a little of each

A family's cookbook

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Two Dressings March 29, 2013

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 10:05 pm
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This is also delicious served on top of a green salad, especially with other roasted and chilled vegetables. A restaurant in Cocoa, Florida, (Osorios) serves something very similar called Katie’s Salad!

 

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 2 ½ lbs)

1 Tbl olive oil

 

Dressing 1:

1 Tbl olive oil

¼ cup honey

3 Tbl white wine vinegar

2 Tbl chopped fresh rosemary

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 garlic cloves

rosemary sprigs, for garnish

 

Dressing 2:

2 Tbl fresh orange juice

1Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl minced fresh ginger

2 tsp Dijon mustard

3 scallions, finely sliced

 

Directions

Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray; toss together the potatoes and one Tbl oil in the pan. Bake, uncovered, at 450 for 35-45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes. Whisk together desired dressing. Transfer warm potatoes to a large serving bowl; add dressing and toss gently. Cool. Garnish.

 

Salade Olivier

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 10:02 pm
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(also known as Salade a la Russe)

The mother of an Iranian friend in college brought prepared dishes up to her daughter frequently. This hearty potato salad was one of my favorites. It is important to dice everything very small and in fairly uniform sizes. This salad was invented in Germany by Tsar Nicholas II’s chef after he escaped the Revolution.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken breast, poached, boned, skinned and cubed (about 2 cups)

1 ¼ lb potatoes, peeled, boiled and cubed

1 large dill pickle, cut into small dice

1 cup fresh or frozen peas, cooked

1 small to medium onion, finely chopped

1 large carrot, diced and cooked

2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 hard-boiled egg, sliced (reserve)

1 Tbl capers

¾ cup reduced fat mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

1 Tbl prepared mustard, Dijon preferred

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Salt

¼ tsp pepper or more to taste

½ tsp dried dill, OR 1 tsp snipped fresh dill

parsley sprigs

1 large ripe tomato, cut into small wedges

Boston lettuce leaves, washed and dried, or spun in a salad spinner (optional)

Paprika (optional)

Directions

Drain the chicken and all vegetables well. Combine the cooked chicken breast, potatoes, carrots, peas, chopped onion and dill pickle, hard-boiled eggs and capers. Fold slightly to mix. Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and dill. Pour over the salad and mix gently but thoroughly. Chill well. Serve either mounded on the lettuce leaves on a large platter or simply place the salad in a large serving bowl. Garnish with sliced hard-boiled egg, tomato wedges and parsley sprigs. Sprinkle with a little paprika.

 

The Potato Salad

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 10:00 pm
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 (Also called “Clarita’s potato salad”)

 

Dressing:

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 envelope dry Good Seasons Italian dressing

1/8 cup dry parsley OR ¼ cup fresh

¼ cup red wine vinegar

 

Whisk all ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

 

Salad:

5 lbs small red or new potatoes

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

 

Cut potatoes into quarters. Place in Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring potatoes to a boil and simmer until fork tender. Drain and cool. Peel potatoes, if desired, and cut into bite-size chunks. In a large serving bowl, pour dressing over potatoes and chopped eggs and blend until thoroughly coated. Sprinkle top with paprika. Cover and refrigerate until served.

 

Variation:

Add chopped celery and/or crumbled bacon.

 

Stringbeans with Shallots

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:59 pm
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Ingredients

1 lb fresh or frozen stringbeans

2 Tbl unsalted butter

1 Tbl olive oil

3 large shallots diced

½ tsp salt and pepper

 

Directions

Blanch stringbeans in boiling salted water for 1 ½ minutes. Quickly drain and immerse in ice water. Heat butter and oil in a large sauté pan. Sauté the shallots on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, tossing them occasionally, until they are lightly browned. Drain the string beans and add them to the shallots in the sauté pan. Add the salt and pepper, tossing well. Heat only until the beans are heated though.

 

Simple Steam-Sautéed Green Beans

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:56 pm
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This recipe, found in one of Adam’s cookbooks, is for fresh green beans and has some easy, tasty variations.

 

Basic Ingredients

1 lb fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed

4 Tbl butter

1/3 cup water

½ tsp salt

black pepper

 

Directions

Trim stem ends from green beans and snap beans in half. Add green beans, 1/3 cup water, 2 Tbl butter and salt to a medium-sized pot. Cover and cook over medium high heat until steam escapes under lid. Set timer for 5 minutes and continue to steam until beans are brightly colored and just tender. Remove lid and continue to cook until water evaporates and green beans start to sauté, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Turn off heat and stir in remaining 2 Tbl of butter and pepper to taste.

 

Variations:

 

Almonds and Parsley

¼ cup toasted slivered almonds

¼ tsp grated lemon zest

2 Tbl chopped fresh parsley

 

Pecans and Blue Cheese

¼ cup toasted chopped pecans

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

 

Pine Nuts, Garlic and Basil

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

2 Tbl fresh basil, chopped

 

Bacon, Vinegar and Thyme

2 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces, fried

1 small onion, diced and sautéed about 5 minutes

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp dried thyme or 1 ½ Tbl fresh

1 Tbl balsamic vinegar

 

French Green Beans Tossed with Fried Garlic

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:54 pm
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From “The Dinner Doctor.” Serves four.

 

Ingredients

1 Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl butter

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 (9 oz) package frozen French-cut green beans or fresh beans cut into small segments

salt

1 Tbl fresh parsley, chopped

 

Directions

Heat the olive oil and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until it browns, about three minutes. Turn off the heat and set the pan aside. Heat the green beans in a microwave-safe bowl on high power until the beans are hot, about four minutes. Season the beans with salt and pepper and pour the garlic and oil mixture over them. Stir to combine and garnish with the parsley.

 

Blue Cheese Green Beans

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:51 pm
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Ingredients

2 oz blue cheese, crumbled

3 tsp half and half

2 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

½ tsp oregano

¼ tsp coarse ground pepper

1/8 tsp sugar

¼ cup olive oil

1 lb fresh green beans

¼ tsp salt

4 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

 

Directions

Combine one oz blue cheese, half and half, vinegar, Parmesan cheese, oregano, pepper and sugar in blender. Process until smooth. With blender running, add oil in a steady stream until just blended. Set aside. Prepare green beans by washing, trimming and removing strings. Steam until tender; drain. Arrange beans on a serving platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour blue cheese dressing over beans. Top with remaining crumbled blue cheese and bacon.

 

Artichokes with 10-Second Hollandaise

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:47 pm
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Ingredients

4 artichokes, stems trimmed and lower leaves removed

1 Tbl hot water

3 egg yolks

¾ cup melted butter

4 Tbl. lemon juice

1 Tbl prepared mustard (optional – Jen does not use)

 

Directions

Bring water to a boil and gently place in artichokes. Artichokes are done when a fork can be inserted easily into the base of the choke. To prepare sauce, heat a blender by pouring hot water in it. Remove all but one tablespoon of the water. Add yolks and turn on blender. While blending, slowly add melted butter. Toss in remaining ingredients and fully blend. Serve immediately with artichokes.

 

Carrot Soufflé

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:44 pm
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Carrot souffle

This sweet side dish has found its way onto our holiday table throughout the year. The small amount of flour can be replaced with matzo meal at Passover, and the butter can be replaced with margarine for a pareve side at Rosh Hashanah. It’s been a hit whenever and wherever it appears.

Ingredients

1 pound carrots, coarsely chopped

½ cup butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 Tbl all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¾ cup white sugar

IMG_0593

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and mash. Stir in butter, vanilla extract, and eggs. Mix well. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir into carrot mixture until smooth. Transfer to prepared casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes.

 

Gingered Honey Carrots

Filed under: Fruits and Vegetables — alittlemoreofeach @ 9:40 pm
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Ingredients

6 large carrots, grated

2 Tbl olive oil

1 Tbl fresh ginger, grated

2 Tbl honey

½ tsp coarse salt

 

Directions

Toss the carrots with the remaining ingredients and pile the mixture on a microwaveable plate. Cover and microwave for three to five minutes.