myfoodbook.net

Twice Cooked Stuffed Potatoes

2010-05-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ok... So I have recently made these and posted on another blog but I decided to make them again this weekend at a friend’s house for 8 people. Since I was a doing a big batch and trying to party with my friends at the same time, I didn't get very many photos (I had wanted to photo making them but again I got caught up with hanging with my friends). Also I had planned on making a recipe (something I rarely do) but once again I just didn't do it. I will post an approximate recipe for a smaller batch. Also I am one of those people who use recipes as guides but rarely follow them to the letter. I often put my own spin on things and cook more from experience than anything (yes I can follow a recipe and I have spent many years cooking in restaurants, though that was in my younger years). So here is the approximate recipe.
First, bake 4 russet potatoes (I wash and dry them, rub with olive oil and salt). They really need to be as dry as possible because you want the skin to crisp. I find the russet to have the thickest skin and so I prefer them over other potatoes. Also poke with fork before baking.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 1 hour. I tend to let them over cook a little so the skin crisps more and the meat is softer (will pull away from skin easier when scooping the meat out) but 60-70 minutes should do the trick.
Once out of the oven, please let them cool. Two things this will do. One, you won’t have a “Hot Potato” crisis trying to handle them and two, they will be easier to scoop out. The longer they cool the better. Just don’t put them in the refrigerator as they will collect moisture and don’t cover them either.
Once cooled cut in half lengthwise and scoop the meat into a bowl. You will end up with 8 halves but I would only stuff 6 as I like more stuffing in each potato and 6 should be enough for 3-4 people. Once the 8 halves are scooped out I cut 2 of the half skins up and add to the bowl so I have 6 skins left.
Next, I brush a little butter on the inside of the skins and put them under the broiler for a few minutes until browned on the inside. Then once removed I sprinkle a little shredded cheese in the inside bottom of the skins and let it melt while I mix the stuffing (I guess you could call them Thrice Baked as I broil them a little in the middle of making them).
For the stuffing I use the following: (again the measurements are approximate)
Potato Meat (from scooping the potatoes out)
About ½ cup of Sour Cream
About 1 cup Shredded Cheese
Small bunch of Parsley fine chopped
Bacon (cooked crisp and broken into bits) the amount is up to you or you can use Bacon Bits
Salt to taste (1.5 teaspoons should be good but I tend to under salt and let people salt their own)
Pepper to taste (same as above)
¼ - ½ Cube of butter (melted)
About ¼ cup Chopped Chives or Green Onions (I use green onions as I think they have more flavor)
I think that’s it.
First fry your bacon (for this amount I would use 4-6 strips depending on how thick) and crumble it up. Next add the melted butter (I use unsalted because I don’t have to worry about adding to much salt at the end) and stir, coating the potato meat (you can crush or whip the potato meat as much as you like but I prefer having chunks in the stuffed potato). Now add the sour cream and stir into the potatoes. Once the sour cream is incorporated add ¾ of the cheese (reserving the rest for the top of the stuffed potato). Add ¾ of the bacon and stir in (again reserving some for the top of the stuffed potato). Last add the green onions (I prefer to lightly sauté them in the bacon fat for a minute and scoop them out with a little of the bacon fat so it gets added to the stuffing, but I like bacon so this is optional). Add the salt and pepper and mix well.
Taste… add more salt and pepper if needed.
(You may ask why stir everything separately? Well… I like everything to be as well incorporated as possible so I get a bite of everything in every bite! But you don’t have to do it like that, as you could just dump everything in at once and it would probably be just as good.)
Now get all your skins on a baking sheet and start stuffing. Most likely you can heap them up pretty high. Add the remaining cheese on top and put in a 375 degree preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until the cheese starts to get brown. Take out and top with the rest of the bacon and sprinkle of parsley.
That’s it.. I think. One thing, with the sour cream, don’t go to heavy as the stuffing should be firm and not soupy or it will get to runny after baking the second time. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.

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Prawn and Asparagus Stir Fry at Kitti's

2010-05-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Our server "Nam" who is not only a great server but also makes every visit a joy with her sweet personality. Always a pleasure with her around.

The Prawn and Asparagus Stir Fry at Kitti’s today was, as usual, very good (as most dishes are). This was on the specials menu (which I am most likely to order from as I have had almost all of the dishes on the regular menu). Also on the specials menu was the “YenTafo” soup, which I liked so much and blogged about last week, and since I am a big fan of both asparagus and prawns, it was harder than normal to decide. So as you can see I selected the asparagus and prawns. First, I must say that every prawn I have had at Kitti’s has been large, sweet and cooked to perfection. So many places I have had prawns either overcook them, uses frozen “Supermarket” variety (if you know what I mean?) or they are small (which are even easier to overcook) and dry. The prawns were butterflied with the tails still on, which makes them easy to eat and adds a nice look to the dish. As for the asparagus, like the prawns, they were cooked to perfection and well trimmed without the “woody” ends. Along with the asparagus and prawns were red and yellow sweet peppers, Thai basil and a spicy sauce (most likely made from some form of chili paste). Then the dish was covered in fried rice noodles, which add a great texture (though no real flavor) and served with a side of brown rice. This being a simple dish with just a few flavors I thought it very well executed. The basil was the strongest flavor with the sweet peppers bringing up the rear and adding a sweetness. The chili sauce added the tang and spice, giving the mouth some heat. The brown rice was good but I may have preferred this served on a bed of Pad Thai noodles. Anyway, this was a good simple dish with two of my favorite foods. Go Kitti’s.

Sunday Brunch Filet with Twice Cooked Stuffed Potato

2010-05-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Chicken Curry Salad

2010-05-16T14:17:00.001-07:00

Grilling the Flank Steak Roll

2010-05-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

Pretty in pink.

Rendering with flame.

...is that broccollini photo-bombing?

..let rest.

Whoa garlic! That's a spicy meat log.

Filling and tieing the Flank Steak Roll

2010-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Maytag blue cheese.
Garlic, chives, Italian parsley,
kosher salt, fresh black pepper.
Spread evenly... ish.

Lay grilled asparagus lengthwise and roll

Fit to be tied.

Seasoning the steak

2010-05-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

Flank steak, filleted
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

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Grilling Asparagus... For stuffing our Flank Steak Roll

2010-05-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

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Grilled Lamb Kabobs...at Kitti's Place

2010-05-14T15:59:00.001-07:00

The kabobs were excellent, having a sweet minty flavor. They were grilled to perfection, with a crispy caramelized exterior and nice and pink in the middle. Each kabob also had the standard veggies including onion, green pepper and zucchini. The veggies were not over grilled, having a snap when bitten into, and tasted fresh and flavorful. The only thing that didn't really give me any satisfaction was the salad. It seemed under dressed (I may like more dressing than others) and was more of a garnish to me. Also if incuding a 'Green Salad' please ask me for a dressing as I would have liked that choice. All-in-all a very good dish.

Marinated in mint-mango chutney and served with basmati rice and green salad.

Desert consisted of Coconut Icecream with strawberries and pineapple with Forbidden sticky rice. Very Yummy!

Thai "YenTafo" soup at Kitti's Place

2010-05-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

This was an amazing soup. The chicken broth with the spicy soy bean chili was a great compliment to the fresh flavor of the Cilantro and Chinese watercress. The scallops and squid (all cooked perfectly) gave a hearty seafood dimension to the dish, though the chicken was a little out of place (I could have done without it) I still enjoyed it (more squid or another scallop or two would have been better). The stuffed tofu (handmade) was not only full of flavor but gave a nice textural contrast to the softer seafood and noodles. Overall the dish was a winner and I look forward to seeing it again on the specials menu.

Flat rice noodle soup with stuffed tofu, scallops, chicken, squid and Chinese watercress in chicken broth. Topped with spicy soy bean chili and Cilantro (Coriander).

Today's Lunch... Indian

2010-05-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Indian is not one of my favorite foods but when its done good I do like it once in a while. Here I am having:
Vegtable Pakoras
Basmati Rice
Vegtable Pakoras Curry
Chicken Makhanwala
Tandori Chicken (really good)
along witn Nan bread and poppadoms.

Having lived in London for 4 years recently, Indian food was quite prevalent. There was a great place near Euston Station that served excellent Tandori chicken and Saag. On the occasion I had work in the area I would stop in for a meal.
Ravi Shankar was the name of the restaurant.

My lunch... For about $1.50

2010-05-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

Ramen noodles are so versatile, I use them quite often in various dishes including soups and pan fried noodle dishes. Also being rather inexpensive, they last forever.
They can be flavored with just about anything and any ingredient can be added. They are great for using leftovers in and you can make anything from 1 serving to 100 with enough packages.

I am working on a more detailed article on Ramen (Ramen wiki) so check back for updates.

Tonights Steaks on the Barbi

2010-05-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

A few T-Bones

Grill looks hot enough

Flame up... Get the extinguisher!

Nice grill marks.

Sorry, we ate them before I could get a photo of them plated.
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- Edited using BlogPress from Shannon's iPad - Mill Valley, California

The start to Mothers Day Brunch

2010-05-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

The start to a Hollandaise sauce
12 egg yokes - 6.5 cubes of butter - lemon juice, salt, white pepper and tabasco
This was enough for about 8-10 servings of Eggs Benedict (2 Benedicts per serving). We Served 7 with a little leftover (most used on the potatoes at the table)

Twice cooked Home Fries
Onions, garlic, tarragon, tyme, parsley, scallions, salt and cracked black pepper
(Twice cooked being first pan fried and then oven baked and browned)

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On to the Salads and Entrees (Dinner at Wildfox continued)

2010-05-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

Iceberg Wedge with creamy blue cheese dressing

Baby Lettuce Salad

Jumbo Prawn and Crayfish Risotto with Butternut Squash, Peas and Asiago Cream Reduction

More dinner at Wildfox

2010-05-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

More of the mussels with the red curry sauce.

Chicken Ginger and Roasted Corn Pot Stickers
With Sesame Soy dipping sauce

French Onion Soup
I had to comment on this one. It was by far the best French Onion soup I have had in recent memory. Savory and sweet, the cheese dripping down the side with crusty burnt bits all over (yummy!). The onions soft and not stringy (no long strings hanging from the spoon, ready to latch on to your chin) and the soggy croutons soaking in the beefy broth. This was my favorite dish next to the mussels.

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Dinner at Wildfox (Friends fathers birthday)

2010-05-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

This was a great Peach Sweet Tea cocktail with Rum and Vodka

Tempura Style Calamari

Mudbug Fritters (Crayfish) with Fire Roasted Serrano Chili Dip

Sake Steamed Mussels in a red curry sauce.
(red curry sauce in following blog pix)

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Sweet Things bakery and coffee bar

2010-05-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is the premier place for cakes and pies in Marin county. We were here picking up a Carrot cake for a friends fathers birthday just before meeting at a great restaurant in Novato called Wildfox (pictures of dinner to follow shortly).

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- Edited using BlogPress from Shannon's iPad - Mill Valley, California

Last bite

2010-05-08T12:58:00.001-07:00

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Today's lunch... Fresh made Grilled Chicken Salad

2010-05-08T12:53:00.001-07:00

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Crawfish escape attempt... No survivors!

2010-05-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

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Final product (from Beginnings of a TriTip wrapped sushi roll)

2010-05-08T11:02:00.001-07:00

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Beginnings of a TriTip sushi roll

2010-05-08T10:52:00.001-07:00

Beginings of a TriTip wrapped sushi roll. I first thought of this for a friendly challenge at a friends house, between a good friend and myself.

To start I had the butcher freeze and slice a TriTip roast as thin as possible. I laid out a layer of TriTip and a layer of sushi rice. I then added wasabi, steamed prawn, avocado, cucumber, Japanese mayo with sriracha sauce and Tobiko.

Next I seared the roll in a hot pan on all sides.

(still looking for more pictures of the inside of the roll)

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Spoon Bread

2010-05-07T17:51:00.001-07:00

This is one of the dishes that received some of the roasted Jalapenos. Cooked in cast iorn skillets, they were 'Mui Bien'.

Great idea!

2010-05-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

You'll soon see some posts from me! I'll start with a pic of some free range chickens I raise. Ummmmm good eats.

Roasted Peppers and Tomatillos

2010-05-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

Myfoodbook is my way of sharing a deep love of food and how it is made.

Here I am raosting peppers and tomatillos for a mexican food fest at a freinds birthday party.

I have Pasilla chile peppers, Jalapenos and Tomatillos. All were used in various recipes including Salsa, Enchiladas and sauces.

Why roast them?

First, roasting (charing the skin) allows me to remove the skin (leaving the pepper easier to chew/chop) and partialy cooks the meat of the chille. Roasting also imparts a slight smokey flavor.

Here they have been placed in a bath of ice to help seperate the skin and stop the cooking process.