Potato, Leek and Fennel Gratin

I finally made this for Christmas dinner this year and it was over-the-moon fabulous.  In this recipe, caramelized leeks and fennel are layered with paper-thin russet potato slices, fresh thyme, cream and Swiss cheese and then slowly baked.  The result: rich, earthy flavors with an elegant spin.

I did some advance preparation.   I washed and sliced the fennel and leeks the day before and stashed them into Ziploc bags.  I also shredded the cheese and bagged it as well.  On Christmas morning, I thinly sliced the potatoes and kept them fresh in a bowl of cold water.

Christmas with Southern Living 2001
Page 148
Copyright:  Oxmoor House

2 large fennel bulbs
2 leeks
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup milk
3 cups shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Rinse fennel.  Trim stalks to within 1" of the bulb.  Discard stalks and fronds.  Cut a slice off the bottom of the bulbs.  Slice lengthwise in half.  Remove core with a paring knife.  Cut the fennel into 1/4" slices.

Rinse leeks.  Trim off the root ends and tops from leeks, leaving 1" of dark leaves.  I sliced the leeks into 1/4" thick disks and added them to a bowl of cold water, separating the rings.  Swish them around and the grit will fall to the bottom.  Drain the leeks well and dry them on paper towels.

Saute the fennel and leeks in the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat for five minutes.  Add the 3/4 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. thyme.   Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 more minutes.  Set aside.

Combine potato slices, flour and 1/2 tsp. salt in a large zip-top bag.  Seal the bag and shake to distribute the flour and salt.   Arrange half the potato in a buttered gratin dish or 13" x9" dish.

Combine whipping cream and milk; pour half of this mixture over the potatoes in the dish.  Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups cheese and 1 tsp. thyme.  Spoon all the caramelized fennel and leeks over this and top with remaining potato slices.  Pour the remaining cream mixture over this and sprinkle with remaining cheese, 1 tsp. thyme and pepper.

Bake, covered, in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes or until golden and bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Bacony Green Beans Amandine

This is an easy, unbeatable side dish.  The recipe was inspired by the Mustardy Beans with Buttered Almonds recipe in the 2001 Edition of Christmas with Southern Living.  I've made these more times than I can count and, subsequently, the recipe has been tweaked along the way.  These can be made in a large, nonstick skillet on the stovetop.  My favorite way to cook them in an electric skillet.

2 strips thick-sliced, applewood smoked bacon, chopped

2 pounds fresh green beans, washed and trimmed 

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds

2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat your skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped bacon and cook until done but not crispy.  Scoop out the bits with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Leave the drippings in the pan.

Toss in the beans into the drippings and flip them around with your tongs.  Add stock, bring to a boil and partially cover.  Cook for 12-15 minutes.  Keep your eye on them;  you may have to add more stock or water.

Remove the beans to a serving bowl.  Add the butter to the hot pan.  When melted, add the almonds.  Gently toast them.  Add the bacon, mustard, honey, salt and pepper.  Cook until bacon is warm.  

Pour the beans back into the skillet and toss to combine.  Pour the finished dish into a serving bowl.

Yield:  6-8 servings

Mama Dot's Cornbread Dressing

My beloved maternal grandmother, affectionately know to her grandchildren as Mama Dot, hosted Thanksgiving every year and everyone loved her dressing.  It's very moist and rich.

She left this Earth ten years ago and holidays just don't quite seem the same.  I make this now to keep her close.  Mom won't make it.  She says I have The Touch.  Aunts and cousins who live far away have been e-mailing me to request the recipe.    Here it is.

16 oz. package Pepperidge Farm Herb-Seasoned Stuffing Crumbs (no substitutions)
16 oz. package Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing Crumbs (no substitutions)
4 large stalks of celery, from the heart (leaves included), very thinly sliced
2 large sweet onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick unsalted butter (or use 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup bacon drippings)
Table or kosher salt, to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (My addition and I love it.  She didn't use it.)
2 quarts low-sodium chicken or turkey stock  (Buy all the broth or stock-in-a-box that you can.  It comes in handy at the holidays!)
Turkey drippings
Last year, I added 2 large eggs and 1 cup crushed oyster crackers and I loved the result.  It seemed puffier.

Pour the crumbs and oyster crackers (if using) into the largest bowl you own.  Set aside.

Saute the celery and onions in the butter in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Cook until tender and very lightly browned.  Add a pinch of salt to the veggies while they're cooking.  Add to the crumbs.  Sprinkle on extra salt and seasonings.  Add one quart of the stock and a ladleful of turkey drippings.  Mix well with a heavy wooden spoon.  Mama Dot added the stock until the mixture was extra soupy.  She always said you had to add plenty to make a good finished product.  I use less stock than she did.  I keep adding stock until it looks like this:

Taste it.  Seasoned fine, but blah?  Add some more turkey drippings.  Extra pepper is always good.  I used the Old Bay to give it a more rounded flavor.  It worked really well with the poultry seasoning.

When it tastes perfectly seasoned and rich enough and the consistency is where you want it to be, you can add the eggs (if using).    Scoop the dressing into a well-greased baking pan (I use a Martha Stewart lasagna pan from K-Mart.)  Bake it in a preheated 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions

Thanksgiving is all about tradition.   I'll be sharing some of my holiday favorites with you this week.

As much as I love the tried-and-true favorites, I love to shake it up a little bit, too.  This is a new recipe that I will introduce to my extended family on Thanksgiving.  I recently discovered this recipe in a Weight Watchers Weekly brochure at a meeting and fell in love with it at first bite.  This is a low-calorie, rich-tasting side dish that features the warm spices of garam masala (an Indian blend that usually includes cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and ground coriander seed) plus the zip of fresh cilantro. I love it with baked chicken and I think it will be outstanding with the turkey.

The bonus:  It's delicious reheated.  You can bake this the day before, reheat it in the microwave (if you're really pressed for time on the big day) and toss in the cilantro at the last minute.

2 1/4 pounds fresh butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 medium red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garam masala (The Spice Hunter brand makes this.  It can be found at larger grocery stores or look for it online:  www.spicehunter.com.  Also available at:  www.penzeys.com.)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a large, nonstick baking sheet with Pam.

Scatter squash and onion on the prepared baking sheet; drizzle with oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with garam masala, salt and pepper; toss to coat.

Roast, tossing about halfway through cooking, until vegetables are tender and slightly browned (about 25 minutes).

Transfer vegetables to a serving piece and sprinkle with cilantro; toss to coat.  Serves 6.  2 Weight Watchers POINTS per 3/4 cup serving.

Two Sides For All Things Grilled

I had SO much fun with the grill this weekend.

These sides were a big hit and I wanted to pass them along to you.

Grilled Creamed Corn

I was so excited to find this recipe in the June/July 2010 issue of Every Day With Rachael Ray.  Just grill fresh corn, cut it off the cob and stir it into a cream sauce that has been enriched with cream cheese.  Unbelievably rich and smoky!  Don't let the corn go too long on the grill; you want it toasty brown, not black.

This was terrific with burgers and grilled chicken.  The article also suggested stirring the leftover corn into mashed potatoes or as a burrito filling.  (Yum.)

KC-Style Pit Beans

Kansas City is famous for their rich and meaty beans, which are cooked low-and-slow in the smoker.  They soak up the flavor of the meat cooked in them, as well as the meat cooked over them in the smoker.  Fabulous.

This is a shortcut version.

4 slices bacon

4-8 oz. Polska Kielbasa (your choice), sliced into half-moons

1 large yellow or Vidalia onion, peeled and chopped

28 oz. can Bush's Maple Cured Bacon Baked Beans

1/2 cup tomato-based barbecue sauce

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

Dash liquid smoke

Garlic powder and black pepper, to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp.  Remove the bacon and crumble.  Set aside.

Add the kielbasa and onion to the drippings.  Cook until the onion is tender and the kielbasa is nicely browned.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved bacon.

Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Simple Roasted Reds

Happy Easter!

I normally make the family recipe for potato salad on holidays.

This year, I only had to cook for four. I did roasted potatoes and they were easy and flavorful. It was nice to have a side dish that I didn't have to fuss over. It just did its thing while I finished my other tasks.  This is so easy I hesitated to post it, but it's worth remembering when you need a side dish and you're running out of time.

1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, the smallest ones you can find

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning

Halve the larger potatoes in the bunch and leave the littlest ones whole. Wash and dry them. Pour them onto a sheet pan with sides. Drizzle with oil and add the seasonings. Toss with your fingers.

Place the pan into a preheated 425 degree oven and roast for 20 minutes. Flip the potatoes over and roast for another 10 minutes or until evenly golden and tender. Great hot or at room temperature. Leftovers are wonderful the next morning with eggs.

Rice: Savory and Sweet

I.love.rice.

A buttery pile under a puddle of gravy?  Sign me up.  In a pudding?  You betcha.  The intensely nutty aroma of a perfectly steamed basmati with spicy Indian food?  Heavenly.

How about mixed with cheese and bacon, formed into patties and FRIED.  Oh, yeah.

These are Rachael Ray's fab Cheesy Rice Fritters as mentioned in the previous post.  I made two changes, though.   She called for shredded mozzarella cheese; I used a four-cheese Italian cheese blend to bump up the flavor.  She also called for frying said patties in bacon drippings.  I will try that eventually.  I used olive oil here--a little more heart-friendly, especially since these accompanied the rich beef entree.

The ingredients and equipment (parchment-lined baking sheet, hot skillet) must be assembled before preparing the recipe.  Use a light breadcrumb coating on the patties.  If you really pack on the crumbs, they will just fall off into the oil and burn.   I'm happy to report that they reheat beautifully (midnight snack, wink, wink) and they freeze well.

Rice should be stored in a tightly-capped glass jar or plastic container.  Only wooden utensils should touch cooked rice.  The grains are delicate and easily smashed.  I love my Mario Batali risotto spoon.  I love it even more because Kitchen and Company had it on clearance for $5!

Rice is nice when it's sweet, of course.  My very favorite rice pudding is found at the Norway pavilion at EPCOT (Disney World in Orlando, FL).  For almost twenty years now, it's the first thing I seek out when I get there.

It's made with arborio rice as well.  The dense quality of the rice is lightened with freshly whipped cream, just enough sugar and topped with a tangy sauce made with strawberry preserves and fresh lemon juice.  The rice pudding is served well-chilled in wine glasses and topped with a thick layer of the sauce.  At home, I usually lack the patience for this.  I just scoop it into a bowl and drizzle on the sauce.

Click here for the recipe:  Rice Cream with Strawberry Sauce.  A pinch of nutmeg is delicious in this recipe.