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.

I think I might do all of my recipes like this from now on. . .

A big ball of meh.

Had the parentals over for dinner this weekend, something it seems I don't do often enough. I was working with a few restrictions (no bell peppers, no citrus, no pork since they had it the night before).
I had been on a mad hunt for verjus (or verjuice, but verjus sounds much more sophisticated, non? Plus it's how I heard about it first, so that's the term that sticks in my memory.) since I thought I could take advantage of it's acid type flavors to use in place of citrus juice versus vinegar which is TOO acidic and vinegary for many recipes in my opinion. I finally found some at Andronico's (thanks Chowhounds) but then didn't even end up making chicken paillard, which is what I had planned.
Because I was now stuck rummaging through cupboards and cookbooks for some other interesting variation of "chicken breast," I had to make do. I found a raspberry chicken breast recipe similar to this one, and altered it based on what I had.

The recipe actually called for raspberry vinegar (I had fig), Worcestershire sauce (I had!), red wine (I had, but thought port would go better with the fig), and garlic (I only had powder - who doesn't have garlic?!?!). I marinated it for an hour or so in that mixture which didn't seem to be long enough. Grilled it up (and yes, the marinade does burn) and it turned out okay. I wasn't wild about it, but everyone else said it was good and they ate it, so you know. It's not poison at least. Maybe next time reserving some of the marinade and cooking it down to use as a drizzle on top would make me happier.

The next semi-fail came in the way of Ina's string beans with shallots. The recipe calls for three shallots which seems like a lot to me. I knew I had one shallot at home so I picked up one more. Only to find out once I arrived home, that not only was the garlic gone, but so was my other shallot. Having roommates is such a surprising and action packed way of life sometimes! So now, with only a third of the required shallot, I made do. Guess what, the recipe could've used more shallot. Again, it was still a hit and everyone ate it all, but I was unimpressed. I mean, nothing is Aylene's green beans aside from Aylene's green beans, but I did at least want to TRY to branch out.

Finally - a recipe I have had bookmarked for YEARS. And it's not like I forgot about it. It's in my bookmarks, so every time I start to type "foodnetwork" it pops up as an option. Yippee, I was finally making it!!!! And hey, guess what, I totally didn't like it. It was more cheese than cauliflower and I didn't think the flavor was good at all. Again, everyone else liked it - was I having an off tastebud night or am I just too critical? Don't answer that please. At least now I can let go of the dream. Dad doesn't like cauliflower much, but even he liked this (not too surprising since seriously, there were more bites that were just cheese and no veggie at all). I did tweak it a bit though. . . . me and my fat free half and half. . . .

Cauliflower Goat Cheese Gratin
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 cups (1 pint) of ff 1/2 and 1/2
1/2 pound Monterey Jack, coarsely grated (I used Clover Organic)
2 c grated Parmesan (I got mine from the cheese section at Andronico's)
8 oz goat cheese, broken into small pieces
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix the cauliflower, heavy cream, and the 3 cheeses in a large bowl and then transfer to a medium casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft and the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

We wrapped up with the God awful black bean brownies which were politely tasted, not really enjoyed, and abandoned altogether once I shared how they were made. I'm not sure that my folks will ever come back after this, no matter how much fun they had playing Wii.

Braised Chicken with Shallots

I love shallots and I love juicy tender meat. I think this dish with a chunk of sourdough and a nice light salad would be awesome. Thank Martha!

Braised Chicken with Shallots - serves 4
* helpful hints: Cook this main dish ahead of time without compromising flavor. Refrigerate up to two days, then reheat over medium-low, stirring frequently.

To make peeling easy, place shallots in a bowl of warm water, and soak until skins loosen (they'll be wrinkled and cracked), about 15 minutes. Using a paring knife, slip skins off.

8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds total)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound small shallots (about 12), peeled and halved
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Fresh tarragon leaves, for garnish (optional)

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper; coat with flour, shaking off excess.
2. In a Dutch oven or 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium-high. Cook chicken until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove; set aside.
3. Add shallots and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine; cook until evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil.
4. Return chicken, bone side down, to pot. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until chicken is tender and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; loosely tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add tomatoes to pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook on high until sauce has thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Return chicken to pot; reheat if necessary. Garnish with tarragon, if desired, and serve.

Invite over a few friends, open a bottle of wine and you're all set. Yummy.

Speaking of cauliflower. . .

I love it. So do the bacteria that live in my intestines however, which makes for a deadly combination.
Moving on to more appetizing thoughts, cauliflower is damn delicious. As a child, some brilliant woman (my grandmother) convinced me cauliflower was some sort of indulgent treat and I used to sneak into the kitchen and break chunks off when no one was looking. I didn't catch on for several years and then didn't eat cauliflower until oh, 10 years ago or so. Man, what I was missing. Here are a couple of my favorite cauliflower recipes.

Pan Roasted Cauliflower
Easiest. Recipe. Ever.
1 head of cauliflower, cleaned and broken/cut up into florets
Garli Garni (or if you must, garlic powder, DON'T USE GARLIC SALT!)
olive oil
Heat oven to 500.

Spread the cauli out on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and top with copious amounts of Garni. Seriously, like a lot a lot. More than that. Keep going. A tiny bit more. Okay, good.

Pop in the oven until fork tender and brown on the edges. If it gets tender but not very brown, I put it under the broiler for a few. The crispy, garlicky bits are like the yummiest garlic bread. I can eat an entire head of cauliflower this way, much to Eel's dismay. Sorry baby.

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Caulimash
4 cups of cauli florets
1 oz I can't believe it's not butter
1 oz ff half and half
salt & pepper

Steam cauli til soft. Puree in a food processor adding butter and half and half to taste. Season with s&p. No, you won't really think it's potatoes, but it's a good stand in.

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Cauliflower Soup
2 heads of cauli, separated into florets
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
3 c chook broth
1 c water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cups heavy cream (OR TJ's ff half and half of course)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl (or in your roasting pan) toss cauli, oil, garlic and shallots. Roast til tender; 30 minutes or so.
When done, transfer to a large soup pot and pour in chook broth and water. Season with thyme and bay and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Puree using an immersion blender (so much easier than doing batches in the blender) and return to pot. Stir in cream, s&p and taste. Heat through for serving but do not allow to boil. Serve with yummy crusty bread and/or those delicious little parmesan crisps.

Spinach Salad

I yam what I yam, and while I do like yams, I don't really like spinach. Popeye I (y)am not. Wait, that's so untrue sometimes that I'm really reluctant to even say that. I don't LOVE spinach. How's that? I don't like the gritty feeling it leaves on my teeth sometimes, so I tend to avoid rather than deal.
However! I think I have found the secret to making spinach salads that I will knock you down and take your fork away for. Get ready to be shocked. . . .
the secret ingredient. . . .
goat cheese.

Okay, I know, I'll put goat cheese on anything that will hold still long enough for me to do so but it really does make life better. And when I say goat cheese mind you, I'm talking that soft, crumbly chevre (like the texture of this Purple Haze perhaps), and not the thousands of other variations of cheese that can be made from goat's milk. Silly right?
In any case, I've made two spinach salads that I have fallen in love with, and the other ingredients they've had in common are onions/shallots and red wine vinegar vinaigrette. And I like them kind of warm.
So here, two options; both make enough to serve 2, maybe 3 if you're feeling generous, which I rarely am.

Pancetta & Goat Cheese Spinach Salad

• Diced pancetta - you know, about that amount that looks right. 2 oz? (TJ's is kind enough to make a little package of finely diced pancetta for my cooking needs, but you can get some from your butcher - 1/4" thick cuts, then dice them up yourself.)
• 1 good sized shallot, finely diced
• cherry tomatoes (I really like those little Sweet 100s for this) - a cup or so
• 1 bag of ready to go baby spinach leaves
• goat cheese - 2 oz? 4 oz? a pound? you decide
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• s&p

Dump your bag o'greens into a bowl and cover in goat cheese. No really, add more. Slice your wee tomatoes in half and dump them in too.
Heat up a skillet over medium, and add the pancetta. Once it's given up some of its fat, you're safe to add the shallot. Once the pancetta looks yummy, and onion is all soft and delish, you're good to go. I add the oil and vinegar directly to the pan and whisk to make my dressing. I don't think you need salt, but that's up to you - season to taste.
Pour this warm dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Battle to the death for last serving rights.

Sauteed Mushroom & Goat Cheese Spinach Salad

• 1 good sized shallot, finely diced
• 2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used cremini, but anything would work I bet)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 bag of ready to go baby spinach leaves
• goat cheese - 2 oz? 4 oz? a pound? you decide
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• s&p

Put a dash of olive oil into a pan heating on medium. Add the shallots and garlic and sautee until the shallots start to look translucent. Add the mushrooms and sautee until cooked. Add s & p to taste.
Dump your bag o'greens into a bowl and cover in goat cheese. No really, add more.
Pour your mushrooms over the salad and use the warm, still covered in bits pan to make the dressing. There's still some oil in there, so you only need to add a little, then whisk in your vinegar.
Pour this over the salad and toss to coat. Battle to the death for last serving rights.