Step-by-Step Recipe: Potato-Fennel Gratin

My only resolution for the new year was to try more vegetables.  I'm pretty brave when it comes to eating new vegetables, but I've been hesitant to try to prepare them myself.  I'd never tried to make anything with fennel before. But then a friend shared a recipe for potato-fennel gratin with me, and I thought, "well, why not?"  Anything covered in a creamy cheesy sauce has to be good, right?  Right.  The recipe is from the one and only Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa.  It is definitely not low-fat.  But it is delicious!

I served the gratin with sauteed chicken breasts with a creamy mustard sauce and sauteed spinach.  I'll share the chicken recipe later this week.  It was a nice pairing.  The chicken is lighter, but still rich in flavor.  Since I was just cooking for two (plus leftovers!), I cut the recipe for the gratin in half--we still have plenty of leftovers!

Pictures and recipe below the cut!

Recipe Snapshots: Breakfast Enchiladas and Hot Tomato Grits

I did not make these Breakfast Enchiladas.  Just want to be upfront about that.  My mom made them the morning after Christmas.  This was the second time we'd had these, and it was so yummy.  Many breakfast casseroles are too heavy...but this one, while being filling and hearty, just doesn't feel like a lead brick.  And when you serve it with Hot Tomato Grits on the side?  Perfection!

Recipes below the cut!


Breakfast Enchiladas, from Southern Living magazine, December 2004.
Serves: 6-8.  Time: 1 hour (30 minutes of baking).

Ingredients

Cheese Sauce

• 1/3  cup  butter
• 1/3  cup  flour
• 3  cups  milk
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt

Enchiladas

• 1  (1-pound) package hot ground pork sausage (could substitute turkey sausage)
• 2  tablespoons butter or margarine
• 4  green onions, thinly sliced
• 2  tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 14  large eggs, beaten
• 3/4  teaspoon salt
• 1/2  teaspoon pepper
• Cheese Sauce (see above)
• 8  (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeños
• Toppings: halved grape tomatoes, sliced green onions, chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Tip: Make the cheese sauce before scrambling the eggs; it should take about 8 minutes. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and whisk in remaining ingredients.

1. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove from pan; drain well, pressing between paper towels.
2. Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add green onions and cilantro, and sauté 1 minute. 
3. Add eggs, salt, and pepper, and cook, without stirring, until eggs begin to set on bottom. Draw a spatula across bottom of pan to form large curds. Continue to cook until eggs are thickened but still moist; do not stir constantly. 
4. Remove from heat, and gently fold in 1 1/2 cups Cheese Sauce and sausage.
5. Spoon about 1/3 cup egg mixture down the center of each flour tortilla; roll up. Place, seam side down, in a lightly greased 13- x- 9-inch baking dish.  (Note: I think my mom only used 6 or 7 tortillas, and baked them in a smaller dish, since there were just 4 of us.)
6. Pour remaining Cheese Sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle evenly with Monterey Jack cheese.
7. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly. Serve with desired toppings.

Hot Tomato Grits, from Southern Living magazine, December 2008
Serves: 6.  Time: 40 minutes.


Ingredients

• 2  bacon slices, chopped
• 2  (14 1/2-oz.) cans chicken broth
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  uncooked quick-cooking grits
• 2  large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2  tablespoons canned chopped green chiles
• 1  cup  (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
• Garnishes: chopped fresh parsley, shredded Cheddar cheese

 Directions

1. Cook bacon in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving drippings in pan. Drain bacon on paper towels.
2. Gradually add chicken broth and salt to hot drippings in pan; bring to a boil. 
3. Stir in grits, tomatoes, and green chiles; return to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Stir in Cheddar cheese until melted. Top with chopped bacon. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

Step-by-Step Recipe: Potato Leek Frittata

In honor of the new year, I  am trying to introduce the occasional lighter dish into my repertoire.  But being me, I refuse to compromise on taste.  So when the January issue of my Everyday Food magazine arrived chockfull of lighter recipes, I was interested to see if anything sounded good.  Luckily, it seems to have a lot to offer!  My usual practice on Sunday nights is to make a more elaborate meal that yields leftovers to start off the work week.  But this Sunday, I decided to take it a bit easier on myself, and chose a recipe for potato leek frittata.  Sounds like breakfast?  Well, frittatas are like omelets--quick, easy, and good for any meal of the day.  Also, I had potatoes and leeks on hand, sooo... 

Pictures and recipe below the cut.

New Year's Resolution: Help Me Help You

Happy New Year, all!  My apologies for my long absence from the blogosphere. My husband and I were in Kentucky over the holidays visiting my parents, and our trip was unexpectedly extended a couple of days when our flight home was canceled. When we were able to get home, we were swept up into work, New Year's events, and a sick cat.  Everything is okay for now, and I hope to be a better food blogger in 2011.  I'm not going to make that an official resolution, though, because that's a surefire way to make sure it doesn't happen! 

I received a totally adorable pink netbook computer as a Christmas gift from my dear husband, which should increase my ability to blog in the new year (allowing me to do so from any room in the house!).  Unfortunately, the screen is defective, and we're having to ship it back for a replacement. In the meanwhile, I thought I'd ask for some help from you, my dear readers (all three or four of you), and share a New Year's-themed recipe (sorry, no pictures!).

First, my request.  What do you want to see in this blog in 2011?  Recipes for specific dishes?  How-to's on specific things (the proper way to dice an onion, how I prefer to peel garlic quickly, etc.)?  Just pictures?  Please be specific if you can--I can keep going posting some of my favorite recipes, but I'd feel less self-indulgent if I knew my posts might be helpful for useful!

Now back to cooking.  Growing up in my family, it was a tradition to have a pork roast and sauerkraut on New Year's Day.  I never quite got into the southern tradition of black-eyed peas, despite all my years living in the south, so I needed to figure out my own pork and sauerkraut.  Last year I tried to the recipe from my edition of Joy of Cooking, and let me tell you--it was a winner.  I'm told this recipe only appears in the most recent edition, as my mom had never heard of it.  What makes this so yummy is that is pleases both those who like sauerkraut (me, in smallish doses) and those who don't!  The kraut in this case is made up of half fresh cabbage (which is braised along with the pork in broth and beer and herbs) and half rinsed sauerkraut.  It still has a tang, certainly, but it's much milder and not as vinegary as what many of us expect.  I made the same recipe again this year, and was once again very pleased (and so were my dinner guests!).

And so, here is the recipe.  Enjoy!  (Below the cut.)

Recipe Snapshots: Christmas Cookies

Because work and life have been very busy this December, I haven't had the opportunity yet to back any Christmas cookies.  This pains me.  But it will be remedied soon, when my husband and I head to Kentucky to visit my mom and step-dad for Christmas.  My mom and I plan to get our bake on!  Seeing that many of you may wish to do some baking this weekend, here are some of the recipes I used last year, most of which are likely to be repeated this year!

Peanut Butter Kisses:  We all remember these from childhood, right?  Well, I had to make them myself, and they were easy and delicious.  The recipe made about 93847587583 cookies, though, so keep that in mind.  I also made a slight upgrade to the basic recipe: I used the dark chocolate kisses.  Yum!

More recipes (and pictures!) below the cut!

Step-by-Step Recipe: Spaghetti all' Elsa and Roasted Sausages with Peppers and Onions

The holiday season is busy for many of us.  This week in particular, I have a lot going on at work, in addition to trying to make the holidays happen (Christmas shopping, decorating, and working on Christmas cards).  In these situations, I love a recipe that will make a lot of leftovers.  These recipes do just that--they will make about 6-8 servings, depending how generous you are.  Which is fantastic!

I'm not always the biggest fan of Rachael Ray, mostly because I find her a little irritating on TV.  But I've made a few of her recipes that were all pretty good...so I will try to be more kind in my assessment.  Of the recipes I've tried, Spaghetti all' Elsa and Roasted Sausages with Peppers and Onions are probably my favorites.  (FYI, I skip the cheesy bread part of that second recipe, as this already makes SO MUCH food.  Maybe if I were feeding an army I might try it...)  The other great thing about these recipes is that they aired together on a episode of "Thirty Minute Meals."  I've never actually managed to make this meal in 30 minutes, but it doesn't take much longer than that.  A great help on a busy Monday night!

Recipes and photos below the cut!

Recipe Snapshot: French Chicken

This recipe is known in our home simply as "French chicken."  I think it has a real name, but being that I found the recipe in French (with its French name), I find it's simpler to stick with "French chicken."  I love this recipe.  It's easy, delicious, and impressive.  I've made it for guests, including a special birthday dinner for a friend this past fall.  I also made it last night on an ordinary Tuesday, because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, and I felt like it.  What else makes it great?  It tastes, somehow, French, without being fussy or complicated (unlike the traditional boeuf bourguignon that I made that took nearly 7 hours to complete).

I often serve this chicken with haricot verts (fancy-sounding French words for skinny green beans) and some kind of potato.  Last night I served it with a green salad and some spaghetti squash.  I love that it has come out perfectly every time I make it.  And like I said above, it just tastes "French."  I think it's the Dijon (must use real Dijon, not plain yellow mustard or the grainy stuff) and the herbs.  If my guess is right, this is actually pretty healthy, as well.  Think about it--the only real fat is the Parmesan and the pine nuts.

Recipe is below the cut.