Double Stuffed Baked Potatoes

399. A hot baked potato filled with oozing melted butter, sour cream and melted cheddar cheese is a very welcome favorite of mine.  Although, it seems everyone should know how to make a baked potato... I wonder, how many know how to double stuff a potato?  

I know every microwave has a "potato" setting.  You place the cleaned, skin-on potato in the microwave and just push the button.  When your potato is "baked", the beep is sounded.  Only takes about 5-8 minutes, depending on the size or amount of potatoes you are cooking.  A much better alternative is to actually "BAKE" the potato, you know, like our grandmothers did, before microwaves were around.  

Scrub your potatoes and poke them with a point of a knife about 3 times around each spud.  Place them in a hot 350 degree oven and bake about 1 hour.  You will know they are soft when you squeeze them to test.

Remove the potatoes and let them sit about 10 minutes to cool.  Cut each lengthwise carefully and open them up.  This also allows them to cool quicker.  Have a bowl prepared to mix the filling.  Scrape out of the skins the soft potato into the prepared bowl.  Continue with each potato till you have only potato skins left.

Mix the cheese, butter, sour cream and seasonings into the potato filling.  Blend well but not too smooth.  Chunks of potato are fine.  By the spoonful, transfer the filling back into the skin shells mounding up the filling.  

Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or till cheese is melted on top

I like to finish off the top with a dollop of sour cream and a healthy sprinkling of fresh garden chives.  Of course you can add bacon, fried sausage bits, pepperoni, parmesan cheese...and the list trails on.  Make it to your own taste and liking.

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This would be a great recipe to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  And, you can use sweet potatoes or yams as well to substitute.  Enjoy this simply wonderful recipe...a great recipe to make with a kitchen helper.

"I do not believe that you have to spend a lot of money to eat well:  it is hard to beat a plain old baked potato."

~ Laurie Colwin

Crêpes

326.  Do you love crêpes?  Do you dream about them slathered with chocolate, nutella or peanut butter?  With whipped cream, bananas and berries crowning the top?  Are you hungry yet?

This crêpe recipe is the easiest and most satisfying and you have to try it!

Crêpes

2 cups flour
3 eggs, mixed
1/4 cup melted butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 cups milk adding 1/2 cup at a time
pinch of salt

Blend flour, egg, butter, sugar, salt and milk.  Add more milk as necessary.
Heat a non stick pan and add 1/2 cup batter to hot pan and swirl to cover bottom.  Watch the cooking process and when light browning occurs turn the crepe over and brown lightly on the second side.
Remove to a plate and fill with your choice of filling on half of the crêpe.  Fold in half and in quarter. Transfer to serving plate.

sour cream or creme fraiche
whipped cream for sweet version
Optional Fillings
Sweet:  Lingonberry Jam, any type of jam, fresh fruit, peanut butter, nutella, chocolate spread, banana
Savory:  Swiss Cheese, ham, cottage cheese, chopped sautéed mushrooms

 I used a whisk to blend the batter to eliminate lumps well.  So satisfying and I think this will create a new craving in your life.  You must try them!

"...sprinkled with sugar and eaten hot, they form an exquisite dish. They have a golden hue and are tempting to eat. Thin and transparent like muslin, their edges are trimmed to resemble fine lace. They are so light that after a good dinner, a man from Agen is still willing to sample three or four dozen of them! Crêpes form an integral part of every family celebration. Served with white wine, they take pride of place on all joyful occasions."

-Anatole France, Jacques Anatole Francois Thibault

Fish Tacos

319.  Today was a "craving day" for Fish Tacos.  I just had to have them!!!
Bobby Flay had a great recipe he shared on his Boy Meets Grill episode of Fish taco.  You can see the episode here:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/fish-tacos-recipe.html

Here is my process and I must say, this recipe was flavorful, memorable and one to come back to time after time.

I also made sides of refried beans and Spanish rice to accompany the tacos.

 Condiments were chopped cabbage and radishes,  my homemade salsa, scallion, red onion and limes and sour cream.  Delicious!!

"Take risks and you'll get the payoffs.  Learn from your mistakes until you succeed."

-Bobby Flay

Mizeria Polish Cucumber Salad

258. A side dish is the special part of a meal that provides the added enjoyment to the main event. How would a Hot Pastrami sandwich taste without that kosher dill pickle or crispy coleslaw? Or, what would roasted turkey do alone without smooth, buttery, whipped, mashed potatoes covered in gravy? These sides provide the framework, the balance to enhance the whole eating experience.

One favorite side is Mizeria, a Polish Cucumber Salad. My mother would make this salad often to accompany pork, seafood or sausage dishes. It was a labor intensive task, but oh so worth the time and effort.

Though some cut the cucumbers with a mandolin, my mother would patiently shave each cucumber slice with her little peeler and chopped the fresh dill perfectly with her little paring knife.

Mizeria Polish Cucumber Salad

1 large cucumber, (option with or without seeds, your preference) thinly sliced

1/2 of a granny smith green apple, thinly sliced (optional)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup small onion, thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon small chopped fresh dill

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Thinly slice the cucumber paper thin. It is not necessary to maintain full slices but half slices work just fine. Place the cucumber in a small colander to drain liquid or simply squeeze the liquid gently from the slices. Place cucumber slices in a bowl.

Thinly slice the apple, paper thin and add to the cucumber. Add sour cream, onion, dill, salt and pepper. Stir all together till sour cream is dispersed evenly. Chill for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: The longer this salad sits, the wetter it becomes. Serve directly after quick chill.

This is a lovely and delicious salad enjoyed any time of the year.

"It's the sense of what family is at the dinner table. It was the joy of knowing mother was in the kitchen making our favorite dish. I wish more people would do this and recall the joy of life.

~Chef Paul Prudhomme

Thyme Honey Glazed Ham

68. Easter Dinner is always one of my favorite meals. This year we stayed close to home and prepared an easy delicious meal with trimmings. I went online and found several yummy recipes and they were all very pleasing. My centerpiece was a flower scape with grass and mini daffodils.

We made a scrumptious baked ham and used

the "Thyme Honey Glazed Ham" recipe and it turned out beautifully.

Instead of mashed potatoes and gravy, I made "Scalloped Sour Cream Potato Bake",

Ham gravy is so very salty and I never seem to enjoy it.

My mother told me that the Polish always have beets and horseradish with their Easter meal so for color I served Buttered Asparagus and Beets. I found several recipes for beets but didn't like all the extras that were added...a cooked, buttered, beet is one of the most delightful flavors of childhood for me.

Horseradish and pickles on the side, to be Polish.

And Brioche with butter...now that is French...oh well.

Dinner was so delicious...I wanted it to last for hours and hours.

For dessert we had coffee, savored

"Strawberry Mascarpone Fruit Tart" with "Chocolate Covered Macaroons"

and Polish Easter Bread. And, played several rounds of "Dutch Blitz"

(..are you practicing K?)

We enjoyed a restful day, besides my tumble onto the kitchen floor with hot asparagus tossed up in the air! Yes, I slipped and fell on a patch of water...from the ice cube our dog was eating...slipped with a pot of hot asparagus I was taking to the sink to drain and landed on the floor. My family thought I passed out...I was just mad the asparagus was on the floor!!! But, I'm ok...a little sore...and shook up...but ok. No more ice cubes for the dog!

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."

~Winston Churchill