Potatoes | onedadskitchen

The Lamb Lies Down with Roasted Potatoes

I have had a boneless leg of lamb in the freezer for a few weeks now and we had been waiting for just the right occasion to make it, but it was a pretty large roast so I had to wait until we were having some people over to share it with. It was over five pounds and I had bought it at a really great sale price so it was going to make a nice, elegant meal. For me, one of the best things with lamb is just some simple roasted potatoes and asparagus, which is what I decided to make that day, so I adapted this recipe from Michael Symon for roasted leg of lamb with potatoes. I had to alter it a bit to fit my particular needs since the recipe is for a 6-pound leg of lamb with the bone in, but I really wanted it more for the marinade than anything else. I just adjusted the spices down a little bit, but here is the original recipe that I used as a basis.

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Roasted Potatoes and Tzatziki Sauce

For the Leg of Lamb:
6 shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh rosemary
1/4 cup fresh oregano
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 6-pound bone-in leg of lamb

For the Roasted Potatoes:
Nonstick vegetable cooking oil spray
4 pounds unpeeled fingerling potatoes, rinsed and halved lengthwise
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
Kosher salt and black pepper

For the Tzatziki Sauce:
2 cups Greek yogurt
1 cucumber
kosher salt
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons Chopped Fresh Mint
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallot
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Leg of Lamb: Mix together in a medium bowl the shallots, garlic, rosemary, oregano, sugar, coriander, red pepper flakes, and salt.

Rub the mixture all over the surface of the lamb. Place the lamb in a large baking dish, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight.

Remove the lamb from the baking dish, rinse off the seasonings, and pat dry. Let the lamb sit a room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat a roasting pan or large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the lamb and brown the lamb on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes.Transfer the lamb, fat side up, to a roasting rack set into a roasting pan. If you have extra rosemary lay the sprigs over the lamb with a drizzle of olive oil over the top. Roast the lamb until the lamb reaches an internal temperature of about 140 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lamb from the pan and set it aside on a cutting board loosely tented with aluminum foil to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

For the Potatoes: Position a rack in the top third and 1 rack in bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Toss the potatoes with 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a large bowl. Sprinkle the potatoes generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheets, dividing the potatoes equally among the two pans. Roast the potatoes for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dill, and lemon peel in small bowl to blend for dressing for the potatoes. Reverse the baking sheets in the oven and toss the potatoes and continue to roast them until the potatoes are tender and brown around the edges, about 15 minutes longer.

Toss the roasted potatoes in a large bowl with enough of the remaining dressing to coat them and serve.

For the Tzatziki Sauce: Put the yogurt in a paper towel-lined or cheesecloth-lined strainer and set it over a bowl and let the yogurt drain for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Peel and dice the cucumber, sprinkle it with salt and place the cucumbers in a strainer at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours to drain.

Stir together the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice and zest, mint, garlic, and shallot in a medium bowl until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Naturally, you can roast the potatoes and the lamb together in the oven at the same time or even together in the same roasting pan to save yourself some space. When you take the lamb out to rest, you can then dress the potatoes and continue roasting them until they are roasted the way you like them. The Tzatziki sauce really goes well with the lamb and seems to blend nicely with everything. Don’t worry if your lamb is still pink inside when you roast it to 140 degrees; it really is at its best when it is medium-rare and has the best flavor. Overcooked lamb can be pretty tough and chewy, so this is one of those meals you want to keep an eye for temperature. It takes some prep work ahead of time, but the seasoning for the lamb is great and adds fantastic flavor and crust to the lamb. It is always a family favorite for us and something we don’t have too often, but ut is worth the effort to put in to make it once in a while.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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6 Comments

Posted by MikeG on June 16, 2014 in Cookbooks, Dinner, Lamb, Potatoes, Sauce, Vegetables

Tags: Michael Symon, Michael Symon roasted leg of lamb, roasted lamb and potatoes, roasted leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, tzatziki sauce

Wow the Crowd with This Zesty Potato Salad

13 Jun

Summer side dishes can seem limited at times and you might get tired of having the same old options of potato, coleslaw, salad, baked beans and the like. Everyone once in a while you just want to try to spice things up a little bit and try some new twists on old favorites so you can experience some new flavors and get ideas for future meals. Potato salad is one of those things that every family seems to have a basic recipe that they fall back on and pass down from person to person. I know I have made the same potato salad for years and was looking for a new way to spice things up a little bit and add some great flavor to this dish when I was making burgers the other night. I came upon this recipe in searching the Internet from a blog called Pass the Sushi and saw a posting for whiskey burgers and zesty potato salad. I decided to give both a try, and I am posting the zesty potato salad recipe first for you to take a look at.

Zesty Potato Salad

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered

3 cloves garlic, smashed

Kosher salt

6 slices bacon, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 red onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/2 cup Dijon mustard

Place the potatoes and the smashed garlic in a large stock pot. Fill the pot with water to about 2 inches above the potatoes and generously salt the water with the kosher salt. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the potatoes until they are fork tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the red onion, diced celery and the red wine vinegar. Season the mixture with salt to taste.

Drain the cooked potatoes from the stock pot and transfer them to a large bowl. Remove the garlic and throw it away. Add the bacon mixture to the hot potatoes and toss the mixture with the potatoes until the potatoes are well coated. Gently fold in the mayonnaise and the Dijon mustard until they are blended well into the potato salad. Refrigerate the potato salad until it is cold and serve.

To me, this is very close to have a colder version of German potato salad with the mix of the bacon, onions and vinegar with the potatoes, but you also get the flavors of the Dijon mustard and the mayonnaise added to it as well for some extra tang. The potato salad was very good, but it got even better the longer it sat in the refrigerator. We had some again with lunch the next day and it tasted even better than the first time. I really liked this recipe and I will definitely be using it again for barbecues or summer parties, though it does need to be refrigerated because of the mayonnaise so you need to be careful about leaving it out.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 13, 2014 in Cooking, Lunch, Potatoes, Salad, Side Dishes

Tags: Pass the Sushi zesty potato salad, potato salad, potato salad recipes, zesty potato salad

A Classic Steakhouse Meal – Steak with Maitre D’Hotel Butter and Mock Frites

27 May

I would love to have a great steakhouse meal now and then, but the steakhouses in New York City (which is about 45 miles away from us) are just too expensive and there just are not very many quality steakhouses in the area that we live that are affordable to the average family anymore. Sure, it’s a treat to go out and have a nice dinner once in a while, but it is also great if you make something similar to that experience all on your own at home and without the benefit of having a gas or charcoal grill to use. Even with a good grill, you never are really going to get the same type of steak you get at a good steakhouse unless you are spending a fortune for some quality aged beef and have a professional-grade oven that can get the heat cranked up to 800 degrees to get that great sear you need. So for the rest of us, there are still options to get a great meal for yourself. The New York Times recently had an article in their dining section regarding making a good steak at home and it can be a lot easier than you think with this recipe. It just takes some time and paying attention and you can make your own great steak and potato meal.

Steak with Maitre D’Hotel Butter and Mock Frites

For the Potatoes:

Kosher salt

8-12 new or baby potatoes

3 tablespoons canola oil

For the Maitre D’Hotel Butter:

6 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced

1 small shallot, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Splash of Champagne or white wine vinegar

For the Steak:

2 pounds beef steak, such as boneless rib-eye, approximately 1-inch thick

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Set a large pot filled with salted water on the stove. Add the potatoes, turn the heat to high and cook, gently boiling, until the potatoes are softened, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and dry them well.

Oil a sheet pan with half of the canola oil and put the potatoes in the pan in a single layer. Using a potato masher or the bottom of a heavy glass, gently smash each potato, pressing it down to a thickness of less than 1 inch. Drizzle the rest of the canola oil over the smashed potatoes and place the sheet pan on the top rack in the oven and allow them to roast until the exteriors are golden and crunchy, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add salt to taste.

For the butter, place the butter on a cutting board and, using a fork, cut the thyme, shallot, lemon juice and vinegar into the butter until the butter is creamy and smooth. Scrape the butter together with a chef’s knife and form it into a rough log. Roll the butter tightly into a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

As the potatoes finish crisping, make the steaks. Set a heavy-bottomed skillet (or 2 if your steaks are very large) over high heat and let the skillet sit for a few minutes until it gets very hot.Pat the steaks dry with paper towels to absorb any exterior moisture. Shower the steaks aggressively with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the canola oil to the pan and shake the pan to distribute the oil evenly. The oil should almost immediately begin to smoke to let you know the pan is ready. Place the steaks in the skillet and allow them to sear, unattended, for 4 minutes, until they have developed a good crust on one side. Turn the steaks over and cook for an additional 3 to 6 minutes for medium-rare. Remove the steaks to a warm platter to rest. Top each steak with a tablespoon of the compound butter.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and season them with salt and pepper to taste. Place 2 or 3 potatoes on each plate alongside a steak. Top each steak with pats of the butter and serve.

You really need to make sure your pan is very hot before you put the steaks in to make sure you can get a good crust. You also want to make sure you have gotten rid of any surface moisture from the steaks so they are not just steaming in the skillet but cooking to get a good sear. The steaks came out perfectly (of course you can always cook them longer to your particular liking, just keep a close eye on them so they don’t overcook) and the potatoes were perfect, crisp and crunchy just the way I like them. I used New York strip steaks since that is what was on sale when I got steaks and they worked out well. You can serve this with any traditional steakhouse recipe, like creamed spinach or asparagus, and having some nice bread to go along with it or some dinner rolls can really round it out for you. I made some corn on the cob and sautéed some mushrooms and onions to go along with the meal and used some of the steakhouse bread I had in the freezer. The butter is great not just on the steaks but on everything else you might serve as well.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 27, 2014 in Beef, Breads, Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Side Dishes

Tags: compound butter with shallots, mock frites, new york times, smashed potatoes, smashed potatoes and steak, steak cooking tips, steak with Maitre D'Hotel butter and mock frites

Fiesta Week Part 1 – Chorizo Tacos

05 May

I decided to make a bunch of Mexican dishes yesterday as kind of an early Cinco de Mayo kind of meal for Sunday since we were having some guests over. I made three different kinds of tacos, some re-fried beans, vegetable slaw, guacamole, salsa, confetti corn, pickled onions and radishes, southwestern egg rolls, avocado dip and more, so there were lots of things to choose from, some of which I have made before and posted here and some new things. Unfortunately, I got so caught up in all of the cooking that I forgot to take pictures of a lot of it, so I hope to take some pictures of some of the leftover items tomorrow. The only thing I did not have anything left of was the chorizo tacos, which seemed to be quite a favorite. I had bought the chorizo at Adam’s Farms since they make their own, but you could also make your own as well at home if you have all the ingredients or a favorite recipe you like to use. I saw a bunch of different recipes, but this one from Williams-Sonoma struck me as the best one of the bunch, so I used this one.

Chorizo Tacos

8 ounces (1 cup) Mexican chorizo sausage

3 medium potatoes

Salt, to taste

2 medium poblano chiles or red bell peppers

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

Guacamole (homemade or store-bought)

Salsa (homemade or store-bought)

Flour or corn tortillas

With a small knife, slice down the side of the chorizo casings. Remove the chorizo from the casing and discard the casing. In a large skillet set over medium heat, add the chorizo. Cook, stirring regularly to break up the clumps, about 4 minutes, until the chorizo is cooked through. If there is a lot of rendered fat, discard some of the excess and remove the chorizo to a bowl. Set the pan aside for later use.

Peel the potatoes and cut them in half, and then dice the halves. In a medium bowl, add the potatoes and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and toss the potatoes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave them on high for 4 to 5 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Roast the chiles or bell peppers by placing them directly over a gas flame (don’t use a pan), or 4 inches below the broiler in the oven, turning the peppers occasionally with tongs until they are evenly blackened all over. Place the peppers in a plastic bag and allow them to cool. Peel off and discard the blackened skin of the peppers. Pull out the stems from the peppers and the seed pods and discard them. Tear open the peppers and rinse off the seeds and bits of black skin. Cut the peppers into 1/4-inch pieces.

In the empty skillet, add the vegetable oil to a bit of the rendered chorizo fat set over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring regularly, until the potatoes are browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chile peppers and the chorizo and cook for 3 or three minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste the mixture and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Warm the tortillas and scoop the chorizo filling into a serving bowl. Set the bowl on the table with the warm tortillas, guacamole, salsa, hot sauce and any other accompaniments that you like.

Everyone really loved the chorizo tacos. They had just the right amount of spice and adding the potatoes to the mix really added something great as far as taste and texture to the mix. This mix would be great without the tortilla as a main dish with some rice or even as a breakfast with some eggs. You could even omit the chorizo altogether and just have the potatoes, onions and peppers if you wanted a vegetarian taco mix instead. I wish I had taken a picture of it as they were really good. Next time I make them I will post a picture of them for sure.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe from our Mexican fiesta. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on May 5, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Holidays, One Pot Meals, Pork, Potatoes, Vegetarian

Tags: chorizo sausage, chorizo tacos, chorizo with potatoes tacos, Cinco de Mayo recipes, guacamole, re-fried beans, salsa, taco recipes, tacos, vegetarian tacos

A Sweet Side Dish – Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

20 Mar

The sweet potato, in my opinion, is a side dish that often gets overlooked. At least I know in my house we forget about them a lot and we really shouldn’t see it is considered a super food. To me it’s a great side and has a lot more flavor than your typical Russet potato or Yukon gold potato and I would rather have a sweet potato than either of those. Anyway, I had come across this recipe from Guy Fieri on the Food Network when I was looking for something different to do with a sweet potato for dinner and I saw this simple recipe for twice-baked sweet potatoes. I actually changed it a little bit by microwaving the potatoes for 12 minutes first instead of baking them in the oven for an hour to soften them up so they could be done faster, but you can use either method and still get quality results.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

4 medium-sized sweet potatoes

5 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 stick butter

Vegetable oil, for greasing the roasting tray

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly scrub the sweet potatoes under cold running water. Place the potatoes on a roasting tray and bake the potatoes until they are tender, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and allow the potatoes to cool slightly before cutting of the top third of the potato lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh using a large spoon and be sure to leave enough on the base so the skin will be able to hold its shape and reserve the bases.

Add the sweet potato flesh, 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, the ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, cayenne pepper and the butter to a food processor. Process the mixture until the ingredients are completely combined and the puree is smooth. Season the potato mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a roasting tray with a little bit of the vegetable oil. Set the potato skin bases upright on the tray and fill the bases with the sweet potato mixture.

Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and the pecans, if using, in a small bowl. Sprinkle the top of each stuffed sweet potato with the sugar-pecan topping. Bake the potatoes for 10 minutes. Finish the potatoes under the broiler for the top to brown, about 1 minute, if desired.

As I had said, I scrubbed the potatoes and poked them with a fork and cooked them in the microwave for 12 minutes until they were tender so I could significantly cut back on the cooking time and I think they came out just fine. The flavors of the potato with the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg were great and although I omitted the pecans, I did drizzle a little bit of pure maple syrup on each one for some extra flavor. To me, it’s a great way to make an easy side dish to go with just about beef, pork or poultry dish that you want.

That’s all I have for today. Check back tomorrow for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 20, 2014 in Cooking, Potatoes, Side Dishes, Vegetables

Tags: food network, Guy Fieri twice baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato, sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes recipe, twice baked sweet potato, twice-baked sweet potatoes

A Bevy of Beguiling Irish Dishes for St. Patrick’s Day

17 Mar

A Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all! While for most people who think of Irish cooking as simply corned beef and cabbage and nothing more, I can tell you there are a lot of great Irish dishes you can try beyond that typical meal. There are some great meals you can choose from all over the Internet and I have posted a lot of Irish recipes on here, being he good Irish boy that I am. I have always wanted to see the cuisine beyond the corned beef and when Michelle and I went to Dublin we got to see, smell and taste a lot of different things. So if you are looking for some things to try this St. Patrick’s Day, here are some Irish meals I have posted on the blog that you can check out, including the classic corned beef and cabbage.

Beef and Barley Broth

Irish Cream and Coffee Cookies

Irish Onion Soup

Dark Chocolate Guinness Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

Irish Mussels in Guinness Cream Sauce

Beef & Guinness Stew

Guinness Chocolate Truffles

Traditional Irish Stew

Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Pressure Cooker

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Colcannon

Guinness Mustard

Grasshopper Pie

Homemade Shamrock Shake

Potato and Leek Soup

Irish Soda Bread

There are also lots more great recipes out there on the Internet that you can check out from some great sources if you are looking for something a little different. I will be making the corned beef and cabbage in the pressure cooker, along with some Colcannon, cabbage and the brown bread. Of course there will be Guinness and Irish coffee later on as well.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for some more great recipes. Until then enjoy the rest of your day, have a happy St. Patrick’s Day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 17, 2014 in Beef, Beverages, Breads, Breakfast, Cakes, Cookies, Cooking, Dessert, Dinner, Holidays, Lamb, One Pot Meals, Pie, Potatoes, Sauce, Side Dishes, Soups & Stews

Tags: corned beef, corned beef and cabbage, dishes to make for St.Patrick's Day, Irish cooking, Irish dishes, Irish recipes, St. Patrick's Day recipes, Traditional Irish Stew

Romance in the Air and On the Plate, Part 2 – Garlic-Thyme Smashed Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

16 Feb

A nice romantic meal needs some good side dishes, but you also want to keep in mind that you want the meal to be elegant but easy too. It’s not much fun if you have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking and then by the time you eat you are too exhausted to enjoy it. That’s why these sides were great to make. They go perfectly with the beef we had for the meal (recipe to come tomorrow) and both were made very easily. The first is for garlic-thyme smashed potatoes that you can do simply on the stove top with just a few ingredients.

Garlic-Thyme Smashed Potatoes

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound baby Yukon Gold potatoes, each about 1-inch in diameter

1 cup water

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

In a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the potatoes and water and season the potatoes generously with the kosher salt and ground black pepper. Cover the skillet and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat and smash the potatoes lightly with a spatula or potato masher. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are beginning to brown underneath, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook, stirring constantly, until the herbs are fragrant, about 1 minute. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

The potatoes get a great crust on them that make them nice and crunchy and the taste of the garlic and thyme goes perfectly with the rest of the meal. You can make these any time and I think they would go perfectly with any beef, pork or poultry meal.

The next dish was a very easy sautéed spinach with garlic. We make spinach pretty often and this is probably my favorite way to have it. You can cook this in under 5 minutes and have it on the table and it is a great, fresh alternative for a vegetable that night.

Sautéed Spinach with Garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, trimmed and washed

Kosher salt, to taste

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil until it is shimmering. Add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach in batches and cook until it is wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt to taste and serve.

A couple of things about the spinach. Make sure you wash it in a salad spinner or rinse it off before you cook it. Even the stuff that comes in a bag and says it is washed can still be gritty, so it never hurts to give it an extra rinse and dry it off. You also want to make sure you stir the garlic well when you put it in so it does not brown, burn and get bitter. It might not seem like all of the spinach will fit in one pan but spinach cooks down very quickly so you should have no problem. Spinach and garlic go together really well so this is the perfect side dish any night of the week, and is a classic side dish with steak or beef.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I’ll be highlighting the main point of our Valentine’s Day dinner, the rib-eye steak and the broiled lobster tails. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on February 16, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Holidays, Potatoes, Side Dishes, Vegetables

Tags: garlic-thyme smashed potatoes, sauteed spinach, sauteed spinach with garlic, smashed potatoes, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day menu

Beat the Weeknight Grind – Pork Cutlets with Sweet Potatoes and Maple Pan Sauce

13 Jan

After taking the weekend off to do some other work I am back with a great weeknight meal that I got from Cook’s Country. Weeknight meals can be the worst for busy families. You just feel like you never have enough time to be a home cooked meal on the table with work, school, homework, afterschool activities, chores and more, which can lead us to settling for takeout meals that aren’t good for us and are expensive. I always try to come up with meal ideas that can be made during the typical weeknight fast so it is something you can put together after you get home and have a meal on the table in under an hour. This one fits the bill for speed, taste and it is inexpensive to make. While the recipe calls for boneless pork cutlets, I had 3 bone-in chops on hand and decided to use those instead. It took a few minutes longer to cook because of that, but the taste results were the same to me.

Pork Cutlets with Sweet Potatoes and Maple Pan Sauce

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

2 teaspoons garam masala

2 teaspoons ground cumin

8 (3-ounce) boneless pork cutlets, 1/4-inch thick, trimmed

4 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Combine the sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a large bowl. Cover the potatoes and microwave them until the potatoes are nearly tender, about 7 minutes. Set the bowl of potatoes aside.

Meanwhile, combine the garam masala, cumin, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a bowl. Pat the pork cutlets dry with paper towels and season them with the spice mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it is shimmering. Add 4 of the cutlets to the skillet and cook until they are well browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the cutlets to a plate and tent the plate with aluminum foil. Repeat the process with the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and the remaining 4 pork cutlets.

Add the potatoes and garlic to the now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are browned and tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a platter. Add the maple syrup, Dijon mustard, cider vinegar and any accumulated pork juices to the now-empty skillet and simmer over medium heat until the mixture has thickened, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pork cutlets to the platter with the sweet potatoes and pour the sauce from the skillet over the top. Serve.

I really liked the flavor of the sauce and what it added to both the potatoes and the pork. Maple syrup and sweet potatoes just seem to go really well together and it was even better with the spice mixture on the pork. If you do not have garam masala on hand or can’t find it in your local grocery store, you can use a mix of ground coriander, cumin, ground cardamom, pepper and ground cinnamon and get the same flavor. It is a fast recipe that gives you great taste and all you need to do is add a vegetable or a salad and you are good to go with your meal in about 30 minutes.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I have a big work project I am working on right now, so I am going to try to get on here every day if I can to share some more ideas, recipes and more. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on January 13, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Pork, Potatoes, Sauce

Tags: Cook's Country, maple pan sauce, pork cutlets, pork cutlets recipe, pork cutlets with sweet potatoes and maple pan sauce, sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes with maple pan sauce

Help Me, I’m Melting (Potatoes)!

29 Dec

When we decided to make the prime rib dinner this past Christmas, the natural inclination would seem to go with mashed potatoes as a standard side dish. I wanted to try something a little different with the starch we were going to serve and try to keep things easy at the same time. I love mashed potatoes, but unless you make them ahead of time and re-heat them they can be a chore during holiday cooking when you have to stop and mash them perfectly. I thought a roasted potato would be just perfect and then I found in the same issue of Cook’s Country that I found the prime rib recipe this wonderfully easy recipe for melting potatoes, which are roasted potatoes that are popular in the United Kingdom and sometimes called fondant potatoes.

Melting Potatoes

3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled

Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Square off the ends of the potatoes and cut them crosswise into 1-inch thick disks. Toss the potatoes with the melted butter, the thyme salt and pepper. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer in a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

Roast the potatoes until the bottoms are beginning to brown around the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Using a flat metal spatula and tongs, loosen the potatoes from the bottom of the pan and flip them. Return the potatoes to the oven and continue to roast them until they are browned on the second side, about 15 minutes longer.

Remove the pan from the oven and flip the potatoes once more. Add the chicken broth and the garlic to the pan. Return the potatoes to the oven and roast until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has reduced slightly, about 15 minutes. Baste the potatoes with some of the sauce before serving.

This is a great side dish not just for the holidays but for anytime you want potatoes. I did alter things slightly. Since I had the roast out resting for an hour and was already roasting vegetables at 425 degrees, I put the potatoes in as well and let them cook for a few minutes longer to make up for the temperature difference. They may not have been the super crispy that is described in the recipe but they were still very crispy and the sauce had thickened nicely around the potatoes. They were a great brown color and the ideal compliment to the prime rib and roasted vegetables. I think they would just as well with any other type of roast or poultry and I plan to give them a try when it is just the three of us for a meal and see how it goes.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe from our holiday meal. There is still lots to come as we had appetizers, sides and desserts galore to choose from and I had made some things just before the holidays that I haven’t even gotten to yet. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on December 29, 2013 in Cooking, Holidays, Potatoes, Vegetables

Tags: Cook's Country, Cook's Country melting potatoes, fondant potatoes, melting potatoes, potato side dishes, prime rib recipe, yukon gold potatoes

50 Mashed Potato Recipes : Recipes and Cooking : Food Network

19 Nov

50 Mashed Potato Recipes : Recipes and Cooking : Food Network.

For most of us, having mashed potatoes is a crucial part of the Thanksgiving meal. There of course is the simple and classic way of making this dish, but Food Network has come up with 50 different ways that you can jazz up this traditional dish to make it a little different for your meal. Check it out!