If you read my previous recipe post for the Duck Breast with Citrus Port Cherry Sauce, I mentioned that I served Yukon Gold Potatoes Gratin with it. It's been a while since I've made this, and I don't follow a recipe. I've been making this side dish for years, so I don't measure. My family loved this side dish.
I'm going to try my best to share with you how to make this. It's that good. There are almost many recipes for Au Gratin Potatoes as there are recipes for Lemon Bars (which is why I've never posted mine). However, I do something a little different-- I use part chicken stock and part heavy cream. While I don't think it cuts a significant amount of fat grams, it works for me. I've made this with Russet potatoes, but I have to say that Yukon Gold potatoes are my personal favorite. The potatoes need to be very thin, so I like to use a mandoline. I soak the potatoes in water, while I do the rest of my prep work-- like grating the cheese.
The oven is preheating to 350F, while I butter an oven-proof dish. You can use different cheeses, such as Fontina. But, Gruyere is our favorite.
Add one layer of potatoes, slightly overlapping them. Sprinkle some Parmesan Cheese...
...add some kosher salt & pepper.
...add some Gruyere cheese.
This is where I add low-sodium chicken stock (otherwise, watch how much salt you add, as the Parmesan is a little on the salty side.) I don't measure, but if you need to know how much... about 1/4 cup.
I got about four layers of potatoes, Parmesan and Gruyere Cheese. For good measure, I added a few dots of unsalted butter. Last, I added about 1/2 cup of heavy cream and pour it all over.
Place this dish on a baking sheet, and bake for about an hour to an hour and a half.
Remove when the potatoes are golden and bubbly, and allow to sit for at least five minutes.
TASTING NOTES: The picture, above, is the only shot I got of the finished potatoes. I can assure you that they are addicting, and they look so impressive. For dinner parties, I used to make these in individual ramekins. I've made variations where I've added paprika for some extra color. You can get fancier and add diced ham. I've even made the potatoes without the heavy cream, and just chicken stock and lots of Parmesan Cheese. However, the heavy cream and Gruyere is the perfect combination of richness and flavor. There were no leftovers, and I wasn't the one who went back for seconds. My skinny men are the ones who did. I didn't stand a chance.
A printable recipe card is at the end of this post. If you are reading this post, via email, please click on the recipe name to be directed to my blog to print it.
One of my favorite herbs is basil. This year, we have a lot of basil-- and time is getting short to use it all. There is only so much pesto that I can make! I was glad to catch a pre-recorded episode The Barefoot Contessa, where Ina made this recipe.
So I happily cut a few stems of our hearty basil plants and rinsed them, and set a pot of water to boiling.
Then I blanched them for the 15 seconds that Ina instructed me to do, then set them into an ice bath to "shock them".
Using the same pot of boiling water, I also cooked Yukon Gold potatoes, with the skin on (Ina says to peel them, but I like unpeeled small potatoes).
In a separate pot, I heated half and half and Parmesan cheese and let that thicken a bit on very low heat. So, the stage was set...
Ina uses a hand mixer to cream the potatoes. I prefer to use my OXO food mill. I like how creamy my mashed potatoes turn out, and the food mill removes a lot of peels anyway.
To me, this is a lot easier than using a potato ricer. So, now we are ready to make creamy potatoes...
Using a food processor, I added the steel blade and the blanched Basil. Then I added the hot cream and pureed the basil. Now, all I have to do is pour it over the "milled" potatoes..
The hot mixture is easy blended, and the potatoes are lovely creamy texture-- no lumps! I much prefer this method over using a potato masher! Season with salt and pepper. Top with fresh Parmesan Cheese.
NOTE: The second time I made these, I used Tyler Florence's method of cooking the potatoes right in the cream (you can view it here). I then poured out the cream (saving it), once the potatoes were tender, and use half of it to puree with the basil, with a blender. I think the blender worked better. The remaining hot cream is reserved, on low heat, to fresh up or reheat the potatoes. This technique worked really well!
Ina served this with Veal Chops with Roquefort Butter. I was so ready to make these, but I could not find Free-Range Veal Chops-- even at Whole Foods! So, I made a grilled Pork Tenderloin.
VERDICT: My husband, son and I really loved the flavor of these potatoes. This might sound odd, but my men said it kind of tasted "pumpkin pie". Don't ask me why, but they both agreed. Pumpkin pie? I tasted basil and Parmesan. I am so fond of garlic mashed potatoes, so I made this recipe a second time. Not only did I cook the potatoes in the hot cream, but I threw in one clove of garlic. I really liked this version a lot. My husband said that these didn't taste like pumpkin pie. Well, that's good. I have no idea what tricks their taste buds were playing. The bottom line is, these are a colorful and flavorful way to enjoy fresh basil. One more Ina Garten recipe success story. I can see why I have all of her cookbooks. They are pretty much fool-proof! I hope you try them!
A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.
This recipe was published in the August 2011 issue of Bon Appétit Magazine. Bon Appétit describes this recipe as "Our lighter take on the Gilroy Garlic Fries at the San Francisco Giants' AT&T Park forgoes the deep fryer in favor of a hot oven." My hometown of Monterey, California is no more than a 30 minute drive to Gilroy, California-- home of the Garlic Festival. Drive another 1 1/2 hours north, and I'm in San Francisco. I've never been to the AT&T Park, so I've never experienced these particular fries. However, I'm a garlic lovin' fool and I am always on the lookout for baked oven fries. Fries are one of my guilty pleasures, you see. While I'm not 100% thrilled with my final photos of these baked fries (we were hungry and I didn't want these to get cold), I still wanted to share this fast and simple way of making garlic fries that are really delicious-- and I didn't miss the deep-fryer version of fries that I've been known to make at home (about once a year):
I scaled the recipe in half by using two Russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into planks.
Toss potatoes with 2½ tablespoons oil in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet. Roast the potatoes, turning occasionally, until browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Increase heat to 500°. Continue roasting until fries are deep brown in spots, about 5 more minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk ½ tablespoons oil, garlic, and parsley in a large bowl.
NOTE: My garden flat-leaf parsley is finished for the season, so I used my curly parsley. Just a minor adaption...
Add hot fries, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
VERDICT: Hubs and I both enjoyed these baked fries. What I liked about this recipe was tossing the baked fries in with a bit of oil and freshly minced garlic. I also didn't need to pre-cook the fries in the microwave , as with my earlier Garlic Oven Fries. I think it would be fun to use some seasoning salt and even more garlic. Super easy. Excellent recipe.
A printable recipe is at the end of this post.
Saturday, I'm out the door bright and early for a pasta making class. I get to bring my Atlas pasta maker, and I will to learn how to make ravioli. My camera battery is charging, and I look forward to sharing that with you.
Eggs & Potatoes. That's a hearty breakfast! For the last few Sundays, the men in my life have requested my "Best Pancakes". They really are good, but sometimes I need to eat protein with my carbs! It must be the Bavarian in me, but I'm a potato lover. Potatoes and eggs, is exactly what I was craving, when I thought of this dish. I haven't made Rösti in quite a while. They really are similar to American-Style hash browns, and they are quite easy to make-- especially while, in the middle of grumbling how much I hate to hand grate potatoes, my husband points out where the shredding blade to my food processor has been hiding for months!
(Thinking to myself "it's been hiding because it's been put where it doesn't belong"... grumble, grumble.) I happily abandoned this task and set up the food processor.
Much easier! Since I was cooking for two, I used three Yukon Gold Potatoes. Not having to peel potatoes is a shortcut that I'll take, any chance I can get.
Here's where the rubber meets the road. Potatoes have a lot of moisture in them. If you've ever tried to make homemade hash browns, and they turned out gummy... you can avoid that problem by squeezing the excess water from grated potatoes. If you own a potato ricer, the job is done very easily. Otherwise, you need to use a cheese cloth (or tea towel) and a lot of elbow grease. Look at all that water!
By the way, I use this technique with thawed or cooked spinach.
There are different variations of Rösti. You can add bacon, cheese or onion. Or, all three.
Since the Cuisinart was already used, I grated 1/2 an onion. Drizzle a bit of olive oil, and season with pepper and go light on the salt. You can always add more. Toss to distribute.
I'm using a non-stick skillet, but a cast-iron does a great job, too. I add a little more olive oil and one pat of unsalted butter. Evenly spread the potatoes and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. You can press down on the potatoes, but I use a bacon press. Lift a corner, and when the potatoes have a golden brown, flip over with a large spatula. The total cooking time was 20 minutes.
Adding eggs on top is an option. Sure, you can cook eggs on the side, but I thought I'd test a theory that I could cook the eggs on top-- thus one less pan to clean up.
I decided to put a lid on top...and I waited, and crossed my fingers. It took a few minutes...
Whew. It worked.
Breakfast is served.
If runny egg yolks make you squeamish, skip the eggs on top. Serve this with scrambled eggs. This is a great side dish for dinner, as well.
VERDICT: Pancake loving husband was very quiet. This is a good sign, as all I could hear was the fork hitting the plate. After cleaning off his plate, I got a big "thank you". The potatoes weren't gummy, and they were flavorful. Who needs to buy frozen grated potatoes? Sure, it took a little more prep work, but it's cheaper and just plain delicious.
Delicious! It will satisfy any kind of appetite, including the hungry men in my home.
I've never been to Chicago. Some day I will. In the meantime, I trust Marie of "Proud Italian Cook", who lives in Chicago. Marie shared her recipe for Chicken Vesuvio, a while ago. She says that this dish is a Chicago American-Italian traditional dish. I trust her expertise. There's a reason why I chose "A Feast for the Eyes" as the name of my food blog. I'm so highly visual, that if I see a delectable photo of something to eat I am completely driven for a need to make it! I can look at photos, even if I'm not hungry, and still drool over the vision that is before me. That's the effect I had when I saw Cathy, of Wives with Knives, photo of this dish. It was the final push for me to jump in and make it for myself.
This dish has a lot going for it, besides tasting great. It's easy to make. It's not too expensive, especially if you keep white wine on hand at all times (which I do). I made only a few minor changes to their versions.
First, I only used two large bone-in chicken breasts (but you can use both dark and white meat), that I seasoned with salt & pepper, dried oregano and granulated garlic. (Just be sure that the chicken has been patted dry, so that you'll get a beautiful brown sear.) The prep work isn't too time-consuming-- maybe 15 minutes cut potatoes and peel whole cloves of fresh garlic. I used red potatoes, so I didn't have to peel the potatoes. I think these are the perfect choice for this dish, but use whatever spuds you have on hand.
I used my large cast iron skillet and heated some olive oil and a little unsalted butter, for extra flavor. Skin side down, on medium-high heat, sear the chicken and brown the potatoes (from 5-7 minutes).
Then, flip the chicken and potatoes to brown them on both sides. By the way, the reason I don't recommend using boneless chicken, is that the meat has a tendency to dry out. Bone-in, pretty much guarantees moist chicken.
If you adapt this recipe, as I did, I made this a one skillet recipe. I simply removed the chicken and potatoes and set them aside on a plate. Otherwise, you'll transfer the chicken and potatoes to a roasting pan. Next, I added the whole garlic cloves to the skillet and cooked them until golden brown (just don't burn them on a high heat). Now, add some white wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc) to deglaze the pan, and get those lovely bits of brown flavor loosened up. NOTE: Though I used half the amount of chicken in the recipe, I didn't decrease the sauce. Cathy said it was so good, that I wanted more for myself.
White wine and garlic makes us hungry! Both my son and husband were sniffing the aroma, and saying that something smelled really good. I had to break it to them, that they had about another hour to wait... add some chicken stock and then reduce the sauce on medium-high heat for about five minutes. If you're using a separate roasting pan, you pour this sauce over the chicken.
I did the reverse, and returned the chicken and potatoes back into the skillet, then popped into a 375F oven. I guestimated about 45 minutes (165F internal temperature) for the chicken to be cooked. In the meantime, tidied my kitchen and washed most of my utensils so that I could have less cleanup after eating dinner.
In the last 15 minutes, I added about one cup of frozen peas.
There's a lot of sauce, since I doubled the liquid recipe. The aroma is enough to make anyone hungry!
This is comfort food, in my book.
TASTING NOTES: My son prefers dark meat. He said that this was the first time he'd eaten a chicken breast that tasted really moist and flavorful. My husband went back for thirds seconds on the potatoes. This dish has a European flavor, with that thin pan sauce. I would definitely make this recipe again, and I'll use a whole cut up chicken. I wish I'd had some crusty bread to soak up the sauce, because it is really flavorful.
As always, a printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post. I'd like to thank both Marie and Cathy for inspiring me to try this Chicago dish. It's delicious and easy!
