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Cookies With a Kick – Irish Cream and Coffee Cookies

I am a fan of Irish cream and an even bigger fan of coffee,so something that can bring the two together is bound to be pretty tasty right? When we were on the lookout for Christmas cookies this year this is one of the recipes that we came across during our hunt and I knew we had to give them a try if for no other reason than I liked the way they sounded. A coffee flavored sugar cookie with and Irish cream butter cream meringue on top? Yes please! The recipe originally comes from the Cooking Channel and Nealey Dozier.

Irish Cream and Coffee Cookies

For the Coffee-Flavored Sugar Cookies:

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coffee extract
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned in and leveled)
3 tablespoons finely ground coffee (not instant)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Irish Cream Italian Meringue Buttercream:

1 1/4 cups sugar
5 egg whites
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur, such as Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/2 teaspoon or more coffee extract
Chocolate-covered espresso beans, for garnish

For the coffee-flavored sugar cookies: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater blade (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter, sugar and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Combine the vanilla, coffee extract and egg in a small bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the egg mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.In another bowl, stir together the flour, ground coffee, baking powder and salt. On low-speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until completely incorporated and a soft dough has formed.

Place a rectangular sheet of parchment or wax paper on a clean surface. Pat the dough out into a rectangular shape on top of it. Cover with another sheet of parchment and roll the dough to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Remove the top sheet of parchment and transfer the dough to a baking sheet. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Cut the dough into rounds (or desired shape) using cookie or biscuit cutters. Transfer the cutouts to the baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Gather the scraps, roll again and cut out more rounds (refrigerate to chill the dough if it gets too soft).

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness and shape. Do not let the cookies brown; start checking for doneness early. The finished cookies will have slightly golden brown bottoms, but they will feel very soft and under-baked until they cool. Hold the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the Irish cream Italian meringue buttercream: In a small, heavy saucepan, stir together 1 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup cold water to combine. Heat the mixture on medium-high heat. Dip a pastry brush in water and brush down the sides of the pan to remove any excess sugar, and then partially cover with a lid to prevent crystallization. Cook the sugar mixture until the temperature registers 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

While the sugar mixture is heating, make the meringue. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high-speed until medium peaks form. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes total.

With the mixer running, slowly pour the hot syrup into the meringue. Continue beating at high-speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and beat until the meringue has cooled to room temperature and the bowl is cool to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Begin adding the butter two to three cubes at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high; add the Irish cream liqueur and coffee extract and beat until the butter and liquids are fully incorporated. (The buttercream can be held in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for one month.)

Transfer the buttercream frosting to a disposable piping bag fitted with a star or round tip. Pipe a layer of frosting onto each cookie and top with a chocolate-covered espresso bean.

The recipe says it makes about 30 cookies, which we got. I have to tell you, this was a little tricky to do and we had some mishaps and restarts along the way, but the end results are pretty good. Coffee extract may not be easy to find in your area ( I know it isn’t easy in mine) and it took some hunting but we got it. The cookie itself can seem deceiving when you are making it because they are very soft even when they are done. They do harden up once they have cooled but you will keep checking yourself because you swear they aren’t finished. Trust me, when the time is done, they really are done! The meringue needs some careful watching too between making sugar syrup carefully to make sure it doesn’t get too hot and crystallize (which happened and I had to start again) to being convinced the meringue would never hold up because you are adding hot syrup to it (somehow it holds; I am no scientist, but I am glad it worked). The end results though is worth it. I think it is a great tasting cookie. You get great flavor from the cookie itself and the meringue is spectacular.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. There is still lots to come, and I do have some recipes I forgot to take pictures of (sorry about that) but I will still share them anyway, Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on January 6, 2014 in Cookies, Cooking, Dessert

Tags: coffee cookies, coffee flavored sugar cookies, Cooking Channel, Irish Cream, Irish Cream and coffee cookies, Irish cream cookies, Irish cream Italian meringue buttercream, Irish cream liqueur, Nealey Dozier, Sugar Cookies

Split From the Cold with Split Pea Soup

04 Jan

Split pea soup has always been one of my favorites and one that does not get made too often, at least in my house anyway. traditionally it was always made with a ham bone to get the flavor from, which we never really have around this house very much. Secondly, Michelle has never been a big fan of pea soup, so I had stayed away from trying to make it. Recently she said I should give it a try since she knows how much I like it and she might feel differently about it now. Since I still did not have a ham bone to make it with, I went hunting for alternatives. I saw a lot of recipe that simply used bacon or ham steak as a replacement, but I wanted a bit more flavor than that. I immediately thought of ham hocks, but my local store did not have any. However, they did have some smoked pork necks and this seemed like it would work well enough so I gave it a try.

Split Pea Soup

2 smoked ham hocks or pork necks, each about 3/4 pound
1 1/2 cups green split peas, rinsed and picked over
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
8 cups water or chicken stock

Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add the ham hocks or pork necks and simmer for 1 minute. Drain and set aside. Pick over the split peas and discard any misshapen peas and stones. Rinse the peas and drain.

In a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and carrot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the ham hocks, split peas and the 8 cups of water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the peas are soft, about 50 to 60 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat. Remove the ham hocks and let them stand until they are cool enough to handle. Let the soup cool slightly.

Using a blender and working in batches, puree the soup on high-speed until smooth, about 2 minutes for each batch. Return the puree to a clean soup pot. Alternatively, process the soup with an immersible blender in the pot. Thin the soup with more stock, if needed. Place the soup over medium heat and reheat to serving temperature. Season with salt and pepper.

While the soup is heating, remove the meat from the ham hocks and discard the skin and bones. Cut the meat into small pieces and add to the soup. Stir to heat through.

To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls and serve.

I think the pork necks worked out really well and gave the soup a nice, smoky flavor that I really enjoyed. The soup thickened up nicely and tasted wonderful and there was just enough left over for me to have some for lunch today. It went really well with the Filipino sweet rolls that I made to go with them, but you could just as easily make some croutons to top the soup with also. As you can tell from the picture, I like to put a lot of pepper in my soup :).

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I still have a backlog of items from the holidays to share so I’ll be sharing more of those over the next few days. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

3 Comments

Posted by MikeG on January 4, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Soups & Stews

Tags: pea soup, pea soup recipe, split pea soup

Some Filipino Flair With Dinner – Pan de Sal (Sweet Filipino Bread Rolls)

03 Jan

I just received the latest issue of Saveur Magazine the other day where they list their 100 favorite things and in that issue was a little blurb by Kellie Evans about these wonderful rolls that she used to east after church that were made by the Filipino women in her community. They had a picture of these rolls and the description was so good I knew I had to try them out and find the recipe. Luckily, the recipe was in Saveur a little further back and these could not be much easier to make. There is minimal kneading you need to do and you get wonderful rolls from it.

Pan de Sal

6 cups bread flour, plus more

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 1/2 cups milk, heated to 115 degrees

1 tablespoon dry active yeast

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more

1 egg

1 cup plain bread crumbs

Whisk the bread flour, 1 cup of the sugar, and the salt in a bowl. Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon of the sugar, 1 cup of the milk and the yeast in another bowl; allow the mixture to sit until it is foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining milk, plus the melted butter and the egg; whisk until it is smooth. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until the dough comes together. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it is smooth, about 3 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it loosely with plastic wrap, Set the bowl in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Place the bread crumbs on a plate. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, pat the dough into a 4 inch by 9 inch rectangle about 1/2 an inch thick. Working from one long end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Cut the dough crosswise into five 1 1/2 inch rolls. Gently coat the cut sides of the rolls with the bread crumbs. Place the rolls cut side up on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet spaced about 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and set the sheets in a warm place until the rolls have doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls until they are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve.

These rolls are incredibly soft and very sweet. They went really well with the soup I made for dinner last night and I think they would perfect for just about dinner or great for sandwiches at lunch or dinner. I actually cut the recipe in half because the original recipe I have shared makes 20 rolls. I cut mine a little smaller and got 14 rolls out of the batch and they still proofed up to be big so I think you can make them even smaller if you want to get more from the batch. One thing to remember about this recipe is that you do not want to overwork the dough and knead it too much so it you get the nice fluffy rolls.

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!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on January 3, 2014 in Breads, Cooking

Tags: Filipino sweet rolls, pan de sal, Saveur magazine

A Classic Side Dish From a Master – Alton Brown’s Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

02 Jan

You wouldn’t think there would be too much that you can actually do to change up this holiday classic, so when I noticed Alton Brown’s recipe for green bean casserole I had to check out what makes it so different from the classic you see on holiday tables each year. The biggest difference really is that everything is made from scratch. No canned fried onions, no cream of mushroom soup, no canned french green beans. I have nothing against the traditional way many people make this dish, but for me personally if you can use all fresh ingredients without preservatives and such that go into canned products, you are much better off and the taste will be a lot better. I made this dish for our Christmas meal and it was well worth the extra effort to put into it.

Alton Brown’s Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

For the topping:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Nonstick cooking spray

For the beans and sauce:

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved

2 tablespoons butter

12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup half-and-half

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Combine the onions, flour, panko bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until they are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 or 3 times during the cooking process to ensure they brown evenly. Once they are done, remove the onions from the oven and set them aside so that they are ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the green beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the green beans and blanch the beans for 5 minutes. Drain the beans in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain the beans and set them aside.

Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to release some of their liquid, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook the mixture for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the casserole is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and serve.

I have tried different recipes for this casserole before, but I think this one had the freshest taste of any I have made. I have never been a big fan of the canned condensed soups, so I was glad for the fresh mushrooms and half-and-half. I think this recipe had much better flavor than any others i have tried and it was definitely worth a little extra effort. Making your onions was quick and easy and they tasted great. The onions would be ideal just for burgers, let alone this casserole. I will definitely make this again, and not just for holiday meals.

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

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on January 2, 2014 in Cooking, Holidays, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tags: Alton Brown, alton brown green bean casserole recipe, best ever green bean casserole recipe, fried onions, green bean casserole, green beans

A Prime Way to Start the New Year – Prime Rib Sandwiches

01 Jan

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful day and evening yesterday and you are ready to start off 2014 in grand style. Granted, this recipe is not one that you can make very often, but since I had some leftover prime rib, this seemed like a great way to make good use of it. Of course you can always make a little prime rib if you want just to make these sandwiches. While I did get the recipe from Saveur, I altered it quite a bit to the point where I think it is mostly mine so I could make use of some items we all like in the sandwiches.

Prime Rib Sandwich

1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 ounces mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups beef broth

1/2 Roasted Prime Rib recipe or leftover prime rib, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 sandwich rolls

Slices of cheese – Provolone, Colby Jack, Cheddar (whatever you really like), for topping

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it is shimmering. Add the onion and cook until the onion softens and is just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook just until the mushrooms begin to release some liquid, about 3 to 4 minutes.Whisk in the flour and cook until it is well blended into the vegetables, about 2 minutes. Slowly begin to whisk in the beef broth, a little at a time until so that it absorbs a bit into the vegetables and then just add it slowly, whisking constantly, to avoid lumps from forming in the gravy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Bring the gravy to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the gravy is slightly thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes.Stir in the butter and add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the prime rib and cover the pan until the meat is heated through, about 5 minutes. Place one roll on each serving plate and place slices of prime rib in gravy, onions and mushrooms in the roll. if you desire top with any cheese that you like and serve as a cheese steak sandwich or simply serve as an open-faced sandwich without the cheese.

For the cheese steak style sandwich, you may want to place the sandwich under the broiler for a minute to get the cheese melted the way you would like it. I preferred mine without the cheese and just as an open-faced sandwich. You can add all kinds of toppings to this if you wish, like peppers, or hot peppers or even other vegetables that you might like to have. You can even serve it with some mashed potatoes or some oven baked french fries and let them get some of the delicious gravy as well. To me, there was no better way to make use of the leftover prime rib. It was super tender and tasted great with the gravy. It made me wish I had leftover prime rib around the house a little more than once a year!

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for some more recipes. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, Happy New Year and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on January 1, 2014 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Leftovers, Sandwiches

Tags: leftover prime rib, prime rib recipe, prime rib sandwich, prime rib sandwiches, roasted prime rib, Saveur

A Great New Year’s Eve Snack – Pulled Pork Nachos

31 Dec

This snack is actually great for all kinds of occasions, but it seemed like a pretty good one to make for New Year’s Eve as well if you want something different for your party guests or for yourself. Ideally, you would want to make the pulled pork well ahead of time so you have it on hand and ready to go. When I made these, I had some leftover pulled pork that I used from the dinner we had and it fit perfectly with the nachos. If you want to try the recipe and find you do not have the time to make the pulled pork yourself, you can always try buying pulled pork that has been pre-made and heating it up for use. It may not taste as good, but it will get the job done. My recommendation is if you have the time, go for it. If you can’t do it for this New Year’s Eve, keep it in mind for football playoff games, Super Bowl parties or they next time you just want a really good snack and what to take your nachos dish to the next level. I got this recipe from Food Republic, but you can certainly do different variations on this, as I did.

Pulled Pork Nachos

For the Pork Rub:

1/4 cup smoked paprika

1/4 cup kosher or sea salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chili powder

1/4 cup ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

For the Pork:

1 4-5 pound pork shoulder or butt

1 bottle of your favorite beer

For the Barbecue Sauce:

2 cups ketchup

1 cup whole-grain mustard

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup bourbon

1/4 cup reserved pork rub

For the Nachos:

1 bag tortilla chips

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

shredded Monterrey jack

red onion, sliced or diced

thinly sliced scallion

thinly sliced Fresno or other mildly hot peppers

For the barbecue sauce: Combine all your ingredients in a small pot, and whisk them for a bit to get everything incorporated together. Put the pot on the stove over medium heat, and wait for the sauce to start bubbling, stirring occasionally.Let it bubble for about a minute (while stirring a little bit), and then pull it off the heat and set aside, or refrigerate if making ahead.

For the pulled pork: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, and then combine all the dry ingredients for your pork rub, making sure you mix the ingredients well so that everything is evenly distributed. Rub down your pork. There’s a possibility you’ll have more rub than you need depending on how big your pork butt is, but that’s more good news than bad and you can always store it for another use.

Place the pork in a baking dish and pour in the beer. Cover with foil and place it in the oven. Every hour after the first couple of hours you can go in and baste it a little. Depending on your oven and the size of your pork it will take about 5 to seven hours to cook completely.

Pull the pork out of the oven and let it cool off a bit before you start pulling it apart with your fingers and removing any unsavory bits such as any bones or large pieces of fat. Mix the pulled pork with enough barbecue sauce (reheated if made ahead) to coat to your liking.
To assemble the nachos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then arrange a thick layer of tortilla chips on a foil-wrapped cookie sheet or in a pie plate, spreading the chips out for as close to 100% cookie sheet or pie plate coverage as possible.

Top your nachos in this order, or choose however you like them best:

Pork
Red onion
Beans
Jack cheese
Scallions
Peppers

Once the cheese is fully melted and just starting to crisp the nachos should be done. Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes to achieve a nice, crispy level. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

You can use all kinds of cheese when making these nachos; it is really up to you as far as preference. You can also make some changes and add things like tomato or black olives or even try making it with some barbecue baked beans for a really different flavors. They are nachos after all, so it is pretty hard to go wrong with them. The plate I made was on a pie plate so I had layered everything a couple of times before putting it in the oven. Needless to say, there weren’t any left after I put them out; they went pretty quickly.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again for more new recipes. I hope everyone has a safe New Year’s Eve and enjoy wherever you are going to be and whomever you are going to ring in the new year with. Thanks for making 2013 such a great year for my blog. it has blown up to be a lot bigger than I had ever thought it would get and I am so glad so many people enjoy sharing the recipes and fun with me. I am looking forward to an even better and more fun 2014. Enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal! Happy New Year!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on December 31, 2013 in Cooking, Holidays, Leftovers, Pork, Snacks

Tags: barbecue sauce, Food Republic, Food Republic pulled pork nachos, nachos, pulled pork, pulled pork nachos

It’s Never Too Cold For Barbecued Baked Beans

30 Dec

I have actually made this recipe a few times over the last several weeks because we like it so much. Even though it may seem like a good summer side dish, I think good baked beans can go well with any type of beef or pork dish at all. I actually made these as part of my birthday dinner when we made pulled pork and I made them again just this past weekend for a family party we were going to. The recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated and you do not need a ton of ingredients. All you really need is a lot of time in the oven or you can make them ahead of time if you know you have any occasions and refrigerate and reheat them.

Barbecued Baked Beans

4 slices bacon, chopped fine

1 onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound dried small white beans (2 cups), rinsed and picked over

8 cups water

1 cup black coffee

1/2 cup barbecue sauce, plus extra for seasoning

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

4 1/2 teaspoons brown mustard

1 tablespoon molasses

Tabasco sauce or hot sauce, for seasoning

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until it is beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the beans, the water, the coffee, the barbecue sauce, the dark brown sugar, the mustard, the molasses, 1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco or hot sauce, and 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt. Bring the entire mixture to a boil,scraping up any browned bits. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven. Bake, stirring every hour, until the beans are tender, about 4 hours.

Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and continue to bake, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened to a syrupy consistency, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season the beans with additional barbecue sauce, Tabasco or hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste before serving.

This makes a lot of beans, with the serving recommendations of 6 to 8 people, but I think it can easily feed more than that, so if you know you are having a crowd than this is a great side dish you can plan on using. I think it goes great with pulled pork, ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs, steak or even just is a great side for sandwiches. I used Navy beans for the recipe, but any white bean here will do and make sure you use dried beans for this and not canned. The canned beans will just turn to mush because of the long cooking. You do not need to pre-soak the beans either for this recipe since they are cooking for such a long time and will get tender on their own.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for some more recipes to try. With the new year creeping up on us, I will have lots of new things to try out and share along the way. Thanks for following along and reading. Enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

4 Comments

Posted by MikeG on December 30, 2013 in Cooking, Rice, Side Dishes

Tags: baked beans, baked beans recipe, barbecued baked beans, cook's illustrated, Cook's Illustrated baked beans recipe

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!

Getting Primed for the Holidays: One-Pan Prime Rib and Roasted Vegetables

27 Dec

When we decided to host Christmas dinner this year, I knew immediately that I wanted to make a classic prime rib dinner. To me, nothing says Christmas better than a prime rib roast, and I had just seen a recipe in December issue of Cook’s Country that seemed perfect to try out and that would save some room in the oven as well. This is a recipe for prime rib and roasted vegetables all in one pan. The vegetables get roasted at a high temperature while the meat is resting so everything can be done at the same time perfectly.

One-Pan Prime Rib and Roasted Vegetables

1 (7-pound) first-cut beef standing rib roast (3 bones), fat trimmed to 1/4-inch

Kosher salt and pepper

Vegetable oil

2 pounds carrots, peeled, cut into 2-inch lengths, halved or quartered lengthwise to create 1/2-inch-diameter pieces

1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced to 1/2-inch thick on bias

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

1 red onion, halved and sliced through the root end into 1/2-inch wedges

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

Using a sharp knife, cut through the roast’s fat cap in a 1-inch crosshatch pattern, being careful not to cut into the meat. Rub 2 tablespoons of kosher salt over the entire roast and into the crosshatch. Transfer the roast to a large plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 24 hours and up to 96 hours.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 250 degrees. Season the roast with pepper and arrange the roast, fat side up, on a V-rack set inside a large roasting pan. Roast the meat until it registers 115 degrees for rare, 120 degrees for medium-rare or 125 degrees for medium, about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Transfer the V-rack with the roast to a carving board, tent the roast loosely with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. If there is not enough fat in the pan, add some vegetable oil to equal 2 tablespoons. Toss the carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, onion, thyme 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper with the fat in the pan. Roast the vegetables, stirring halfway through the roasting process, until they are tender and browned, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and heat the broiler. Carefully nestle the V-rack with the roast among the vegetables in the pan. Broil the roast until the fat cap is evenly browned, rotating the pan if necessary, about 5 minutes. Transfer the roast to the carving board, carve the meat from the bones and cut the meat into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste and serve the roast with the vegetables.

This prime rib tasted amazing. It was buttery soft to cut and tasted amazing, as prime should. The vegetables were perfectly roasted as well to get great flavor from them. Don’t forget to save those bones once you cut them away as well. you can go ahead and make some incredible beef stock with those for soups later on.

I also made a quick chimichurri sauce to go with the beef. This recipe was with the prime rib recipe in Cook’s Country and really gave a nice bold taste to the dish as a whole. It is very easy to put together and would be great to go with any type of steak,

Red Chimichurri Sauce

1 onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes. Whisk again before serving.

You can make the sauce up to 3 days in advance and just let it come to room temperature while the meat rests. It is also a great addition to your morning scrambled eggs. One more thing about the roast: don’t skip out on the salting a few days before or at least one day before. It really makes a difference in drawing out the moisture of the beef so that it is nice and dry and browns really nicely at the low cooking temperature and the final 5 minute browning under the broiler really finishes it off.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe as I still have lots to share from my holiday cooking. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

4 Comments

Posted by MikeG on December 27, 2013 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Holidays, Sauce, Vegetables

Tags: Cook's Country, Cook's Country prime rib, one-pan prime rib and roasted vegetables, prime rib, prime rib recipe, prime rib roast, prime rib roast recipe, red chimichurri sauce, roasted vegetables

While Shepherd’s Watch By Night, They Eat Shepherd’s Pie

26 Dec

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. We had a great day filled with lots of love and laughs and plenty of good food, which I will be getting to over the next few days or so. It was a packed meal with lots of great recipes that I have to share. in the meantime, I do have a recipe to share that I made just before the holidays. I had some lamb that I had used to make a meal early in the week and decided to grind it up to make some shepherd’s pie, one of our favorite meals. I actually made this one right in my trusty cast-iron skillet to make things even easier. This recipe is from Cook’s Country and was very easy to make.

Shepherd’s Pie

Filling:

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, chopped fine

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped fine

2 pounds ground beef or lamb

Salt and pepper

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup beer

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

1 cup frozen peas

Topping:

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

Table salt

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup heavy cream, warmed

Ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten

For the filling, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it is foaming. Add the onion and the carrots and cook until they are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the meat, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 12 minutes. Add the flour and the tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste begins to darken, about 1 minute.

Add the heavy cream and cook until it spatters, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, beer, soy sauce and thyme leaves and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick but still saucy, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the frozen peas, adjust the seasonings to taste and transfer the mixture to a broiler safe 2-quart casserole dish.

For the topping, adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring the potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and water to cover the potatoes to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the saucepan and mash the potatoes with the butter and heavy ream until they are smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread the potatoes over the filling, using a spatula to smooth out the top. Brush the topping with the beaten egg and drag a fork across the top to make ridges. Bake until the filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Turn on the broiler and cook until the top is golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Just a couple of quick things about this recipe. If you prefer to use ground beef instead of lamb, it is easy to substitute. For the beer in this recipe, I used a basic lager (Samuel Adams in fact) but I think any mild beer would work well here or even a nonalcoholic beer if you prefer. The flour and cream mixed with the beer and soy sauce and tomato paste make for a nice, thick filling with great flavor. The topping is really just a basic mashed potatoes recipe, so if you have any leftover mashed potatoes you could also use them instead. In the past, I have also made a layer of mashed turnip or rutabaga to really add another layer of flavor. This one is a favorite around our house and I make this a few times a year.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another great recipe. I have quite a backlog of recipes to share now, so there are some great things ahead, including a roast lamb, roasted prime rib roast with vegetables and chimichurri sauce, melted potatoes, green bean casserole,French onion soup,, Swedish meatballs, homemade pizza rolls,baked beans,skillet pizza and more. I also got some new kitchen toys for Christmas to add to my arsenal and some new plans for the blog for the coming year, so keep checking back to see what is next. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!