Garlic-Roasted Fingerlings

I had never heard of fingerlings before - saw them at Whole Foods and found that we both love them.

Garlic Roasted Fingerlings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound mixed fingerling potatoes - Russian banana, French, Austrian crescent and ruby crescent - cut into 1 inch chunks (if you've never used them, you will be surprised that the ruby crescent is totally red inside and out)
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. sear salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp. minced thyme
• 1 tsp. minced garlic - or more if you like it

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme in a large bowl. 
3. Add potatoes and mix well until all are coated.
4. Arrange potatoes on large baking pan - one layer deep. 
5. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove foil and roast potatoes for 30 minutes.
7. Remove pan from oven and spread garlic evenly on all potatoes. 
8. Return to oven and roast an additional 10 minutes to make sure the garlic is not burnt.

For the leftovers, add some dill and serve with salmon.

Leek gratin

Leeks are another food we never tried until the past few years. They make a wonderful addition to my onion soup (you can see that recipe elsewhere in my blog site). This is one recipe I followed nearly exactly as I saw it in the Food magazine. I just cut it in half for the two of us and served it with a rib roast. They went very well together.

Ingredients:

• 4 leeks, cut in half lengthwise and rinsed - white and light green parts only
• 1 cup heavy cream
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Roman cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place leeks and cream in large skillet and season with salt and pepper to your taste.
3. Bring to a boil over medium high heat; reduce heat to medium and simmer covered for 5 minutes. 
4. Uncover and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes to make sure leeks are tender.
5. Transfer leeks and sauce to a shallow baking dish. 
6. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 35 minutes.

Turnip and Sweet Potato Gratin

Turnip and Sweet Potato Gratin

Nita and I have never tasted turnips as far as we can recall, so this was an experiment that worked wonderfully. Turnips are a great complement to the sweet potatoes with their taste similar to carrots. I considered using Swiss cheese, but decided to use Gruyere since I have never used it, either. Nita loved this dish that I served with an herb-crusted rack of lamb.

Ingredients:

• 1 large turnip - peeled and sliced to 1/4 inch
• 1 large sweet potato - peeled and sliced to 1/4 inch
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. butter cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray 8-inch square glass baking dish with non-stick spray.
3. Arrange one layer of sweet potato and turnip overlapping slightly. 
4. Season the layer with salt, pepper and flour. 
5. Repeat to make four total layers. 
6. Place pieces of butter throughout the top layer. 
7. Slowly pour broth over the mixture. 
8. Cover with foil and cook about 35 minutes. Vegetables should be slightly crispy.
9. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. 
10. Remove foil and cover the top with the cheese. 
11. Bake 15 minutes more to get the cheese melted and golden.

Cold Weather Black Bean Chili

Cold Weather - Black Bean Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can Ro*tel or Hatch Chilies
• 1/2 cup cooked whole-kernel corn
• 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and cook on low heat about 30 minutes.
2. Serve with chopped onion and oyster crackers
3. Second day - add 1/4 lb. cooked ground beef for variety.
4. If you like, you can add other ingredients like olives, zucchini and carrots.

This can also be done in a slow cooker to get all ingredients' flavors more thoroughly combined. You can also top with onions, cheddar cheese or sour cream.

If you have leftovers, blend in a blender and serve with tortilla chips.

Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes

Yes, you read that right. I never thought of it either, but decided to try it when I saw a recipe in a magazine. As usual, I didn't follow their recipe, but adapted it for my taste. Quantities here are for one potato which is 2 servings.

Ingredients (amounts depend on size of potato and your taste):

• 1 sweet potato
• butter
• sea salt
• black pepper
• bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Prick the potato skin with a fork or knife in about 5-6 places. 
3. Bake until tender - about one hour. 
4. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides leaving about 1/4 inch inside with the skins. 
5. Place flesh in a food processor and mix with butter about 2 minutes until smooth. 
6. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. 
7. Spoon into the skins. 
8. Top with bread crumbs and drizzle melted butter over them so they will brown. 
9. Bake about 10 minutes until the topping is golden.

If you like, there are several things you can add to the mixture. I really like the taste of sweet potatoes, so I didn't add anything. Some people may like to add goat cheese, chives, marshmallows, pecans or brown sugar.

Bean Chowder with Turkey

Bean Chowder with Turkey

Ingredients:

• 3 cans (15.8 ounce) great northern beans
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 3 small chicken sausages Italian style of your choice
• 3 cups turkey - mix dark and white meat - diced
• minced parsley
• butter
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Drain the liquid from 2 of the cans of beans and discard
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1 tsp. butter. 
3. Add garlic and onion and sautee for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the beans, including the liquid from one can, tomatoes and sausages.
5. Cover and cook on medium low for 15 minutes.
6. Add the turkey and cook 5 more minutes to warm the meat. Season to taste, including sea salt and black pepper and parsley if you like.
7. Transfer about 4-5 soup ladles of the mixture to an oven safe bowl for each serving. Spread breadcrumbs over the top and drizzle melted butter to coat the crumbs.
8. Place the bowls on a cookie sheet and broil on high for about 4-5 minutes until the breadcrumbs are brown.

Total servings = 6. Since there are only 2 of us, we separated the remaining 4 servings into 2 packets and put them in the freezer for 2 more winter meals.

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/8 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Cut a large sweet potato into wedges about 1/2 inch thick
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
3. Coat rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray. 
4. Add 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and coat the potatoes with it. 
5. Arrange in a single layer with the oil, sea salt and pepper. 
6. Bake about 40 minutes flipping once after 20 minutes
7. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. 
8. After about 8 minutes, the foam will subside and the butter will turn a golden brown. 
9. Mix it with 1/8 cup of sour cream - whisk to mix well. 
10. Serve as a topping or dip for the potatoes.