Potato Cake with Truffled Green Beans and Sauteed Mushrooms

The last few days, I have had no desire to eat at all. Which is really, really weird for me. Last night however, I finally got my appetite back, so I decided it was time to cook.

I took a look in the refrigerator and found some items that looked like they would make great side dishes, but no main dish candidates. The husband saw me staring into the fridge and made a suggestion, potatoes.

I found a few Yukon golds lurking in the back of the crisper drawer and decided to use them to make my main dish, a potato cake kind of similar to Pommes Anna.

Here's the ingredients:
4 Yukon gold potatoes
2 Tablespoons butter
3 or so cloves garlic

I started by melting the butter over very low heat along with the garlic.

While it melted I used a mandolin to slice the potatoes (very carefully because that thing is wicked sharp).

I sliced the potatoes about 1/8" thick (traditional Pommes Anna would cut the potatoes to about 1/16" thick).

Next I got out a 9" nonstick cake pan, brushed it with the garlic butter then added a layer of sliced potatoes.

Then I brushed this with more garlic butter,

and sprinkled it with a tiny bit of salt. I repeated this process a total of three times. I would have preferred it be a little thicker (more layers), but I really needed a 6" or 7" pan to accomplish this, and the only pan I have that is that size was not deep enough.

I put this into a 400 degree oven and let it bake for 45 minutes.

While the potatoes were in the oven, I started on the side dishes. Here's the ingredients.

1 handful green beans trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
truffle oil

3 slice bacon, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
2 teaspoon fresh tarragon

I tossed the green beans with some truffle oil and a little truffle salt. I considered sauteing the beans, but since the oven was on, I decided to roast them alongside the potatoes. I put them in the oven when there was 20 minutes left on the timer.

Once I put the green beans in the oven I cooked the bacon in a saute pan until it was nice and crispy, then I removed it from the pan and put it on a paper towel to drain. I left a little bit of the bacon fat in the pan and added the mushrooms to the pan to saute.

When they were cooked through, I added the white wine and let it simmer until all the wine was gone.

At this point I added the fresh tarragon and the bacon.

When the potatoes were done cooking I removed the pan from the oven.

Then I turned the potato cake out onto a cutting board.

To plate, I cut the potato cake into quarters, put two on each plate and then spooned on some of the green beans and mushrooms to each plate. Alongside I served a salad made with red and purple radishes, cucumber, fresh mint, feta cheese and a splash of sherry vinegar.

At first I tried each thing individually. The potatoes were creamy and sweet on the inside, but the outside was so crispy and delicious (like yummy french fries). The truffle oil was a perfect accompaniment to the greens beans and the tarragon was delicious with the wine-infused mushrooms. Next I started mixing and matching flavors, a little mushroom with a little potato, a little mushroom with a little green bean, etc. It was all good and it was all good together. The husband liked everything too (especially the potatoes) which is good, because the whole thing started as his idea.

My (Tiny) Garden Update

You may remember this tomato (it was there when I planted the garden).

Today, it looks like this. So close. Still a little firm, but in a few days...


My neighbor, who just moved here from Nebraska (so he knows corn), told me that if it is "knee high by the 4th of July" it should be good. Mine is, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.


This is my first cherry tomato to show up. It is so tiny, maybe 1/4". But I can tell from the blossoms, more are on the way.

Corn and Potato Chopped Salad with Citrus Dressing

I was really excited when I saw that we would be receiving corn in our box this week. In my opinion, corm is one of summers greatest gifts.

I decided to use the corn, along with several other items from the box (and my garden) to make a nice cool salad for the hot summer day we are experiencing.

Here's the ingredients for the salad:

2 ears corn
2 yukon gold potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch pieces, par cooked for 3 minutes in the microwave
12 or so green beans, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 slices bacon, diced and cooked
a handful of lettuce (I used red lettuce from my garden), chopped
1 ounce goat cheese

I started by grilling my corn right on the grill (meaning not wrapped in foil or anything) until it was cooked through (it changes color as it gets done) and charred a little.

Once it was done I cut the kernels off the cob.

Then put them in the refrigerator to cool.

While the corn was on the grill I cooked the bacon until it was nice and crispy.

Then I removed the bacon from the pan and then sauteed the green beans in the remaining fat for about 30 seconds (until they were crisp tender).

Then I removed the green beans (to the fridge to cool) and sauteed the par cooked potatoes until they were nicely browned.

Then I put them in the fridge to cool.

While everything cooled I put together the dressing. Here's the ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced,
1 orange, juiced
most of a lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1 handful basil, julienned
salt and pepper
2 teaspoon key lime honey (not in the picture)

I whisked together all the ingredients. Tasted for seasoning and decided that it needed a little sweetening, so I searched the pantry and came up with key lime honey (score), so I added it to the mix.

Once the dressing was seasoned to my liking, I stirred in all of the salad ingredients (except for the goat cheese) and tossed the salad together.

I put this into the bowls and topped it with the goat cheese.

This was pretty tasty. Nice and light for the summer. A couple of tomatoes would have been a great addition to the mix. The husband said it was pretty good, but a little tangy for his taste. Overall, I'll give this dish a solid "B" (although the dressing get's an "A"). Room to improve, but not bad in any sense.

What's in the Box?

.4 pound Cremini Mushrooms
1.5 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 bunch Yellow Carrots (although they don't look very yellow to me)
1 Cucumber
1 bunch Baby Bok Choy
2 Red Bell Peppers
.5 pound Green Beans
4 ear Corn
5 Pluots
4 Nectarines
.6 pound Red Grapes
.5 pound Bing Cherries

Tasty Camp Stew(s)

This weekend the husband and I went camping. It was our first camping trip of the year after having a previously scheduled trip canceled because I was sick. We were lucky to have beautiful weather all weekend.

I like to have tasty food when I camp (technically I always like to have tasty food) but I also don't like to have to put in a lot of effort cooking once I am there. After many years of trial, I have designed a menu that is tasty but also involves minimum cooking/cleanup effort (in fact dishes only have to be done with breakfast).

Here's what I make:
Friday night dinner - Sausage Stew
Saturday breakfast- Grits with Cheese and Bacon, Donettes (I only eat donettes when I'm camping so it's quite the treat)
Saturday lunch - Hot Dogs (or Polish Dogs) cooked over the fire, chips
Saturday dinner - Beef Stew
Sunday breakfast - Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Home-style Hash Browns with chopped Bacon and Onion, more donettes
Anytime there is a fire - Smores (made with Peanut-Butter Cups)

I like to do all my prep work before I leave home. I chop the onion for the hash browns and the hot dogs, chop and par-cook the potato for the hash browns and assemble both of the stews.

For the sausage stew, I use a lot of the ingredients, and flavors, that I use for a crab boil, just minus the crab.

Here's the ingredients for the Sausage Stew:

1/2 of a kielbasa, cut into large chunks
2-3 good size red potatoes, cut into eighths
2 ears of corn, each cut into four pieces
4 green onions, chopped
2 Tablespoon butter
Cajun Seasoning

I tossed all the ingredients together.

Then wrapped them in 2-3 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.


Here's the ingredients for the beef stew:

8 tiny carrots, scrubbed and chopped (the skins are really thin so they don't have to be peeled)
8 small red potatoes, quartered
12 small crimini mushrooms
20 frozen pearl onions
12 cloves garlic
3/4 pound beef stew meat
2 Tablespoon tomato paste
4 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves stripped from the stems
12 sprig fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
truffle salt (cause that's how I roll)
black pepper

I combined all the ingredients except for the liquids, sealing my packet on three sides.

Then I added the liquid.

And completed the packets.

I made sure to label them, because the two stews look an awful lot alike.


For either of the stews, I wait until the fire has some nice embers, then place the packets near/in the embers turning them (being careful not to poke a hole in the packets) every fifteen minutes.

Usually, the sausage stew takes about 1 1/2 hours and the beef stew takes about 3 1/2 hours. However, this time, because of the weird set-up for the fire (it was open on two sides and I just wasn't used to it) both stews could have used more time.

To eat, I borrowed the husband's Leatherman and sliced open the packet. The packet turns into a bowl for the stew.

With both meals, the potatoes were not quite cooked through (but they were cooked enough to eat). And most everything else was delightful.

The only exception was the garlic in the beef stew. It was still really hard (which is sad because I LOVE the creamy flavor of the roasted garlic) but it still provided a great flavor to the stew.

Overall, I was delighted with all the food for the weekend (and the husband was glad that he didn't have to do too many dishes).

We had a great weekend. Unplugged and enjoying nature. The only downside, just look at the dirt on this dog.

Here's a closer view.

That is just not right.

Curried Chicken Salad

Last week I came home exhausted almost every night. Between my full cooking schedule and the triathlon training, I am felling a little worn out. With the tiredness, I ended up ordering in a bit more than I like so I decided to be proactive and do some extra cooking on Sunday.

Here's the ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (the meat from a rotisserie chicken would work well here too)
1/2 of a red bell pepper (I used the rest in the shrimp tacos)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 cup of celery, diced
a bunch of grapes, halved
2 spring onions, diced
2 Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream

I started by baking the chicken breasts. I used frozen chicken breasts from Costco that I cooked right from their frozen state (following the instructions on the bag).

While the chicken cooked I prepped the rest of my ingredients and stirred them all together. Once the chicken was cooled I diced it and added it to the mix. Then, into the fridge it went.

On Monday I served this with lettuce leaves, crackers and some cherry tomatoes with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

On Tuesday I ate a little for lunch, then the husband ate some for dinner while I was out. Finally the husband finished it off on Wednesday while I was at tri-training (a sure sign that he liked it).

All-in-all, five servings of a really tasty salad, all for less than 30 minutes of active cooking time in the kitchen. I love that I was able to eat and provide a tasty home-made meals with minimal weekday effort. It was like having my own personal chef!

Shrimp Tacos

Lately I have had a craving for shrimp tacos. There is a local taco place that makes a pretty fair version, but since I am trying to cook more at home I have resisted the urge to get them.

So, when I saw that I would be getting cabbage in my box this week, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to make my own.

Here's the ingredients.

2 limes, juiced, divided
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
30 or so smallish shrimp
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1 mango, julienned
creme fraiche
white corn tortillas

I started by marinating the shrimp in half of the lime juice and the adobo sauce (whenever I open a can of chipotles I stick whatever I have left in the can in the freezer, so I almost always have adobo on hand). I set this aside for about 20 minutes.

While the shrimp marinated I worked on the cabbage slaw. I combined the cabbage, red bell pepper and mango along with the juice of 1/2 a lime and a little salt and black pepper, then set it aside.

To grill the shrimp, I skewered them the long way through the entire shrimp so that they would be a bit straighter when they were done.

I sprinkled the shrimp with a little salt then grilled the skewers for about 3 minutes on each side. While the shrimp cooked I warmed the tortillas, wrapped in wet paper towels, in the microwave for 30 seconds.

When everything was ready I created tacos by spreading each tortilla with about a Tablespoon of creme fraiche, a bit of the cabbage slaw and a few shrimp.

How was it? Well, these were quite good. The slaw was maybe a tiny bit too limey but overall really tasty. With a couple of tweaks (less lime, a little more spice) I could see these going on the permanent repertoire.