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Category Archives: Side Dish
I was sitting around the other day, tossing around some ideas for new and exciting dishes. Dishes that were new but still good old stand-bys. You know the kind …. old favorites! One of the first dishes that came to mind was my friend James’ twice baked potatoes. I have not had them in years but I remember them fondly. He would never share the recipe, saying it was a secret. Even though, I watched him make them once or twice, I could never figure out that secret ingredient. They were plump, cheesy and full of bacon and green onions; but, there was something different about this tater.
I can’t say we eat very many baked potatoes around our house, which is a shame. We eat potatoes but usually in different forms; soup, fried in duck fat, as salad, gently boiled, you get the idea. We also love to eat sweet potatoes but not the sweet kind. They have to be savory. I needed something new and tasty (and gluten free) to serve with a pork roast so I decided to try to create James’ famous twice baked potato using a sweet potato.
 
First I baked the potatoes in a bed of kosher salt. I became a fan of baking my potatoes in kosher salt a few years ago. It creates a nice crisp skin and very moist flesh as well the flavor is really outstanding without being over salty. After I baked the potatoes, I scooped out their bright orange flesh and mixed it with some fried pancetta, sauteed green onions, a little butter and sour cream and a handful of freshly grated gouda. After re-baking the stuffed potato skins until warm, I topped each one with a slight dollop of chipotle sour cream. The spicy cream was a great companion to the salty pancetta and nutty gouda. It was a party in our mouths!! This is perfect with a roasted pork roast or a grilled steak, yet, it is filling enough to stand on it’s own.
What is your favorite twice baked potato recipe?
Recipe: Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Cream
3 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean, dried and small holes pricked throughout
1 box kosher salt
3 slices pancetta, diced
3 green onions, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sour cream
kosher salt to taste
gouda parrano uniekaas, grated, handful
Heat oven to 400. Line a deep baking dish with foil. Fill with about half way full. Bury the potatoes in the salt, cover with the remaining salt. Bake until soft inside, about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on size of the potatoes. While the potatoes are cooking, cook the pancetta until golden. Add the green onions, stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven. Let cool about 10 minutes. Slice in half. Gently remove the flesh, leaving a slight lining as to not go through the skin of the potato. Put the flesh into a mixing bowl. Mash with a fork. Add the pancetta mixture, butter and teaspoon of sour cream, stir until mixed. Season with salt. Stuff the skins with the mixture of sweet potatoes. Put the stuffed sweet potatoes onto a baking sheet covered with kosher salt (I used salt from the first baking) and slide into a 350 oven and cook until warmed throughout, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for a couple minutes. Top with a spoonful of chipotle cream. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Chipotle Cream
1/4 cup sour cream, full fat
3 teaspoons chipotle powder
Mix in a small bowl, let set at room temperature until time to serve potatoes.
If you enjoyed this dish, you may enjoy these others as well:
Judis Bistro Twice Baked Potatoes
Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes
Twice Baked Potatoes
Remember those beautiful chanterelles we received? Well we had two fairly good sized ones left, which left us with the delemma of what to make. We both love grilled steaks with mushrooms … need we say more!
The chanterelles are so flavorful that they really do not need too much added to them. I sauteed them simply with olive oil, thyme, a little shallot, garlic and then finished it off with butter. Perfect companion for these beautiful grass-fed steaks!
These chanterelles would also be lovely on a piece of toasted baguette.
Recipe: Sauteed Chanterelles
2 medium sized chanterelles, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon butter
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan. Add the shallot and garlic, give a stir and cook for about 3minutes, to soften. Add chanterelles. Stir. Lower heat and cook until soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Stir on and off during this process. Add thyme and butter, stir. Season with salt and pepper. Serve. Eat.
Organic brown rice is simmered to perfection with green onions, olive oil and grated carrots, then lightly scented with warm bahart, served with simply roasted cauliflower for an easy midweek dinner or a great side for a roasted meal inspired meal.
We are down to bare bones at our house, it is definitely time to hit the market again. I only had a few ingredients to work with cauliflower, rice (thanks to Gudrun, for snagging me a big bag of Massa Orangics Brown Rice at Blogher – been dying to try their rice), some random staple veggies and spices. Usually when I have cauliflower around, I end up steaming it or turning it into soup – this was not exciting at all. As well, we are not big rice fans as we find it rather boring, but these were my ingredients to use – feel like a “Chopped Episode”.
I decided I would saute some green onions with garlic and then lightly brown the rice before adding the water. While it was simmering, I rummaged through my spices and decided to go with a middle eastern inspired meal, by adding Baharat. Baharat? Some of you may be wondering what that is, others know exactly what I am talking about. Baharat, in Arabic, means spices. It is a mixture of spices that is used in Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Israeli and Palestinian as well as in Turkish and Iranian dishes. Typical ingredients of Baharat include: allspice, black peppercorns, cardamon, cassia, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and dried red chilies or paprika. While the rice was simmering away (and did it smell great or what), I roasted the cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. By the time the rice was finished, the cauliflower was roasted to a nice golden color. I seasoned the rice with a little grey salt and a sprinkle more of the baharat. The caramelized cauliflower was the perfect companion to the warm comforting rice – the baharat added such a pleasant aroma and taste to the entire dish.
Recipe: Baharat Scented Rice
2 green onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 teaspoon baharat
1/2 carrot, grated
kosher salt to taste
Heat olive oil in a saucepan, over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, give a couple stirs and then add the rice. Stir a few times until the rice is lightly golden. Add the water and baharat, bring down to a simmer, cover and let cook for about 45 – 50 minutes. 10 minutes before it is finished stir in the carrot and season with salt. Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, stem removed and washed, pat dry
drizzle of olive oil
sprinkle of sea salt
Heat oven to 425. Slice cauliflower and lay in a roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprikle with salt. Put into oven and roast for about 45 minutes, until golden, cooked but slightly crunchy, unless you prefer a softer vegtable, then cook longer. Remove from oven. Serve. Eat.
Brussels sprouts and shallots are slowly roasted in duck fat until caramelized to bring out the natural sugars and flavors.
We both dislike Brussels sprouts; yes, we are haters! Which may seem odd since I am posting a recipe for just that. Recently we were at the Foodbuzz awards dinner and one of the dishes was Brussels sprouts. I have to admit I was not happy to see this on the menu, how was I going to gag these down at a dinner party? I was pleasantly surprised that they were amazingly ….. amazing. In fact, I loved them; slightly crispy with that nice golden color of being roasted. Unfortunately, I still was not convinced nor did I ever plan on attempting to put a Brussels sprout on the table! Then I saw a few different posts floating around about the “Brussels sprout”.
While Allison was showing me around the farmer’s market a couple weeks ago, I asked her about her Brussels sprout dish. She said she was inspired by the same Brussels sprout at Foodbuzz and that her dish was really good. This convinced me (as well as the duck fat addition) to give them another try. Last weekend we had a little pre-Thanksgiving dinner with my family and I decided I would spring this Brussels sprout dish on them. I did end up changing Allison’s dish somewhat, only because there was a whole lotta cranberries already happening on our table. I left out the almonds and cranberries and added caramelized shallots instead. The result …. delicious! Everyone loved them, even my 2 year old nephew, who kept saying “more”. Keep in mind this recipe is for an army of eaters, so you can half it if need be.
Recipe: Duck Fat Roasted Brussels Sprouts
*inspired by Local Lemons
4 pounds Brussels sprouts
8 oz duck fat
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 450. Slowly melt all of the duck fat, except for 2 tablespoons, in a saucepan. Remove outer leaves of the Brussels sprouts, keep the ones that do not have any blemishes. Cut off and throw out the bottom of each Brussels sprout, and cut them in half. Lay in a roasting pan and drizzle the melted duck fat over the top. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes until golden brown and caramelized. Gently stir the sprouts about 15 minute into the roasting. While the sprouts are roasting, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of duck fat in a frying pan. Thinly slice the outer leaves that you saved. Add the shallots to the duck fat and slowly cook, over low heat, until lightly crisped. Add the outer leaves and give a quick stir, just to coat the leaves, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Before serving stir the shallots/outer leaf mixture into the roasted Brussels sprouts. Serve. Eat.
The creaminess as well as the tartness of goat cheese rounds out the sweetness that roasting brings to fresh squash, the garlicky tahini dressing is the added bonus.
We made this dish a couple weeks ago to serve with our lemon rosemary roasted chicken. When we were planning this menu we had no idea that the finished meal would be a “mini” pre-Thanksgiving. This acorn squash dish was inspired by a roasted pumpkin dish I found in Australian Gourmet. This dish is middle eastern inspired by using a garlicky tahini dressing, cilantro and goat cheese, which went very well with the roasted acorn squash. In fact, this would be a great substitution for those “yams” that always find their way onto a Thanksgiving table. As well it makes a great vegetarian meal.
Recipe: Roast Pumpkin Wedges with almonds, goat’s cheese and tahini dressing
*adapted from Australian Gourmet
3 lb kabocha pumpkin or sugar pie pumpkin * we used acorn squash as we could not find pumpkin
1/4 cup olive oil
85 grams natural almonds – we did not add the almonds, we were going to use pumpkin seeds but ran out of time
80 grams soft goat’s cheese
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon tahin
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Place pumpkin wedges, skin side down, in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, season to taste and roast until tender 45 – 50 minutes. Meanwhile, roast almonds on an oven tray until golden, 6 – 7 minutes, cool, then coarsely chop. For the tahini dressing, crush garlic cloves to a smooth paste in a mortar and pestle, whisk in the remaining ingredients and season to taste. Divide pumpkin wedges among plates, crumble over the cheese, scatter with the almonds and cilantro leaves, and drizzle with the tahini dressing. Serve. Eat.
I always like to “kid” ourselves into thinking that the sweet potato is the “healthy” alternative to the potato. I love potatoes and could eat them everyday, literally. Neither of us are yam fans and do not even think of bringing over a marshmallow covered dish of sickly sweet yams to our house. But, when that yam has been called a sweet potato (even though a “yam” is not a sweet potato), I am intrigued! I discovered sweet potato fries a few years back and fell in love; move over russet there is a new guy in town!
We were cleaning out the freezer last week before our jaunt up to Lake Tahoe and found one lonely little grass fed Le Cense steak - it was definitely time to fire up the grill (yes, it was even warm enough to do that) and get the oil hot for some chips. I seasoned the steak with a Chipotle seasoning, I love to use, and just grilled it until rare. The sweet potato chips really complimented the slightly smokey flavor of the steak …. great choice!
Recipe: Sweet Potato Chips
(printed recipe)
2 sweet potatoes
canola oil
sea salt, to taste
Slice the sweet potatoes thinly. Heat the canola oil in a shallow frying pan, about half way up. To test for the right temperature, I drop a slice in and if it instantly starts to sizzle, it is ready. Fry the potatoes in batches until golden. Remove from the oil and bolt dry with paper towels. Put on a cookie sheet in the oven at 200, to keep warm. Before serving sprinkle with sea salt. Serve. Eat.
* I like to serve chips and fries with a little dish of mayo that has been seasoned with a couple minced gloves of garlic.
A traditional steak dinner served with creamed spinach and duck fat fried potatoes.
We were contacted a couple weeks ago by Ingrid who happens to be working with the Travel Channels online team, particularly the No Reservations sector. She asked us if we would be interested in spreading a little Anthony love. We jumped at it for a few reasons 1)we love the show & are faithful spectators 2)well, I am just going to say it, Anthony is HOT and 3)the obvious we should use a little self promotion as well.
Over emails the last week we were given the skinny on where Anthony will be taking us tomorrow night. Yes, it is his hometown & one of our favorite cities, Manhattan. While there he visited one of New York’s beef eating institutions, Keens. Keens has been around since 1885 and has become known as Manhattan’s only USDA Prime only restaurant. As well they have an outstanding Scotch collection. In honor of this memorable meal we thought it was only fitting that Anthony swing by for a little pre-Keen’s meal. Tonight we had one of his favorite meals …. steaks, creamed spinach and a glass of Scotch. Click the photo to see the video WE made of our dinner with Anthony.
 CLICK TONY – TO SEE THE VIDEO WE MADE
Avedano’s Meat Market has been in the back of my mind ever since I read an article about this woman owned butcher shop. Something mildly intriguing about women being butchers as well I heard that they have some of the best beef in San Francisco. Since we were having Tony over for a traditional steak dinner we wanted to get the biggest and juicest cuts they had and we found it with their New York cuts from the Five Dot Ranch. We wanted to keep it simple just as we imagine Keens does so we lightly seasoned them with sea salt, cracked black pepper and olive oil. Pan seared and then cooked to perfection.
Creamed spinach ….. I love the stuff and this was the first time Laudalino has ever had it. I remember the first time I had it at the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco. Nothing like creamy goodness next to a hunk of meat. I found an easy and traditional recipe in the Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything cookbook (my honey got it for my birthday). I did add my own touch to the recipe by adding a small amount of caramelized shallots along with the zest of fresh nutmeg. Otherwise, I kept it simple. I loved how creamy and buttery the dish turned out, very flavorful.
One cannot have a perfectly cooked steak without some potatoes. Not your ordinary fried potatoes either. It had to be duck fried potatoes. My first trip to Paris many moons ago I was introduced to this incredibly tasty morsel. Then I kind of forgot about it until I took a French cooking course a couple years ago. Now I keep duck fat in the fridge and when we are aching for some fried potatoes or celery root, out comes the fat. There is some intoxicating while the fat is heating up, the aroma is mouthwatering. I loved slaving over batches of potatoes taking it all in ….
The meal was simple honest food. Good all the way to your core. And if you are wondering, strangely enough, the scotch went nicely with the steak and the creamed spinach, I guess you could say it really cut through the fat!
Recipe: Duck Fat Fried Potatoes
2 potatoes, cut into thin strips
1 cup rendered duck fat
sea salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper
Heat duck fat in a shallow frying pan, over medium heat. Add potatoes in batches and cook until golden. Set aside on a paper towel, in a warm oven (125 or lower). Continue cooking with remainder of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve. Eat.
YEAH, our entry won the Chow Food Fight for Thanksgiving Sides! Thanks for all your votes and thank you to the Chow Editors for liking our recipe!
Want to add it to your Thankgiving Menu, here is the recipe.
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