This is the first time I've written for this particular blog but I have to agree with Marrisse about Thanksgiving side dishes. I think they make the meal. Here is my contribution.

GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

5 lbs. unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
12 oz. butter, room temperature
5 oz. grated Romano cheese
1-2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. oregano

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, but still firm and holding onto their skins, about 45 min. Drain.
Stir in butter, Romano, garlic, salt and oregano and mash.

Dutch Oven Potatoes

Kirk Farmer made these amazing potatoes at the Bingham family reunion. He graciously shared his recipe with me. This makes a ton of potatoes!

Dutch Oven Potatoes

10 lbs potatoes, sliced thin (Kirk does his on a salad shooter, a mandolin might work just as well, you can keep the skins on or take them off, whatever you like.)
1 lb bacon, diced
1 lrg onion, diced
1 cube butter
water
shredded cheese (Kirk says he often uses Velveeta, because it melts so nicely. He also said the Mexican Velveeta is good in this too.)
14" Dutch oven

Cook the bacon in the dutch oven until crispy, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Cook the onion in the bacon drippings until translucent. Add the potatoes and stir to combine with the onions. Add a little water to help the potatoes steam. (Sorry, I don't think he told me how much he adds, I would imagine 2-4 cups would work. If you try it, let us all know what you used and how it turned out.) Dot the top of the potatoes with the butter. Cover and let cook for 45 minutes. Take off the cover and add the cheese and bacon. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I apologize if I have gotten anything wrong. Unfortunately, I didn't write down the recipe when Kirk told it to me, and I haven't tried it yet to see what I may have forgotten. I will let you know what happens when I do try it. Also, if you don't have a dutch oven, you could make this in the oven. I would try it at 350.

Sweet Potato Soup

The other day I somehow went over-board making Baked Chicken on Roasted Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes. I used the left-over chicken for chicken quesadillas (of course), but what to do with all that left-over potato/sweet potato? The sweet potatoes were cooked almost to the point of falling apart, which to my mind suggested "soup." So here's my on-the-fly recipe for potato/sweet potato soup.

First make Baked Chicken on Roasted Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes

--Peel and cut several baking potatoes and sweet potatoes in a 2" dice
--Rough chop one onion
--In a roasting pan, toss diced potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onion with 1/2 envelope of onion soup mix (no oil--the chicken will provide plenty of fat)
--Remove skin from chicken drumsticks and bone-in thighs (from all the pieces, or just some of them, depending on how much/little fat you want). Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder (don't over-do it), and "Herbs de Provence"--ie. basil, rosemary, marjoram, sage, savory, thyme, lavender (I didn't even know lavender was edible, but it's listed on this herb blend I used). Let sit about 20 minutes for seasonings to permeate the chicken.
--Arrange chicken parts on top of diced potatoes/sweet potatoes.
--Cook chicken and potatoes at 375 deg. F. for 45 minutes until chicken reaches at least 165 deg internal temperature and the vegetabels are soft.

I turn the chicken after 30 minutes so that it browns on both sides and sometimes even turn on the broiler for just a couple minutes at the end so that the chicken looks good and browned. People in this house seem to have a thing against pale chicken.

Also the sweet potatoes will be noticably softer than the baking potatoes, but other than adding the sweet potatoes after 10 minutes of baking--which would mean taking off the chicken, mixing in the sweet potatoes, and replacing the chicken--I don't see how to avoid that.

--Once your family has had its fill of the chicken and potatoes, season the left-over roasted vegetables with a little tarragon and thyme, and salt and pepper if needed.
--Add chicken broth and fat-free half-and-half (or other choice of cream/milk) in a ratio of 2 parts broth to one part cream. Actual amounts depend on how much vegetables you have and how thick or thin you want the soup to be (for 4 servings of fairly thick soup I used 1 cup broth and 1/2 cup half-and-half).
--Blend the vegetables with the liquids to a smooth, creamy consistency.
--In a sauce pan, gently heat through.

Uche said it was "okay"--maybe he was put off by the orange color--but I quite enjoyed it. I wonder how it would be with roasted apple or pears, maybe topped with toasted pecans.

Mini Pot Pies (Sort of)

I put this together with leftovers. On Sunday we had pot roast with rosemary potatoes and yorkshire puddings. So the next day I put together a hash with chunks of meat, the potatoes (I boiled up another one for bulk), a chopped up carrot and some peas with gravy to hold it all together. I didn't have quite enough gravy so I made some more in the form of a white sauce with beef broth instead of milk. I didn't add other seasonings (maybe a touch of salt) because there were already seasonings on the meat and potatoes. To reheat the puds, I gave them a few minutes in the toaster oven.

Once I had all of this, I cut the tops off of Yorkshire puddings and filled them with the hash. You can either put the tops back on them and eat them like a sandwich or with a fork or you can put filling on both halves and eat it that way. They were so cute and surprisingly filling. Jason was done after two and I could have stopped at one and a half. Also, the little bit of rosemary from the leftover potatoes really infused into the whole thing.

Here is the recipe for the Yorkshire puddings from Allrecipes:

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
2 Tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl beat eggs with milk. Stir in flour, set aside (I did this step in a blender because that was how my friend in London did it). Divide butter evenly in the 12 cups of a muffin tin (about 1/2 teaspoon each). Place tin in oven until the butter boils. Remove tin from oven and divide the batter evenly. Bake 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 25 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Note: When I had these before, they had puffed up and then fallen so they were like little buttery filled sink holes. For some reason, this time they didn't fall the same way so I was able to cut off the tops for the next night. If yours turn out the right way then you can just pour the hash on top.

Easter Dinner with a Twist

This year for Easter dinner, we had a pretty traditional meal. I made a couple of little changes that spruced it up a bit.

I didn't do anything to the ham. I know there are all kinds of yummy glazes and the such but we went with a plain ham this year. As a note to people cooking for a small group, this year I decided to just get a ham steak. Usually, I get all into the big hams and we end up eating ham for weeks with it getting pretty old. So this year, I thought ahead (go me) and realized we don't need 10 pounds of ham, we just need about 2 (and still had leftovers). I cooked it in the broiler and it was yummy and quick (the thick cut was done in less than 15 minutes).

For the vegetable, I went with asparagus (I cuss, you cuss we all cuss for asparagus). I wanted to try my hand at a hollondaise sauce but had already boiled all of our eggs for dying. Oops. Instead, I made a little mustard sauce that was simply dijon mustard thinned out with milk. I thought it might have needed something else and tried adding some lemon juice but the mustard was so strong that I couldn't taste the lemon. Once it was the right consistency, I microwaved it a bit to warm it up. The sauce also went well with the ham.

Finally, the potatoes. This is just the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook but rather than cheddar, I used gruyere cheese.
Au Gratin Potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion - I used two good sized green onions
clove garlic, minced
2 T butter
2 T flour
salt
pepper
1 1/4 cup milk
3 medium potatoes, sliced

Melt butter and saute onion and garlic. Add flour, slat and pepper and let it soak up the butter. Add milk all at once. Cook until thick and bubbly. Stir in cheese and cook until melted. Place potatoes in a greased 7x11 baking dish and pour sauce on top. Bake, covered, in a 350 oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 - 20 minutes.

Sauerkraut and wurst

I told Hilary I would post this recipe for her. I have eaten a lot of sauerkraut and this is my favorite way. German sauerkraut is different than this. It is much more mild. It often has things like apple and bits of bacon in it. I imagine that this recipe is the Dutch peasant way of making it, modernized, of course, to fit American grocery stores.

These are the ingredients:

1 jar of sauerkraut--make sure to buy it in a jar, the canned stuff is nasty. I haven't tried the deli section kind. I usually buy a big jar of Steinfeld's. You may want to start with the smaller jar.
1 polska kielbasa--I prefer the lite kind.
1 package of bacon--don't substitute pre-cooked.
1 pot of potatoes

Here's what you do, in no particular order:
1. Cut up the kielbasa into serving sized pieces. (A package has eight servings.) Put them in the bottom of a pot. Pour the sauerkraut and juice over them and heat until bubbly. I usually put this on about the same time as the potatoes and just let it simmer until the potatoes are done.
2. Cut the potatoes into bit sized pieces. I peel them, but that is a taste issue you'll have to decide. Put them in the pot and cover them with water. Salt them heavily. Potatoes are where flavor goes to die. Cook the potatoes until they are tender, drain them, and then put them back on the hot burner to dry a bit. This won't work for those of you with gas stoves, but the pot usually is hot enough to dry them on its own.
3. Cook the bacon. You can do it in a pan, but I like this method from America's Test Kitchen: Preheat your oven to 400 and put your oven rack in the middle. Arrange the bacon on a rimmed baking sheet (the slices can overlap just slightly), and bake until crisp and brown, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet front to back halfway through. I find I like my bacon in a little longer. Save the bacon grease.


So here you are at the table with your pot of sauerkraut and kielbasa, your pot of potatoes, your plate of bacon, and your bowl with the bacon grease in it. Now what?

This is how I like to eat it. My kids, the deconstructionists, eat everything separate. I put some potatoes on my plate and I mash them up a bit with my fork. I put some sauerkraut on top and a kielbasa piece next to it. I take a piece or two of bacon and crumble it over the sauerkraut and then I top it all off with a spoonful of bacon grease. I usually salt and pepper too, but I don't think Aaron does. Then I mix everything together lightly to work that bacon grease throughout.

A magazine I was reading a while ago polled its staff about their favorite comfort foods. This is one of mine. I smell the sauerkraut and the bacon, and I know I'm about to enjoy something wonderful with fond memories of Opa. Aychamahockies. (That's what Opa said after the prayer and before we ate. I imagine it means bon appetit and I know it's spelled wrong.)

Indian Food Extravaganza

On New Year's Eve, I coordinated an Indian food feast for my family in town at the time. This included: 10 adults and 16 children including 2 teenagers. Naturally I was intimidated by this many people and planned a lot of food. Also naturally there was no way I could have done this all on my own. I had a lot of helpers and I was almost more like the supervisor. So, along with rice, here is what we made:

Palak Paneer 

1/3 cup ghee (clarified butter- we used oil so Brennan, who is allergic to dairy, could eat it)

1 bulb garlic - I think we used one bulb but had doubled the recipe

1/2 tsp toasted cumin seed

1 6 oz can of tomato paste

fresh ginger - I have no idea how much we used. It says a 3 in piece

1 tsp garam masala - a spice you should be able to find in a regular grocery store

1 tsp salt

1 onion, chopped

1 cup water or as needed

fresh spinach - when I made this for just me, I would use 1 1/2 - 2 bags

1 lb paneer or queso fresco - a non-melting cheese, you can make it if you are feeling really ambitious

Melt ghee in large saucepan and saute the garlic, cumin seed and onion. Add the tomato paste, ginger, garam masala, salt and water. Stir until tomato paste dissolves then simmer for 1 hour, adding water if necessary. 

Stir in spinach, a little at a time, and cook until spinach is wilted. Mix in the paneer just before serving. You can garnish it with cilantro but I always seem to forget that part. 

Lamb Madras Curry

This one is pretty spicy. The recipe calls for a make your own curry paste. I wasn't able to find the ingredients for the paste so I used a powdered blend of madras spices. Some day I want to actually make the paste. For now, to the best of my recollection, this is what I did.

1 1/2 tsp tumeric

2 1/4 lb lamb meat cut into 1/2 inch cubes

few T Madras Spice Blend - we bought it at the Asian food market but it was also at the regular grocery store but more expensive

1/4 cup oil

4 onions diced (or just a bunch)

1 can coconut milk

2 cups water, divided

1 tsp fennel seeds

10 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp sugar

3 T warm water

Sprinkle tumeric over the lamb. Toast the fennel seeds and set aside. In a dutch over, over medium, saute the onions in the oil. Add the meat and spice mix and fry for a minute. Stir in 2/3 of the can of coconut milk and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. 

Stir in the rest of the coconut milk and 1 cup water along with the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and fennel seeds. Cover with the lid ajar and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally and thin if needed.

When the lamb is tender, stir in the garam masala and sugar. Cook 5 minutes longer or until the sauce thickens. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving. 

Butter Chicken

diced onion

swirl of oil

2 T butter

2 tsp lemon juice

1 T ginger garlic paste - I just use chopped ginger and chopped garlic in equal amounts

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup tomato puree

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taset

pinch salt

pinch pepper

oil

1 lb chicken thighs cut into cubes

1 tsp garam masala

pinch cayenne pepper

Heat oil and saute onion. Stir in butter, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, chili powder, cumin and bay leaf. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add tomato puree and cook 2 minutes while stirring. Stir in half-and-half and yogurt and simmer 10 minutes on low, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside. 

Heat oil in large skillet and cook chicken until lightly browned. Reduce heat and season with garam masala and cayenne pepper. Stir cooked chicken into sauce. (Emily, did we add the cornstarch to this one? I didn't think so but wasn't too sure.)

Aloo Matar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

chopped onion

1 T ginger garlic paste

1 bay leaf

4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup frozen peas, defrosted (or the amount that gives you the proportions you like)

1/2 cup tomato puree

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 T cilantro

Cook the potatoes. Heat oil and saute onion (are you sensing a theme?), ginger garlic paste and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes and peas. Add tomato puree, garam masala, paprika, sugar and salt. Continue cooking until it's all mixed through. Add cilantro before serving. 

Roti

flour

salt

swirl oil

water

Stir together flour, salt and oil. Add the amount of water that makes it the consistency of bread dough. Kneed it on a floured surface a few times. Take a small handfull of dough and roll it out onto a floured surface. In a dry pan heated over medium heat, cook until it begins to bubble up (if the heat is too low, it won't bubble up and if it's too hot, it will burn in places). Flip. It should bubble more. If the first side needs more browning, flip again. 

To eat, tear it into pieces and pick up the food with it. This can be messy but really is better. For amounts, Jason and I will eat between 2 and 3 roti per meal depending on how big they are. 

This all probably sounds very intimidating. For a regular dinner, I will often make two meals: a meat and a vegetable. Also to remember, while Indian food has a lot of ingredients, the process isn't usually too bad. I do recommend chopping everything before you start cooking. I have overcooked a number of spices because I was still working on chopping something.