Gold Rush Potato Salad

It's been almost a year since I've posted here! Since the weather has been warm and gorgeous, I have been attempting to grill every chance I get. I bought the book Weber's BIG Book of Grilling for my brother years ago, and I should have just bought it for myself. :) He loaned it to me over a year ago, and I finally pulled it out for the season to try as many recipes as I could, while the weather is nice.

I just made the most amazing warm potato salad. It's dangerously good, and the sauce is reminiscent to Benihana's Shrimp Sauce (for those of you who are familiar with Benihana's). I have no picture because the salad is that good, and taking a picture of a dirty, empty plate isn't very appetizing...

Gold Rush Potato Salad (adapted Weber's BIG Book of Grilling)

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 Tbs finely chopped Italian parsley/or less than a Tbs of dried parsley)
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp dijon mustard

For the Salad:

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large red onion cut into chunks
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 - 4 celery stalks, diced

Directions:

1. Place potato chunks into a bowl. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat, and season with salt and pepper. Toss.
2. Put potatoes on a fairly large piece of aluminum foil. Fold foil over to make a pouch that can be easily turned.
3. Place potatoes on the grill over direct medium heat.
   
4. Take onions and toss in bowl that the potatoes were in, to lightly coat in oil. Put onions on a piece of foil and fold to make a pouch, like the potatoes.
   
5. Place the onions on the grill over direct medium heat.
6. The potatoes will take 15-20 minutes, and the onions will take 10-12 minutes. Turn the potatoes and onions half-way through cooking time.
7. Mix the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add celery.
   
8. When potatoes are cooked, add potatoes and onion to the bowl with the dressing and celery. Toss to coat everything.
9. Best when served hot or warm.
   

Breakfast 8-16-08

This morning we had pop-up pancakes, sausage and eggs. I used nectarines and plums for the pancakes, Jenni-O Breakfast Lovers Turkey Sausage and Trader Joe's free-range eggs. Yum!

Dinner 8-15-08

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while! I am going to keep posting simple for a while, to get back into the groove of food blogging.

Last night for supper we had maple salmon, roasted brussel sprouts, and rice in a mystery sauce. For the salmon, I salted it and put a little Trader Joe's pure maple syrup on it and sauted it in a skillet. My family really liked that. The brussel sprouts were frozen and I just tossed them in olive oil, salt and pepper, and broiled them in the toaster oven. The rice was an experiment. I made a sauce a few days ago for pasta, with some leftover tomato sauce and coconut milk and a bunch of different seasonings, but was unhappy with the result, so I decided to try and cook the rice in it. I thought the consistency of the rice and sauce was good, but the flavor didn't really appeal to me. My family said they liked it, but I don't think they really ate any of it. Hehe.

MMMMMMM...Eggs Benedict

This is my favorite breakfast of all time! It's a juggling act to get everything done at the same time, since the hollandaise has to be used immediately, and the eggs won't stay warm without overcooking them. So, if you are cooking for a large crowd, I recommend an extra hand to help with the juggling in the kitchen.

Eggs Benedict (serves 4)

Ingredients

• 4 english muffins
• butter or butter substitute
  
• 8 slices canadian bacon
• 8 eggs
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
  

• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbs water
• 1 Tbs lemon juice (this comes out slightly too lemony for Ben, so I use a scant tablespoon)
• salt & pepper
  
• 1/4 butter or butter substitute at room temperature, divided into 3 parts
  

Directions

1. On a baking sheet lay out the 4 english muffins, opened up, so there are eight faces showing. Lightly butter the open faces. Place one piece of canadian bacon on each english muffin. Place english muffins in cold toaster oven or regular oven.
   
2. In a large skillet, add about 2 inches of water. Add vinegar and salt and bring to a simmer. In double boiler or small saucepan with a bowl over it, bring water to a simmer in lower chamber. In top chamber or bowl, away from heat, add egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and one part of the butter.
3. Take a deep breathe and get ready for some action!
4. Place bowl over double boiler and continually whisk until butter has melted and sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add another part butter and whisk to cool down.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, to simmering large skillet. I first crack the eggs into a ramekin or small bowl and then slide the egg into the simmering water. I can usually fit 6 eggs around the edges of the skillet, and 2 in the middle. Make sure water continues to simmer - you might have to increase the heat, slightly.
6. Turn on toaster oven to toast, or oven to broil. Lightly toast the english muffins with the ham. Make sure to set a timer and check frequently!
7. While eggs are poaching, and english muffins are toasting, put the hollandaise back on the double boiler. Whisk until it starts to thicken again, then add last portion of butter and whisk until thick. If mixture starts to curdle or gets too thick, add a tablespoon of hot water and whisk until smooth.
8. During this time, I sometimes have to remove the hollandaise several times from the heat, so it doesn't get too thick and curdle, while I check on the other ingredients. I also turn the eggs over if the water seems too shallow and doesn't seem to be cooking the top. If all the eggs don't fit in water at once, you can poach a few at a time, and take them out early and put on a plate. Once all eggs are partially cooked, they can be returnd to the water all at once, to warm up and finish cooking. Ideally, you want the eggs to have the whites cooked, and the yolks to still be runny.
9. For assembly, place 2 english muffin halfs on a plate, with the canadian bacon on top, then place an egg on each piece of ham, and spoon hollandaise over top. Simple, right? ;)
   

Dr. Spamghetti

When I'm not in the mood for cooking, my husband gets a chance to make his famous Dr. Spamghetti! I gotta say, he's been tweaking this recipe for several years, and it really is some of the best spaghetti I have ever had. I just have to remember to keep Spam, Dr. Pepper, spaghetti, and some canned tomatoes in my pantry at all times. Good Stuff!

Pina Colada & Orange Mango Ginger Sorbets

Taking pictures of food in the evening always produces photos that are hard to manage and don't look so great. We just got a new camera, so that has been a big learning curve for me, too. Anyways, sorry for the flashy picture!

Besides that though, I made 2 fabulous sorbets with a friend at a Memorial Day gathering, and everyone loved them! To come clean here, both recipes called for making a simple syrup, and I ended up just throwing the water and sugar in the blender to dissolve, because frankly, I was feeling lazy and wanted to get these recipes in the ice cream makers ASAP. The recipes worked fine this way, although I am curious to see how they turn if I take the time to make a simple syrup. I am posting below how to make it the original way by heating the sugar and water, but if you want to throw everything in the blender, it works!

Another thing is that I thought these turned out VERY sweet, so I might try decreasing the sugar and see if that turns out with a good consistency. I don't think anyone else thought they were too sweet, that was just my personal preference.

When you make these, put them in the freezer to harden up a bit. They did not get firm enough just in the ice cream maker.


Pina Colada Sorbet
-adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 (20 ounce) can canned crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup lime juice

Directions

1. Make a syrup by bringing the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat, stir and boil until the liquid becomes clear, about 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
2. In blender, blend the remaining ingredients until frothy.
   
3. Refrigerate all ingredients until chilled - about 3hrs. (or if you are like me, skip this)
   
4. Freeze in the freezer canister of an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. When sorbet is mostly firm, put in freezer to finish hardening.

Note: If you're wanting to skip step 1, you can throw the water and sugar in blender and blend until sugar is dissolved.


Orange, Mango and Ginger Sorbet
-adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced, or 2Tbs crystallized ginger
  
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 cup mango juice
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine the water, sugar, ginger, salt, and lime zest in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Allow mixture to cool; strain. Stir in the orange juice, mango juice, and lemon juice. Cover and chill 3 hours. (see note)
   
2. Fill an ice cream maker with the mixture, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Alternate Blender Directions:

1. Blend water, sugar, (omit ginger) salt and lime zest in the blender.
   
2. Pour sugar mixture and remaining ingredients into ice cream maker and add a couple tablespoons of crystallized ginger.
3. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When firm, place in freezer to reach desired thickness.
   

Snickerdoodle French Toast

Wow, this was GOOD! Essentially, this is a regular recipe for french toast, but then you sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on it before cooking. I'll definitely be making this again! Who needs regular french toast when you can have something this fantastic?

By the way, I got this recipe from Baking Bites, and everything I have made from her blog is over-the-top AMAZING. Especially her Pecan Pie Cheesecake...this recipe make me speechless and all drooley.


Snickerdoodle French Toast
-from Baking Bites

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4-6 slices bread
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. In shallow dish for dipping bread, whisk together milk, eggs, salt and vanilla.
2. In small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon.
3. Heat skillet to medium heat, and butter or spary with non-stick spray.
   
4. Poke holes in bread with a fork, for maximum egg absorption, and dip both sides of bread into egg mixture.
5. While bread is in egg mixture, after both sides are moist, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture, and then put into skillet, cinnamon side down. Sprinkle other side with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
6. When bottom is browned, flip and cook until other side is brown and bread is cooked through. Serve immediately or keep warm in oven.