Stuffed Potatoes

 

It’s 4th of July week (already?!) and everyone is preparing for BBQ’s.  And praying for good weather, considering it’s rained practically every day this month.  Awful!  Well, keeping positive, here’s a post on delicious stuffed potatoes that are just perfect for a summer BBQ – rain or shine. 

I’ve been making these stuffed cuties for a few years now and every time I do people rave about them.  They are delicious and the perfect one or two bite appetizer.  Basically, they are stuffed little red potatoes.  The filling is creamy with a slight sharpness in the background from the blue cheese.  If you don’t love blue cheese, cut back on how much you include.  I usually don’t use the entire 1 cup, I add a little at a time and taste.

When making them, allow for 3-4 halves (2 potatoes) per person, at least.  They will be devoured.

Here’s what you will need to serve approximately 10-12 people…

 

24 new red potatoes, halved lengthwise

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I end up using 3/4 cup usually)

1/2 cup crumbled, cooked bacon, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup (heaping) chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

1/4 red onion, finely chopped, plus more for garnish

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Toss the potato halves with olive oil and mix well until each half is coated.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and bake until the skins are crisp and the potatoes are tender, roughly 30 minutes.  The original recipe states 20-25 minutes, but in my oven it takes more like 30-40 minutes.  Allow potatoes to cool.

Gently scoop out the center of each potato half and place in a medium bowl.  Using a small ice cream scoop or melon baller is sometimes helpful for this step.  You do not need to make yourself nuts getting all the potato out of the skin, some can remain inside.  Actually, it’s best if some does remain inside, it will make the potato boats more sturdy.  To the bowl add the sour cream, blue cheese, bacon, parsley and onion.  Stir to mix together. 

Fill each potato skin with the sour cream mixture and top each potato with more bacon, onion and parsley. 

This recipe is adapted from the Grucci family.

 

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

 

 

Dear lord these are delicious.

If I ever happen to be in a bakery (I try to avoid them due to my occassional lack of self control) I rarely ever choose scones.  I think the few times in my life that I’ve ever even eaten a scone I remember it to be very crumbly and dry.  Sort of like a brick.  Who would pay money for these things??  As far as I was concerned, I would rather have a muffin or croissant any day.

Then along comes Martha Stewart and her blueberry buttermilk scones.  I can’t say enough about these things.  They are spectacular!   So this is what a scone is supposed to taste like!   Ah ha!

The aroma while baking these is intoxicating.  The end product was slightly crumbly on the outside, soft and tender on the inside.  And that burst of blueberries adds a wonderful natural sweetness.  I love blueberries, they are sweet and delicious and are perfect to snack on.  Perfect size to just pop into your mouth.  It’s just an added bonus that they are very healthy and full of antioxidants.

After preparing the dough, I cut the scones a bit smaller (more narrow) than normal,  figuring it would be better on my waistline to eat smaller portions.  What a joke.  These were so good I ate TWO of the smaller scones.  See what I mean about the self control?  I baked off a few the first day reserving part of the dough in the fridge until the next day.  They came out just as yummy.  Also, leftover scones are delicious reheated in a toaster oven for a few minutes until warmed through.

I did make a few slight changes to the recipe.  I used whole wheat flour in place of cake flour and I used less sugar (as I usually do).  I used regular buttermilk, not low-fat.  Not sure they sell a low fat version where I shop.  Lastly, I added the lemon zest.

Here’s what you will need for 10-12 scones….

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 heaping cup fresh blueberries

zest of one small lemon

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

fine sugar for sprinkling

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together flours, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Add butter and rub with your fingers until mixture has the texture of course meal.  Gently stir in blueberries.

In another bowl whisk together buttermilk, 1 egg , lemon zest and vanilla.  Drizzle over flour mixture and stir lightly with a fork until the dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in bowl.  It’s important to not overwork the dough.

Turn out dough onto work surface and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate the flour.  Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick round.  Cut the round into approximately 10-12 wedges.  Transfer to baking sheet.

Brush the top of each scone with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sugar.  Bake until golden brown and cooked through, roughly 25 minutes.  Transfer scones to a wire rack to cool. 

Just try to control yourself – you will be tempted to eat these piping hot out of the oven!  Use restraint until they are cool enough so you don’t burn your mouth.

Jerk Pork Tenderloin

 

While flipping through an old issue of Oprah Magazine, I stumbled upon this recipe from Michelle Bernstein, the cooking dynamo from Miami.  It sounded so delicious I ripped out the page and made it a few nights later. 

I love pork tenderloin.  It is lean and flavorful and very quick to cook.  (Be careful not to overcook it!)   Just like chicken, you can marinate pork tenderloin in so many different ways giving a new flavors to the meat each time. 

At first glance this recipe looked like it had alot of ingredients (something I usually shy away from) however most of them I had on hand and everything simply gets tossed into a food processor.  Easy!  I made very few changes to her recipe, the main one being roasting the tenderloins in the oven instead of grilling them.  The pork came out tender and flavorful and the sauce…oh, the sauce.  Such a burst of flavors…herbs, spice, sweetness. 

Although the meat was yummy freshly cooked, what amazed me was the leftovers.  Outstanding.  I sliced the leftover pork into very thin slices (as in above photo).  Then, I toasted two pieces of whole wheat bread.  Slathered the leftover sauce on both sides of the bread, then layered on the pork slices.  That’s it.  I didn’t even need to add anything else to it.  I can’t tell you how delicious this sandwich is!  I cannot wait to make this again just to have the leftovers.  Is that even normal?

So make extra, either buy bigger tenderloins or even an extra one.  You will love this sandwich.

Here’s what you will need to make 4 servings…

 

1 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1 small bunch fresh flat leaf parsley

1 small bunch fresh cilantro

1/2 bunch whole scallions, coarsely chopped

2 medium shallots, coarsely chopped

1 (1.5 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 medium jalapeno pepper, coarsely chopped (with some seeds and ribs)

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tbsp worchestershire sauce

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground all spice

2 pork tenderloins

1 tsp salt

 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Put all ingredients (except pork and salt) into a food processor and puree until smooth.

Place tenderloins in a non reactive dish and pour half the marinade over the pork, massaging it into the pork on all sides.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.  Marinate for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.  Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

When you are ready to cook the pork remove the tenderloins from the fridge and allow to sit out for 20 minutes or so.  Scrape most of the marinade off the pork and sprinkle with salt.  Discard marinade.  Remove remaining sauce from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.

Roast tenderloins in the oven for roughly 20 minutes (depending on the size of the tenderloins) or until a meat thermometer reads 145 degrees.  Of course you can grill them if you are lucky enough to have a grill and an outdoor space to put a grill.  Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and allow the meat to rest 10 minutes.  The meat should be pink and juicy.

Cut pork into 1/2 inch diagonal slices and arrange on serving platter.  Sprinkle some of the sauce over the sliced pork, serving the remaining sauce alongside.

Original recipe found here http://www.oprah.com/recipe/omagazine/recipes/200903_omag_recipe_jerk_pork

 

Curried Egg Salad

 

 

I have become a big fan of hard boiled eggs of late.  I was never much into them, aside from eating a few on Easter.  I have recently discovered they are wonderful as a little snack to get me through until my next meal. 

This new found interest of mine started me thinking…how about egg salad??  Again, never much of a fan.  If you’ve read my other post on chicken salad you will know I do not like super gloppy mayo mixtures – and that’s unfortunately how they come at most delis.  Also, egg salad is usually a bit on the boring side, right?

So, I set out to create a non-boring one.  I originally was leaning towards using paprika as the main spice, but I switched to curry – much more interesting.  The curry goes perfectly with the toasted almonds, a delicious combination.  I list 1/8 tsp of curry powder in the recipe.  This amount provides a nice curry flavor but if you are not afraid of curry feel free to use 1/4 tsp.  I usually find myself adding another pinch or so after the 1/8 tsp. 

Of course this mixture needed a fresh green herb, I chose chives to provide another hint of onion flavor along with the shallots, as well as a shot of color. 

This egg salad makes a great sandwich.  I use organic whole grain bread, toasted.  I like the contrast of the toasty bread with the smooth, soft egg salad.  Then, throw down a layer of baby spinach leaves, pile the eggs salad high on top and finish off with another piece of bread.  Another option…slather some on a toasted bagel in the morning for breakfast.  Terrific, either way.

Here’s what you will need to make 2–3 medium sized sandwiches…

 

5 eggs

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and cooled, roughly chopped

4 tsp chives

3 tbsp mayo

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp coarse mustard

1/8 tsp curry powder

whole grain bread, toasted

spinach leaves (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

 

First task – hard boil your eggs.  This is a very important step!  Place the eggs in a sauce pan and cover with water by one inch.  Set over medium heat and bring to a slow, soft boil.  Turn off heat, cover and let sit for exactly 12 minutes.  Set your timer!  After the 12 minutes, drain the hot water, then run the eggs under cold water a few times, finally leaving cold water in the pot and allowing the eggs to sit for roughly 10-15 minutes.  Peel eggs.  Cut in half lenthwise and seperate whites from yolks.

Put yolks in a bowl and mash with the back of a fork.  To the bowl add the mayo, both mustards, curry powder, shallots, chives and almonds.  Mix to combine well.        

 

  

 

Take the whites from two of the eggs and chop them with a knife.  I cut them into a small dice.  Then, with the back of a fork, gently mash the remaining egg whites, adding them to the bowl.  Mix everything together, adding salt & pepper to taste.   Assemble your sandwich and get eating!