Burritos: Rainy Day Comfort Food

Potato & pepper & onion burritos are my idea of a rainy-day comfort food. A tropical storm is wending its way into Southern New England and I stared at the rain whilst clicking my little City of Wonder buildings, I thought of tortillas and cheese.

Perfect for lunch or dinner.

This is precisely how I made it because I used what I had on-hand, but you can modify it however you need: just eyeball the food you have and do what you can!

Ingredients:
- 1 16oz bag of sliced green, yellow and red peppers (still frozen)
- 1 12oz bag of diced onions (still frozen)
- 10 fingerling potatoes
- tortillas
- cheddar cheese, shredded
- olive oil
- 2 tbsp chipotle spice powder from Tupperware
- sour cream

1) I turned the burner to somewhat high heat (7 of 10) and put some olive oil in the pan, just enough to coat.
2) I poured the frozen veggies in, broke them up a bit with a spoon and left them to cook.
3) I washed and poked the potatoes and put them into the microwave to cook.
4) I stirred the peppers & onions, added the chipotle spice powder and played City of Wonder, because I'm completely addicted to this latest Disney Facebook game.
5) After about ten minutes the peppers & onions were starting to caramelize and were hitting the edge of what I'd call burnt-on-the-bottom. Love it, because that reminds me of what it's like when you get fajitas at a restaurant.
6) I cut up the cooked potatoes into bite-size pieces and stirred them into the pepper mixture.
7) I put a cast iron pan onto another burner, turned the heat to 5 (of 10) and when it was warm, I laid a tortilla in it.
8) When the tortilla was warm, I turned it over and liberally spread the cheese over it.
9) I waited until the cheese was mostly melted and took the tortilla out of the pan and put it into a plate.
10) I then spooned the pepper & potato mixture into the center of the tortilla and spooned sour cream over the top. I folded the tortilla simply (both sides up over each other into a roll) and it was done.

And it was SOOO good.

Roasted potatoes, garlic and shallots.

I recently purchased a new preseasoned cast iron pan -- I need to get more iron into my system and I want to try to move away from teflon.

Yesterday I was having my friends Mark & Heather and their daughters over for dinner. The meal was designed to be entirely vegan and I was really looking forward to it -- and we all had a fantastic time.

One of the dishes I made was a combination of chopped potatoes & shallots and garlic cloves roasted for a while in the oven. After it was done, I stirred in some chopped scallions. Lovely. The house smelled heavenly -- with the scent of roasted garlic pouring out of the windows.

Ingredients:
- olive oil
- a bunch of scallions
- six medium potatoes, washed and chopped into bite-size pieces
- two heads of garlic, garlic cloves removed and left whole
- two large shallots, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp each herbs: dried rosemary, dried sage, dried thyme

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Put all of the garlic cloves, chopped potatoes and chopped shallots into a bowl and toss lightly.
3. Pour olive oil over the potato mixture, enough to coat lightly.
4. Put the herbs on top and toss the potato mixture.
5. Pour the potato mixture into your roasting pan (I used a 10.25" cast iron skillet). You could use a casserole dish.
6. Put into the oven. Stir periodically, every 15 minutes. Make sure the top doesn't dry out.
7. Cook for an hour to hour and a half, until potatoes are done and garlic is all buttery-soft.
8. Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Fold scallions into potato mixture & serve.

Spring Pork Stew...in a snowstorm...

I was determined to deny winter its power on this blizzard of an evening. So, I decided to make an old favorite that I made quite often in Florida but never in Nayaug: a spring pork stew. Spring because of the plethora of vegetables.

I set a pot to warming on high. My mother's 28 year old electric Jenn-Air takes a while to warm up its burners. I drizzled once around the pot with extra virgin olive oil.

Chopped a big sweet onion - I believe this was a Walla Walla, can't remember - and tossed it in.

Tossed in a tablespoon of minced fridge-garlic.

Tossed in two ribs of celery, chopped.

Tossed in three medium potatoes, chopped.

Tossed in about 12 baby carrots, chopped.

Tossed in one yellow pepper, seeded and chopped.

Tossed in two zucchini (here's the especially spring part), chopped.

I had a box of organic chicken broth from Whole Foods, so I started pouring it in bit by bit to let the vegetables steam.

I pulled the leftover pork roast out of the fridge and warmed that up for two minutes in the microwave. This is an old microwave - two minutes does just enough to leave the meat cold but make it pliable.

I then trimmed it of every ounce of fat and chopped the rest into bite-size pieces. Tossed those into the pot.

Poured the rest of the chicken broth into the pot. Added a cup of water. Put the lid on. Let it simmer.

At some point I added a tablespoon of italian seasoning and a packet of Sazón. I added sea salt (Celtic gray) and a healthy dose of white pepper.

I let it simmer some more, checking the potatoes for doneness.

Then I grabbed the box o' tapioca and measured out a scant half cup. Poured that in, mixed it all up. Presto! Stew! Just the right thickness.

And, five minutes later, we were done. Ladled it into soup bowls. Had I thought of this ahead of time, I would have made bread. Such is life...

Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin & Chicken Stuffed with Cranberry-Walnut Goat Cheese

It's a good thing I don't like food. You know how that is...

When I emerged from the basement, intent on dinner, I was lugging with me the bottom of my Le Creuset casserole. I refused to leave it upstairs lest it get attacked by metal utensils.

I put the dish in the oven and turned the oven onto 300F convection bake.

Pulled six potatoes out, washed them, poked them and put them into the microwave to partially cook. I was looking for a 3/4 cooked potato.

Then I turned to the stove. I grabbed a small saucepan and melted some butter in it. Threw in some flour to make a roux. Poured in some milk after the flour had cooked, warmed that up and then snagged every half-empty bag o' shredded cheese in the fridge. Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack. I also grabbed the block of parmagiano reggiano. Pour the cheeses in there and then used the cheese cutter to cut myself some hunkage of the mother cheese. Left that to warm up and meld flavorage together...

Turned to the potatoes. Sliced a few. Took the dish out of the oven and ladled some of the cheese sauce into it. I like a nice crispy bottom, see...

Started layering the potatoes into the dish. Actually, I layered all of the potatoes into the dish and then ladled the rest of the cheese sauce over it.

Put the dish back into the oven and set the oven on 400F convention bake.

I then turned to the chicken:

At lunch on Friday, I picked up an exceedingly delicious container of goat cheese mixed with dried cranberries and walnuts and loved all over by some honey. Thinking about what I paid for it, next time I will buy a big ole block of goat cheese and mix the rest at in at home. But, that aside...

I took my All-Clad saute pan, set it to low on the stove and brushed some olive oil in the bottom.

I took some plain chicken breasts and pounded them out to the dulcet tones of Lyle Lovett telling everyone to kiss his ass, with his pony and boat and all.

I put a mound of goat-cheese-mixture into each chicken breast and rolled up the chicken.

I dipped each rolled chicken breast into a bowl of bread crumbs moistened with some melted butter.

I put each chicken breast into the saute pan.

At this point the potato dish was getting nice brownage on top. Lovely. I put the saute pan into the oven and turned the head down to 375F.

I then set a whole stack of baby carrots to bubbling with a mixture of chicken stock, massive amounts of ginger and a 1/2 cup of maple syrup.

Ten minutes later, I took the potato dish out of the oven and let it sit.

Twenty minutes later, I took the chicken out of the oven.


I put the potatoes and carrots on the plates. Then I turned to the chicken pan -- and picked it up with my right hand. Burned it badly. So, I got no pictures of dinner.

That said, when I emerged quite a while later (having conquered the pain somewhat), dinner was quite fantastic. I highly recommend it.

NY Strip Steaks

Dad brought home NY Strip Steaks. I marinated them in balsamic vinegar + olive oil, seasoned with a little Montreal Steak Seasoning. Seared them on high for a few minutes on the first side; seared for a few minutes on the second side; turned the heat down to medium and put a pat of butter on each steak. When the butter was melted, the steaks were done. We like them well-done around here. Perfect - moist, tender, tasty. Oh yeah...

I chopped some shallots and sauteed them with corn. Seasoned the mixture with an Italian spice mix.

Baked potatoes.

'Twas good.

Baked Potatoes with Stilton and Cheddar

Wow.

I hadn't realized how much cooking a meal down here in my basement apartment would cheer my spirits. Wow. Now I see why my brother put up a sign that said "Mongo's Place."

I put six mini potatoes into my new toaster oven, set it to 400F and timed it to 40 minutes.

-- The potatoes smelled SO good while they were baking that my stomach started seriously growling. That was hilarious.

The timer dinged, I headed over and the tiny taters were done perfectly. Crunchy skins. Wow.

I took them into the kitchen, sliced them in half and put bits of stilton-and-cheddar over them. This place smells Amazing.

Today, today is the One Year Anniversary of my being back in Connecticut. On this morning, very early, Dad and I left Fredericksburg and drove north, through DC, through the Palisades, up the Merritt and on home.

So I figure that cooking my first meal down here is a fantastic way to celebrate.

Herbed Potato Salad

This afternoon, for Sunday dinner, I made a Chicken Salad Veronique and an Herbed Potato Salad. I saw both of these on Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa. I adapted the recipes...added a few things.

Below is the recipe as I made it. See FoodTV for the original recipe!

3 pounds Russian Banana fingerling potatoes (2 bags)
Celtic sea salt
2 tablespoons good dry white wine
2 tablespoons chicken stock
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup good olive oil
1 small Vidalia onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil
1 bunch of watercress, chopped
1 bunch of chives, chopped

Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot off the heat and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Leave the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but firm.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the wine, chicken stock, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, 2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Set aside.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters or halves, depending on their size. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl and pour enough dressing over them to moisten. (As the salad sits, you may need to add more dressing.) Add the onion, tarragon, chives, watercress & chervil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Last night's menu:
- meatloaf
- mashed potatoes
- sauteed spinach
- Banoffee Pie, previously mentioned in this blog

1. I used the KitchenAid mixer with the flat beater to mix up four sirloin hamburgers, breadcrumbs, a healthy helping of Muir Glen crushed fire roasted tomatoes, one minced onion and a tablespoon or so of Italian herbage. I put it all in a loaf pan and cooked that on 400F for about 85 minutes.
2. I diced up six potatoes and boiled them until they were mash-worthy. Mom seasoned them and we used the KitchenAid mixer with the flat beater to do the rest.
3. I put a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a saute pan and added some minced garlic to that. Sauteed that on medium for a few minutes and then I added some chicken broth to thepan. I then then started adding spinach and in no time at all it was wilted.

I made the Banoffee Pie and it was more like pie soup. Something's missing from the recipe, perhaps something like "cook the sweetened condensed milk until it's jelled" or something. It was also incredibly over-sweet. Not that it wasn't good, but it couldn't be sliced and even one dessert bowlful made one sick. The best part was that I learned how to make homemade whipped cream: whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Dad was pretty shocked that I didn't use Cool Whip.

Chicken and Potato soup

Alrighty then, I have arrived in CT as of 12Oct and have begun cooking. First, some basics. I'm a bit rusty as I just have not been motivated to cook for myself. But I brought the two all-clad sauciers as well as my cooking utensils.

On Thursday I made a chicken and potato soup seasoned with, of all things, Mrs Dash. It was fantastic. I took one peeled and cubed potato, one peeled and cubed sweet potato, one stick of celery, one small onion and sauteed them in chicken broth. Then, I added more chicken broth and started simmering. I added one packet of Garlic and Herb Mrs. Dash to the mixture. All of this was done on medium heat.

At the same time, I seasoned two boneless chicken breasts with a packet of Garlic and Herb Mrs Dash and started pan frying them in some olive oil. When they were done, I set them aside and chopped them up later to add to the soup.

After a while, sweet potatoes break down and turn into mush. They were the thickener for my soup - a very thick soup. I'm not much into brothy soups or bisques. The flavor of the soup was very vegetable with a hint of the spices from the Mrs Dash.

My parents are not too used to having garlic in everything, so that's why the very little garlic from the Mrs Dash. Adding the garlic slowly will be good.