Lemon Oil Smashed Potatoes

This simple and delicious recipe comes from At Home With Michael Chiarello, my new favorite cook book (actually, they are all my favorite). I prepared this with a grilled chicken that I will post later. The lemon olive oil and the mixture of fresh herbs are very nice.

Lemon Oil Smashed Potatoes

3 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes, unpeeled

Finley ground sea salt

Grated zest of 4 lemons

1/4 cup minced fresh chives

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon

freshly ground black pepper

2 cups lemon extra-virgin olive oil or 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil and the grated zest of 4 more lemons

In a large saucepan, combine potatoes with water to cover by 1 inch. Add 2 Tbsp. salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl.

Mash potatoes with a fork until broken up but not smooth. Add zest, chives , thyme, tarragon, 2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper; mix well with fork. Add lemon olive oil, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well with each addition. You may not need all the oil. They are ready when still chunky and begin to glisten with oil.

Prosciutto Bits

This recipe is adapted from Michael Chiarello. Not only are they good in soup, but they taste great on top of salads and potatoes.

Prosciutto Bits

6 oz. sliced prosciutto, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto and cook, stirring. After 5 minutes reduce heat to low, cook and stir occasionally until crisp. Transfer to paper towel lined plate to cool.

Melon and Prosciutto "As Soup"

The other day, Dan was cleaning out the hall closet and he came across my At Home With Micheal Chiarello cookbook. I totally forgot about having the book and spent the next two nights reading it in bed. There are some great recipes in this book and the first one I decided to try was this soup. One of my favorite things to eat in the summer is melon and prosciutto and this recipe seemed like a winner. It turned out very nice, if not a little sweet. The cantaloupe I used was super sweet and I could have cut some of the honey, but oh well, it still tasted great! I think I will try using basil in place of the mint for the next go around.

Melon and Prosciutto "As Soup"

2 cantaloupes, halved, seeded, peeled and cubed

Finely ground sea salt

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

12 mint leaves

2 tbsp. dark rum

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

2 tbsp. Prosciutto Bits

Freshly ground black pepper

Place 8 soup bowls in freezer. Working in batches, combine cantaloupe, 1 tsp salt, honey, lemon juice, 10 mint leaves and rum in a blender and process until very smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.

Finely julienne the remaining 2 mint leaves. Ladle soup into chilled bowls. Garnish center of bowl with a dollop of mascarpone. Sprinkle mascarpone with Prosciutto, mint leaves and a grind of black pepper.

Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings

My ex-wife Judy prepared these at my son's last birthday and I finally found the recipe. I know it sounds strange, but the recipe is really good. my ex mother-in-law used to make the best apple dumplings and these are actually quite close to hers and very easy to make.


Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings

2 large Granny Smith apples (Judy used gala)
2 (10 oz) refrigerated crescent roll dough tubes
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can Mountain Dew

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan. Core each apple and cut into eight wedges each. Separate dough into triangles. Roll apple wedge into dough, starting at small end; pinch to seal and place in baking dish. ( At this point, Judy sprinkled extra sugar and cinnamon onto the prepared dough in pan.)
Melt butter in saucepan and add sugar and cinnamon, pour over dumplings. Pour Mountain dew around sides and down the middle of the pan, but not over the dumplings. You do not use the whole can, probably half. Bake 35 to 45 minutes and let them sit 10 minutes before serving.

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls

Here's a simple and yummy cinnamon roll recipe that you will find yourself using over and over. The icing is so good.... The only thing we did not like about the recipe were the toasted hazelnuts. So use them if you want, but they are really good without them. The recipe was adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis.

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls

4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 (1 pound) loaf frozen white bread dough, thawed
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. mascarpone cheese
1 Tbsp. buttermilk

Brush 1 tablespoon of melted butter over the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8 baking dish. cinnamon, and cloves in small bowl. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12 by 9-inch rectangle. brush 1 tablespoon of butter over dough. sprinkle with nut mixture, leaving a 1/2 inch border along top and bottom sides. Starting at 1 long side, roll up like a jelly roll, forming a log. Pinch seam to seal. Cut into 9 equal pieces. Arrange, cut side down in baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm, draft free area for 45 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and heat to 325 degrees.
Bake the rolls uncovered for 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Meanwhile, whisk powdered sugar, mascarpone and buttermilk in small bowl until smooth and creamy.
Brush remaining butter on tops of cinnamon rolls and drizzle with icing. Serve warm.

Chai Shortbread

This good cookie recipe comes from my friend, Alicia. She sent it to me a while ago and I finally got around to trying them out. The cookies are very good and are wonderful with coffee and vanilla ice cream. This is a simple recipe.

Chai Shortbread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup powdered sugar
10 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 Tbsp. ice water

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients, stirring well with whisk. Place sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed until just combined (dough will be crumbly). Sprinkle with ice water, toss with fork. Divide dough in half; shape into 2 (6 inch long) logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or until very firm.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Unwrap dough. Carefully cut each log into 18 slices with a serrated knife. Place circles 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Oil and Vinegar Potato Salad

I came across this recipe in my July 2009 bon appetit and thought it would be the perfect side for my smoked ribs and I was right. I'm usually not a fan of potato salad made with vinegar, but this is a keeper. The recipe called for Yukon gold potatoes, but my store did not have them, so I used red. I also added some stone ground mustard to the olive oil for a little extra flavor. The salad is also good cold, but better served the same day.

Oil and Vinegar Potato Salad

Serves 4 to 6

1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, unpeeled

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 Tbsp. stone ground mustard

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Cool to just warm, 10 to 15 minutes; peel potatoes. Cut each potato in half, then into 1/3-inch slices.

Place warm potatoes in large bowl. Stir vinegar and sugar in small bowl until sugar dissolves, then drizzle over potatoes. Toss to coat. Mix in onion slices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature.

Mix oil and mustard. Add with parsley to potatoes. Toss well and let marinate about 20 minutes and up to 2 hours at room temperature.