A & K's Cheesy Potatoes

A Contribution to P's 40th birthday Celebrations in the Mojave!

1 bag (about 2 lb) frozen hash brown potatoes
3/4 cup butter, melted  
1 pint sour cream
1 cup plain yogurt 
1 large onion, chopped (sweet, white, or yellow)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (we usually use cheddar jack mixture from Costco)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper or more to taste

Optional: 1/2 pound frozen peas and carrots

Optional: 1/2 to 1 pound ham, diced

Optional: fried over-easy or sunny side up eggs for serving on top

Hot sauce such as Red Hot if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine frozen potatoes and melted butter.  Stir in sour cream, 

onions, yogurt, salt, pepper, cheese, and peas/carrots/ham if using.  Spread in a greased 13x9x2 inch pan.  

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.  
Uncover and bake 30 minutes more or until hot all the way through. Serve portions topped with a fried egg and/or hot sauce if desired.

Masala Dosa Filling

My friend K helped me out with a simple recipe for the filling inside a dosa.  This looks better than the mix I used! 

Pressure cook potatoes with salt and turmeric.
Mash it but not too much.
Sauté onions with some mustard seeds (a table spoon) and a cut green chilly or two.
Mix the potatoes well with the onions and adjust salt.

I can't wait to try it now that we have a reliable source of dosa batter in the neighbourhood.

Panforte Di Siena

Recipe by Gina de Palma, pastry chef at Babbo, NYC

This one comes from a dear friend of ours, JG, who modified the recipe to the quantities reflected here.  We often make a double batch.

Takes 90 to 240 minutes of active prep time (depending on how you chop the ingredients), 30 - 60 minutes of baking, and 3 weeks of rest.

Ingredients:

Equipment:

• Parchment paper
• 2 Sandwich tins (circular, shallow cake pans)
• Candy thermometer (any thermometer showing 217F/103C that you can wash)
• Cooling racks

Part A: 

• 2 c Whole almonds, toasted then chopped roughly
• 3 c Whole hazelnuts, toasted then chopped roughly
• 1½ c Diced, candied orange peel, diced
• 6 oz Dried apricots, diced
• 5 oz Dried figs, diced

Part B:

• 1 c All-purpose flour (+ extra to line sandwich tins)
• 2 Tbsp Ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp Cocoa powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp Ground cloves
• ¼ tsp Freshly ground pepper

Part C:

• 1¾ c Granulated sugar
• 1¾ c honey
• 6 Tbsp (3 oz) Butter (+ extra butter to grease sandwich tins)

Instructions:

1. Generously grease sandwich tins.  Line bottom of each with a circle of parchment paper, and grease again generously.  Tap some flour into each greased pan to lightly coat inside of each, turning the pan so each part of the greased surface is coated.  Invert each tin and tap to remove excess flour
2. Preheat oven to 325F / 165 C November 2021 note: try 275F next time
   
3. Prepare part A: toast each kid of nut separately on medium-low heat until not quite burned, then chop roughly with a serrated knife.  Alternative method: in small batches, put about ½ c nuts in blender and run for 2 seconds.  Hold the lid on and shake a few times: untouched nuts mostly migrate to the surface (see the Brazil nut problem for more information) and can be run in a subsequent batch.  Mix nuts with remaining ingredients
4. Mix ingredients in part B, then stir them into part A until blended.
5. Strap a candy thermometer to a pot, and then add part C to it, stirring over medium heat.  Once the liquid hits 217F/103C, pour it over the A & B blend, and right away spoon it into the prepared sandwich tins. Work fast.  Use a non-stick spatula to flatten the tops of all.
6. Put the filled tins into the preheated oven, and bake for 15 - 60 minutes November 2021 note: try 1.5 to 2 hours at 275F, until bubbly in the center.  If you accidentally overheated part C above 217F/103C, the mixture will need less time in the oven and may never bubble.  If you under-bake the panforte will not set.
7. Place on cooling racks and allow to cool for 15 minutes.  With a blunt knife, encourage the edges of each panforte away from the edges of the pans.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  Wrap in parchment paper, store in a cool dry place for 3 weeks, and enjoy with eggnog

Optimized Crepes

Not sweet, nor whole wheat; these crepes can go either way.  Who wants to juggle two kinds of flour or mix in sugar or buckwheat?

The recipe below is the current favourite.  It's the product of my own optimization process, and seems to work pretty well, so I'm recording it here for posterity.

For the crepes (for 4 people)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 c flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/6 c milk
• 4 Tbsp =1/2 stick = 1/8 lb melted butter
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

Equipment:

• Crepe iron
• Crepe spreader
• Crepe flipper
• Electric hand mixer
• Fine strainer
• 2 bowls, at least one of them big

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in microwave for 30s; let sit
2. Heat your crepe iron (2 on the 8-point scale)
3. Measure the flour into a big bowl and crack the eggs in on top of the flour
4. Starting with the eggs, beat them with an electric hand mixer, then mix in progressively more of the flour; the hand mixer should be gently complaining about its load by the time all of it is mixed in.  Don't worry about every lump
5. Add a tiny bit of milk and mix, then add a bit more and mix, then start adding more generous pours between mixes
6. Pour the 1/2 tsp salt into the melted butter, stir, then add the butter-salt into the batter and mix with the hand mixer
7. With a fine-mesh strainer, strain the batter into a new bowl and set the strainer to soak while it's still wet
8. Make the crepes

Best Salmon Ever: Planked Maple-Ginger Salmon

Cooked by Bob on the BBQ in Sunnyvale

1 cedar plank, soaked in warm water for a minimum of 2 hours, longer is better
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp olive oil
4 skin-on salmon fillets (or one large that covers plank - we used coho)
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
freshly cracked pepper to taste

combine vinegar, syrup, ginger and oil; brush 1/2 of mixture over salmon

preheat grille to high; place soaked plank on grill, and get it good and hot (recipe says until it starts to smoke); flip plank over and lay lemon slices over the toasted side; place salmon, skin side down, on the lemon slices.  sprinkle with salt & pepper.

cook, lid closed, 5 minutes; brush on remaining maple mixture, and (optional) cover with more lemon slices.

close lid and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes, until salmon flakes slightly when presssed

Gran's Creamy Leek Soup (from Thrifty's)

Creamy Leek Soup with Crumbled Stilton

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 medium leeks, halved, ends trimmed, washed, and sliced

1 garlic clove, sliced

3 Tbsp. flour

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 medium baking potato, peeled and cubed

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 cup whipping cream

100 grams crumbled Stilton cheese or aged cheddar

Method:
Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and cook until they are softened, about 4-5 minutes. Mix in flour until well combined. Slowly stir in the stock. Mix in the potatoes and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook until leeks and potatoes are very tender, about 20 minutes. Puree in a food processor, and then return to the pot. Bring back to a simmer. Whisk in whipping cream; season with salt and pepper. Pour into soup bowls. Sprinkle cheese on top and serve.

Options:
Make a creamy onion and Stilton soup by replacing the leek with 2 mediums onion, halved and sliced. Instead of Stilton, use any other blue cheese in the soup that appeals. Or, if you don’t like blue cheese, use a 1 cup of grated aged cheddar cheese instead.

Gran's Crunchy Garlic Chicken

Start with oven at 425 and nonstick spray or parchment paper on a baking sheet.

In one dish mix 2 tbsp melted butter, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp chopped fresh chives, ½ tsp salt and 1 large garlic clove, minced.

In a second dish mix 2 cups crushed cornflakes, 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, and ½ tsp paprika.

Dip 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves in butter mixture, then in  cornflake mixture, and place on baking sheet. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes. (I always need the longer time).

Yum hot and cold - great for picnics!