Thursday, October 30, 2014

Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes




Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables.  I know they are popular this time of year but we eat them all year round.  I made this recipe this last summer using some fresh herbs from my garden.
This dish is simple.  Food does not have to be complicated to be good.  I am finding great pleasure in making simple foods for my family.

My favorite part about these little cubes of tenderness is the crispy bottoms.  I cook them on high heat with extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil and let them roast.  I don't toss them.  Having the crispy slightly burnt bottoms is what gives them a unique flavor.  If you don't want yours to turn out so black then cook them for less time.  They become tender after about 30 minutes but the extra time allows for them to caramelize a bit on the bottom.


Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or basil
salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 425.

2.  Toss cubed sweet potato pieces in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs.  Add to a large cookie sheet in a single layer.  Roast until desired tenderness has been met.  

NOTE:  Every oven is different so start checking the sweet potatoes after about 30 minutes. In my oven I roasted them for 45 minutes.



Written by Sherron Watson

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Baked Tomatoes with Gruyere, Garlic and Onion

 

I just got back from a wonderful vacation spent with friends.  We ate our hearts out and chatted up a storm.  I feel amazing.  My time in New York City refuels my inner fountain.  Each time I go visit I leave a small part of my soul.  The draw to move there grows stronger and stronger with every visit.   Our time in Maryland is numbered.  I know this.  We have set a timeline of two years to make it possible for us to experience life living in a large city.


As our plans become more solid and time grows closer, I will share our journey here on the blog.  In the meantime I will continue to explore as much of the DelMarVa area as possible.  I have learned that when the call to move sets into our bones our time here becomes precious.  

I found this recipe in a cookbook by Elizabeth David.  I knew that my family would fall in love with these little morsels of cheesy goodness.  Elizabeth's recipe is simple.  I decided to add a few more ingredients to enhance the flavor profile to that of my families preferences.  The addition of garlic and onion was just the right touch.

Next time I will make a double batch.  I roasted some tiny potatoes and steamed carrots to make a beautiful platter of easy to eat foods.  

Enjoy!

Baked Tomatoes with Gruyere, Garlic and Onion 
Makes 6 small tomatoes

6 Campari Tomatoes
1 teaspoon melted butter
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons red onion, diced very small
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 cup of Gruyere Cheese (I have used a combination of Jack and Gruyere with great success)
1-2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
a splash of White Wine, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Core tomatoes and arrange in a small baking dish.

3.  In a small sauce pan add butter and heat on medium.  Add red onion and garlic.  Saute for a few minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until cheese is melted and well combined.

4.  Spoon the cheese mixture into the hollow tomatoes.  I filled my cheese to the top.

5.  Bake for 15 or until cheese starts to turn golden brown (see photo).  Remove from oven and serve immediately.  If you have problems with the tomatoes tipping over in the baking dish, slice some carrots and use them to hold up the tomatoes while baking.

Written by Sherron Watson


Thursday, October 16, 2014

Crispy Potatoes and Onions



Potatoes and Onions always reminds me of the time I spent living with my grandmother.  She loved this dish and we always baked extra potatoes so that we could eat this in the morning.  My grandma loved potatoes.  She always said it was in her English blood to eat a potato or two every week and she did.

I have kept the tradition alive.  When I bake potatoes I throw a few extra in the oven so that when the desire to have a warm breakfast hits my family, I can whip this up.  If you can't eat potatoes I have substituted baked sweet potatoes too.  The difference is that they work best if they are not too soft. They tend to get very mushy if over cooked.

I love the crispy skin of salmon or chicken that is cooked to perfection.  Well, it is no surprise then that I keep the skins on my potatoes and make sure the oil is very hot so that they come out crispy and perfect.  Almost like a potato chip.  YUM

My cast iron pan is the perfect cooking vessel for this dish. It radiates heat and provides the perfect heat source to guarantee that the potatoes come out just how we like them each and every time.

This dish is simple but it is so easy and family friendly that I knew I needed to share it with my readers.  Don't let the specs of burnt onion sway you away from making this dish. In our opinion they add flavor and texture to the dish.  If this is not how you prefer your onion, then remove them before you add the potatoes.  Reintroduce them to the dish after the potatoes are fried.  

Enjoy!


Crispy Potatoes and Onions
Serves 4

4 baked potatoes, cold and cubed (see above picture)
lard or your favorite frying oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 medium onion, sliced thin

1.  Heat oil until it starts to just bubble at the edges of your cast iron pan.  Reduce heat to medium.

2.  Add sliced onions.  Let cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add potatoes and season..  Fry together.  Watch the heat.  Cast iron will keep the heat very hot and you may want to turn it down a touch.  I like to cook my potatoes for about 10-12 minutes.  I turn them every few minutes.  Add more oil if they get dry or start to stick.

3.  Remove and serve.  You can always add cheese, sour cream or bacon as optional garnishments.

Written by Sherron Watson


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Spatchcock Chicken with Herbs


Well I finally got around to making a Spatchcock Chicken or a chicken that has been butterflied.  If you have teenagers--definitely use the word Spatchcock--LOL  Drake and Rye have forbidden me to use the name in their presence, especially around their friends.  It sounds so funny and then when you add an accent to it--it's freaking hilarious.   I must be a 15 year old girl trapped in my 46 year old body.  Some things just never change.

I have had this fun love affair with accents and impersonations for some time.  I am by far no Jimmy Fallon but I do enjoy mimicking sounds and phrases.  I love reading Isabella books out loud.  This forum allows me to try out new accents with new characters.  My favorite, and this is probably a given, is an Irish accent.  It rolls off my tongue so easily.  

Outside of its funny given name, Spatchcock Chicken, is very good.  I was a bit skeptical at first.  Every picture featuring this dish always looked so beautiful.  The skin (you know my love affair with skin) always looks crisp and golden brown.  It's true--give me the chicken skin over the white meat.  Now I may have to fight you for the dark meat.  That is my favorite.  I had to make the chicken and then eat the chicken to be completely convinced that this is the BEST way to cook a whole chicken.

I am a believer!  

The meat on the inside of the chicken is cooked perfectly. Having the chicken parted down the middle and fanned out allows the chicken to cook faster and more evenly. It is cooked at a high temperature which allows the skin to be roasted to perfection. My first cut into the breast meat releases a clear juice that allows the white meat to glisten with doneness.

I usually buy thighs but lately I am finding myself buying more and more whole chickens to make this chicken: Spatchcock Chicken. Go ahead add your favorite accent.

I wish I could say this is a fancy recipe with unique ingredients but it's not.  It is just a farm fresh organic chicken that has been seasoned with simple herbs, some juice, mayonnaise and spices.  The presentations of the chicken is the fun part and the show stopper.  I encourage you to give it a try for your family and see if they enjoy this version better than the whole chicken with the hollow center.

Learning to spatchcock a chicken is easy.  I used this tutorial for my first attempt from Food 52. Click on link to see the steps.



Spatchcock Chicken with Herbs
Makes one chicken, serves 4-6

1 whole chicken, thawed
1 medium grapefruit, juice only
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt, 
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2/3 cups mayonnaise.

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Below you can see that I used a cookie rack over my cookie sheet to bake the chicken.  Use this method or find something similar.  You want the heat to be able to get under the chicken too.

2.  In a medium bowl add the remaining ingredients.  Taste the mixture.  Grapefruits have a tendency to be bitter if not fully ripe.  Add more honey if this is the case to make it taste a bit sweeter.  If you don't have or want to use grapefruit, substitute orange juice.

3.  Cover the whole chicken with the marinade.  See picture below.


4.  Bake until chicken's internal temperature reaches 165.  Mine took about 40 minutes but ovens vary and this will need to be monitored based on how you know your oven to bake.

5.  Remove chicken and let rest for 10 minutes.  I use a pair of kitchen scissors and portion up the chicken.  Save any leftovers and store them in the refrigerator.


Written by Sherron Watson

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Baked Eggs with Sausage


I can't believe I have not added this recipe to the blog yet.  This is an old family favorite.  My first introduction to this dish was by Cory's mom.  She made a simpler version than this but the idea of baked eggs with cream is the same.

My recipe is different in that I add cooked sausage, some sauteed onions and a pinch of parsley.  I feel that the flavor profile is more to my liking with a few more ingredients to layer the dish and make it a "one pot"breakfast.  The meat and eggs are served together.  It works well served with my favorite Gluten Free Biscuits.

This dish is gluten free but would need to be modified for an individual if they were eating a strict Paleo diet.  I don't have any issues with cheese so I have included this in the recipe below.  Leave it out if you don't eat cheese.  I also make mine with Ghee and Coconut Milk.  If you don't have any dairy issues then replace these two items with grass fed butter and heavy cream.

I use Chicken Sausage from Whole Foods. You can use any sausage you want , and that fits into your style of eating.  We are trying to cut out pork from our diets and so the chicken works best for us.

Making this dish in small ramekins allows for my kids to eat these in the morning before school starts.  This recipe makes 4 but you can easily double it and have a few extra for school day mornings.  We microwave them for a few seconds until warm.

I have an assortment of ramekins that I use for single serving dishes like this egg dish.  You can see in the picture I have used a Pyrex glass dish and a wider fluted dish.  The recipe is the same for each size.  What will happen is that the the thinner dish will be, well, thinner and the smaller ramekin will create a thicker dish.  They taste the same.  I do this all the time and I have never had to alter cook times or ingredients.  I like the wider dish for when I am having guest over because I think it looks pretty.

The cook time will vary depending on if you want your yolk runny or hard.  Our family is at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to yolks and how they are cooked. Our girls love over easy eggs. They want the yolk as runny as possible.  This would be the 10-12 minute bake time.  Cory and I like our egg yolks hard.  We bake them an additional 10 minutes to make sure they are firm.  Bake your eggs somewhere in between the two times to achieve the perfect center for you and your family.

This is a dish that is great for any time of the day: breakfast, lunch or dinner.  

ENJOY!


Baked Eggs with Sausage
Makes four servings

2-3 tablespoons red onion, minced
1 large chicken sausage, diced and cooked
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter or ghee
8 tablespoons cream or coconut milk
salt and pepper
pinch of parsley for each ramekin

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Spray ramekins with cooking spray.  Add water to a large baking dish.  Enough water to go up half way on the ramekins.  See top picture--it has the dish I used, the water added and the two sizes of ramekins that I use.

2.  Remove casing from sausage and fry with onions until done.

3.  In each ramekin divided the sausage/onion mixture equally.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Add1/2 of the tablespoon of butter to the bottom of the ramekin and the other half will be used on top of the raw egg.  Crack the egg on top of this mixture.  Add the parmesan cheese, coconut milk or cream.  Finish the dish with the second half of the butter from the tablespoon.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Add more parmesan cheese if you would like.  (There is no right or wrong way to layer this dish.  I just like to layer the ingredients in this order.)

4.  Add the ramekins to the baking dish with water.  Carefully put pan in oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Check eggs. Additional minutes may be required based on how you like your eggs baked.  See comments above.

5.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.  I usually take a knife and fork and diced it all together and eat with a gluten free biscuit or slice of toast.

Written by Sherron Watson

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Kuri Squash with Sausage and Rice

 

I am really enjoying the cooler weather that we are having in Maryland.  The leaves are slowly changing, our windows are open and the air smells clean.  

I remember hearing, as a kid, grown-ups say, "I can smell Fall in the air."  This always seemed like a strange saying to me.  As an adult I now know what it means.  I walk outside and the first thing I do is inhale a deep long breath of fresh air.  

The season is changing and it feels wonderful.

I went to Whole Foods last week and they have a huge display of squash.  I love seeing the varieties with all their own shapes, sizes and colors.  My eye was drawn to this bright orange Kuri Squash.  The orange is vivid.  The shape ranged from round to teardrop.  I chose the one pictured above. When I cut into it I was overcome with a flowery scent.  I could tell it was a squash but the aroma coming from the Kuri squash was strong.  I felt that it would work great with a filling of some kind.

I had some left over sausage from an earlier dish and thought it would make a good filling combined with some rice.  I made rice, added a few sauteed onions and the sausage.  

Simply delicious.  I scooped the squash pulp and sausage filling onto a platter and served it for lunch. We all thought it was a pleasant change from our favorite Acorn Squash.  The dish is subtle in flavor with a nice combination of texture from the soft squash, firm sausage pieces and confetti like rice. 

All in all, a wonderful Fall dish to add to your menu.  I hope that you can find Kuri Squash in your area. 


Kuri Squash with Sausage and Rice
Makes two halves.

1 whole Kuri Squash, cut in half and seeds removed
4 tablespoons of butter or Ghee (2 in each half)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons diced red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil, for sauteeing onion and garlic
2 cups  COOKED rice
1 cup COOKED sausage (I use chicken sausage)
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
4 tablespoons coconut milk (2 in each half)

1.  Preheat oven to 375.

2.  Prepare squash to be baked by cutting in half, removing seeds and placing in baking dish.  Add salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of butter to each half.  The butter will melt and be used when you add the rice/sausage mix.

3.  Bake squash for 35 minutes.  Check the squash and see if it is still firm, if so, bake a bit longer.

4.  While squash is baking prepare the filling.  Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add the cooked rice and cooked sausage.  Taste mixture and salt and pepper accordingly.

5.  Remove baked squash from oven and fill the centers with the rice.  The butter that has melted should be soaked up by the rice.  Add the 2 tablespoons of coconut milk and sprinkle with the parsley flakes.

6.  Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Serve scooped on a platter (see picture) or serve a half to each person.

Written by Sherron Watson

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Baked Salmon with Capers, Herbs, and Lemon


I eat salmon at least once a week.  I am guilty of making salmon just to enjoy the crispy skin. It is like a huge potato chip to me.  It totally grosses my husband out;  he won't even try it to see if he likes it or not.  I think he would enjoy the crispy and salty taste of the perfectly fried skin.

It does not taste fishy in my opinion.  I fry the fish with the skin side down in a pool of olive oil that is very hot.  My cast iron pan is perfect for this part of the recipe.  It does the job quickly.  I turn it over and get a nice sear and then transfer the salmon to a baking dish to finish cooking in the oven.

I don't always do this two-step process but for this dish I did.  I removed the crispy skin and devoured it before my daughter could get wind of what I was doing in the kitchen.  She loves the crispy salmon skin too.  (For the most part I always share with her.  It's what Moms do.) The oven allows the mayonnaise, lemon and herbs to coat the salmon filets.  I take one large piece of salmon and cut it into two or three pieces and then top them with my desired ingredients.

Capers are heavenly in my opinion.  They are briny and add just the right punch to this dish.  I use them in everything these days. I love finding new ingredients.  Capers are an ingredient I see posted in recipes all the time. I just never started buying them until recently.  Not to sound to repetitive, but I am so glad I did.

This recipe calls for mayonnaise.  There are several options you have here.  You can make your own mayonnaise from scratch or use store bought.  I have used both with great success.  We have also used Vegannaise.  

Enjoy this easy baked salmon dish.  


Baked Salmon with Capers, Herbs, and Lemon
Serves 4

1.5 pounds of fresh, wild caught salmon (1 large filet or 4 smaller portions)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup of mayonnaise or Vegannaise
1 lemon, juice only
1 lemon, sliced thinly
4 sprigs each of fresh thyme and fresh dill
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
Jar of capers


1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare baking dish with a light coating of cooking spray.

2.  In a heavy duty frying pan heat oil.  Add salmon with the skin down and fry.  This takes about 3 minutes for the skin to get nice and crispy and to pull away from the salmon.  Flip salmon and fry again for 3 minutes.

3.  Remove skin and set aside.  Add the whole filet of salmon or small salmon steaks to a baking dish.  Season fish with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  Smear top with mayonnaise.  Sprinkle herbs, lemon slices and capers for the final touches. Cover with foil.

4.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Fish should be moist and flake with a fork.  Serve immediately. Store leftovers in refrigerator.


Written by Sherron Watson



Donut Breakfast Casserole

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