Deviled Eggs, Potato Salad, and Triffle

Megapost! Mother's Day Brunch was a heck of a lot of fun and the eating was good. Most everything we served was ready to go hours before anyone showed up, which made having both my mother and mother-in-law over (love you guys, but no one makes a girl nervous quite like her mother and mother-in-law) easy-peasy.

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients
1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
3 tablespoons mayonaise
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
fresh ground black pepper

How To
Peel the eggs, cut them in half, and separate the yolks and whites:

Look how pretty the whites are on this bed of greens:

Mash the yolks, mayo, mustard and pepper with the back of a fork until nice and smooth:

Pipe the filling into the eggs using either a pastry bag or a freezer bag with the tip cut off:

Potato Salad

I love roasted potatoes in a potato salad. They're easier to make than boiled potatoes and have better flavor. In retrospect, I should have added capers. Good thing I can make it right with the leftovers!

Ingredients
2 pounds little yellow potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt, pepper, and garlic powder
2 celery ribs, chopped
5 radishes, chopped
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon dill
1 teaspoon capers

How To
Wash the potatoes and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Roast at 450 for 25-35 minutes or until the potatoes have good color and a fork easily breaks a test potato in half.

Let cool completely (I baked the potatoes the night before and assembled the salad in the morning) then cut the potatoes into 8ths. Combine with the celery and radishes:

Mix the remaining ingredients together to make a dressing and toss with the potatoes. Serve chilled:

Triffle

I'd planned to make these complicated little lemon tarts for dessert but everything seemed fated against that plan. So I said why fight city hall? and made a very easy triffle instead.

Ingredients
1 pound cake, cut into cubes
1 pound strawberries, cut up and dusted with a teaspoon of sugar
whipped cream
1 jar lemon curd

How To
Layer cake, berries, whipped cream and lemon curd, ideally in a container that shows the layers. How cute is this dessert in this jar? Adorable! Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Roasted Cauliflower

I'm cheating again. I posted this recipe for the first time last year but it's worthy of a repost with pictures-- it's too yummy! And it makes a believer out of former cauliflower haters (like my husband.) Spicy and crunchy and savory and oh, so good!

Ingredients
1 medium or large head of cauliflower
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil (depends on the size of the cauliflower)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
salt and pepper

How To
Mix the olive oil, red pepper, fresh ground black pepper (about a teaspoon) and garlic together. Wash the cauliflower and remove the florettes, cutting as much of the stems off as possible. Break the florettes up into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.

Drizzle with the olive oil mixture and sprinkle with salt, about a tablespoon.

Mix well. Let "marinate" for 20-30 minutes while preheating the oven to 400 degrees.

Spread the cauliflower over the bottom of a shallow baking pan and place in the oven.

Roast for 20-25 minutes, occasionally stirring in order to achieve even browning. Serve hot.

Here is is, served up with pork chops, mashed pots and homemade gravy:

Garlicy Buttery Spinach

I love spinach. I made this last night to go with some chicken curry and naan. The not-very-secret ingredient? Homemade chicken stock.

Ingredients
1 bag frozen spinach
3 big cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper

How To
Saute the onions and garlic in the butter until translucent. Have you ever heard the trick of cooking onions and garlic before guests arrive for dinner, even if they're not part of the meal? I think my mom taught me that one.

Add the spinach and chicken stock. Cook until the spinach is bubbling and bright green. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you're feeling naughty, lob another tablespoon or two of butter into the pan just before serving.


This does a great job of cutting through the spiciness of curry, though this could also easily be a creamy accompaniment to steak or grilled chicken with the addition of some Parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.

Stuffed Potatoes

I'm cheating. I wrote this up a while ago but had no pictures. What fun is a recipe without pictures? These can be prepared well in advance of when you plan to serve them and can even be frozen and baked as needed.

Ingredients (per serving, multiply as needed)
1 medium-large russet potato
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 heaping tablespoon sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or cubed (Patrick is a big fan of the cubed!)
1/2 teaspoon chopped green onion
fresh ground pepper
shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon (optional) to top

How To
Prepare potatoes according to the Steakhouse Potato recipe. Let potatoes cool until you can handle them comfortably.

Cut each potato length-wise. Using a soup spoon, scoop out the center of each potato, making sure to not scoop all the way out to the skin-- you want to leave some potato in the skin to give your skin some stability.

Arrange the skins in a shallow baking dish.

Put the scooped out skin in a heavy-duty freezer bag (1 pint-1 quart depending on how many you're making.) A freezer bag? Yes, a freezer bag. You'll thank me, I swear. Add the butter, sour cream, cheese, onions and pepper. Close the bag and squish the ingredients together until very well combined (my husband likes to do this step for me.)

Cut the corner off of your bag and squirt the filling into your potatoes.

Wasn't that easy? Now you don't have to clean a bowl or mashing instrument or nothing. Top the potatoes with the additional cheese and bacon (man, I love bacon. No bacon this time though.)

At this point, you can either bake the potatoes at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or you can refrigerate/freeze them for later use. We had these last night with tri-tip, chicken and grilled asparagus. Our friend Nora brought this gorgeous cake that I caught her boyfriend taking a picture of:

Mom's Easter Potatoes

I love Easter. It's such a happy holiday and it's all about family and food. No one is out looking for the perfect gift or hoping to fall in love so that they have someone to celebrate the season with. Here's my mother's table, set for Easter brunch:

And here's the dish that was my absolute favorite (and my brothers' favorite and my sister's favorite...) growing up:

One bite of this and I feel like a kid again, in a scratchy fancy dress and white Mary Janes, listening to the grown ups chatter and dreaming of what treasures I'll find during the egg hunt. It's funny, this recipe isn't like anything we cook these days-- the only canned foods we use are beans, tomatoes and tuna-- but come Easter and I need a spoonful of this cheesy casserole. Sometimes, you just have to admit that cream of mushroom soup can be magical.

UPDATE: My mom was cruising my blog and called to make some modifications. A little less soup, a lot more butter and sour cream!

Ingredients
12 big russet potatoes, baked, pealed and sliced
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups shredded jack cheese
1 brown onion, diced
1 regular can cream of mushroom soup*
1 regular can cream of chicken soup*
2 cups of sour cream
1 stick of butter
/21 box of corn flakes

How To
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the onion, potatoe and cheese in a big bowl. Heat the soup, sour cream and 1/2 of the butter in a sauce pan until the butter melts. Pour over the potatoes, mix well with your hands and pour into a large rectangular baking dish and place in the oven.

While the potatoes warm, melt the butter in a deep stock pot. Once the butter in melted, add the corn flakes and stir until the cornflakes are well coated in the butter. Take the potatoes out of the oven and top with the cornflakes. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cornflakes are toasted.

*I know! Seriously, I know.

Beet and Fennel Salad

Our dinner last night was one of the best we've had at home. My husband slow-smoked our boneless rib-eyes after seasoning them with his homemade beef rub. I made mashed potatoes with sauted garlic and shallots and a beet and fennel salad that stole the show.

Ingredients
2 raw beets, any color. (The golden beets were wonderful here. Just so you know-- red beets will turn your salad pink.)
1 medium fennel bulb
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 tablespoon poppy seed dressing

How To
Roast the beets, let them cool, peel them and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Clean and chop the fennel bulb as thinly as possible. Toss the fennel, beets and dressing together. Refrigerate until ready to serve. You can leave it in the fridge for as long as 6 hours. Just before serving, toss with the feta cheese.

Steamed Artichokes

I could eat a huge artichoke every day. I don't even need the butter to dip it into if it's cooked just right. In spite of my love for them, I waited a long time to try cooking one on my own. Those giant, pointy orbs in the grocery store just didn't look like the open flowers served to me at Houston's. After learning how to prepare and steam one, I had what can only be described as the "I-coulda-had-a-V8" moment of forehead smacking. It's the perfect food-- fancy without too much fuss. And a little dish of melted butter served along side ain't bad either.

Ingredients
1 fat artichoke per person
1 garlic clove per person
a lemon
salt

So here's how I prepare my artichokes for steaming. I hope you enjoy my decapitated demonstration. First, I wash them and then hack off the stem to make a flat bottom. Here, I cut a little too much and sacrificed some of the precious choke (oops!):
Next, cut the top off the the artichoke. This little bundle of leaves at the top is all thorns; you're better off without them:
Viola!
Then use kitchen shears to trim the remaining thorns from the big leaves (note my tricky photography-- the bottom of the artichoke is still there. Shock horror! So, the order isn't that important.)
Now that your artichoke is ready to go, how do you cook it without turning it into a soggy and bland mess?

Pour about an inch of water and generous salt into a stock pot and place a steamer in the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. I used to think steamers like these were too old fashioned. Surely, there was something better out there. Sorry, nope! Every home kitchen should have a steam basket.
Put your prepped artichokes in the steamer and squirt with lemon juice. I like to "open up" my artichokes by putting my thumbs in the middle and pulling gently. I then crush a garlic clove in the center of each, sprinkle generously with salt, then cover and walk away, letting them simmer gently until a leaf from the center comes out easily. This can take an hour. Don't let all that water boil away!

And then all your hard work is rewarded. Yum:

Roasted Baby Tomatoes

I'll admit it-- I made a batch of these a few days ago for my husband and I to have with dinner and I gobbled them all up before he came home.

These tomatoes are delicious served warm from the oven but are also wonderful pizza toppings or combined with buffalo mozzarella and basil as a twist on the classic caprese salad.

Ingredients
1 pound cherry tomatoes (or any small tomatoes you can find)
6 garlic cloves, pealed and coarsely chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

How To
Combine all the ingredients while preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until the tomatoes wilt and collapse in on themselves and everything caramelizes a bit. Serve warm or let cool for future use.

Stuffed Tomatoes

These tomatoes are yummy and healthy. Of course, you have to like anchovies to like these. Lucky for me, I do! These can work as an appetizer or a light lunch for 2. If you have leftover filling, it's terrific on a piece of crusty bread.

Ingredients

a dozen small tomatoes (obviously, the smaller the tomato, the more you'll need)
1 can canelli (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
4 anchovy fillets, diced
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
pepper

How To

Prepare your tomatoes by cutting a small slice from the bottom, making it easier for the tomato to sit upright. Cut the top off the tomato and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place the tomatoes upside down on a paper towel as you do this, giving them time to drain while you prepare the filling.

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Generously fill each tomato and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Broil at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the tops of the tomatoes are a deep, golden brown. Let the tomatoes cool for at least ten minutes.

The bigger the tomato you use, the more likely it is you'll end up eating them with a knife and fork. Not that that's a bad thing!

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Super easy and impressive! I eat this by the spoonful, all by itself.

Ingredients

1 bag fresh, raw cranberries
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Triple Sec
the zest of 1 orange (I always use an organic orange for this)

How To

Simmer all ingredients together until the cranberries start to "pop" and the sauce turns thick and bright red. Serve hot or cold.

Mom's Stuffing

Stuffing is baked inside the bird while dressing is baked in a pan. Mom made both at Thanksgiving because we were a family of stuffing hogs. This year, I'll be making the standard obscene amount, though I'm not sure we'll be stuffing the bird itself, which adds cooking time to the turkey.

Ingredients

1 stick of butter
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 boxes of stuffing (we always used Mrs. Cubbison's Seasoned Stuffing)
3 cups good chicken stock
1 pound spicy sausage, cooked and drained (we always used pork but I'll be using turkey sausage this year.)

How To

Melt the butter in a saute pan and add the onions and celery. Cook until the onions are translucent. In a large bowl, pour the stuffing. Pour the onions and celery, sausage, and stock over the stuffing and mix very well. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Savory Apples

I'm making these for Thanksgiving! The sauce is lovely. Be sure to not overcook your apples and to use fresh rosemary. Good as a side dish or served with roasted chicken or over pork loin. Serves 4 but can be doubled and tripled as needed.

Ingredients
2 large apples, pealed and sliced
1 cup apple cider or hard cider
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh, chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

How To
Combine all ingredients (except for the apples and cranberries) in a large saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the apples and cranberries. Cook until the apples are soft and the cranberries are plump. Remove the apples and cranberries, then bring sauce to a boil and let thicken. Pour over the apples and serve warm.

Spinach Gratin with Ham

I started with this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa years ago and have been slowly “modding” it to the great delight of family and friends. The version below is frequently requested and I get hungry just thinking about it.

Ingredients

2 bags of frozen spinach (16 ounces each)
1/2 stick of butter
4 cups chopped yellow onions
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped ham

How To

Thaw the spinach and squeeze as much liquid as possible from it. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Heat the cream and milk and add to the onion mixture. Cook until thickened. Add the spinach, ham, Parmesan cheese, and half of the Gruyere to the sauce.

Transfer the spinach to a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining Gruyere on top. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese on top has good color. Serve hot.

Spinach-Stuffed Potatoes

Yummy!

Ingredients
2 potatoes, baked and cooled
1 16-ounce bag of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove as much water as possible
2 ounces of gruyere or swiss cheese, chopped into very small pieces (not shredded)
4 tablespoons crumbled bacon
1 teaspoon granulate garlic
4 teaspoons butter, melted.
2 tablespoons cream cheese
freshly ground pepper (to taste)

How To
Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the insides to create a little boat (you won't be using the removed potato. Potato pancakes for another meal, perhaps?) Combine the remaining ingredients, save for the butter. Fill the potato skins with the spinach mixture. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

"Grilled" Asparagus

People always rave about my asparagus and it's one of the easiest things on earth to prepare. Generally, I throw it on the grill alongside whatever we're grilling that night, but you can also pop it in the oven.

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus with the tough, woody part snapped off
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic (fresh garlic can scorch and turn bitter easily on a hot grill)
salt and pepper

How To
Take two sheets of aluminum foil and lay them across one another so they form an X. Place the asparagus in the center. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with the granulated garlic and lots of salt and pepper. Wrap the seasoned asparagus tightly in the foil. Grill or bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Onion Pie

My sister taught me this recipe. This is a real love-it-or-hate-it dish but if you love it, you really, really love it. It's great as a side dish or as a light meal when you pair a slice with a green salad.

Ingredients
1 uncooked pie crust
1 6 ounce jar Dijon mustard
2 large, white onions, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon butter
1 can crushed tomatoes, very well drained
1 1/2 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
fresh ground black pepper

How To
Melt the butter in a pan and add onions. Saute until the onions are very soft. As the onions cook, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread the Dijon mustard thickly across the bottom of the pie crust and set aside. Once the onions are cooked, combine with the tomatoes and a good dose of pepper. Spoon the onion and tomatoes into the pie crust evenly. Sprinkle the gruyere over the top. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is very brown.

Your kitchen will smell amazing. Let cool slightly before slicing. Delicious warm or cool.

Baby Green Beans with Macadamia Nuts

Ingredients
baby green beans, two handfuls for two servings
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
a generous splash of white wine
a splash or two of soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

How To
Saute the garlic and oil until garlic is soft. Add beans and gently toss. Add wine and soy sauce and let bean cook until cooked through. Add macadamia nuts and toss. Serve hot.

Can-Be-Hammy Spinach

This is one of those recipes that I can't come up with a good name for. It's a quick imitation of the spinach gratin I like to make for potlucks and holidays (I add ham to mine, but it's optional.) In short, it knocks people on their collective asses, but sometimes I want the flavors without all the work. This is my quick version. Not quite as creamy, not quite as rich, but very tasty. My husband doesn't like cooked spinach, but he gobbles this stuff up.

Ingredients
1 clove chopped garlic
1/2 chopped white onion
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
8 ounces frozen spinach
1/2 cup chopped ham steak (I like Neiman Ranch's. Vegetarians can skip this without fear.)
1/4 cup shredded gruyere
pepper

How To
Saute the garlic, onion and ham in the butter or olive oil until the ham is "toasted". Add the spinach and stir until the spinach thaws. If you have a little white wine on hand, add a splash. Add the cheese and stir until the entire thing is hot and bubbly. Season with pepper and serve. Great with steak.

Roasted Beets

Beets are one of those foods that begs to be rediscovered. Roasting your own beets is a satisfying, easy task that tends to wow people. When you buy your beets from a farmer's market, you'll frequently have the option of buying them with the greens on top or without. If you keep the greens, you can wash and chop them, then saute them in olive oil, salt and pepper.

Roasted beets taste nothing like those watery things from a can.

Ingredients
1 or 2 large beets for each serving
olive oil
salt

How To
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scrub each beet well and cut off the top and bottom. Place the beet in the center of a square of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil and wrap the beet in foil. Arrange in a pan and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, peel the beets by rubbing them with a damp paper towel. The skin should come off easily. Rinse in cool water and serve warm or cold.

Grilled Asparagus

It's spring! That means hanging out in the backyard, firing up the grill. I love it, because it means my fiance and I get to cook together without the distractions of a messy kitchen or the television. And grilled food is tasty food.

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus (I like the thin stalks for grilling)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

How To
Wash your asparagus and snap off the ends. Place the stalks in a shallow dish and drizzle with equal amounts of olive oil and vinegar, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the asparagus on the grill, being careful to lay them on in the opposite direction of the grill slats so the asparagus doesn't fall through. Let the asparagus develop grill marks and soften, then roll them over to let the other side cook. Remove the asparagus from the grill and return them to the dish with the marinade. Serve warm or cool-- it's yummy both ways.

The treatment also works well for bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, green onions, and radishes!

And, please, if you've got vegetarians in your midst, don't put the grilled vegis right where you just blackened a rib-eye.