Stew-pendous

I don't know how it is out there, but it has been cold here. And my computer is in the 3rd flr, uninsulated office. (Really old house, stone walls, no insulation) that, along with a busy work week (covering some extra shifts, for extra hours) has kept me away from the blogosphere this week. :(

Since I was working a lot and it was so cold, I really wanted something warm & comforting to bring in for lunch, but I'm on a budget, so I can't go to the cafe. Well, I'll tell ya, a good stew is a like a good hug, cheap & warms you down to the soul!
In my latest library stash, I checked out the unbelievable real stew put together by Clifford Wright. (Wow, I really did find "Mr. Wright"-- too bad I'm married).
This is officially my next great find. It will also be a purchase when I return to the world of buyers rather than borrowers. In the mean time let me tell you Cliff (I hope he doesn't mind if I call him that) is worth "checking out!"
There are 300 stews in here, some that look more complicated than I want to mess with, but many are reasonable with combinations that I can't believe I never thought of. The book is extremely well organized, divided in sections by main ingredient and the sections go by regions.

The Chicken and Coconut Stew from Kenya was an instant must-try, so let's see how it went!
Peppers & Onions are always a good start (2 each here sliced) they are being heated up with 1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger, 1/4 t curry, salt, sugar a couple cloves of garlic (he says crushed to a paste, I just put them through the press) and 3 cloves.
Once the onions and peppers softened I added the tomatoes from a 28 oz can (mostly drained) (Cliff asked for 1 1/2 lbs of ripe tomatoes, but they weren't looking so ripe at the market, so I used the canned) Along with tomatoes there was a crushed dried red chile (from the garden last summer!) and 1 1/2 T grated lemon zest. Once they are in & heated, add a small chicken cut into pieces (next time I'll probably just buy 4 # of chicken thighs to make it easier to serve & eat) .
(Dory was very excited to help with this!)

After about 5 minutes add 2 cups of coconut milk* and (wait for it)


1 1/2 pounds of Sweet Potatoes! HO-licius!

Damn, you know I was excited by that!

The next step is a perrennial favorite of mine: Cover, lower the heat & simmer** a couple hours until chicken & taters are tender.

It has a pretty orange color and the chicken melts in your mouth! HP wanted it over rice, but I love it just the way it was! Of course the left-overs were the best!

So keep warm, where ever you are & if you need a hug, make some of this & consider it a hug from Kiki & Cliff. (If you serve this to some one else, spontaneous hugs may occur as well)


*(Cliff tells you how to make your own coconut milk, but I'm down with the Goya thing. Cheap & Easy)
**(Simmer only, don't boil-boiled chicken = tough chicken)

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Happy New Ho

What better way to start the New Year than with an entry for this month's Ho Down! This month is being hosted by Christie, better known in the ho circle as Milky Lee, over at Fig & Cherry. Me I couldn't wait to join in!

HP has been sick with a miserable cold (or is it that he has a cold & acts miserable...) so I decided that a little zip & a little soup were in order. Unfortunately, I hadn't been to the market since before Christmas, so I went with my frugal nature & love of reinventing leftovers and came up with

Mandy Lynn's Curried Sweet Potato Soup.

I have been eying my leftover Parmesan Sweet Potato Gratin from Thanksgiving for a while. I loved the savory parmesan & rosemary with the sweet of the potatoes and have been looking for an excuse to defrost them The only problem was that I knew that the thin slices wouldn't defrost into the tender slices I started out with and probably wouldn't be as crisp or even as sliced. At first I thought that I would mash them up & serve them that way, but the potatoes I found, which were red skinned and white fleshed, were a different kind of sweet than the orange fleshed cousins and I didn't think I could convince the family to eat them mashed. So I did what any good Mom does. I hid them. I pulled a few more leftovers out of the fridge, including my holiday goat cheese dip with caramelized onions, and some of my frozen stock. I threw it into a pot & added a few secret ingredients. MMMM, maybe it shouldn't be a secret after all, so I'll give you what I made, & try to translate into something you can do as well (without benefits of my leftovers). I know that I plan to make this dish again, so let's give a whirl.

I started with about 1 1/2 pounds of sliced red skinned sweet potatoes. (The closest image I could find was this one over at flickr for a red skinned white sweet potato) Since mine was "gratined" I would say to slice thin, in a large pot, poach in a hearty chicken stock with some fresh rosemary, salt & pepper, when they are tender, add about 2 1/2 ounces of Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of light cream. Don't drain. Here are my potatoes post defrost, pre everything else

To my already gratined, slightly mushed potatoes I added 1 1/2 cups of dark chicken stock, about 3/4 of a cup of goat cheese and some caramelized onions. (about 1/3 - 1/2 cup).
Next add 3 Tablespoons of Madras Curry, a teaspoon of salt and, if you can find it, 2 teaspoons Fried Garlic. Simmer until all ingredients are warm & tender, then puree with an immersion blender. (You can also allow this to cool and puree in a regular blender-the result will be smoother, but be very careful when blending hot soups.)

At this point, I added another 1 1/2 cups of stock to thin it, and whipped that in with the immersion as well, (for a little more exotic taste, you can use a cup or so of coconut milk to thin it; I thought about it, but didn't want to open a can of something new). When starting this from scratch, add 1/2 a cup of broth at a time until you get the desired consistency. Just before serving, I stirred in 1/3 cup of plain yogurt. This is a super rich soup, add a piece of bread and you are set to go out and brave the elements or just sit and watch snow fall. It warms you down to your toes and has helped me fight off the terrible cold that HP keeps trying to give me.

A sprinkle of chili powder on top gives the perfect finish

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Mashed, Smashed, Whipped or Beaten?

How do you 'ho?

Hey there, it's Mandy Lynn your friendly potato 'ho!
Well, due to random technological challenges, I do not have a picture of my taters. I don't know if that disqualifies me from the Ho Down, this month hosted over at Baking Delights so, even if I don't really enter (am I late, I don't know that either, I'm still getting reorganized) I thought I'd share my potatoes from Sunday's dinner. (Which also included Deviled Fried Chicken and spinach sauted in lightly caramelized shallots and a splash of red wine).

The potatoes were the Clean-Out-The-Fridge Smashed Potatoes & really, they rocked!
I roughly peeled (left some skin on) about 3 lbs of red potatoes then quartered & boiled until al dente. When draining, I leave just a little of the water in so I don't lose the tasty tater juices. I warmed up about a cup of dark chicken stock (left over from last week) with about 2-3 oz of goat cheese left in the cheese drawer and a tablespoon or 2 of butter. I dumped that in & smashed the taters with the old family potato masher*. Once everything was incorporated, I dusted with a little romano cheese and topped with an amazing bread-crumb mix left over from a pasta dish. (Yes, I should have posted it, maybe next time). So, for those of you who just want the topping, I'm going to guess on measurements:
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup breadcrumbs, also toasted (I think I used a little oil (very little))
1/2 cup quality pecorino/romano cheese.
when the nuts & breadcrumbs have cooled slightly, mix in the cheese.
This makes an amazing topping for mashed potatoes**! I popped the crusted taters under the broiler (on low) for a few minutes until everything was warm & toasty. Comfort food at its most comforting!

*I am generally not a "ricer" or a "whipper" and I think that the new lingo says smashed are chunkier than mashed & I like a little chunk.
**This topping would also be good on a baked fish or baked chicken breast or topping some vegetable or a random casserole.

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Rex Vs. Dory, A Post About Sibling Rivalry

It has begun. I didn't realize they would start so soon, but yes Rex & Dory have issues with sibling rivalry.
Tonight it was dinner. I asked for suggestions.

Rex wanted pasta, Dory (my little Ho) wanted potatoes.
They argued & bickered until I finally said enough.
I made both. Because I'm a Potato Ho!

This month's Ho Down will be hosted by Hillary at Chew on That. The Ho Down isn't until October 15, but I'll be on my way from Capri to Positano, so I thought I'd throw this up early. Thanks for hosting!

Pasta with Potatoes, Arugula & Rosemary
Adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables.

1 # firm potatoes, sliced about 1/3" thick, tossed w/ olive oil, salt & pepper
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 shallot, slice thin
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
more olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 bunches arugula, washed
1/2 a lemon
Box of noodles, they suggest penne or other tubular pasta, I used the tri-color rotini & loved it

On baking stone, rimmed sheet, (or other suitable surface) bake the potatoes in a single layer at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until tender.

Put water on to boil for pasta. Cook according to box.

While waiting for water to boil, saute onion & shallot in olive oil until brown & tender, add garlic and saute lightly, toss in potatoes & rosemary.

When pasta is done, drain & return to pan. Add Arugula & toss to wilt greens, add potato/onion mixture & toss again.

Serve with fresh shaved Parmesan.
The kids were happy (though Rex did get some arugula stuck in his teeth) they both loved it!

HP wasn't convinced this was a complete meal and suggested some cooked Italian Sausage cut up and tossed in. I thought that was a splendid idea; the dish needs some protein to be a meal, but hey I'm still in my comfort food phase.


I didn't take this picture & I can't find any of Rex standing his ground on the pasta issue. I'm not sure if my camera is possessed or Rex is sneakier than I though.

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How to succeed in business with out really frying...

Well, I failed that part, because I was a fryin' demon this weekend. I will share with you, that if you decide to fry, be smart, don't do it when the weather is over 90 with 80% humidity. That is just askin' for heat induced crankiness. Trust Me!

But, I was frying for a cause. 'Cause I'm a HO
My Potato Ho name is Mandy Lynn. I've been a lover of potatoes for many years but I am finally ending my my Potato Ho virginity with a little trip to the other side of the pond, but first I'm heading to Diane at AsthmaGirlCooksfor the Ho Down.

My entry into Hodom is Fish & Chips Wanna see how it's done?
I adapted my recipe from Gourmet magazine's Fish & Chips from Jan 2004. I really didn't make a lot of changes. I will warn you, this recipe is very simple, but it can be VERY time consuming. I think I spent about 2 hours over hot oil. Mostly that is because I didn't use a very big pot (I wanted to have depth in the peanut oil with out using all the oil in the house)

The Stuff:

• 4 large potatoes
• Peanut Oil**
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons corn meal
  
• 8 oz Yuengling Lager (or other full bodied beer/ale)
  
• 1 lb tillapia fillets, skinned, pin bones removed, and fish cut diagonally into 1-inch-wide strips
• salt, pepper, super-fine sugar & dried porcini mushroom mill (if you can find it :( )
• other seasonings as desired
  
• Special equipment: a deep-fat thermometer

See, not a lot of stuff.
The Method:

Peel potatoes and halve lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges, transferring as cut to a large bowl of ice and cold water. Chill 30 minutes.

Heat about 1 - 1 1/2" oil in a deep heavy pot over moderately high heat until it registers 350°F on thermometer. While oil is heating, drain potatoes and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Fry a pot of the potatoes, (make sure your potatoes aren't too crowded) stirring gently, until edges are just golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to fresh paper towels/newspaper to drain (I like to put newspaper over a wire cooling rack so the oil doesn't pool under the taters). Fry remaining potatoes in batches, returning oil to 350°F between batches. Remove oil from heat and reserve while getting organized to refry.

Heat oil over moderately high heat until it registers 375°F. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 250°F.

Fry potatoes again, in batches, until deep golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes per batch. Return oil to 375°F between batches. Transfer with slotted spoon to fresh paper towels as fried and drain briefly, then arrange in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and keep warm in upper third of oven.

Return oil temperature to 375°F. Sift flour & cornmeal into a bowl, then whisk in beer gently until just combined. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Pat fish dry. Sprinkle fish on both sides with salt and pepper and any other spices (I used a rub we made for chicken), Coat pieces of fish in batter (Gourmet says to dredge in flour first, I always forget to do that & haven't had any problems), 1 at a time, and slide into oil as coated. Fry coated fish, turning over frequently, until deep golden and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in lower third of oven, then fry remaining fish in batches, returning oil to 375°F between batches.

Mix about one Tablespoon sea salt or Kosher salt, about 2 teaspoons superfine sugar and about 2 teaspoons dried porcini. Sprinkle on the Chips

Serve with malt vinegar or homemade tartar sauce (mayo, sweet pickles, fresh parsley, fresh tarragon, lemon, green onion & capers) or a chipotle "aioli" (mayo, sour cream, chipotles, dried chipotle powder, lime, cilantro, and I'm not sure what else) (or catsup if you are feeding kids)

The finished fish look like this:

I didn't get a pic of them together because we were all to hungry at that point and the family was threatening riot if I tried. But they looked good and tasted GREAT!

Beer & flour is the best way to fry fish, though fried, it is light & crunchy. YUM!

**If you or someone you are feeding is allergic, Veg or Canola oil can be used. I prefer peanut because it has a much higher burning point, with those oils you should decease the oil temp to 325 & 350 and increase cooking time. I think they aren't quite as crisp that way.

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