it Asian flair and flavor.







Spicy Green Beans
Adapted from the Paupered Chef


2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 pound green beans
4 scallions, diagonally sliced
2 shallots, minced
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of Sriracha Hot Sauce (more or less depending on your tolerance level)

*Note-Make sure everything is prepped and ready to go before tossing anything in the pan. It will take just a few minutes to cook everything. It will go by quickly.
1 .Combine the soy sauce, white vinegar, sugar, Sriracha and red pepper flakes in a bowl and whisk until combined.
2. Mince the garlic, and cut the scallions
3. Place the iron skillet over high heat for at least 5 minutes.
4. When everything is chopped and ready, toss in the oil, swirl until it coats the bottom of the skillet, and add the green beans. Cook until they are tender, about 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so. It will look like you’re murdering them, but be patient. It will work.
5. Dump in those neatly cut scallions and shallots and cook about another 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.
6. Add the garlic and cook just until it becomes fragrant; add the soy sauce mixture. Cook for another 20 seconds or so, and then turn off the heat, and plate.

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Let's Celebrate Grilling Season

We are fortunate in Central Florida grilling season is year round, but a lot of the world is just now going through seasonal rotation, welcoming warm weather and breaking out the grill. Marinating meat before grilling, in this case chicken, gives it such a boost in flavor. The recipe I am sharing is one of my very favorites for two reasons: you can't beat the flavor and I have the marinade ingredients in my kitchen most of the time, i.e. no shopping. I go back to it every year for chicken. I love its lemony goodness. Think about this, you can choose your presentation style and cuts, it works with a whole chicken cut up, bone in or boneless chicken breasts, thighs, chunks, cubes. You can grill the parts whole or make shisch kabobs. Today, since I am only cooking for two, I opted for boneless thighs, made two ways, flat grilled and on wooden skewers, laced with fruit and tomatoes.

Lemon Chicken Marinade

1 cup salad oil
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons crushed basil
2 teaspoons thyme

Mix marinade in a large zip-lock bag and add chicken pieces. Marinate 4 hours or longer. Grill.
Note: for the kabobs, soak the wooden skewers in water prior to lacing chicken chunks with your choice of fruits or veggies. In the photo: fresh plums, quartered, canned pineapple chunks, fresh tomato quarters. Also very good, try fresh or canned boiled new potatoes, bell pepper slices, fresh mushrooms, red or white onion quarters, fresh peaches.

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Have a bowlful of health

Dani Spies calls this recipe Mexican Cabbage Soup. I think she should have called it Once Around the Farmer's Market. Most of the veggies are rough chopped, so it comes together quickly. The Jalapeno adds a slight amount of heat, the lime juice makes it pop and all those veggies! You will have certainly met your minimums. Looks good, tastes good, you feel good! Lower calories for healthy food is a super bonus. This is a win-win recipe. Highly recommended!




Mexican Cabbage Soup
Ingredients
1 yellow onion, cut into ½ moons
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
½ jalapeno, minced
5 carrots cut into slices
6 cups of chopped up cabbage
1 large zucchini, cut into chunks
A few handfuls of baby spinach
½ cup of frozen peas
6 cups of chicken broth
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
2 tsp of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Pre-cooked shredded chicken &
avocado
Directions:
In a large pot heat olive oil over medium high heat and add onions along with
a pinch of salt. Allow the onions to cook for about 4-5 minutes or until
translucent.
Stir in jalapeno, carrots, and garlic and cook another few minutes. You just
want to give the veggies a head start before stirring in the cabbage.
Combine all the veggies together before adding the broth and the tomatoes;
turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
Once your soup is at a boil bring it down to a simmer and stir in zucchini and
peas. Cook for just a couple more minutes before stirring in the spinach,
cilantro and fresh lime juice. Adjust seasonings and serve yourself some
soup!!
Serving suggestion: Put a couple of ounces of pre-cooked shredded chicken at the bottom
of the bowl before topping with the soup. Then finish it off with some fresh
avocado and an extra squish of limejuice… SO GOOD!
Makes a HUGE pot.
Nutritional Analysis
Serving Size: 1/8 of the pot (without the addition of chicken
or avocado) Calories: 99; Total Fat: 1.6g; Saturated Fat: 0.2g;
Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 119mg, Carbohydrate: 17.9g; DietaryFiber: 4.8g; Sugars: 9.2g; Protein: 4.7g

Bonus photos from our recent visit to the Webster Farmer's Market:





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If a picture is worth a thousand words, I hope two pictures will get me further

I love the way artichokes look, all symmetrical and chubby green pine coney. Even more, I like how they taste, but.....I have never had the courage to d-i- y at home. My grocery store never had any that I would call knock-outs, they usually look tired and old and pricy. But wait! Things change and almost exactly at the same time Kalyn blogged about cooking the lovely thistle in a pressure cooker, I happened upon some beauties and voila: I had success! I was so happy, I could have danced around the kitchen, but there is no room. Instead, Gene and I ate like pigs. I had spent a good deal of time pondering an exact recipe to try and which dipping sauce to try. After all of my research, I combined Kalyn's pressure technique with Martha Rose Schulman's (New York Times) lemon-garlic-olive oil aromatics and her dipping sauce. Fear not, you can do it too. Go ahead now, have a look:

Quick Version Steamed Artichokes in Pressure Pan
What I did:
Trim the stem end only slightly since the stem is edible.
Rub the cut with a slice of lemon to prevent discoloration.
Rub each with olive oil and placed them into the pressure pan, stems up.
Add the juice of 1 lemon, drop the squeezed lemon into the pan
Add 1 head of garlic, separated into cloves, but not peeled into the pan
Add 2 cups water
Heat, to simmer, lock lid on and bring to full pressure, reduce heat to keep the pan under steam and pressure for 15 minutes.
Use quick release method to release pressure by removing pan from heat and running cold water over the locked pan lid until the steam stops and the safety valve has dropped and unlock the lid.
Remove the chokes from the steaming liquid to drain
Cut the chokes in half through their length and remove the fuzzy choke at the base of the leaves, carefully keeping the heart in tact with the stem.
Serve with dipping sauce or melted butter



Yogurt-Mayonnaise Vinaigrette

Traditionally steamed artichokes are served with drawn butter or with a mayonnaise. Schulman uses a vinaigrette-based sauce thickened with just a bit of mayonnaise and yogurt.
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
Sea salt or kosher salt to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed
2 tablespoon Best Foods or Hellmann’s mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Whisk together the vinegar, salt, Dijon mustard and garlic. Whisk in the mayonnaise, yogurt and olive oil, and blend well. Taste, adjust salt, and add pepper. Use as a dip for artichokes or other vegetables.
Yield: 3/4 cup
Variation: Substitute 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice for 1 tablespoon of the vinegar.

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Sunday Night Salmon

Firecracker Grilled Alaska Salmon
from All Recipes

PREP TIME 
20 Min
COOK TIME 
20 Min
READY IN 
6 Hrs 40 Min

Servings 8


INGREDIENTS:
8 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
1/2 cup peanut oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons green onions, chopped
3 teaspoons brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Place salmon filets in a medium, nonporous glass dish. In a separate medium bowl, combine the peanut oil, soy sauce, vinegar, green onions, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, sesame oil and salt. Whisk together well, and pour over the fish. Cover and marinate the fish in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours.
2. Prepare an outdoor grill with coals about 5 inches from the grate, and lightly oil the grate.
3. Grill the fillets 5 inches from coals for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at the thickest part, or until fish just flakes with a fork. Turn over halfway through cooking.




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I am speechless, me speechless?

well, almost speechless. Actually, I am vacillating between speechless and babbling about this recipe. It is all Lisa's fault. If she had not taken such a beautiful photo and posted the photo and the recipe on her site, I would be doing something else right now. While loving this recipe in its original form, I am certain that it would be a fantastic underlayment for Shrimp and Grits, Barbequed Shrimp, Poached Eggs...you add your ideas and fill in the blank here_______. Just keep in mind, it is: 1)easy to make, 2) easy to store, 3) beautiful to look at, 4) delicious, 5) adaptable. You cannot go wrong. Think crisp outside, soft-centered polenta topped by earthy, buttery flavorful mushrooms. What a deal!

Wild Mushroom Ragoût on Crispy Polenta with Comte Cheese
from : Lisa and
epicurious

yield: Makes 10 first-course servings


Polenta:
2 cups whole milk
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)*
1/2 cup (packed) coarsely grated Comté cheese (I used an aged English rugged white cheddar from Costco)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

Mushroom Ragout:
3 tablespoons butter, divided
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds assorted wild mushrooms (such as oyster, crimini, and stemmed shiitake), thickly sliced (I used an assortment of dried wild mushrooms soaked in warm water, then drained
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup crème fraîche or whipping cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1/3 cup (packed) coarsely grated Comté cheese (may use another semi-dry, hard cheese of your liking)

preparation
For polenta:
Generously butter 13x9x1- inch baking sheet. Bring milk, broth, and bay leaf to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove saucepan from heat; cover and let steep 20 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Discard bay leaf. Bring liquid to boil. Gradually add polenta, whisking constantly until smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until polenta is very thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Stir in Comté cheese and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer polenta to prepared 13x9x1-inch baking sheet. Using wet hands, press polenta evenly over sheet to edges. Chill until firm, at least 3 hours. Cut polenta into 20 squares. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
For mushroom ragout:
Melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons oil in large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add all mushrooms and sauté until tender and browned, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and balsamic vinegar; sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Season lightly to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
Re-warm mushrooms in large skillet over medium-high heat until heated through. Add broth and simmer 1 minute. Stir in crème fraîche and half of parsley. Season mushroom ragout to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300°F. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add polenta squares to skillet and cook until browned, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in oven while cooking remaining polenta squares.
Arrange 2 polenta squares on each plate. Top each with warm mushroom ragout; sprinkle with grated Comté cheese and remaining parsley and serve.

MORE INFO:
Comté is a semi-firm, Gruyère-style cow's-milk cheese made in France.
*Polenta can be found at some supermarkets, as well as at natural foods stores and Italian markets. If polenta is unavailable, substitute an equal amount of regular yellow cornmeal and cook it about half as long.

Lisa's note:
Lisa of Lisa is cooking changed the original recipe by leaving out the creme fraiche and Comte cheese. Instead, she flavored them with green garlic, shallots and truffle salt. When making the Polenta, she used all milk for the liquid and a half cup grated parmigiano reggiano stirred in at the end of the cooking time.

My note: I went back to the original recipe and used the dairy and chicken broth. This recipe is an impressive make ahead party dish that goes well with almost anything. In addition to being able to make ahead, it also stores well. Try it with or without the mushroom ragout. We had the Polenta re-warmed and topped with a fried egg for breakfast.


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