Asiago, Potato, and Bacon Gratin

Another option to boiling the potatoes in the initial cooking process is cooking them in the microwave.  I learned this from Cooks Illustrated and you can use this technique for speeding up many a potato dish.   For this recipe, just place sliced potatoes in a large microwave safe bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Microwave for a few minutes then remove and stir them up (be careful removing the plastic wrap, the steam will be HOT!).  Cook for an additional few minutes or until the potatoes are almost tender. Recipe from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds peeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 teaspoon salt, divided

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided

3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Asiago cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Drain. Sprinkle potatoes evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside and keep warm.
Heat a medium saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sprinkle flour over shallots. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 9 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, Asiago, chives, pepper, and bacon.
Arrange half of potato slices in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of cheese sauce over potato slices. Top with remaining potato slices and cheese sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Roasted Tomato Soup

This soup is so good!  It's the only time I buy pounds of tomatoes.  Any mix of tomatoes works, I just buy whatever looks good.  From Food Network.
 

2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes)

6 cloves garlic, peeled

2 small yellow onions, sliced

Vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, optional

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 quart chicken stock

2 bay leaves

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional

3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized.
Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside the roasted vine tomatoes for later). Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.
Wash and dry basil leaves, if using, and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish in bowl with 3 or 4 roasted vine cherry tomatoes and a splash of heavy cream.

Spanokopita

Spanokopita

1/2 cup olive oil
1 bunch chopped scallions, white and green parts
2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I usually use about 1 teaspoon dried)
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
40 sheets (1 box) frozen phyllo dough (defrosted overnight in the refrigerator)
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup plain dry breadcrumbs (I usually use Italian flavored bread crumbs)

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and add the scallions. Cook 5 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the scallions, dill, eggs, feta, salt, and pepper and mix together.

Keep the phyllo dough sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel. Unfold 1 sheet of the phyllo dough. Brush the sheet with melted butter and sprinkle with a few breadcrumbs. Repeat the process by laying a second sheet of phyllo dough over the first sheet, brush it with melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs until you have used 10 sheets. Spoon ¾ cup of the spinach mixture into a sausage shape along one edge of the phyllo dough. Roll it up. Brush the top with butter and score the roll into 1-inch rounds. Place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the pastry and filling have been used.

Place in a 400º oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Serve warm.

*My only major modification to this recipe is that I like to make the Spanokopita into triangle shapes. To do this, I follow the same method as above but only use 5 sheets of phyllo. Once you have the last sheet down, butter it and then cut all the sheets into four equal strips (cutting from long edge to long edge of the dough). Then place about 1 tablespoon of the spinach filling in the corner of one of the strips and then fold up flag style to create the triangle. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with a few breadcrumbs then bake as listed above.

Hash Brown Casserole

Hash Brown Casserole


1 26-ounce bag frozen country-style hash browns
2 cups shredded Colby cheese
½ cup minced onion
1 cup milk
½ cup beef stock or canned broth
2 Tbls butter, melted
Dash garlic powder
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425º. Combine the frozen hash browns, cheese, and onion in a large bowl. Combine the milk, beef broth, half the melted butter, the garlic powder, salt, and pepper in another bowl. Mix until well blended, then pour the mixture over the hash browns and mix well. Heat the remaining butter in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. When the skillet is hot, spoon in the hash brown mixture. Cook the hash browns, stirring occasionally, until all of the cheese has melted (about 7 minutes). Put the skillet into the oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the surface of the hash browns is dark brown.

*I usually saute the onions in the butter and then just combine everything in a large casserole dish (I skip the cooking of potatoes and cheese in the skillet). If you do this, just make sure you stir the potatoes about every 20 minutes in the oven so the milk mixture doesn't burn on the bottom.

Twice-Baked Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Twice-Baked Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 8

4 sweet potatoes, unpeeled (can use yellow or dark orange flesh sweet potatoes)
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 Vidalia or other sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small bunch fresh collard greens, stems and ribs removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups) *I've left this out before and they taste great or I've also used spinach
2/3 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cup shredded Swiss cheese (I used Gruyere)

Preheat oven to 350º. Using the tines of a fork, pierce the entire surface of each sweet potato several times. Place in the oven and bake until soft, 1-1 ¼ hours. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and let cool until they can be handled. Cut each potato in half lengthwise and, using a spoon, carefully scoop out the flesh from each half into a bowl, leaving about a ¼-inch lining of flesh in the skins to form shells with sturdy sides. Set the flesh and the shells aside separately.

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, combine the bacon, onion, and garlic and fry until the bacon is crisp and brown and the onion is soft, 8-10 minutes. Add the collard greens and the chicken stock to the pan, cover, and cook stirring occasionally, until the collards are tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the stock has evaporated, 5-7 minutes.

Add the rosemary to the sweet potato flesh and, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until smooth. Add the butter, cream and Parmesan cheese and continue to beat. Season with salt and pepper. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the contents of the frying pan to the mashed potatoes and fold until well combined.

Divide the mixture evenly among the 8 potato shells, mounding it slightly in the center. Place the stuffed potatoes on a ungreased baking sheet and top evenly with the Swiss cheese.

Bake potatoes until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are heated through, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a platter and serve at once.