Scalloped Potato Gratin

I was passing through the kitchen yesterday trying to come up with a quick and easy side dish to go with the steak we were going to cook Tony for Father's Day on Sunday.  My mind instantly went to potatoes and I realized that I didn't get around to posting the delicious scalloped potatoes that I made for him for his birthday!

Super easy side dish especially if you use the slicer attachment on you food processor.  He loved them and might just be seeing a repeat performance on Sunday!

See all the cheesy goodness with the delicious little browned bits that everyone fights over?

Scalloped Potato Gratin (Food Network - Tyler Florence's recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Butter
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.
• While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes. 

Asian Broccoli Slaw (Thanks Sherri M.!)

Sometimes you come across a really great recipe by luck and possibly a little boredom.  I know it’s happened to all of us before.  Either chatting on the phone (anyone do this anymore?), IMing, texting etc. and the other person mentions what they are making or eating.  And you hear it and you just HAVE to have it!
This happened to me a couple of weekends ago when one of my friends text me that she was making broccoli slaw and then she sent me a picture.  I had to have some…luckily she lives in the neighborhood and brought me some.  But sadly I had to share with the kids but it inspired me to make some more…the very next day!
Now, I don’t ever use Ramen Noodles (the really cheap packs you get and add hot water to) and to be honest I have never even tasted them but we have a case of them in our Hurricane Supply kit and I decided that this could put them to very good use!

Asian Broccoli Slaw (Sherri’s Mom got it from the Pastor’s wife)

Salad Ingredients
2 bags of broccoli slaw
6 green spring onions (chopped)
1/4 – 1/2 cup red peppers (chopped)
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds (I loved the salty sweet thing so I added extra)
2 pkg chicken flavor Ramen Noodle (just the noodle part) crumbled up and placed on top just before serving

Dressing Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
2 seasoning packets from the Ramen Noodles above
couple of dashes of hot garlic sauce just to taste

Directions

• In a large bowl mix all of the salad ingredients but the noodles (they will be used to sprinkle on top.
• In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients for the dressing.
• Toss the salad with the dressing and chill for a couple of hours before serving. 
• Don't cook the noodles, leave them crunchy.  Break them up and top the salad with them just before you serve the salad.

**We love this salad and yes, it will feed a crowd or 4 people who eat it at every meal when it’s there for a day or so.

Mediterranean Lentils

When I was in Toronto last month my Mom gifted me with a cookbook that my sister has been raving about.  Turns out I love this cookbook as well!

I have made several recipes from it already but seeing as the kids are still out of school I still have no time for myself!  That’s all about to change coming up next week.  Summer is officially over and the kids start back to school on Monday.  Really bittersweet for me.  I have had so much fun with them this summer, probably one of our best summers yet!

Anyway onto the recipe and expect to see a lot more from this book and from me…

Mediterranean Lentils

***Soak the lentils overnight

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils (green hold there shape better and are firmer)
2 thin leeks, whites only, washed well and chopped thinly
1 cup cilantro
2 tsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp dried)
pinch of fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp fish sauce (called for 3 but I added less)
1 Tbsp best quality extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Soak the lentils in plenty of cold water overnight.

Rinse and drain the lentils.  Place in a large saucepan and cover with just enough fresh water to cover them.  Bring to a boil.  Skim any foam from the water and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Add the chopped leeks and cilantro to the lentils and stir.  Add all remaining ingredients and simmer until tender-about 30 minutes.

Serve hot.

***I thought this was delicious!  Sadly though the night that I made it all I had time to make to go with it was hamburgers!  LOL.  Not the best combo but I can assure you that they were delicious the next day for lunch!!!

***WW point based on a one cup serving…1 Point!

Watermelon and Feta Salad

These babies are popping up all over the internet and I just had to have some. I thought that the combination of watermelon, vinegar and feta would be amazing…and it was!!!

This was such a bright, summery and delicious salad. I can’t wait to make it again!

Watermelon and Feta Salad from Dragon’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
1/2 cup tomato, seeded and chopped
1 seedless watermelon wedge, 5 inches wide, cut into chunks roughly the same size as the tomato and watermelon
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons basil leaves, shredded
1/2 cup crumbled feta

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix together the cucumber, tomato, watermelon and poblano.

2. Whisk together vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Add the basil and feta. Toss gently to combine.

5. Serve at room temperature.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Roasted Romanesco

Have you seen this veggie? It seems that some of the crazier looking vegetables are becoming more mainstream. This is the definition of it from Wikipedia - “Romanesco is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea and a variant form of cauliflower. Romanesco broccoli was first documented in Italy (as broccolo romanesco) in the sixteenth century. It is sometimes called broccoflower, but that name is also applied to green-curded cauliflower cultivars. It is also known as coral broccoli. It is rich in vitamin C, fiber, and carotenoids.”

I did a post on Romanesco last year because I thought it was such and interesting and unique veggie. This year it is popping up all over the place. I have used it in soups, steamed it, and eaten raw. This time I wanted to try roasting it as I had with cauliflower a couple of weeks ago! Turned out delicious and this is all I did…

Roasted Romanesco

Romanesco, trimmed and cleaned as you would broccoli or cauliflower
Olive oil
salt and pepper
sliced garlic
parmesan cheese grated

Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl toss all of the ingredients and roast on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes or until just tender.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Thyme and Rosemary Roasted Beets

Oven roasted beets with Rosemary and Thyme. See the pinkish tinge that white beets have picked up from the red?

I love Beets. I love them raw, pickled, boiled but I especially love them oven roasted! I first used this recipe last year when I was getting huge, beautiful beets from the farmers market.

I had some white and red beets in my fridge so I thought I would roast them up together. Not sure if the white ones taste any different or not but they certainly did look pretty altogether.

This recipe is from Jenn The Leftover Queen. She made hers into a salad using the tops and all. By the time I got around to roasting these the tops were happily in my composter doing it's thing in there!

Oven Roasted Beets (The Leftover Queen)

INGREDIENTS:

8 fresh beets
2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 425 F. Wash and trim beets, leaving their skins on. Wash and reserve beet greens.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Place beets on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, salt & pepper. Shake cookie sheet so that beets get coated with oil and spices. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 45 minutes or until beets are fork tender.

Take beets out of the oven and peel skins off. Note: If you care about your nails, which some people do, wear gloves, or you will have red dye under your nails for days afterwards. Do not run under water as it will wash away a lot of flavor. Cut into quarters. Drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper. Toss and set aside.

As Alway...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Still cleaning out the freezer and "Happy Meat"

"Happy" Rib Steaks with Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas and Parsley Potatoes!

I guess one of the reasons that I am so determined to get the freezer cleaned out and the food down to a manageable level in there is that with all of the storms lined up in the Atlantic I think that maybe we may loose electricity due to one of them. I would be so upset with myself if I let all of that wonderful food go to waste.

Crazy in the Atlantic right now!

As it is I have about a case of organic green peppers...I think I am going to stuff some of them this week, a case of organic zucchini, about $200 worth of "happy meat" from the grass fed cow (Jenn the Left Over Queen did a great post on this last week about the importance of eating grass fed beef, and said it so much better than me!) we had butchered about a month ago and a whole bunch of miscellaneous things, most of which I don't even remember! Some of which we don't even eat anymore. I know there are so pork chops in there that we won't eat because they are not grain fed, antibiotic and hormone free. What am I suppose to do with all of this stuff???

Anyway the other day I pulled out a package of the grass fed cow that was marked rib steak. Let it thaw nice and slow on the counter and the fridge. Also found some pretty dried up looking frozen sugar snap peas. I thawed those out as well and started to work on some potatoes for parsley potatoes (everyone's favorite here!).

The sugar snap peas were easy. Thaw them out and saute them in olive oil. Near the end of the cooking add some chopped garlic and when all of it is cooked up nice and heated through a few splashes of soy sauce and you have a great side dish!

The steaks were marinated (for about 30 minutes) in soy sauce, chopped garlic, pepper, dried oregano and a splash of olive oil and then grilled.

Any ideas on the zucchini and peppers???

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Parsley Potatoes?

Sounds pretty bland huh? Well I thought so too until I tasted them!!! T.'s Mom made these for us when we were in PA on our vacation and we recreated them when we were in Toronto at my families then again last night. Yummmm. I like potatoes but I don't LOVE them the way some people do. I could pass a baked potato for rice or a salad any day. But I LOVE these potatoes!!! Really simple to make and compliments just about any food. We had these with some fried chicken and a salad last night and they worked great. The kids love them too!


Parsley Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 -2 lbs of small red skin potatoes, cut in quarters. (I'm sure any white fleshed potato will work)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 stick of butter
3/4 of a lg bunch of parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Cook potatoes.
• In small pan melt the butter and add the chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
• Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl. Add butter sauce and toss gently. Add parsley and gently toss all together.
  
• Serve immediately.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com