Tag Archive for 'potatoes'

How-to: Roast Vegetables

Published by Hal on March 13, 2008 in technique. 2 Comments

salmon04

Roasting vegetables isn’t nearly so scary, and it’s a great technique for coming up with a quick side dish or using up something that might otherwise go bad. The trick is to use a vegetable that’s not going to dry out, and has enough natural sugar to aid in the caramelization process. Following these steps will yield you some delicious meals and/or sides that you can whip up in a snap:

  1. Find yourself some vegetables that have natural sugar and enough moisture that they can stand prolonged high, dry heat (potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, squash, onions, parsnips, carrots, turnips, brussel sprouts, etc…)
  2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
  3. Get a bowl and cut your vegetables into even, like sized pieces (into the bowl, of course).
  4. Get some of your favorite spices and some olive oil or melted butter. Drizzle the oil over the vegetables, and add a little bit of your spices (Some good combinations: potatoes and rosemary, squash or sweet potatoes and cinnamon, garlic and/or garlic powder on just about anything. Experiment and see what works for your tastes).
  5. Place the coated veggies in a shallow baking dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until they are nice and soft and just caramelized.

See, that wasn’t so hard! There’s nothing to this technique at all; however, I will give you a word of caution: leafy veggies might work, but they need a lot more attention. Don’t let them hang out for 45 minutes, or you’ll be eating charcoal. Zucchini and summer squash work well, too, when cut into quarters (like a pickle spear). Have fun, and happy roasting!

The Second Best Food Ever

Published by Hal on January 17, 2008 in health. 1 Comment

I’ve been trying to work out at least twice a week, and I need to find time during the week to go a few more times. I’m by myself tonight, as my wife has returned to our hometown for a wedding this weekend. So when I finished my third (!) workout for the week, this evening, I had to figure out what I was going to eat.

We’ve been really bad this week, in that we’ve gone out to eat nearly every night. And I don’t mean to a local place, which we like to do, but to a chain. Otherwise, I’d probably write about it. So, that means we haven’t really gone to the grocery this week. Which also mean that we have not a lot to choose from in the pantry.

I saw a delicious looking pasta dish I wanted to try out, but my time was a little off (don’t you usually carb it up before you work out?). Plus, I was cooking for one, and we aren’t going to be able to eat at home for the next several days because of this wedding. One thing I knew we did have was a potato.

Yes, folks, a plain and humble potato. And do you know what I did with it? I poked it full of holes, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and nuked it for 7 minutes. Then I put some buttery spread on it (I should have used butter, since I had it), a tiny pinch of salt, some shredded cheddar, and some fresh ground pepper. Yum!

Of course, that’s not much of a dinner. So I did what any good guy bach’in’ it for the day would do–I also had some tortilla chips, some Frito’s, and some bread I made the other day (which I need to post about–Saturday maybe?). Oh, and some turkey sausage bites that I didn’t realize needed to be “refrigerate after opening”ed until after I had popped about 4 in my mouth. Hopefully I don’t get sick.

Anyway! The potato–it’s great, because, like a banana, you get all kinds of goodness in one package. There’s only something like 110 calories in an average sized russet, and it’s packed full of nutrients! Of course, I killed some of the low-calorie-ness by added spread and cheese, but it was more tasty that way!

In fact, I would add it to my “Top Ten Energy Boosting Foods.” Potatoes rock. And, they are ultra versatile. Eat one today :)

Do you have a food to add to the “Top Ten…” list? What’s your favorite way to prepare a potato?

Image provided courtesy of Spotrick.

Recipes: Roasted Red Pepper Mashed Potatoes

Published by Hal on January 5, 2008 in recipe reviews, recipes and technique. 4 Comments

I got a potato ricer for Christmas, so my in-laws wanted to see it in action. I decided to make some roasted red pepper mashed potatoes, and they turned out pretty good. Basically, you take your standard mashed potato recipe and add some roasted red pepper puree and there you have it. The most challenging thing for me was roasting the red peppers.

This recipe was inspired by this post at Culinary Therapy, which only fed two people. I expanded it to make six generous servings, and thought it to be very easy. There are a million and one ways to make mashed potatoes, and I thought this one did a decent job cutting back on the “bad” ingredients. At the end of the day, each serving only gets less than 3 tablespoons of sour cream and butter combined. I also up’d the proportion of red pepper puree to potatoes, because I didn’t think the flavor could come through enough.

Ingredients:

  • 6 medium russet potatoes
  • 3-6 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup of sour cream
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter
  • 1 1/2 cup of chicken broth
  • 3 roasted red peppers, pureed

Directions:

  1. Roast the red peppers in the oven, under the broiler, until the skin is black and blistered.
  2. Once the peppers are roasted, place them in a plastic zip-top bag for 15 minutes to steam.
  3. Meanwhile, skin the potatoes and cut them into cubes.
  4. Place the potatoes and garlic in a large pot and cover them with cold water.
  5. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil.
  6. While the water is coming up to a boil, run the red peppers under cold water to help peel the skin.
  7. Remove the seeds and the ribs from the peppers and puree.
  8. Boil the pototoes until they are fork tender, then drain.
  9. Mash the potatoes (or run them through a ricer).
  10. Add the sour cream, butter, and pepper puree to the potatoes.
  11. Stir to combine, adding the chicken broth until you have reach the desired consistency.
  12. Salt and pepper to taste.

These potatoes are really tasty, and relatively easy. If you make them ahead and you aren’t ready to serve them, you can put them in a double boiler to keep them warm.

Enjoy!

Recipes: Pan Smashed Potatoes

Published by Hal on December 17, 2007 in recipes. 1 Comment

I saw this recipe over at 101 cookbooks and thought I would try it to tonight with my coq au vin (recipe to follow).

Before I start, though, I have a confession. I see a recipe and I get inspired, and I remember the gist of the recipe. But, in typical man fashion, I don’t get directions before I start. So, this recipe was inspired by the one above, but it’s not the same as the recipe linked above.

I was very pleasantly surprised, and I think it’s a very tasty way to prepare mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

  • One small bag of small potatoes (or 4-5 small/medium sized red potatoes)
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and place in a layer in a medium, non-stick saute pan.
  2. Add the salt, cover and heat over medium-high heat until crispy, turning at least once.
  3. Add the olive oil and smash the potatoes.

More pictures: