Awesomely Simple Potatoes Au Gratin

Don't say I didn't warn you I've been in a Smitten Kitchen mood. At the beginning of each week, I note one or two recipes I'd like to try for that week. So far, I've mostly made my goals, though there are a few recipes I planned on making and haven't, as of yet.

I fall into that group of humans who love potatoes in pretty much any form. As a kid, I was even known to chomp on them raw, though I doubt that was very healthy and it sure doesn't seem appetizing. Cooked up, however, I'll take them fried, roasted, baked, mashed, and, most certainly, escalloped. Do they still call potatoes escalloped??? Because that's what I remember my mom labeling dishes just like this au gratin version. My aunt Els had a killer "scalloped potato recipe". I suspect if I dug it out right now and checked the ingredients, it would probably fall pretty close to the Smitten Kitchen potatoes I made for dinner last night.

I'm not a discerning critic for this recipe because..hello! Potatoes! How could I not love them and think they were fabulous and want a second helping and consider taking them to brown bag lunch today after Bible Study????? Even so, I did think Deb's recipe seemed less buttery/greasy than some other versions I've tried. I liked the way that less butteryness allowed the taste and texture of the potatoes themselves to shine. With the half and half, there was plenty of creamy moisture, while the cheese added that extra burst of flavor. For once, I paid attention to the amount of cheese suggested and, in spite of 2 ounces seeming like a pitifully small amount,  didn't add more. The result was a very balanced taste and, again, that welcome lack of shimmery greasiness that lots of cheese can sometimes produce.

 Awesomely Simple Potatoes Au Gratin
From Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, plus an additional pat for buttering gratin dish

4 large yellow potatoes* (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled (According to Deb Perelman, yukon golds work best because they don't get floury and fall apart as Russets tend to do.)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup milk, half-and-half or cream (if using something richer than milk, you can skip the butter)

2 ounces cheese, grated or crumbled (Parmesan or Gruyere are the classics, but that doesn’t mean that goat cheese, blue cheese or any of your favorites won’t work as well) I used Gruyere. In the last few minutes or so of cooking, I did throw less than 1/4 cup of grated cheddar, just to give the top a bit of color.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9- by 12-inch gratin dish with the pat of butter.

Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can (a mandoline works great for this) and arrange them in a layer, overlapping the edges slightly like shingles. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and freshly ground pepper (don’t be stingy — this is where the bulk of your flavor comes from) and a third of the cheese before repeating this process with your remaining potato slices. Depending on how thinly sliced your potatoes are, you should end up with approximately three layers, with a third of the cheese between each layer. Reserve the last third of your cheese for later.

Carefully pour the milk over the potatoes. It should come up to the bottom of the top layer of potatoes; add more if this was not enough. Dot the top of the gratin with the three tablespoons of butter and bake it for about an hour. (I did skip this step since I used half and half on my potatoes.)  Halfway through the baking time, take the gratin dish out of the oven and gently press the potatoes flat with a spatula to keep the top moist. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the gratin for the last 15 minutes of baking. The gratin is done when the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.

Garlic Bread

Lasagna is one of my go-to meals and I usually serve it with a salad and some sort of bread. Since I'm in a Smitten Kitchen mood, I decided to use Deb's recipe for garlic bread. OK, let's face it - a simple garlic bread isn't exactly rocket science and Deb's version isn't too far off the most basic of butter and garlic. Maybe one of the reasons I went for this recipe was a simple intrigue at what a best ever garlic bread should taste like, as opposed to a just plain old garlic bread! I do know that the store-bought version of garlic bread is usually over seasoned, oddly textured, and generally gross. So, Deb's would have to be a giant step up.

There's not much more to write because this recipe is so quick and "painless". Deb herself gives out the only cautionary word in making her garlic bread, when she warns about watching it closely to make sure the bread doesn't get overcooked and charred. Since the loaf only cooks for about 2-3 minutes, this isn't a hard task.

Was it the best garlic bread I ever tasted?  I don't know that I've ever really given great thought to the subtleties of good versus great garlic bread so I'm probably not a good judge. It was pretty garlicky, to the point that I'll put less in for the next go-round but, beyond that, it was the best garlic bread I've ever made - paired with the (according to Martin)  best lasagna recipe ever.


Best Ever Garlic Bread
from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 large (about 12 ounces), not-too-firm seeded baguette
8 tablespoons (115 grams or 4 ounces) unsalted or salted butter (if salted, skip the salt below), cut into chunks
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
Pinches of red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan or aged pecorino cheese (optional)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives (optional)

Heat your oven’s broiler. Line a large baking sheet with foil to limit the mess you make. Cut baguette lengthwise and arrange pieces cut side up in pan. Put butter, garlic, pepper flakes and salt in a small saucepan and melt over medium-high heat, stirring, until garlic is sizzling in the butter (but not browning). Remove from heat and stir in oregano, if using. Spoon evenly over bread. Sprinkle bread with parmesan, if using, and broil — keeping a close watch on it and turning it as needed for even coloring — for 2 to 3 minutes. Seriously, watch it like a hawk. Nothing’s sadder than under- or over-cooked garlic bread.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with parsley and chives, if using, and cut into segments. We keep extras in foil in the fridge and rewarm them in the oven, but you know it’s always best on the first day.

Apricot Pistachio Squares

When Amanda and Emily did their Kansas City edition of a Smitten Kitchen cooking weekend, I had no input on what foods would be cooked. I'm sure the two would've allowed me to pick a few recipes but I felt they should do their weekend just as they always do, without interference from a third wheel.  I just enjoyed watching how they run these cooking marathons, while trying to give out a little help in terms of keeping dishes cleaned up. And then giving lots of help in eating all the amazing dishes they created.

All that said, one of the recipes in Deb's new cookbook that I zeroed in on quickly is the apricot pistachio bars. I'm not the kind of culinary expert who can picture exactly how the melding of apricot and pistachio should taste, but I do know that I love me some pistachios. Apricots remind me of my tenure with the Dowdle family, as they had apricot trees in their backyard. This meant apricots for snacks and apricots in all kinds of recipes. I won't say I got sick of the fruit but it's safe to say that familiarity did breed some sort of contempt, in the form of taking the humble apricot for granted. But, even in all her creativity for hiding apricots in everything from oatmeal to meatloaf, Linda never came up with putting apricots and pistachios together.

Sometimes I still forget that Missouri isn't California and fruit doesn't grow on the trees year-round. When I asked my local produce man if he had any apricots, I could sense he was having to work at holding back outright laughing at the crazy lady in her heavy parka, wanting such an "exotic" fruit on a snowy, frigid day (month).

You know how you can get your heart set on cooking something? I wanted those squares to the point that I was willing to change out a few things to make it happen. My cooking consultant, Emily, approved the switch of apricots for peaches and pistachios for a combination of almonds and walnuts. Produce Guy told me the peaches had just come in that day and, based on the exorbitant price, I guess they must still be considered out of season.

The bars went together easily and just as Deb described. I have always noticed that Smitten Kitchen pastries and baked goods are less cloyingly sweet than most. This recipe follows that trend, producing a bar that gives you just the right subtle sweet taste.

Bad news/good news on this recipe. Good news is the bars taste great but bad news is I feel like I still have to make it again, with the proper ingredients. Sure peach is tasty but exactly how will the apricot, pistachio combo come out? As much as I am in love with pistachios, I won't rest until I have the opportunity to cook up an answer for this question.

Oh, and one more good news - as I was waiting for the bars to cook and cleaning up the mess I'd made, I came across a small mound of the peaches that eluded being cooked into the bars. Mostly without even thinking, I put those peaches in my mouth and then felt almost like crying at the sheer joy of eating a peach in the middle of winter. You know how it was that first time you saw Wizard of Oz and the screen suddenly burst into riotous, glorious color after a long beginning sequence of black and white? That's what eating the forgotten peaches felt like. I wouldn't care if we had to refinance the house to buy those peaches - breaking up the brutal cold of winter with that tiny taste of all things warm and summery was more than worth it.

Apricot Pistachio Squares
from Smitten Kitchen Every Day

Crust
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine

Filling
3/4 cup (a scant 4 ounces or 110 grams) shelled unsalted pistachios
1 tablespoon (10 grams) all purpose flour
Few pinches of sea salt
6 tablespoons (75 grams) sugar
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, 2 teaspoons brandy or another flavoring of your choice (totally optional)
1 pound firm-ripe apricots

To finish
Powdered sugar or 1/4 cup apricot jam

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cut two 12-inch lengths of parchment paper and trim each to fit the 8-inch width of an 8×8-inch square baking pan. Press it into the bottom and sides of your pan in one direction, then use the second sheet to line the rest of the pan, perpendicular to the first sheet. (I took Deb's alternate solution and just used an 8 inch square springform pan, buttering it well before adding the crust. And yes, I admit it - I bought the pan just for the recipe. Which would be one more good news bit because, let's face it, it's just plain fun to have an excuse to buy new kitchen equipment.)

Make the crust: Combine the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into chunks, and add it to the bowl, then run the machine until the mixture forms large clumps — that’s right, just keep running it; it might take 30 seconds to 1 minute for it to come together, but it will. Transfer the dough clumps to your prepared baking pan and press it evenly across the bottom and 1/4-inch up the sides. Bake for 15 minutes, until very pale golden. For the sake of speed, transfer to a cooling rack in your freezer for 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare the filing.

(Don’t have a food processor? You might have an easier time using softened butter and preparing this cookie-style: cream it with the sugar with a hand mixer, then spoon in the salt and flour, beating until just combined. It might help to chill this mixture a bit before pressing it into the pan, or it might feel too greasy to easily spread.)

Make the filling: In your food processor bowl (which Deb never bothers cleaning between these steps, so neither did I), grind your pistachios, sugar, flour and salt together until the nuts are powdery. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the machine. Run the machine until no buttery bits are visible. Add any flavorings and egg, blending until just combined.

Spread filling over mostly cooled (warmth is okay but it’s hoped that the freezer will have firmed the base enough that you can spread something over it) crust. Cut apricots in half (or, you might find that you can tear them open at the seams with your fingers) and remove pits. From here, you have a few decoration options: you can place the apricot halves in facedown or up all over the pistachio base. You can do as Deb did, which is cut them into strips, then slide each cut half onto a butter knife or offset spatula, tilt it so that it fans a little, and slide it onto your pistachio filling decoratively. You could also arrange the strips like petals of flower around the pan, for maximum pretties. OR, you could be like me and just throw the slices into the pan in any old haphazard way because you're also making dinner and don't have time to make everything neat and beautiful. Maybe when I get my apricots I'll create those maximum pretty fruit flowers.

Bake the bars for 60 minutes, or until they are golden and a toothpick inserted into the pistachio portion comes out batter-free. This might take up to 10 minutes longer depending on the juiciness of your apricots and the amount you were able to nestle in. Let cool completely in pan; you can hasten this along in the fridge.

To finish, you can make a shiny glaze for your tart by warming the jam in a small saucepan until it thins, and brushing this mixture over the top of the cooled tart. Or, you can keep it rustic with just a dusting of powdered sugar, as I did.

Cut bars into squares — chilled bars will give you the cleanest cuts. Keep leftover bars chilled.

Ricotta Blini With Honey, Orange, And Sea Salt

There's something to be said for making a recipe of something you've never had before. Since I've not tasted a blini (and, in fact, don't even know for sure what one is), the ones I made today were the best ever!

I love ricotta cheese so, even if these had miserably and clearly failed, I'd probably still think they were good. In fact, I could probably forego all the cooking, just eat ricotta straight out of its container, and be a happy camper. Cooked up in a fancy fat pancake, the cheese and everything else in this recipe tasted rich and light at the same time, if that's possible.

Since I've never tried blini-ing before, I prepped all my ingredients first - and then wondered why I don't do this more often when cooking. I've got these cute little graduated prep bowls that are perfect for this task, and when all the ingredients are lined up in proper order, it's easy to feel more competent and chef-like. How can anyone fail to execute a recipe successfully, when those colorful little bowls are filled with the proper ingredients and standing by, ready to be put to use????

As long as we're discussing the fun parts of this recipe, I have to say that shimmying those wet little globs of dough and then forming them in my hands felt like working with a very loose Play-Dough. When my granddaughters were here for Christmas, I spent some happy minutes rolling out homemade purple Play-Dough with them, marveling at how long they were entertained by such a simple activity. Now it was my turn to take an amorphous blob of dough and turn it into something hopefully a bit more edible than the creations those little girls were cranking out! Making the blinis felt like having a cooking session and play therapy combined!

I love it when something small can transform a recipe in a big way. That's how I felt about the orange zest in these blinis. One half of an orange's worth of finely grated peel gave out an unmistakable burst of sunny orange taste that helped contrast the delicateness of the citrus against the denser feeling of the ricotta.

Some of my today's batch have been frozen for future mornings. I have no idea if they'll taste good reheated but, topped with enough powdered sugar and honey drizzle, I'm pretty sure I'll find them a quick and delightful breakfast offering.

Ricotta Blini With Honey, Orange, and Sea Salt
from Smitten Kitchen Every Day

3/4 cup all purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for rolling, and more for sprinkling the tray
1 cup whole milk ricotta
2 large eggs
1 T granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange
1 T white vinegar
1/2 t baking soda
1/3 cup dried currants (optional) (Somewhere in her write-up on this recipe, Deb talks about her mother-in-law using raisins for her blinis. I went with the raisins, since I had them on hand.)
Neutral oil, for frying
Powdered sugar, to finish
Honey, gently warmed
Flaked sea salt, to finish

Directions:
Sprinkle a large tray lightly with flour. In a large bow, whisk together the ricotta, eggs, sugar, zest and vinegar. In a small bowl, combine the 3/4 cup flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Stir into the wet mixture until thoroughly combined, then mix in the currants, if desired.

Place the remaining 1/3 cup flour in a medium sized wide-ish bowl. Drop large spoonfuls (about 2 T each) of the batter into the flour and shimmy the bowl around to get the dough mostly coated in flour.
Pick up a glob of dough gently with floured hands, and toss it back and forth between your palms to form it loosely into a ball. The dough will be very very soft.
Place the ball on a floured baking tray, then repeat with the remaining batter.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add 3 T oil. Don’t skimp - most will drain off or stay in the pan.
Shaking off the excess flour, drop 3 - 4 balls of pancake batter into the heated oil a couple inches apart, pressing each down to form a slightly flattened disc.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until golden underneath, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Flip each pancake, and cook until golden brown on the second side.
Transfer to paper towels and drain.
Repeat with the remaining balls of pancake batter, adding more oil if needed. 
Transfer the cooked pancakes to a serving plate, and dust with powdered sugar. Drizzle honey over the pancakes. Sprinkle with a few flakes of the sea salt. The pancakes are definitely most magical right after they’re cooked, when they are still soft in the center. They will flatten somewhat but still taste delicious after they have rested for a while.

Potatoes and Asparagus Gribiche

I go long periods of time without writing in this blog. It's not that we're not eating during these lapses but, rather, that I'm cooking up the standards for Martin. We have a rotation of foods he will eat - cheese enchiladas, steak, lasagna, pot pie, spaghetti, tacos...maybe a few more, but all basic foods that I've already written up on this site.

Meanwhile, there's my daughter who in the few months since the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook came out has tried dozens of the recipes included. I doubt I'll ever be as prolific and adventuresome as she is but I have decided to step up my game a bit by trying new recipes. I like Deb Perelman's foods because they almost always taste great but aren't so fussy that it takes a master chef to execute them.

This one makes me laugh a bit because I don't even know what gribiche means! In her cookbook, Deb says there are references to the word meaning "a mean old woman who scares children". I'm pretty sure there must be an alternate definition that encompasses something to do with this refreshing take on potato salad but, so far, I haven't bothered to look it up. I guess I'll just have to imagine what potato and asparagus salad has to do with mean old ladies!

I halved the recipe when I made it, creating just enough for same day eating and leftovers for one more helping. True confession: I could've eaten every bit of what I made in one sitting as it tasted that good. For someone who thought she really only liked the sweeter variety potato salads (the kind my mom was famous for), I absolutely loved this tart and deconstructed version.

When I was making the dressing, it seemed so tart that I wondered how it was going to taste in the dish. Turns out when you add the potatoes and asparagus, they balance out that tang in a way that is absolutely delicious.

Potatoes And Asparagus Gribiche
from Smitten Kitchen Every Day

Gribiche Dressing
2 large hard boiled eggs, yoke separated, whites chopped
2 T dijon mustard
2 T white wine vinegar
6 T olive oil
1 T capers, brined variety
2 T finely chopped cornichons (from about 4)  *I'd never heard of cornichons and had to look online to find out what they are. Then I went to three nearby grocery stores and never found them, so I substituted baby dill pickles.
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 t. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Assembly
2 pounds small new or fingerling potatoes (the picture in Deb's cookbook shows a very pretty mixture of different color potatoes but mine are all the same, because I had some on hand. Next time, I'll do it her way. )
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 T. chopped fresh parsley, tarragon, or chervil. (I used Italian parsley - again because it was what I had on hand)

Directions:
Make the sauce/dressing - Mash the yolks with the mustard in the bottom of a bowl. Whisk in vinegar and oil. Stir in capers, cornichons, chopped egg whites, shallot, salt, and pepper to taste. Adjust the seasonings.

Make the salad - Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with 2 inches of salted water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 13 minutes, or until the top of a knife pierces through a potato with a little resistance. Add the asparagus to the pot, and cook them together for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Let the potatoes and asparagus cook completely.

Cut the potatoes in halves or quarters, depending on their size, and place them in a large bowl. Cut the asparagus in 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches segments, and add to the bowl. Toss with gribiche sauce, and season well with salt and pepper. Garnish with the herbs.

Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup

People make fun of Olive Garden, probably with good reason. Their food may not be the most authentic Italian cuisine but they do make some pretty good soups. And bread sticks. And salads. Isn't that enough?

I love their pasta e fagioli soup and this slow cooker version is similar enough to make me happy.  A bowl of the soup, blueberry muffins, and a salad made a great winter meal last night. I knew the recipe was a hit when Martin gave it rave reviews. I mean how often does that happen - the two of us liking the same dish with equal enthusiasm?  A big crock pot full of soup can hardly be eaten by two old folks in one sitting so I have portions frozen and waiting for the many cold days ahead of us between now and spring. I like thinking of days when I'll be able to bypass all those fast food restaurants that beg me come eat their fatty, empty calorie foods, knowing there's a hearty bowl of soup waiting at home.

Crock Pot Pasta e Fagioli Soup
from therecipecritic.com

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound lean ground beef
2 whole carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) beef broth
2 whole bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste (I added 1 tsp salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper)
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup ditalini pasta, uncooked

INSTRUCTIONS
Add olive oil to a large skillet and add in ground beef. Cook until browned and no longer pink.
Place the beef in a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except for the beans and pasta.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before serving stir in beans and pasta.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaves before serving.
Serve immediately while hot.

Banana Pudding Poke Cake

There are two camps regarding bringing treats for Wednesday morning bible study - sweets or savory. It breaks up like this - everyone in the group outdoes themselves cooking up some kind of marvelous cake, bar, or cookie...and then when it's Millie's week she comes with something healthy. Poor dear girl fights a losing battle trying to get this group of ladies to care about calories, fat grams, and carbs.

When it's my turn to pony up with something for the group, I do consider following Millie's excellent example - at least until insecurity sets in and I wonder how folks would receive my quiche, egg casserole or whatever else is both healthy or appropriate for a morning bible study. What if they don't like what I bring? What if it's not hot enough when I serve it? Oh so many ways to mess up! Meanwhile, there's hardly a way to fail with something as standard and easy as a cake or other form of sweet.

Maybe next time I'll be brave and try something savory for our group. When Millie moves, I might even designate myself as the heir to healthy and start bringing the type of hot, wholesome foods she is so good at making. But until then, I guess I'll just keep on showing up with cakes like this one.

I know poke cakes used to be super popular but I think this might be the first one I've ever made. It's kind of fun, in a destructive way, to poke big ole' holes in a cake and then have it be ok, when filled with the pudding. It seems to me that punching holes in a cake so you can insert filling could be construed as the lazy man's way of doing lava cakes. Back in the late 70's and 80's, when poke cakes were all the rage, no one I knew had ever heard of a lava cake so perhaps the humble poke cake led the way for a more elevated lava cake? Whatever the etiology, the Wednesday gals loved this cake and, surprisingly, acted like they'd never heard of a poke cake. Did the craze only hit California?  I got credit for bringing something yummy as well as "unusual".

With the pudding and whipped topping, you wind up with a very moist and light tasting cake. And since it's one of those cake types that actually seems to taste better the next day, you can make it ahead of time and then, if you're lucky, have some left over to keep eating for a few days afterward.

Banana Pudding Poke Cake

Ingredients:
1  box yellow cake mix
Ingredients needed to make cake (eggs, oil & water)
2 (3.4 oz.) packages instant banana pudding
4 cups milk
1 (8 oz.) tub frozen whipped topping (COOL WHIP), thawed
20 vanilla wafers, crushed

 Directions:
Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9×13 cake. Once cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes. Then, with a wooden spoon handle or some other similarly-sized object, begin poking holes in the cake.
You want the holes to be fairly big so that the pudding has plenty of room to get down in the cake. Be sure to poke down to the bottom of the cake.
In a bowl,whisk together instant pudding with 4 cups milk. Stir until all the lumps are gone. Let pudding sit for just about 2 minutes so it has just slightly begun to thicken but not fully set.  It should still be easily pourable.
Pour pudding over cake. Taking care to get it into the holes as much as possible.
 Spread it all out and using the back of the spoon gently push pudding down into the holes
Put the pudding into the fridge to set and cool. Once your cake has completely cooled, spread on whipped topping.
If you haven’t done so already, crush your vanilla wafers. I just place mine in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Leave some of the pieces big. It’s nice to have a bit of a crunch when you eat the cake.
Spread crushed wafers onto the top of the cake. You can do this part immediately before serving the cake if you like. This will ensure the wafers are crunchy when you serve it.
Serve with freshly sliced bananas. Keep refrigerated.