Parmesan Potatoes

If you like potatoes, and easy recipes to prepare those potatoes, and a company-worthy dish with little work at all, then you have come to the right place. We first made this recipe back in 2002 when friends were visiting from out-of-town. Mr. O-P had lost a bet to a friend back East who predicted a Patriot win over the Rams in the Super Bowl. The loser had to fix the winner a sumptuous, multi-course meal, but the winner had to fly to the loser's house in order to claim it. Can you tell that men were involved in setting up this rather ridiculous wager? All I can say is that I'm really glad we didn't win.

One of the aspects of the bet was that the loser would have no help from his well-organized spouse. That turned out to be a big mistake because the dinner took him all day to prepare and we were nodding off into our dessert around midnight when the endurance test meal was, thankfully, over.

These potatoes were a part of that meal. What made me love them forever is that my rather disorganized husband, who sampled way too much wine during this cooking fiasco marathon, left them in the oven for a half hour longer than they were supposed to bake and they were still marvelous.

Here is the recipe right from the book (One of my oft-mentioned favorites, St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights, mentioned here and here and here.) complete with my annotations. I used Melissa’s Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes that I peeled and halved. Perfect!

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Silver Pennies Sunday

Sukiyaki

One of the great things about making a stir-fried dish, besides the ease, is that, generally, all of the ingredients are readily available in your fridge. A protein, a variety of fresh vegetables, and a tasty sauce are pretty much all that you need. This dish, from one of my most often consulted cookbooks, mentioned here and here, is one of my favorites. 

An obsessive note taker, I see that I first made this recipe in 2004.  I made it again last night and marveled at the goodness of it, particularly considering the little time it took to put it together and the overall ease of preparation. I did all of the prep work in advance (truth be told, during the commercials in between airings of a Jesse Stone marathon).  A half an hour before I was ready to eat, I put the previously rinsed and draining rice on to cook, then started then stir fry process. I do have a wok, but it is always trouble trying to unearth it from the bowels of the kitchen cabinets, so I just used a 10" sauté pan. Easy, healthy, delicious. What more could one ask of dinner? Oh, and one more thing, it reheats beautifully!

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What’d You Do This Weekend

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Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

Not every cake has its own provenance or Wikipedia page, but St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake does.  While not everyone who has consumed this dense and chewy sweet morning cake knows the origin, we locals do, which serves to prove that even baking mistakes can work out beautifully, and perhaps, better than the original. 

There are a number of recipes for this cake; seemingly everyone has his or her own version.  Some have added pumpkin, chocolate, even butter pecan, but nothing beats the original, the recipe of which appears in one of my favorite cookbooks, St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights, a '90s product of the local Junior League. 

Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

I think you're going to like it...a LOT!

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Amaze Me Monday

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Inspire Me Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

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Tasty Tuesdays

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Foodie Friday

Comfort Food for all Occasions

There have been any number of times in my life when I have both accepted and offered meals of comfort. Simple, comfort meals to help someone through a loss, sickness, or a difficult or exhausting time due to a change in life situation be it joyous or unfortunate. Whenever I find myself in this situation (as I did last week), wanting to help a neighbor through a rough spot, I head for my "go to" meal that has never failed to satisfy.  It's an easy one to put together, and makes enough to not only share, but provide us with a tasty evening meal.  Roast beef and gravy is always the main course; green beans amandine and mashed potato casserole the two comforting sides.  I package them up in containers that do not need to be returned, and label them with instructions on reheating.  The beef and beans require no recipes, but for the potatoes I head for one of my old favorites among cookbooks (and one you're probably sick of hearing about), St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights.  I've reproduced the recipe page below so you can have the benefit of my pithy comments.  It's make ahead, reheats beautifully, freezes, can be halved, doubled or tripled, and has found itself gracing the table on any number of holidays.  It's simply one of those recipes where you just can't go wrong.  How right is that?

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Tasty Tuesdays with Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
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Tasty Tuesday

Palmiers with Mustard and Prosciutto

We are nothing if not elegant when it comes to serving up snacks during the big game whether that game is baseball, football, or some Safari segment on Animal Planet.  As complicated as these look, they are actually very easy to put together, and can be assembled in about 15 minutes.  But the real beauty of this tasty little snack is that it can be frozen in log or sliced form and simply popped into the oven when you're ready to make them so you can wow a crowd with your culinary skills while still looking composed and refreshed.  This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights, and has never failed me.  If you need something sweet rather than savory, mix things up a bit by spreading softened butter on the rolled out pastry instead of the mustard and top with a cinnamon and sugar mixture, or simply spread it with jam.  What could be easier?

I annotate every recipe I make for future reference.

After thawing, open up your sheet of puff pastry and place on a board or countertop that has been dusted with flour.

Using a rolling pin, roll it out to approximately 18" x 11".

I use both Dijon mustard and the grainy, stone ground mustard combination for the best taste.  If you plan to do the same, make the first layer the smooth Dijon.

Spread the grainy mustard on top of the existing Dijon.

Use the best prosciutto that you can find to avoid ending up with a fatty, rubbery variety.  We buy ours at an Italian market, Di Gregorio's.

I have used both Parmesan and Romano cheeses and they work equally well.  I store these cheeses in the freezer (hence the lumps you see here, that do not matter one bit) to keep them fresh and help them to last longer.

Roll up as tightly as you can to keep it from trying to unroll when you slice it.

Trim the edges with a sharp knife.

Cover in plastic and chill to make slicing easier, or cover in plastic and then slip into a freezer bag to freeze for up to 4 months.

The sharper the knife, the easier these are to cut.  I turn the roll seam side down when cutting.  Do NOT use a serrated knife.

Place cut slices on parchment or a Silpat.

Brush with egg wash.  Use a silcone brush (If you don't have one of these, click on the link at the bottom of this post for more info.  You'll thank me later.) to coat with the egg wash.

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Foodie Friday
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Friday Fat Camp
I'm Lovin' It Friday
Simply Delish Saturday
Fantabulous Friday