Savory Pork Roast

On the topic of crock pot meals… here is another recipe from the current “Fix-It and Forget-It” Magazine that is available until 4/12.  It called to me because it sounded very German!  Pork and Sauerkraut with caraway is a classic German combination! This one is easy to make and very yummy indeed.  Be sure to drain the Sauerkraut, but don’t rinse it – it will add flavor to the roast.  After removing the pork and sauerkraut, the sauce is thickened in the end with a slurry of cornstarch.

I will make this again.  I served it with wide egg noodles and peas.  I used a pork shoulder roast, but you could use one that is less fatty.  The good thing about pork shoulder is that it really falls apart after long cooking times without being overly dry. Another change I made, was seasoning the pork with salt and pepper before browning it.  It added a touch I think that was needed.

Savory Pork Roast

adapted from Fix-It and Forget-It Magazine (2012 issue) p 29

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb pork roast (boneless is preferred, but bone in pork shoulder works as well)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 1 jar Sauerkraut, drained (I liked Nathan’s New York Style Kosher)
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 3/4 cup water

Thickeners:

• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp water

Instructions:

Season your pork roast with salt and pepper on all sides and heat a large pot over medium high heat.  Add vegetable oil to the pot and then proceed browning the pork roast on all sides, turning the roast about every 4 or 5 minutes.

Once the roast is nicely browned on all sides, place it into your crock pot.  Sprinkle the minced garlic over the top of the roast and top with sliced onions, drained sauerkraut (but not rinsed) and caraway seeds.  Pour the water around the outside of the roast.  Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.

Remove the cooked pork and sauerkraut to a large platter and strain the cooking liquids.  Place just the liquids back into your crock pot.  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water and stir to combine.  Add the cornstarch slurry into the cooking liquid.  Cover and cook for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally.  Serve the gravy with the meat.

Printable Recipe

Salmon with Creamy Herb Sauce

I recently picked up a copy of Fix-It and Forget-It slow cooker magic.  You should be able to find a copy until April of this year (04/12).  They had several recipes that caught my eye.  I liked the look of this recipe but I adapted it to serve 6 (not 4), so the sauce ingredients are doubled and instead of 4 pieces of salmon I used 6.  I also changed a few ingredients in the sauce.  I thought there was too much mustard, so I reduced that and I increased the sour cream and added a dash of Worcestershire sauce to give it that last oomph that it needed.  I was afraid that cooking the salmon in a crock pot would make my whole house smell fishy.  It was not the case.  I think I found some very fresh salmon, which I am sure helped keep it from smelling too fishy.

Salmon with Creamy Herb Sauce

adapted from Fix-It and Forget-It Magazine (4/12) p. 70

Serves 6

Crock Pot Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sliced shallots
• 2 large lemons, sliced
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth (or 1 cup white wine/1 cup chicken broth)
• 6 (6 oz) skinless salmon fillet (1 inch thick)
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Sauce ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (or reduced fat if you like)
• 5 Tbsp sour cream
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• dash of Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Place the first 4 ingredients into the crock pot and pour the chicken broth over them.  Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 2 hours.

In the meantime, season the salmon with the garlic salt and red pepper flakes.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is time to add the salmon.

Prepare the Creamy Herb sauce:  Combine the ingredients listed and stir together.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

When the two hours are up for the lemon slices.  Carefully place the salmon on the lemon slices.  Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 30-45 minutes or until the salmon is cooked.  Remove the salmon to a platter and discard the liquids.  Serve the salmon with the creamy herb sauce.  Good with steamed rice and broccoli.

Printable Recipe

 

Desperation Dinners

Desperation Dinner: You know this kind of dinner.. your pantry has some ingredients but not enough to make something you have in mind.. so you substitute.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not work.  This is one that worked and boy did it ever work!  My family loves Lasagna, but I had neither ground beef or sausage to add to the filling and we didn’t want just plain or just spinach lasagne – no, that is too close to being healthy!  We like to live on the side of not good for you!  Well, actually, we are in process of changing that… but last year we lived!!!

My brother was in town for Thanksgiving – he lives in Harrisburg, PA and we do not see him very often.  Since he is single, he comes to see us about every other year.  He had a craving for lasagna, but I did not have the meat as I mentioned before… but I did have this: Pepperoni!  I made the lasagna as usual, except used pepperoni instead of the sausage.  Baked it as usual and the result was wonderful!  It is now my families favorite lasagna.

Pepperoni Lasagna

by goodcookbecky

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 (28 oz) cans spaghetti sauce (I like Hunts Traditional in the can- sometimes on sale for a dollar)
• 1 (9 oz) box Barilla No Boil Lasagna (or other pasta will work- even the ones you should pre cook but you don’t have to trust me)
• 1 (15 oz) container Ricotta cheese
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 2 eggs
• 1 (4 oz) package Hormel sliced pepperoni
• 1 (16 oz) bag Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

I like to use my large pampered chef stoneware casserole. The sides are over 2 inches and the lasagna so far has never bubbled over like it has in a pyrex dish- but you still can use it, just place a cookie sheet under it if that is all you have.  The beauty of the stoneware is that you do not have to spray it with non stick spray.

To make the lasagna, ladle half a can of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of your baking dish.  Place the (uncooked) lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, slightly overlapping.  Combine the ricotta cheese, egg, oregano, basil and half the Mozzarella cheese in a bowl and spread half of the cheese mixture over the lasagna noodles.  Top with half of the pepperoni slices.  Ladle the remaining sauce from the first can of spaghetti sauce.  Top with noodles.  Repeat layers.  End with lasagna noodles, pasta sauce, and remaining Mozzarella Cheese.  If you would like an extra crunch add about 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil.  Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes.  Uncover and cook until the cheese is melted for another 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Cover with foil again and let sit for about 10-15 minutes.

Printable Recipe

Gyros

I was recently looking through my very first cookbook that I bought for myself.  I was a Freshman in College then – and the Betty Crocker Cookbook was just the beginning of a growing passion.  I found a recipe for Gyros in the cookbook and I hesitate to try new recipes on my family – my two girls were off to winter camp with their church youth group – and the only child remaining was my adventurous eater… so I stopped at Trader Joe’s and picked up a few pita bread pockets.  I looked for ground lamb, but all they had was ground beef and it was an acceptable substitute. I also picked up some crumbled seasoned Feta cheese (though not in the original recipe) and it took the Gyro to the next flavor level.  Yum!

The recipe:

Gyros
adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook (1998)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb ground lamb (beef)
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsp canola oil
Sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek works too)
1 Tbsp fresh minced mint (or 1 tsp dry)
1 tsp sugar
1 small cucumber peeled, seeds removed, chopped

2 roma tomatoes, small dice
4 pita sandwiches, cut in half and opened
Crumbled seasoned Feta cheese

Instructions:
Mix first 8 ingredients together.  Form into 8 small meat patties.  Heat a skillet and add oil. Cook the meat over medium heat, turning frequently until meat is cooked. About 10-12 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, combine the yogurt, mint, sugar and cucumber. Stir to combine.

Serving Instructions:
Open the pocket of each half of pita bread and put one meat patty inside. Top with a heaping spoon full with the cucumber sauce, diced tomatoes and about 1 Tbsp feta cheese in each pocket. 2 halves equal 1 serving.

Printable Recipe

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

The site CHOW recently had a series of recipes posted that went with the theme of  Horror movies.  I found it entertaining and you may as well.  (link).  This is where I got the roasted pumpkin soup recipe.  The soup tasted fresh and was easy to follow, but I thought it could have benefited from some cinnamon or other spices to make it more tasty.  You start with roasting a pumpkin in the oven.  I have never done this – and after eating canned pumpkin products all this time (what was I thinking) – this one lacked the canned flavor, but I did not really miss it!

Roasted Pumpkin:

Heat the oven to 375 F, with the baking rack in the middle position.

Cut the (sugar) pumpkins (around 4 lbs in size) in half and remove the strands and seeds by scraping the flesh with a spoon.  Pour a little olive oil into the ‘bowl’ of the pumpkin and use a pastry brush to brush the oil on all edges.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 375F for up to 70 minutes.  Mine were tender around 50 minutes.  You can test the tenderness by inserting a fork into the  meat of the pumpkin to test the doneness, if it goes in easily it is ready.  Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 20 minutes.  Use a large spoon to scoop the pumpkin meat from the outer shell.  This is a really easy process.  You need 3 cups of pumpkin for this recipe.  I roasted 2 pumpkins and reserved the rest for pumpkin pie.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Serves 6 adapted from Chow

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bacon, cut into small strips
• 2 medium shallots, diced finely
• 1/4 cup dry sherry or red wine
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 3 cups roasted pumpkin (see above for preparation)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• cinnamon/curry powder to taste
• croutons/roasted pumpkin seeds/toasted sliced almonds

Instructions:

Cook the bacon in a stock pot over medium high heat until crisp and remove the bacon to a paper towel.  Cook the shallots in the bacon drippings until they are cooked, about 5 minutes.  Add the sherry (red wine) and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the chicken broth (originally 2 cups broth and 2 cups water) and thyme.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Add the roasted pumpkin and stir into the soup.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup (or carefully blend in a blender) until smooth.  Add the heavy cream just before serving. Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Add salt and pepper if needed and stir in a spice like cinnamon or curry to change the flavors

Top each serving with crisp bacon and croutons (or other) I used seasoned sliced almonds that I found near the salads – they were seasoned with pepper.  It was a nice substitution, but croutons would be great too!

A nice Fall soup!  Thank you CHOW for posting it.

 

 

Chili

In my quest to find a new chili recipe I turned to the Food Network website.  I have to admit, I don’t like watching Guy Fieri- from the way he wears his hair, to his over the top loud obnoxious personality -to the way he pronounces his name “Fi-etti!”  I am sorry, is there a “t” in your name? He just isn’t my cup of tea, but if you love him that’s great.. he needs a fan base– and he is on TV and I am not…

But I digress!  I did however try his recipe for “Dragon’s Breath Chili” after I read the reviews.  The name (of the chili) is more intimidating than the taste and I made some changes.  I reduced the peppers and cayenne pepper for one thing, because I wanted my kids to have half a chance of eating it!  This is a good recipe with a bit of spice to grab you, but not overpowering.  I may have to change my opinion of Fi-etti yet (Nah, that’s not going to happen!)  But the guy can cook – I give him that much!  It is more involved than my regular chili recipe that I make.  I changed a few things from the cooking too… I first cooked the peppers and onions- removed them from the pot.  Browned the chuck pieces in batches so they would brown properly (if you follow the directions of the original you won’t get nice browned pieces), then cooked the ground beef and sausage together. Once cooked added the spices and then threw it all in the crock pot to cook.  Here is the link to the original recipe. For best flavor, plan ahead and make this a day in advance.  I would place this in the medium+ heat category.  My kids were able to eat it.

Dragon’s Breath Chili

adapted from Food Network (Guy Fieri)

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 Tbsp jalapeno, minced
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
2 yellow onions, diced
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 lbs boneless chuck, trimmed of most fat and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 lb ground beef, coarse grind
1 lb bulk Italian sausage

2 tsp dried minced onion
2 tsp granulated garlic
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
12 ounces lager beer
1 cup chicken stock
2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans, drained, but not rinsed
2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained but not rinsed

Topping:
8 oz bacon, cooked and chopped
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded Cheddar

Instructions:

Roasting peppers: I don’t think it is completely necessary, but it does add nice flavor.  How? You place the peppers on your gas burner grate above the flame (or over a barbecue) and turn it from time to time after the skin blisters and turns black.  Then while the peppers are still warm, place them in a paper bag and seal the bag to “steam” them. This loosens the skin and makes them easier to peel later.  I did this process the day before I made the chili.

Chop the peppers and onions.  Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat and melt the butter and heat 1 Tbsp canola oil.  Saute the onions and peppers (bell, chilis) until they are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.  Remove the pepper mixture and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp of canola oil.  Season the chuck cubes with salt and pepper and brown them in batches in the stock pot.  Remove the browned pieces (set aside), and brown the next batches. (Julia Child was right, for proper browning, don’t crowd the meat).  After the chuck is browned, cook the ground beef and Italian sausage in the same pot.  Remove any drippings.  Add the seasonings (the long list of them- it is worth it).  Stir into the meat and cook for a minute or two. Add the tomato sauce, paste, beer, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Carefully pour the contents of your stock pot into your large crock pot.  Add the peppers and browned chuck beef.  Add the beans and stir everything together.   Turn the crock pot on to LOW setting.    Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours, stirring from time to time, or until the chuck beef is tender to the point of falling apart when you try to shred it with a fork.

To serve: top each serving with diced green onions, cheese and crisp bacon, if desired. Serve with cornbread or corn bread pudding.

Printable Recipe

Sausage Gravy

Wake up sleepy head!  Biscuits and Gravy will get them up and out of bed!

I found this recipe on my all time favorite site (allrecipes).  The recipe was posted by Bob Evans.  It is a restaurant chain on the East Coast that serves incredible breakfasts. I tweaked the recipe here and there.

Biscuits and Gravy

adapted from Bob Evans recipe on allrecipes.com

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt and black pepper to taste

additional ingredients:

• 8 prepared biscuits
• 8 fried eggs

Instructions:

Bake biscuits (I used the Bisquick Mix and used the recipe on the box).

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the sausage, crumbling the sausage as you cook it until it is no longer pink.  Move the sausage to the side of the pan and tilt the pan to let the drippings flow to the other side.  Add the flour and about 1/2 tsp of salt to the drippings (oh this is BAD!  But I feel a tingle! I should really not be eating this, but oh it is sooo good for you –oops tasty!)  Stir the flour into the drippings and combine until there is no raw flour left.  I actually added 2 Tbsp of butter to the drippings so the flour was not clumpy.  Heat the milk up in the microwave.  I find it combines better adding a warm liquid.  Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture and whisk it into the pan.  Add the sausage back in.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Bring the gravy to a boil and allow to thicken.  If it becomes too thick you can thin it out with additional milk.

To serve, split a biscuit in half  Top with a fried egg and ladle sausage over the egg, replace the top of the biscuit and ladle more gravy over the dish.  Soon you will have all sorts of creatures (children) crawling out of the woodwork to eat breakfast (big ones too).

Printable Recipe

Chicken Fried Steak

There is something special and comforting about Chicken Fried Steak. I think it is the sensation I have of my arteries closing up with the fat content in this dish!  I had to do something about the 5 lbs I lost in the past few weeks.  This did it! I made it before and even posted it on my blog, but it was a long time ago and my picture of it was very poor.

Here is the link to the original recipe.

The Best Chicken Fried Steak
Adapted from allrecipes     Serves 4
Ingredients

• 4 (1/2 pound) beef cube steaks
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups vegetable shortening for deep
• frying
• Gravy:
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 5 dashes of Tabasco

Instructions
Pound the steaks to about 1/4-inch thickness. Place 2 cups of flour in a shallow bowl. Stir together the baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a separate shallow bowl; stir in the buttermilk, egg, Tabasco Sauce, and garlic. Dredge each steak first in the flour, then in the batter, and again in the flour. Pat the flour onto the surface of each steak so they are completely coated with dry flour.
Heat the shortening in a deep cast-iron skillet to 325°F. Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Place fried steaks on a rack over a cookie sheet to drain.  Keep warm in the oven (around 275°F) until you have finished cooking the other steaks.
Drain the fat from the skillet, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid and as much of the solid remnants as possible.
Return the skillet to medium-low heat with the reserved oil. Whisk the remaining flour into the oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release solids into the gravy. Stir in the milk, raise the heat to medium, and bring the gravy to a simmer, cook until thick, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Spoon the gravy over the steaks serve with mashed potatoes.

Recipe Notes: Place wax paper between the steaks as you dredge them to prevent the steaks from sticking to each other  before frying.  I added a dash of tabasco to the gravy to give it more flavor.  Good recipe everyone liked it!

Printable Recipe

 

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

My Aunt Helen gave me this recipe when my husband and I got married.  I have made it quite a few times over the past 18 years.  18 years? Wow!  My Aunt is a wonderful cook.  I lived with them briefly before our wedding and my Uncle is the Pastor who officiated over our wedding ceremony.  My children enjoy this meal as well, but now that they are getting bigger, I may have to increase the servings to keep them satisfied!  Thank you Aunt Helen!

Aunt Helen’s Sweet and Sour Meatballs

serves 5-6

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

For the sauce:

• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 (13 oz) can pineapple chunks or tidbits, in juice
• 1 medium green or red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Serve with:

• 2 cups hot cooked rice
• steamed vegetables

Instructions:

Cook the rice according to package directions.

To prepare the meatballs: combine all the ingredients listed and stir to incorporate.  Form into meatballs (I use a small ice cream scoop so the meatballs are uniform in size).  In a non stick skillet heat over medium-high heat with a little oil in the pan.  Brown the meatballs, turning them from time to time to brown them and cook them through.  Remove the meatballs to a serving dish and keep warm while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, drain any fat from the skillet you used to make the meatballs.  Stir the cornstarch into a small bowl with a little water and stir to dissolve the cornstarch.  Set aside.  Put all other sauce ingredients into the skillet and heat through.  Add the slurry of cornstarch.  Continue to heat the sauce through, bringing it to a boil, stirring on occasion.  The sauce will turn a little opaque once you heat the cornstarch and will thicken.  Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve over steamed rice.

Printable Recipe

 

Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream

Part 3: Main Course:

1. Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce (Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons- Julia Child)
2. Buttered Green Beans I (Haricots Verts a l’ Anglaise- Julia Child)
3. Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a pinch of Garlic (Gratin Dauphinois – Julia Child)

We really liked the scalloped potatoes and buttered beans.  I have had more flavorful chicken, but it was not bad.  The sauce was good.  The recipe is pretty involved for the chicken, but it was certainly still in the good category.  Julia Child really explains her recipes well.  The steps are well spelled out.

Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce

(Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons- adapted from Julia Child – Mastering the Art of French Cooking pg 269)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 5 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp minced shallots
• 1/4 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 chicken breast halves, boneless, skinless
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup whipping cream
• salt and pepper
• Lemon juice as needed
• 2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400- 425 F (I had it at 425 for the potatoes)

For the Chicken:  Heat the butter in a large skillet over moderate heat until it is foaming.  Add the minced shallot and cook for a minute or two, without browning the shallot.  Add the mushrooms and cook stirring from time to time, but not browning the mushrooms.  Season with salt.

Sprinkle the chicken breast halves with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Quickly roll the chicken in the butter and mushrooms.  Butter a piece of waxed paper on one side.  Lay the paper buttered side down onto the chicken breasts.  Cover the skillet with a lid and put in the preheated oven.  After 6 minutes press your finger on the chicken breasts to test if they are done.  (If the chicken is soft to touch it still needs time to cook, if it springs back they are ready).  Remove the chicken to a warm platter and prepare the sauce.

For the sauce:  Pour the beef broth and white wine into the skillet with the mushrooms and butter.  Bring it to boil and reduce the liquid until it is syrupy.  Add the whipping cream and reduce liquid to thicken slightly.  Turn off the heat and taste adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper and lemon juice if desired.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.  Serve while hot.

Printable Recipe

Buttered Green Beans I

(Haricots Verts a l’ Anglaise- (adapted from Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 444)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3 lbs hot blanched green beans

salt and pepper, to taste

4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces

Preparation:

Cook the green beans in a covered saucepan with 1 inch of water, and 1 tsp of salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Steam the green beans for about 10 minutes, or until crisp tender.  Pour off the water.  Heat the beans to evaporate the excess water.  Season with salt and pepper and toss.  Pour into a prepared serving dish.  Dot the green beans with pieces of butter.  Serve while hot.

Printable Recipe

Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a pinch of Garlic

Gratin Dauphinois – (adapted from Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 523)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 6-7 cups Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8″ slices
• 1/2 clove garlic, cut in two
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 4 oz grated Swiss cheese (optional, but if you do omit it increase the butter by 2 Tbsp)
• 1 cup boiling milk

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Peel and slice the potatoes 1/8 inch thick.  Keep them in a bowl of water until you need them to prevent browning.  Drain and dry on paper towels when ready to use.

Rub the bottom and sides of the baking dish with the slices of garlic to give it a little flavor.  Coat the baking dish with butter.  Place 1/2 of the sliced potatoes in a neat layer along the bottom of the baking dish.  Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese and dot with half the butter.  Repeat with a layer of potatoes, season, sprinkle with cheese and butter.  Pour the boiling milk over the potatoes and bake at 425F for 20-30 minutes.  If they are just underdone, cover with foil and allow them to sit for about 10 minutes while you finish other parts of your meal – or bake them another 5 minutes.

Printable Recipe