Surf & Turf and Scalloped Potatoes

Tonight's dinner was originally going to be Chourico and Peppers, but after helping a friend move today, I didn't have enough time to throw it in the crock pot by the time I got home... So, tonight is now steak, stuffed quahogs or "stuffies" with scalloped potatoes on the side! I love stuffies, and I love scalloped potatoes even though I don't make them enough. I always forget that this bubbly, milky potato dish takes a while to cook, so dinner may be a wee bit late tonight. It's incredibly easy to throw together, only it takes just over an hour to cook in the oven. Leave yourself some time, and make this for dinner tomorrow!
This recipe is taken from my go-to recipe bible, Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.

Scalloped Potatoes

1 medium Onion, chopped (although I prefer sliced)
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 tbsp. Butter [or margarine]
2 tbsp. Flour, all-purpose
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
dash Salt
1 1/4 cups Milk 
3 medium potatoes (1 pound), such as long white, round white, round red, or yellow.


-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Grease a 1 1/2 qt. casserole, set aside.
-For sauce: In a small sauce pan cook onion and garlic in butter until tender, but not brown. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
-Thinly slice potatoes. Place 1/2 the sliced potatoes in bottom of prepared casserole. Cover with 1/2 the sauce. Repeat potato and sauce layers.
-Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake about 30 minutes more or until potatoes are tender.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Good variations on this dish are to add cheese to the sauce, or just top with cheese or Italian bread crumbs. I like it this plain old way, served with fresh chopped chives on top. Also, I like the red potatoes in this best,  but tonight I had Idaho potatoes I needed to use up.

Past few meals re-cap

It seems like this week has been nothing but big special dinners! I guess that's what happens when you make a trip out to a chain market that caters to organic and international cuisine... Probably watching the mini-marathon "Iron Chef" before shopping didn't help. That show honestly makes me feel invincible and adventurous in the kitchen! A remiss anniversary dinner coupled with the onslaught of fresh quality ingredients sent me into overdrive... Not to mention all my grand plans for St. Patrick's Day dinner floating in my brain. More on that in the next post, but now, onto pictures!

Mussels and Hard rolls: 

The mussels were simply steamed in white wine with minced shallots, garlic, and parsely. The hard rolls are my favorite roll recipe from Fanny Farmer. The mussel steaming liquid creates a wonderful broth to dip the rolls in.

Ribeye steak, fingerling potatoes, couliflower puree, and red wine mushroom sauce:

The fingerling potatoes were oven roasted, tossed in olive oil with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. I placed the potatoes over a cauliflower puree, that was accented with chive oil. The steak was seared for 1 minute on each side, then broiled till done. This was topped by a shiitake mushrooms sauteed in a red wine and butter sauce. I will post the sauce recipe at some point, but is not one I would repeat. The wine over powered the delicate mushroom flavour.

Golden baked fish, asparagus, salad: 

This was a neat recipe -but not a major hit with the family. I enjoyed it, and will post it later. I got some decent Haddock fillets (skin on) and tried out the latest RISAA recipe. It is effectively a savory meringue topping for the fish. I thought this meal was super clever, because the fish topping called for egg whites and I needed egg yolks for the hollandaise sauce over the asparagus. Perfect! A delicious combo no doubt.

Brunch Quiche (Frittata?)

This is a great brunch quiche. Well, it's like a quiche... or maybe it's a frittata. I kinda made it up, but I promise it's yummy! I am going to list the ingredients for a one person serving, and leave the multiplying up to you for how ever many servings you need.

2 small Red Potatoes, skin on, cubed
3 slices of Bacon
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 egg
2 tbsp. Milk or cream
1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp. Parsley, fresh
1 tsp. Chives, fresh
salt, pepper
butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Boil potatoes in a pot until just before tender.
While potatoes are boiling, fry up the bacon slices in a pan. Remove bacon when crisp, set aside.
Add strained potatoes and onion to bacon fat in pan to brown them. Salt and pepper to taste.
Butter a small baking dish (a souffle crock is perfect).
Place browned potatoes/onions in crock.
Crumble 2 pieces of the bacon on top of the potato/onion.
In a small bowl beat egg and milk together.
Pour egg mixture over ingredients in crock.
Sprinkle parsley and cheese on top.
Bake in oven for 15-20 min.
Let cool 10 min before serving.
Top with chives and the last piece of bacon, crumbled.

Also tastes fantastic with a little hot sauce. If you really want this to kick: add dried red pepper flakes with the salt and pepper.