Happy St. Patty’s Day everyone! I am pretty sure there is not an ounce of Irish blood in me however, it’s still fun to celebrate no? This year I’m going to celebrate with some Guinness of course and since eating is important when consuming Guinness, I am also celebrating by enjoying this traditional Irish dish.  And as with any traditional dish, there are many variations of colcannon out there but there are a couple of things that will definitely be in each recipe: potatoes and cabbage. Oh and butter, lots of butter.

For those of you that have had colcannon before, you may notice that I took a little liberty with my version. First of all I decided to add bacon, because well I like bacon. Next, if the scrumptious crispy bacon wasn’t enough, I decided to sautee the onions, garlic and cabbage in the left over pan drippings before stirring them into the creamy mashed potatoes. Drool.

If you’d like to make this vegetarian, and perhaps a little more traditional, don’t use the bacon and instead use a tablespoon of olive oil.

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

• 6 slices bacon, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup butter, plus 1 tablespoon for serving
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small head cabbage, cored and chopped small
• 3 green onions, chopped

1. Brown bacon in a large skillet. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Remove pan from heat and reserve 1 tablespoon of pan drippings.
2. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a pot with the water just barely covering the top. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain. Return to pan and add 1/4 cup butter and milk. Mash with a potato masher. Turn burner to low and cover to keep warm while you prepare the cabbage.
3. Return bacon pan to stove and heat over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and cabbage to reserved bacon drippings. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until cabbage is soft.
4. Stir cabbage mixture into warmed potatoes. Stir in reserved bacon pieces and green onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with remaining tablespoon of butter. Serve.

Why not finish your St. Patty’s day dinner celebration with these Irish Cream Cupcakes with Coffee Frosting? Enjoy!

I have some pretty fond memories of Jo Jos. Way back when Ryan and I were first dating, he would come over to my mom’s house on lazy summer days and we would walk ourselves all the way to the grocery store hand in hand the whole way. Once we got there we would buy ourselves some chicken tenders and jo jos, with extra ranch of course. And to wash it all down we’d buy some Whipple Snapple’s do you remember those? I think they fall in line with other drink creations like Orbitz and Squeeze-its. But 90s novelty drinks aside, these outings were our thing. Now that we’re married, chicken tenders and jo jo’s is still one of our favorite meals except we make it at home and we opt for beer.

I’m sure that those jo jo’s that we ate all those years ago were fried. Maybe even double fried. But I think I like them baked. In fact, to be completely honest, I think I like them better baked. They are brushed with olive oil and melted butter then tossed in seasoned flour and baked until browned. They are slightly crispy on the outside and full of soft fluffy potato on the inside.

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

You will need:

• non-stick spray
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 6 – 8 wedges each
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. Mix butter and olive oil in a bowl. Brush mixture onto the potatoes.
3. Combine seasoning salt, flour and cayenne pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Add potatoes to bag and shake to coat.
4. Bake on prepared cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Turn and bake for 10 more minutes.
5. Turn on the broiler and broil for 5 – 7 more minutes or until browned.
6. Serve hot.

Enjoy and don’t forget the ranch!

I truly do love working on this blog but sometimes creating and writing new recipes to post to the blog five days a week can be a little draining on the creativity department. Sometimes I sit down to write my weekly menu and the paper remains blank for quite some time.  During times like this, I turn to family, friends and in the case of this fried rice, you all to give me some inspiration. You see back when I posted my recipe for Andouille and Shrimp Fried Rice a reader suggested that I try kimchi fried rice with a fried egg on top. Well, now is my chance to say thank you, because man on man was it good.

I personally have not had much experience with kimchi. Just in case you haven’t either, it is a popular Korean dish of fermented vegetables with seasonings. Most commonly the vegetable is cabbage and it is usually a little on the spicy side.  While it sounds like it might be a more exotic ingredient, I was able to find some at my local super market with no problem. It was in the refrigerated produce section. They had a spicy and a mild version, because I like heat I went with the spicy but you could always opt for the mild version to keep the spice down.

Note: This, like most fried rice, is best made with cold day old rice.

Serves 2 – 3

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 cups diced pork, raw (about 3 small pork chops)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce, divided
• 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (optional)
• 1 cup chopped kimchi
• 2 cups cold left over rice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 – 3 large eggs

1. In a large skillet, heat peanut and sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add pork and 1 teaspoon soy sauce, cook 3-4 minutes. Mix in garlic, green onions (reserving a few for garnish), sambal oelek (if using) and kimchi. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in rice and remaining soy sauce, mix well. If mixture seems too dry add a little (a teaspoon or two) of the juice from the kim chi jar. Reduce heat to low and cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Once butter has melted carefully crack eggs into the pan and cook 3 – 4 minutes or until egg white is cooked and yolk is set. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
3. Divide the rice into servings, place one egg on top of each serving. Garnish with green onions. Serve.

Enjoy!

I like roasted potatoes because they are simple. I like roasted potatoes because they make the perfect side dish to many different meals. And I like roasted potatoes, because well I am a huge fan of just about any kind of potato. Because I am such a fan, I find myself looking for different ways to enjoy them. Take these for instance. First the potatoes are boiled until they are fork tender, then they are roasted so the skin gets crispy. Then the tender potatoes are tossed with a simple combination of salt, pepper and garlic powder. But that is not what makes these special, what makes these potatoes special is a little drizzle of truffle oil.

I picked up a bottle of truffle oil when we were in Italy. It was a little on the expensive side, but considering how expensive actual truffles are its not too much. And once you do buy a bottle, you’ll find that a little goes a long way. I’ve added it here and there to dishes for the past several months and have even made Truffle Aioli a few times and I still have quite a bit in my bottle. So much like the truffle salt that I used here and here, truffle oil is definitely worth the cost. You can find it in specialty stores, gourmet food stores, online and I’ve also seen it in my local grocery store where its about $15 for 8 ounces.

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

You will need:

• 1 pound baby red potatoes, scrubbed clean
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• white truffle oil, about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray set aside.
2. Place potatoes in a large pot of boiling water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until fork tender. Drain.
3. Lay potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, shaking the baking sheet halfway through. Turn on the broiler and broil for 5 – 7 minutes or until the skin starts to crisp slightly.
4. In a bowl whisk together salt, garlic powder, pepper and olive oil. Transfer hot potatoes to seasoning mixture. Toss to coat. Drizzle with truffle oil.
5. Serve.

Enjoy!

After the diet busting Nanaimo Bars that I shared yesterday, I thought it was time to lighten things up a little bit. I could think of no better way to do that than with this refreshing salad. And make no mistake my friends, lighter doesn’t mean less flavor, this salad is full of all kinds of yummy ingredients. Allow me to elaborate,  crisp spring salad mix is tossed with tart apples, tangy gorgonzola cheese, nutty pecans and then drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Delicious, no?

I must say, to save time, I am a huge fan of the washed and ready to eat salad mixes. My favorite of these salad mixes is the baby spring mix with herbs. There are a few different brands that carry a blend like this. Each brand may have various lettuces in it but you will most likely find baby red romaine, arugula, green leaf, frisee and radicchio. The latest batch that I picked up also happened to have some fresh dill and I loved it. Pick your favorite blend, any will work for this salad.

Note: If you make this salad a head of time, toss the apples with a little lemon juice first to help prevent them from browning.

Serves 2 – 4

You will need:

• 3 cups spring lettuce mix with herbs
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 1 granny smith apple, cored and sliced
• balsamic vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil
• fresh cracked pepper

1. Combine lettuce mix, pecans, gorgonzola cheese and apple slices in a bowl. Toss to combine.
2. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper. Toss once more.
3. Serve.

Enjoy!

Artichokes are another one of those things that were a big part of my childhood eating. Weird huh? But I loved loved loved them. My mom used to make them all the time. First she’d steam them, then we’d all pile around the table together and go to town, dipping the petal in mayonnaise and scrapping the deliciously tender portion of the petal with our teeth. Now that I’m all grown up, I make them at home and add my own little twist with a little lemon and white wine.

While I had plenty of experience with artichokes growing up, I can’t say the same for Ryan. When I cooked an artichoke for the first time, he wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He watched me eat a few petals before deciding to try it on his own. I immediately knew that he liked it because his eyes perked up and he reached in for another, and another and then another. Now, he asks for them on a regular basis.

Its worthwhile to note that while the lemon, adds a lovely citrus-y flavor, it also helps prevent the artichokes from turning an unappealing brown color where they were cut. Because of this it’s important to rub them with the lemon immediately after cutting them.

Serves 2 – 4

You will need:

• 2 artichokes
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/3 cup white wine

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse artichokes in cold running water. To prep the artichokes, cut the top 1 inch off of each artichoke. Then using kitchen sheers trim the points off the petals. Next cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and remove the inedible fuzzy part and any purple tipped leaves with a spoon. Rub lemon all over the artichokes.
3. In a small bowl combine salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Sprinkle over the inner and outer leaves of the artichokes.
4. Place artichokes in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil. Pour water and white wine over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until you can remove leaves easily.
5. Transfer to serving platter, squeeze a little lemon over the top if desired and serve with melted butter or mayonnaise for dipping.

Enjoy!

I tried these at a restaurant this weekend and I am sharing them with you here today. This can only mean one thing. I absolutely loved them. I loved them so much that despite the fact that I had them for dinner on Saturday night, I rushed out to the store, bought the ingredients and made them for dinner on Sunday night.  They really were that good. And with Christmas less than a week a way now, it might be a good idea to run your grocery store, grab all the ingredients and add these mashed potatoes filled with green onions and succulent dungeness crab meat to your holiday menu. It will be like giving your taste buds a Christmas present.

Dungeness crab is much loved here in the Pacific Northwest, you can find it just about anywhere. From Pike’s Place Market to Costco, to the small market just around the corner. It is everywhere. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret: it’s sweet delicate flavor makes me like it more, much more actually, than its more expensive counterpart, king crab. Sit me down in a front of a plate of hot steamed dungeness crab and I am one happy girl. But add that same delicious crab to my all time favorite comfort food, mashed potatoes, and I am down right giddy.

Serves 4 as a side dish

You will need:

• 4 yukon gold potatoes (about 1.5 lbs), peeled and cut into large cubes
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 green onions, green part only, chopped
• 6 ounces fresh dungeness crab meat
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a large saucepan, add enough water to cover the potatoes. Boil potatoes until a fork can be inserted and removed easily. Strain.
2. Return potatoes to pan pour, in 1/4 cup milk and add in butter. Use a hand held potato masher to mash potatoes. Add remaining 1/4 cup milk if you would like potatoes creamier.
3. Add in green onions, dungeness crab meat, garlic powder, pepper and salt. Stir just until combined. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper if desired.
4. Serve.

While I do recommend dungeness crab with this recipe, I do realize that not everyone has access to it. If you do not, just use whatever kind of fresh lump crab meat you can find. Or if you really want to fancy things up, how about lobster?

Enjoy!

If mashed potatoes are my favorite comfort food side dish, it is safe to say that macaroni and cheese runs a close second. I’m not talking about the stuff in the blue box either, which in a pinch is okay but really doesn’t hold a candle to the real stuff.  You know what I’m talking about, the stuff that your mama used to make. The down home cookin’ version of homemade mac n’ cheese. This is my take on it and it requires not one, not two but three different kinds of cheese: cheddar, Gruyere and Havarti. Each bite is pure cheesy noodle bliss.

Most homemade mac n’ cheese recipes, like this one I did about a year a go, call for some oven time. This recipe is a little different in that you can do all of it on the stove top which makes the whole process go a little faster. Including noodle cooking time it should take you about 20-25 minutes to prepare. Perfect for weeknight cooking.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 2 cups dried elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Havarti cheese
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped

1. Boil pasta according to package directions. Strain.
2. In the same pot that you boiled the pasta in, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk until smooth, cook 1 minute.
3. Slowly whisk milk into flour mixture and bring to a simmer but do not boil. Add in all three cheeses and stir until they melt. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Fold in cooked noodles. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in chopped green onions. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir and adjust seasoning if necessary.
4. Serve hot.

If you want to make a meal out of it try throwing in some cooked diced chicken breast and enjoy!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to eat at a Peruvian restaurant for a friend’s birthday dinner (Happy Birthday Shannon!).  I had never eaten at a Peruvian restaurant before so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. As I perused the menu, my eyes came across a few words that determined my meal right then and there: Served with garlic rice. Eureka! I ordered right away and I waited patiently. About as patiently as a kid who gets up at 4am on Christmas morning patiently waits to open presents.  In other words, I was anxious and by the time my food finally arrived I was ready to devour it. And I’m not gonna lie… devour it I did.

I am not quite sure why I never thought to make garlic rice before. It is such a simple and easy way to jazz up rice. I opted to use jasmine rice for this recipe because I have about 20 pounds of it sitting in my kitchen. It is my favorite kind of rice and worked very well for this dish. For those of you that don’t have much experience with jasmine rice I really suggest picking up a bag. It’s a fragrant long-grain rice that has a subtle nutty flavor. I use it for just about any dish that calls for rice. It can be expensive at grocery stores but if you have an Asian market near you you can probably get a 20lb bag for around $20. If you have a Costco membership, depending on their inventory, you might even be able to pick up a 20lb bag for around $10.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• chopped fresh parsley

1. In a saucepan over medium heat combine butter and olive oil. Once butter has melted add garlic and cook one minute.
2. Stir in rice, cook until rice becomes slightly translucent. Stirring occasionally to make sure rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. About 4 minutes.  Rice may brown slightly.
3. Stir in chicken broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and let cook 20-25 minutes.
4. Carefully remove lid, fluff rice with a fork and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
5. Serve.

This rice makes the perfect side dish to serve along side the Adobo-Lime Chicken that I shared yesterday.

Enjoy!

I’d like to offer you some facts. Fact 1: Mashed potatoes are glorious wonderful things. Fact 2: Bacon, green onions, sharp cheddar cheese, creamy havarti cheese and gruyere cheese are also wonderful. Fact 3: If you mix creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes with bacon, green onions, sharp cheddar cheese, creamy havarti and gruyere you have one heck of a Thanksgiving side dish. Fact 4: I ate two huge plates of these last night. Fact 5: My jeans are tighter this morning. Fact 6: These mashed potatoes are totally worth it.

Growing up I was  a mashed potato purest. I would only eat plain creamy mashed potatoes. I was not opposed to gravy but other additions were a big no no. Since then things have started to change.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love a big plate of regular mashed potatoes, but the more that I cook, the more I begin to explore with variations. I started with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and then there was horseradish and sour cream mashed potatoes.  Now with these cheesy baked mashed potatoes my biggest problem is trying to decide which is my favorite.

Serves 4-6

You will need:

• 7 slices bacon, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup shredded havarti cheese, divided
• 3 green onions, diced
• fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8″ x 8″ baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, fry bacon over medium heat until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, add enough water to cover the potatoes. Boil potatoes until a fork can be inserted and removed easily. Strain.
4. Return the potatoes to the pan or a mixing bowl. Add 3 tablespoons butter and heavy cream. Whip with a hand held mixer until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in bacon, 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, 1/2 cup gruyere, 1/2 cup havarti and green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon potato mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned and edges are bubbly. Allow to cool for several minutes. Serve.

Enjoy!