Potato, Rosemary & Truffle Flatbread

I have this obsession with Pizza Antica's flatbread with potatoes and truffle oil.  I was going to make a version this weekend, but didn't get around to it, which is a total bummer because I had Chef G's amazing pizza dough and I'm sure it would've been fab.
I will still do this at some point, even though Patrick dislikes truffle oil (fool!).  Maybe for that Stella & Dot party I'm hosting. . . .

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces unpeeled small Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into very thin rounds; use a mandolin if you have one!

1 blob of pizza dough (homemade, from Trader Joe's or your local pizzeria, wherever)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

A drizzle of truffle oil - white or black, your choice; I might experiment since I have both

corn meal

Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat with garlic to flavor the oil.  Remove garlic cloves once they start to brown. Add potato slices in single layer. sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Cool briefly.

Roll out dough to desired thinness and put on corn meal dusted pizza stone. Scatter potato slices over dough, leaving 3/4-inch plain border. Sprinkle with rosemary, Parmesan and crushed red pepper.

Bake pizza until crust is crisp, about 20 minutes. Using a spatula if necessary, loosen crust from stone. Slide out onto platter or board and drizzle with truffle oil.  Slice and serve.

   

Rosti

A coworker is in Switzerland right now, which made me think of one of my favorite Swiss treats - no, not fondue, that's the other one.  No, not chocolate either.  Rosti!!
Mmmm, starchy potatoey carbs.
Traditionally, rosti is just potato, salt, pepper, and butter or oil.  You can do that too, but the rosti I had in Lauterbrunnen had onion and ham, and how can you NOT add cheese when given the opportunity?!

Ham & Cheese Rosti
6 large potatoes (if you're feeling like Sandra Lee you can use the pre-grated hashbrown type potatoes)
1 shallot or 1 small onion, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp dried)
2-4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces Swiss cheese (I'd suggest Jarlsberg, Gruyere or Emmentaler), grated
1 cup diced ham
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons hot water 
optional: 1 large egg (to make it a bit "breakfastier" and to help the potatoes stick together, you can coat the potatoes in a beaten egg before adding to the skillet; just beat the egg, and add stir it into the potato mixture)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, and put in the fridge to cool. Once cool, peel and grate potatoes. 
Mix potatoes in a large bowl with the onion, rosemary, salt and pepper, ham, and cheese - you can reserve 1/4 cup of the cheese to sprinkle on top if you'd like.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in large nonstick skillet, add the potato mixture.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons hot water over the top layer, cover and saute at low to medium heat until bottom layer browns. Turn with spatula, add remaining tablespoon of butter, and brown again. (you may have to flip the rosti onto a plate, and then back into the pan)
This will probably take about 7 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels before serving.

South Beached Rosti
1 pound sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
6 ounces crumbled goat cheese
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). 
Peel and grate the sweet potatoes; place in a clean cloth and squeeze out the excess liquid; transfer to a large bowl. 
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the onion and garlic in the hot oil until soft; transfer to the bowl with the drained sweet potato; add about 2/3 of the goat cheese and the beaten eggs; mix well. Divide the mixture into 4 even portions and shape into balls with your hands and then flatten them to about 1/2 inch thickness. Arrange the patties onto a baking sheet. 
Roast in the preheated oven until golden brown; about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining goat cheese over the patties and return to oven to melt the cheese, about 5 minutes more. 

Or you can try a "fancy" rosti with brie and apples.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I saw this today in this month's issue of Cooking Light while I was at the grocery store and drooled a little.  Once I'm off of my "near starvation diet" I can't wait to give this a whirl!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

4  (6-ounce) red potatoes
2  teaspoons  olive oil
1/2  cup  prechopped onion
1 1/4  cups  fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
2  cups  1% low-fat milk, divided
1/4  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
3  bacon slices, halved
1/3  cup  shredded cheddar cheese
 4  teaspoons  thinly sliced green onions

Pierce potatoes with a fork. Microwave on HIGH 13 minutes or until tender. Cut in half; cool slightly.

While potatoes cook, heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk; add to pan with 1 1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; stir often. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream, salt, and pepper.

Arrange bacon on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a paper towel; microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes. Crumble bacon.

Discard potato skins. Coarsely mash potatoes into soup. Top with cheese, green onions, and bacon.

Calories:  325

Fat:  11.1g (sat 5.2g,mono 4.5g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:  13.2g

Carbohydrate:  43.8g

Fiber:  3g

Cholesterol:  27mg

Iron:  1.3mg

Sodium:  670mg

Calcium:  261mg

Potato Salad

The only way to enjoy potato salad is German style.
Hölle ja.
(Thanks Sammy, for making me crave it for two days now)

• 4 potatoes
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.
3. Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick.
4. Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Once I'm in Phase 3, I'm totally trying this with sweet potatoes. Think it'll work? If not, maybe I'll try this one.

1 sweet potato, peeled
1 large mango, skin removed

3 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp grated lime rind
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp extra-fine sugar (or Splenda, or you might not need it at all, though it is a super tiny amount)
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 head Bibb or Boston (round) lettuce
½ cup (10g) fresh mint (ew)

Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium.

Chop both the sweet potato and mango flesh into long wedges, about ¾-in (2cm) wide, ½-in (1 cm) thick. Place in separate dishes.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour half over the mango and potato.

With tongs in hand, arrange sweet potato wedges directly over the grill and leave for 6-8 minutes, until grill marks appear and the bottom sides begin to soften. Turn and grill the other side for a further 6 minutes. While the other sides are cooking, arrange the mango wedges directly on the grill. Grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer all the wedges to a cutting board and cut into cubes. Place them in a bowl and toss with the remaining dressing.

Arrange lettuce leaves on salad plates. Scatter the sweet potato and mango over the lettuce and add a sprinkling of sea salt and finely sliced mint.

Serves 4-6.

Spicy Pork with Rosemary Potatoes

I am a sucker for rosemary potatoes. I love the damn things. And I'm always looking for fun new stuff to do with pork (aside from carnitas), and this looked damn tasty last Saturday morning.

Spicy Pork with Rosemary Potatoes

• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 (3-pound) pork roast, cut into 4 steaks, 2-inches thick
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 3 russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 sprigs rosemary, stripped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
To prepare the pork: Place cumin seeds, red pepper flakes and peppercorns in a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Place in a small bowl and mix in garlic powder and salt. Rub mixture all over pork. Let sit at room temperature, 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss potatoes with rosemary, oil and salt. In a small saucepan, bring sugar, vinegar and orange juice to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking Sweet and Sour Sauce until it reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, swirl in butter and keep warm before using.
In a 13-inch cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. When pan is smoking hot, add pork and sear on both sides. Add potatoes and place in the oven until pork is cooked through and potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes.
Serve pork chops with rosemary potatoes and drizzled with the Sweet and Sour Sauce.

**Update**
This was a pretty easy recipe, though my skillet was too small so I had to do it in batches. I can't say I'm too wild about it. I thought it was okay, but I've had better. I don't have a spice grinder so I went mortar and pestle and it did not make nearly enough rub so I supplemented with already ground spices. I served it with Aylene's yummy greenbeans. I think the leftover pork will make killer Cuban sandwiches. Yum.

Soup

Aida was calling them one dish wonders, I think they just sounded like some really yummy soups.

Baked Potato Soup

• 4 ounces bacon, small dice
• 1 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 5 medium garlic cloves
• 1 medium russet potato, large dice
• 2 medium red potatoes, large dice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 quart (8 cups) chicken stock
• 1 sourdough baguette, cut into1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese
• Sour cream, for garnish
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Heat bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and fat is rendered, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plated with a slotted spoon and discard all but 1 tablespoon drippings.

Return pot to stove and add onions and garlic. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add potato and stir to coat. Add vinegar and scrape up any browned bits. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potato is fork tender, about 20 minutes. Heat oven to 450degreesF and arrange a rack in the upper third.

When soup is ready, ladle into 8- to 12-ounce ovensafe bowls and top with two baguette slices. Pile cheese and bacon on top and repeat to make 4 to 6 servings. Place on a baking sheet and place in oven until cheese is melty and browned, about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly, top each bowl with a dollop sour cream and a sprinkling of green onions and serve.

"Lazy" Pork Hot Pot

• 1 1/2 quart (6 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce
• 5 medium garlic cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 (2-inch piece) ginger, sliced
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, caps removed and reserved, tops thinly sliced and reserved
• 3/4 pound pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced on bias, for serving
• Toasted sesame oil, for serving (optional)

Combine broth, sherry, soy, garlic, ginger, and mushroom stems in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to low and simmer until broth is infused with flavors, about 30 minutes.

Strain broth, return to pot over high heat, add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add pork and mushrooms and cook until pork is just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Garnish with green onions and sesame oil, if using, and serve.