KICKING POTATO SALAD

We are in that moving mode again and I’m developing recipes based on the ingredients on hand. On the flip side our niece & hubby are coming for a BBQ this weekend and we really wanted some potato salad so I threw together what we had and voile’ we have a new recipe!

NOT YOUR MOTHER’S POTATO SALAD
2-3 pounds potatoes, washed well
6 eggs, hard boiled
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 +/- cup Bob’s Bleu Cheese dressing
1 1/2 teaspoon Frank’s red pepper sauce
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons orange champagne vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish








  • Hard boil eggs. Cool and set aside.
  • Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Cool and set aside.
  • Drain pickle relish in sieve for 10 minutes to remove excess juice.
  • Mix together the bleu cheese dressing, hot sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper, onions and garlic until well blended. You may or may not need to add more dressing to reach the desired consistency.
  • Grate the hard boil eggs into the bowl and toss well.
  • Grate 1/2 of the potatoes into the bowl and toss until well blended.
  • Chop remaining potatoes into bite size pieces and fold into mixture.
  • Chill well.
  • Top with paprika garnish before serving.

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Orange zesty ICE CREAM! and you don’t need an ice cream maker



From Adam and Eve to Jesse James (the biker guy who cheated on Sandra Bullock, not the gun slinger), the human race has craved what it can not or should not have.  Me, I am in a tropical paradise.  Rum drinks are pouring every night, and life is pretty darn good…


Except…


I can’t get ice cream.  Surprisingly enough, ice cream is not sold as a dessert here.  Probably just too hot.  It is an effort to get to a store, and even more of an effort to get home from a store.  I do have a couple of those thermal carry bags, but they would not work for ice cream.  Some days it can take an hour or more to get home with my groceries.  It’s just not an option.


The funny thing is that I really am not an ice cream eater.  I may have a dish a couple times a year, but certainly not every day, week or month.


But ever since I got to the island, I have been craving ice cream.  Wouldn’t that be a fine treat for dessert… Cool and sweet… Just a perfect thing after a hot trip to the beach.  But, getting anything but ice cream soup home from a store was nearly impossible.  Getting ice cream while out to dinner was unlikely, and I did not have an ice cream maker.


But I did have an Internet connection and my favorite bloggers… Sure enough, first Mary from One Perfect Bite tweaked my interest, and then the partnership from High/Low Food/Drink posted a Myers Lemon recipe for Lemon ice cream, no maker needed!


You can read their post by clicking HERE.  


So, armed with their recipes, I was off and running.  I prefer Orange, so i adapted their recipe to make an orange ice cream…





And I do miss my zester that I left at home.  Even more after I sliced off a piece of my thumb while zesting my orange.  Feel free to insert your own “blood oranges” joke here.  But, I did eventually get some blood free zest, as well as the juice from two oranges.

I combined the juice of 2 oranges
zest from one orange
2 cups heavy cream (bought on special, less than $3 marked down from $5)
and just a bit of salt


and 1 cup of superfine sugar.


Now, that last bit was going to be a little hard.  I could not find superfine sugar.  So, again, thanks to a fellow blogger, I got the advice to put that cup of “regular” sugar in a mini food processor.  It worked just fine.


OK, here’s what I did…


I used my blender.  I put everything in except the cream and blended away.  I slowly added the cream while the blades were spinning at their lowest speed.  When I got about half the cream in, everything was well blended.  I poured the goop into a Tupperware bowl and added the final bit of cream.


It takes about three hours in the freezer for the cream to set up.  But it really takes over night for it to really firm up.

One last hint… I put a couple of bowls in the freezer at the same time.  We did have our ice cream on our deck, overlooking the ocean.  Everything stayed frozen.  You know how it gets sometimes with homemade ice cream, when it starts to melt too fast… The over night freeze, combined with the frozen bowl made for ice cream and not ice cream soup clear down to the last spoonful!



And my my my, was it just as good as I had hoped!


So, there you have it, my paradise got just a little better this week!


And as always, 

Who knew it was that easy!Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. As always, I was SO surprised to learn that I CAN COOK THAT!!!

Give me a little taste of home, and stop by the comment section. Let me know you won’t forget me while I am gone!

Dulce de Leche Cookies

Better late than never. I’m a day off this week and didn’t realize it was Wednesday already!


Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake chose Dulce de Leche Duos aka Caramel cookies aka yummy delights aka gone around here. They were a big hit and alas I will have to make more. I didn’t think we were going to like them as well as we did – boy was I wrong.
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I’m dreaming about books again, cookbooks that is!

Check these books out at Amazon
from the reviews I want to cook it all!
 
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics is the essential Ina Garten cookbook, focusing on the techniques behind her elegant food and easy entertaining style, and offering nearly a hundred brand-new recipes that will become trusted favorites. 
Marjorie Druker is passionate about soups. She fell in love with soups when she first heard the story Stone Soup. After attending Johnston & Whales, Marjorie created the menu for the popular Boston Market restaurant chain, and soups were always her favorite. “My niche is taking what people like to eat and turning it into a soup,” she says.  
 

Over time, twin enterprises Cook’s Illustrated magazine and America’s Test Kitchen have published many books dedicated to providing exhaustively tested recipes–“best” versions of traditional dishes plus definitive takes on kitchen equipment and ingredients. Some series readers have complained of endlessly recycled or rejiggered recipes; others take each book at face value, finding the formulas and cooking insights good and helpful. America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which calls itself a cookbook, cooking school, and kitchen reference in one, offers over 1,200 approachable recipes for a very wide range of dishes–from “weekday” fare like Creamy Rice Casserole, Cheesy Nachos with Spicy Beef, and Skillet Lasagna, to dressier recipes, including Pan-Seared Lamb Chops with Red Wine Rosemary Sauce, Roasted Trout Stuffed with Bacon and Spinach, and Chocolate Marshmallow Mousse. There are “specialty” chapters devoted to sandwiches, drinks, and slow cooker and pressure cooker dishes; a grilling section is a tutorial in itself. 

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Fully Loaded Potato Muffins

My favorite comfort food is potato. When I was a little girl and didn’t feel well, my mother would make me mashed potatoes and carrots. This was the ultimate in comfort food because it was associated with recuperation and feeling good. This is better than chicken soup and we all know that chicken soup is the ultimate or so they say.
Since, I was eating alone, I took two medium potatoes and baked them through in a 375 degree oven, after a thorough cleaning.
To my surprise, at the end of an hour, they were cooked through but the skin on one had a gaping hole in the skin. This is one dish that the skin is a must.
I was going to make one stuffed potato and just mash up the rest when I spotted a muffin tin. Change of plans. I was now making Fully Loaded Potato Muffins. These were delicious. The potato was filled with goodies and I even used Baco Bits since I don’t eat bacon. The end result were these adorable muffins that tasted like something the angels made. Are angels into spices?
Stuffed Potato Muffins
Ingredients:
2 baking potatoes
2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
2 ounces sour cream
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (without fish)
1/4 cup Baco Bits
Method:
Clean and bake potatoes at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Cut potatoes in half and remove the potato from the skins.
Put potatoes aside.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Chop onion and saute with 1 tablespoon butter until golden brown.
Grate the cheese and add 3/4 cup of it to the cold potato along with the sour cream.
Add onions and Baco Bits to the potato, with the salt, pepper & Worcestershire sauce.
Spoon the potato filling into the muffin tins.
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese, giving each potato skin a light covering, and cook for 20-30 minutes until golden.

For Passover recipes, please go to Comfy Cook and My Sweet and Savory.

HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?

I was recently made aware that there is a wonderful online shopping experience available right from your desk top.

Remember all these wish list posts I did about all the wonderful quality kitchen dreams and wishes I have? Well, all the items I’m dreaming about to complete my dream kitchen are available from these sites from CSN stores.

Seriously, you really need to go check out these sites
www.allmodern.com
www.diningroomsdirect.com,
www.cookware.com,
www.moremailboxes.com.

Look for my review of this beautiful multi-purpose LeCruset casserole in the very near future. I truly wonder how I ever got along without it!

I’m envisioning an awesome POT ROAST & ROASTED VEGGIES in the very near future as well as TROPICAL GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN and OATNUT SOURDOUGH HERB DRESSING and TURKEY TETTRAZINI and RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE and…

The uses are going to be endless. The durable finish resists chipping, scratching and staining. It has sure grip handles for easy handling from the oven onto the table to create a beautiful table presentation.

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HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?

I was recently made aware that there is a wonderful online shopping experience available right from your desk top. Whether you are looking for tv stands, dining room furniture or cookware, they have it all.

Remember all these wish list posts I did about all the wonderful quality kitchen dreams and wishes I have? Well, all the items I’m dreaming about to complete my dream kitchen are available from these sites from CSN stores.

Look for my review of this beautiful multi-purpose LeCruset casserole in the very near future. I truly wonder how I ever got along without it!

I’m envisioning an awesome POT ROAST & ROASTED VEGGIES in the very near future as well as TROPICAL GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN and OATNUT SOURDOUGH HERB DRESSING and TURKEY TETTRAZINI and RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE and…

The uses are going to be endless. The durable finish resists chipping, scratching and staining. It has sure grip handles for easy handling from the oven onto the table to create a beautiful table presentation.

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BOSTON CREAM CAKE

When I was a little girl, Boston Cream Pie was my FAVORITE Sunday dinner dessert and my grandma made it for me regularly until I was about 10 years old and then Sunday dinners as we knew them stopped on a regular basis, for some unknown reason. Since then I have craved Boston Cream Pie and have finally resurrected her recipe.

According to about.com, Boston Cream Pie is “Not a pie, but not your average cake, Boston Cream Pie is one of the city’s signature recipes. A descendant of pudding-cake pie, the Boston cream pie is considered to be the creation of French chef Sanzian of the Parker House Hotel (now the Omni Parker House). In 1996 the Boston Cream Pie was named the official dessert of Massachusetts. Use this recipe to make one yourself, and find out what makes the Boston Cream Pie such an enduring favorite.”


CAKE
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 JUMBO egg
  • 1 1/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
CUSTARD***
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • scant 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 3 JUMBO egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
GLAZE
  • 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons hot water
CAKE
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9 1/2-inch springform baking pan. I use a square one to make pieces easier to cut.
  2. Combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Cream together using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each one.
  3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Combine with the creamed mixture and add the milk.
  4. Pour batter into the prepared pan*. Bake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.
CUSTARD
  1. Combine the cornstarch, sugar, milk, eggs, cream, vanilla extract, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk until smooth.
  2. Bring the custard to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Continuing to whisk, let the custard boil for two minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, and whisk in the butter. Set custard aside to cool, continuing to whisk occasionally.
GLAZE
  1. In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter until smooth. remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in hot water 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.
BUILDING THE PERFECT PIE
  1. Remove the cake from the pan and cut it in half horizontally with a long serrated knife.
  2. Place one half of the cake on a plate with the cut side facing up. Top with custard.
  3. Place the other half of the cake on top, with the cut side down.
  4. Coat the top of the cake with glaze allowing it to drip down the sides.
*I like to use my square spring form pan for a couple of reasons; it make cutting pieces a lot easier since the slices when it is cut as a pie tend to try and fall over and my serving plate is rectangular in shape.
***The traditional custard substitutes in this recipe for a pineapple custard which is what we like to do.

FRIJOLE CHILI

What do you do with leftover refried beans? Make chili of course. One of the things I have done for many years is menu plan. Nothing, and I mean nothing goes to waste around this house! I made this recipe a few years ago to use up some leftovers and it quickly became our favorite alternative chili.

FRIJOLE CHILI
1/2 batch refried beans *
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cans Rotel original tomatoes with chiles
2 cups beef broth (2 tablespoons Better than beef bouillon + 2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper

  • Brown ground beef and onion. Drain fat.
  • In a large sauce pan, combine remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.
  • Add ground beef and onions. Heat through.
  • Top with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese.

*you can substitute 1 can of refried beans if you prefer

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CARNE’ ASADA

According to Wikipedia Carne asada is a roasted beef dish, literally meaning “roasted meat”[1][2]. The dish mainly consists of pieces or thin cuts of beef (e.g. flank steak, skirt steak), sometimes marinated, sometimes lightly salted or rubbed with salt, pepper and/or spices, and then grilled. It can be eaten alone, with side dishes, chopped and eaten as tacos, or chopped and used as filler for tortas, burritos, etc. It is commonly accompanied with guacamole, salsa, beans, and grilled scallions and tortillas.

The dish is commonly prepared in the northern parts of Mexico (in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Coahuila, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas) as well as in the American Southwest (especially Texas and New Mexico). It can be found as the main ingredient in tacos, tortas, burritos and fajitas, or is simply served as a stand-alone. It is sold at Mexican meat markets called “carnicerias” in the American Southwest; especially those states with Mexican/Mexican-American enclaves.

When purchasing carne asada from meat markets, consumers have two options available to them regarding the amount of preparation the steak has undergone pre-purchase: preparada, marinated meat as described above, serving as a time-saver for the home cook but typically at higher cost; and no preparada, unprepared meat, allowing for a home cook to create one’s own marinade. I buy unprepared meat and doctor my own.

All my pictures are before as we’re having it for dinner tonight. I’ll add an after picture later.




CARNE ASADA
2-3 pounds flank or skirt steak, sliced THIN
1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin
2 lemons, 1 sliced thin, 1 wedged for squeezing
1 lime, sliced thin
1 orange, sliced thin
1/3 cup champagne vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon FRESH ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika

  • Soak the meat in the vinegar for an hour or so.
  • Remove meat from vinegar and dry on paper towels.
  • Sift together all the seasonings and rub into the meat on both sides.
  • Layer the meat into a container alternating with the slices of lemon, limes, oranges and onions squeezing lemon juice on each layer as you go.
  • Let marinate for overnight or a day or so.
  • Grill on a VERY hot grill to desired doneness.
  • Serve with warm tortillas, Fresh Guacamole and Garden Tomato Salsa.
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TOMATO SPINACH SOUP

TOMATO SPINACH SOUP
1/2 (+/- to taste) pound baby spinach, washed
1/3 bag baby carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
2 cans diced tomatoes with herbs
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon basil

  • Toss all ingredients together in slow cooker.
  • Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours.

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