Twice-Baked Potatoes

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Twice-Baked PotatoesThe guys in my house are great eaters. They never complain when we have a meatless meal, or a fancy salad for dinner. But, they are males – and there is nothing that my boys love more than meat and potatoes. But to stuff said potato full of meat, sour cream, cheese, and scallions? Well, then they’re just in hog heaven.

We don’t eat steak that often in our home these days(as I’m a cheapskate who will only buy it when it’s on sale!) so when we do, I like to make it extra-special by serving these potatoes alongside. They’re easy, filling, and everyone always loves them! You know it’s good when your 4 year old happily gobbles up the potato skin. Sometimes I’ll double the recipe, and stick a few in the fridge or freezer to enjoy for an easy, quick lunch. When paried with a salad, it’s a wonderful meal on it’s own. No steak required!

Twice-Baked Potatoes

4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried
1/2 cup sour cream
6 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce potatoes with the tines of a fork a few times and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven.

Hold the potato with an oven mitt or towel, trim off the top of the potatoes to make a canoe-like shape. Discard the tops (or make potato skins!). Carefully scoop out most of the potato into a bowl, leaving enough potato in the skin so the shells stay together. Mash the potato lightly with fork along with the sour cream. Stir in the scallions, 1/3 cup cheese, and bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Season the skins with salt and pepper. Refill the shells with the potato mixture mounding it slightly. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the potato filling.

Place potatoes on baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, until warmed through and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with fresh scallions if desired.

Hard Cider Mac & Cheese

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Hard Cider Mac & Cheese

I wish I had known about cooking with hard cider sooner. I got my first dose of it’s culinary awesomeness at Thanksgiving 2011, when I added it to my pan gravy. We have about a case of of our local, homebrew cider left from that same year – that I’ve kind of been hoarding. But, when I saw this recipe I couldn’t resist going down to the basement to pull a bottle out.

I’d made a beer macaroni & cheese before, and I’d deemed it my favorite. But this version definitely gives it a run for it’s money. The hard cider lends a wonderful flavor, without being overpowering. And the addition of finely chopped Granny Smith apples and onions? Brilliant.

Spring is on the horizon, and I’m looking forward to it – but I’m trying to get my fill of winter warming favorites while I still can. And, nothing tops a big bowl of creamy, cheesy pasta. Especially when you bring booze to the party too!

Hard Cider Macaroni & Cheese

2.5 cups elbow macaroni (or another pasta shape)
1 cup hard cider
1 cup half & half
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 small onion, diced
16 ounces white Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (I like Cabot)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 6 minutes. Drain, and place in 2 quart baking dish. Set aside.

For the sauce; melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and apples. Saute for approximately 5-10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Sprinkle flour over them and cook for about 2 minutes, mixing continuously until the flour has coated all of the onions and apples. Slowly pour in cider and half & half. Whisk constantly until mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Turn off heat, and stir in 12 oz of shredded cheese. Mix until smooth.

Pour cheese sauce over the cooked and strained pasta in the baking dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until the sides are bubbly and cheese is browned.

Source: adapted from Bakeaholic Mama

Garlic Rice Pilaf

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Garlic Rice Pilaf

This is one of those side dishes that have been a staple in our kitchen for a while now, but I’d never gotten around to sharing with you guys. Rice is so wonderful and versatile – accepts so many flavors into it’s little white grains.

This rice pilaf takes a little bit more time to put on the table than your standard white rice, due to the fact that it bakes in the oven. But, it’s not hands on – giving you time to finish up dinner while the rice is cooking. The burst of flavor from the garlic is unparalleled though, and well worth the extra time in the oven.

If I have leftovers, I’ll mix in some chopped up veggies and any make myself a make-shift fried rice for lunch the next day. If you’re feeding a larger crowd, the recipe can easily be doubled without having to increase the cooking time.

Garlic Rice Pilaf

2 tbsp. butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  In a saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and rice to the pan and cook until both are golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Stir in 1 cup of the broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.  Pour the mixture into a 2 qt casserole dish, cover, and bake for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, remove from the oven and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups broth. Re-cover and bake for another 45 minutes.  About 15 minutes before it is finished baking, stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Source: slightly adapted from Annie’s Eats, originally from What’s Cooking in the Orange Kitchen?

Rustic Dinner Rolls

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Rustic Dinner RollsAs I mentioned a couple of weeks ago during the New Year’s round up posts, I’ve gotten a lot more into bread baking the past year. One thing I had the opportunity to make yet was crusty breads. To achieve that crusty effect, most recipes require a “sponge”, which usually is made the night before you plan to bake the bread. Which, of course – I never seem to have my act together enough to plan ahead for that.

We were having soup for dinner last week, and I wanted some French-type rolls to go along with. But, it was cold and rainy – really wasn’t feeling going to the store. So, I turned to my cookbook for inspiration. Cook’s Illustrated had a recipe for dinner rolls that claimed the crunch of a crusty roll, without the time commitment. It was a few more steps than your standard yeast roll recipe, but I was pretty sure the finished product was going to be worth it.

The rolls were airy and chewy on the inside, with a nice thick crunchy crust. This will definitely be my go-to bread when I want something with a little more body than a traditional yeast dinner roll. The batch made enough for one dinner’s worth for us, as well as another meal’s worth that I stuck in the freezer for a rainy day.

Rustic Dinner Rolls

1 1/2 cups plus 1 Tbsp water, room temperature
2 tsp honey
1 1/2 tsp instant dry or rapid-rise yeast
3 cups plus 1 Tbsp bread flour (16.5 ounces), plus extra as needed
3 Tbsp whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Whisk water, honey, and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer until dissolved. Transfer bowl to stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add bread flour and whole-wheat flour and mix on low speed until a cohesive dough forms, about 3 minutes; cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle salt evenly over dough and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium and continue to knead until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, about 1 minute. If dough is too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour and continue mixing for 1 minute. Transfer dough to large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Spray rubber spatula with vegetable oil spray. Fold partially risen dough over itself (in half)by gently lifting and folding the edge of the dough toward the middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Rotate bowl again and fold once more. Cover with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic, and let dough rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes longer.

Grease two 9-inchround cake pans. Transfer dough to floured counter and sprinkle top with more flour. Using bench scraper, cut dough in half and gently stretch each half into 16-inch log. Cut each log into 8 equal pieces and dust top of each piece with more flour. With floured hands, gently pick up each piece and roll in palms to coat with flour, shaking of excess. Arrange rolls in prepared pans, placing 1 in center and 7 spaced evenly around the edges lengthwise, making sure cut side faces up. Loosely cover pans with lightly greased plastic and rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Spray rolls lightly with water, bake until tops of rolls are brown, about 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven.

Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees; using kitchen towels or oven mitts, invert rolls from both cake pans onto rimmed baking sheet. When rolls are cool enough to handle, turn them right-side up, pull apart, and space evenly on baking sheet. Continue to bake until rolls develop a deep golden brown crust and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer rolls to wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour, before serving.

Source: The Science of Good Cooking by America’s Test Kitchen