potatoes

Roasted Potatoes and Fennel

/ Jodi / 45 Comments

Roasted Potatoes and Fennel

Recipes like this one I am sharing today are ones where I really wish I had the ability to share “smell-a-blogavision!”

The amazing aroma that filled my kitchen and nose when I roasted this fennel and potato recipe is too divine for words.  Seriously!

So after the euphoria of the fragrance faded, and I began typing this post, I was trying to find a word worthy to describe it.  It was THAT amazing!

In my “research,” I found that fennel is actually used as an essential oil and  in aromatherapy.  Well…. there you have it!  I was not kidding about how awesome it smelled!  Apparently, sweet fennel essential oil helps nourish and restore an optimal mind and outlook. It is believed to bring strength and courage in the face of adversity.

Have you cooked much with fennel?  Besides smelling like heaven, it has great health benefits too.  It is wonderfully crunchy and sweet when served raw  in salads or silky and succulent when roasted or braised.  It has an interesting licorice-like flavor.

Now… before those of you who are not licorice fans skip over this recipe….. STOP!  You have to give it a try!

When you roast this amazing celery-like root vegetable…. O. M. G!    I don’t have the words for the amazingness.

Mixed with some simple sliced potatoes and seasoning, it makes for a simply glorious addition or highlight to your dinner.

We had ours with some grilled chicken and a simple cucumber and tomato vinaigrette salad one day last week.

I will be making this again and again.  I adore it!  Hope you do too!

Roasted Potatoes and Fennel

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 small/medium potatoes (I used Yukon golds), sliced into 1/4 inch slices
  • 1 large fennel bulb, cut in half and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Spread sliced potatoes and fennel in an even layer on a stoneware baking dish or baking pan.  Drizzle with the olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and rosemary.  Roast approximately 40 minutes, tossing 2-3 times during roasting, until golden brown and tender.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Kicked Up Scalloped Potatoes (with Roasted Tomatoes, Peppers, & Onions)

/ Jodi / 41 Comments

Kicked Up Scalloped Potatoes (with Roasted Tomatoes, Peppers, & Onions).

Our family celebrated Easter a week early this year by getting together yesterday.  With the traditional ham, I made a kicked up version of scalloped potatoes.

Roasted tomatoes, sweet yellow, orange, and red peppers, and sweet onions….

layered in with creamy, cheesy potatoes

made for an amazing potato casserole!

To add a bit more “zip,” I kicked it up even more by using jalepeno havarti cheese instead of plain gruyere or havarti.

We loved it!

If you are looking for a new way with potatoes to go with your Easter ham or with roast beef or pork or chicken or even by itself for any other special occasion (like Monday night dinner), this scalloped potato recipe is worth the little bit of extra effort.

Hope you’ll give it a try.

Kicked Up Scalloped Potatoes with Roasted Tomatoes, Peppers, & Onions*

Ingredients:

  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 3 cups half & half
  • 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 5 cloves minced garlic
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 lbs. yukon gold potatoes (or your favorite) sliced thinly
  • 2 cups jalepeno havarti cheese (or your favorite), grated
  • 8 campari tomatoes, sliced 1/2″ thick
  • 2 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange or combination), cut into strips
  • 1 large sweet onion, cut in half and sliced 1/2″ thick
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 Tsp. herbes de Provence (sweet French herbs and flowery lavender with Italian herbs and fennel that includes: rosemary, cracked fennel, thyme, savory, basil, French tarragon, dill weed, Turkish oregano, lavender, chervil and marjoram.
  • 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Whisk egg yolks and 1 cup half and half in small bowl.  Set aside.  In large pot, combine 1 1/2 cups half and half, nutmeg, salt, pepper, garlic and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, add the sliced potatoes.  Simmer until halfway cooked, about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in egg-milk mixture and cheese.  Cover and keep warm.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Put the sliced tomatoes, peppers and onions on a baking sheet in separate piles.  Drizzle with olive oi and sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence.  Bake 10-15 minutes until tender and charred around edges.

Reduce oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray 9×13 baking dish with Pam cooking spray.  Sprinkle half the panko bread crumbs in bottom of the baking dish.  Spoon half of the potato mixture into the dish.  Top with half of the roasted vegetables.  Layer the remaining half of potatoes then remaining roasted vegetables.

Bake until potatoes are tender – 50-60 minutes.

Remove from oven and drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup half and half.  Sprinkle with remaining panko bread crumbs and 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.  Let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

*slightly adapted from Food Network

Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes with Garlic & Rosemary

/ Jodi / 50 Comments

roasted-rosemary-and-garlic-yukon-gold-potatoes

There aren’t many meals potatoes don’t go wonderfully with in my opinion.  I do love potatoes no matter what way they are prepared.

roasted-rosemary-and-garlic-yukon-gold-potatoes-2

One of my favorite ways to make them is to roast them.  Add some garlic, fresh rosemary, a dash of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil, and I’m pretty much in heaven.

roasted-rosemary-and-garlic-yukon-gold-potatoes-3

And Yukon Golds have become one of my favorite varieties to roast.  They crisp up beautifully on the outside and remain tender and flavorful on the inside.

This recipe is simple, but so delicious and complimentary to most any meal.  They go great with chicken, beef, pork, and even eggs (and are great reheated for breakfast “home fries”).  Sprinkle some cheese on top if you like – parmesan, cheddar, swiss,  or muenster.  Dunk them in ketchup or barbecue or hot sauce.  Dip them in ranch dressing or honey mustard.  Or just enjoy them plain.

Here is how I make them.  Hope you will give them a try.

Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes with Garlic & Rosemary

Ingredients:roasted-rosemary-and-garlic-yukon-gold-potatoes-2

  • 6 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • 3 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash and cut potatoes (leaving skin on) into bite-sized chunks.

Spread potatoes evenly in single layer onto a baking stone with sides (stoneware bar pan) or aluminum jelly roll sized pan.  Drizzle with half of the olive oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic, minced rosemary, and salt.  Drizzle remaining olive oil over top.

Roast for 20-30 minutes until golden brown – tossing with a spatula halfway through cooking time.  Serve immediately.  

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon & Blue Cheese

/ Jodi / 23 Comments

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon, & Blue Cheese on fork

Can you imagine any more amazing way to make potatoes?

Garlic, Crisp Smokey Bacon, and Creamy Blue Cheese?!?!

If you are looking for a SIMPLE, but KNOCK-OUT potato dish to serve for special company, with a steak for dinner, or to take to a potluck, get ready to make a lot of new friends with this dish and make your tummy VERY happy too!

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon, & Blue Cheese

My friend Janet came over for dinner the other evening, so I wanted to step up the potatoes a little and thought of this.  We had them with marinated grilled London Broil, Sauteed Fresh Green Beans and Fresh, Sweet Cantaloupe.  YUM!

And if you don’t like Blue Cheese (I realize some people do have an aversion for this cheese that I absolutely ADORE), you can substitute Cheddar or Swiss, or Monterrey Jack, or your favorite cheese – or – you can even eat them without cheese.  They are good that way too.

Here’s the recipe.  I dare you to not like this!

Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon & Blue Cheese

Ingredients:Roasted New Potatoes with Garlic, Bacon, & Blue Cheese on fork

  • 3 lbs Baby New Potatoes – I used 1.5 lbs of Yukon Golds and 1.5 lbs of Red
  • 8-10 Strips Thick Sliced Bacon – I used Peppered Slab Bacon
  • 4 Large Cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 4-6 oz. High Quality Blue Cheese, Crumbled

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  • Dice bacon into small bite-sized pieces and fry in skillet until cooked well, but not too crisp as it will continue to cook and crisp when you roast the potatoes in the oven.
  • Drain the diced bacon on paper towels, and remove all but 1 Tbsp of bacon drippings from pan.
  • Add Olive Oil, Garlic and Potatoes.  Mix to coat potatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.  Add bacon back in, and stir.
  • Place all in a shallow baking dish and roast at 450 for 20 minutes or until potatoes are done.
  • Remove from oven and crumble blue cheese over all.  Stir to coat, and ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Making Homemade Polish Pierogies

/ Jodi / 26 Comments

pierogi homemade polish pittsburgh

We revived another one of Grandma’s Christmas traditions this year.  We made her homemade Polish pierogi recipe.

I don’t know how Grandma did all this work herself every year for our holiday meal.  She never asked anyone else to bring anything.  She did all the cooking, all the baking, hosted, and did all the clean up.  Occasionally I was asked to dry dishes….  and I complained!  UGH!  How could I have?!  If only we had the wisdom of experience and could turn back time to show our gratitude and appreciation…

I am fortunate enough to have my hubby, Marty, help with these little buggers.  There are not a lot of ingredients, but there are a few tedious steps, and the dough is a bit “tight” to roll out.  pierogi 1

In fact, you would laugh if you would have seen me climbing on a chair and kneeling on the kitchen counter to roll it out easier!  Much less strain on the back that way! 🙂

pierogi 2

We made the filling the day before and refrigerated overnight so it was easy to roll into little balls for the filling.

pierogi 3

It is really important to seal them completely so the filling doesn’t seep out when boiling.

pierogi 4

I use a little bit of water on my fingers to help seal, then pinch with tines of a fork.

pierogi 5

Boiling only takes a few minutes, and they are done when they float to the top.

pierogi 6

When ready to serve, fry the pierogies in a skillet with butter until golden brown.

pierogi 7

Then the really yummy part comes when you caramelize sweet onions in butter and layer in between your pile or bowlful or pan full of these wonderful little pasta pockets of cheesy potato goodness.

pierogi 8

Pierogies are a Polish tradition and a Pittsburgh tradition.  There are even several stores/restaurants that strictly sell and serve pierogies.  They can be made with a variety of fillings.  Our favorite is potatoes and cheese, but we also love them filled with homemade saurkraut sauteed in pork.  Others fill them with a cottage cheese or prune filling.  Grandma always pronounced them ‘pee dough gee‘.  Some people spell them ‘pieroghi’.

Whatever way you pronounce it or spell or fill it, pierogies are a wonderful treat and another fond memory of my dear Grandma, my Stella star.

pierogi homemade polish pittsburgh

Here is Grandma’s Polish Pierogi Recipe:

Dough:
4 cups flour
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 pint sour cream
2 Tbsp melted butter

Potato & Cheese Filling:
2 lbs. potatoes (I like to use Yukon Gold) Peeled, Boiled and Mashed
1/2 lb Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese (do not use pre-shredded)
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp butter

For Filling: Mash potatoes, add rest of ingredients, and blend well. Chill until ready to use.

Assembling the Pierogies:
Mix all dough ingredients together and knead until dough is smooth.
Roll out to approximately 1/4″ thickness and cut into 2-3″ circles with a drinking glass.
Add about a tablespoonful of filling to center, then fold over, seal, and crimp.
Place pierogies in boiling water and boil until they rise to the top, then remove.
When ready to serve, fry in butter in a skillet until golden brown.
Sauteed onions – the more the better are excellent served with pierogies.
We also love a dollop of sour cream on top.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi