Tag Archives: thyme

Crispy Potato Roast

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Julie • 2 Comments

Martha, Martha, Martha.

I tend to shy away from anything Martha Stewart. I steer clear of her products after being given a serviceable-looking dutch oven that I had to return after it was recalled due to a minor flaw (it exploded in people’s ovens, no biggie). And I’ve always backed slowly away from her recipes because, early on in my baking days, I attempted an uncomplicated-seeming vanilla cake recipe no less than four times, with every attempt ending in spectacular failure. Rather than blame my own fledgling kitchen skills, I of course blamed Martha. Clearly, she was trying to sabotage me – I felt entirely certain that I had uncovered a diabolical plot wherein Martha would create the perfect recipe, and then tweak the proportions just enough so that nobody would ever be able to successfully recreate the dish. It would be genius, really – with the wannabe chef now drowning in a sea of her own woeful inadequacy, where to turn but back to Martha? Who better to lift you back up than the one who dragged you down? I told myself after that first cupcake calamity that I wouldn’t fall for it, and the subsequent Martha Moratorium lived on for several years. During that time I actually learned to cook and bake, and realized that I probably should stop blaming Martha for my early on kitchen fiascos.

It was right around this time that I stumbled across this recipe, and it was a perfect storm: I had made peace with Martha, I had gotten a mandoline for Christmas, and I had a five-pound bag of organic russet potatoes that were starting to show serious signs of wear from sitting in my vegetable basket for the better part of two weeks. In addition, when I googled to reassure myself that someone other than Martha had successfully cooked and eaten this, I found that someone had – and when Deb says something is easy and good, I believe her.

Pretty even before it's cooked. Mmm, raw potatoes.

I’m not going to tell you this isn’t time-consuming. It is, a little bit, even with a mandoline. If you don’t have one, I honestly don’t know if it’s worth it – it’s a lot of slicing, and these potatoes really need to be wafer-thin. But if you’ve got one and you’re not utterly terrified of it (I have a Kevlar glove for mine – seriously), this is a great way to get some use out of it. This dish has the benefit of not only tasting good, but looking good – really good. The potatoes are browned and crispy, almost potato chippy, on top, and perfectly cooked through on the bottom. I made it on a lazy Saturday afternoon to serve alongside pistachio crusted tofu, and it kind of stole the show because it’s so ridiculously pretty. To be 100% honest, that’s really the main reason I made it – the fact that it tastes so good is just icing on the cake. More icing on the cake? The leftovers make unbelievable home fries the morning after.

Crispy Potato Roast
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Category: Side Dish
A beautiful and unique way to serve potatoes – great for holidays, or to make a regular day feel like one.
Ingredients
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 3 lbs russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 4 shallots, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • Sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • Several whole sprigs of thyme
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine butter and olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the bottom of a baking dish with about half of the mixture. Sprinkle with sea salt and red pepper flakes.
  2. Peel the potatoes. Using a mandoline slicer (or a sharp knife, tons of patience, and a bunch of elbow grease), slice the potatoes very thinly crosswise. Arrange vertically in the baking dish. Wedge the shallot slices between potatoes throughout the dish. Brush with the rest of the oil and butter mixture and season with more salt.
  3. Bake for 1 1/4 hours (yeah, I know – put on a movie as soon as you put these in the oven). Lay the thyme sprigs atop the potatoes and bake for another 35-45 minutes, until potatoes are crispy and browned on top (cover with foil for the last leg of this marathon baking time if you notice the top browning too much). Serve immediately.
Notes

You may need to play around a bit with dishes for this. The original recipe calls for four pounds of potatoes, but I found that I didn’t have a baking dish big enough to fit all of them. Three pounds just fit into a 1.5 quart oval casserole dish).

Source: Martha Stewart

Filed Under: Side Dishes

Mushroom and Leek Quiche

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Julie • 0 Comments

Take a leek.

Being able to make that joke each and every time I make this may in fact be the only reason I like leeks. It’s hard to dislike food that so easily lends itself to 12-year-old humor. In fairness to the leek, though, this is quite good even without the lame jokes. Leeks are milder and sweeter than onions, and are a great way to impart an onion-like flavor without the tears and inevitable halitosis. They also contain less of the sulfur compounds that make onions difficult for some people to digest, and thus make a good substitute for people who don’t tolerate them well. And that is why the leek shall inherit the earth.

Okay then. Now that I’ve indulged my insatiable need to pun, let’s move on. This quiche is a staple for us – although the total prep-and-cook time is close to an hour and a half, it’s all easy, and extremely satisfying to boot. And I’m saying this as somebody who isn’t really a quiche person – my general rationale is along the lines of “if you’re going to throw a bunch of eggs together and call it dinner, why not make an omelet and save us all the hassle?” But this isn’t a quivering three-inch-high egg pile like some quiches. The rich flavors of the roasted mushrooms and leeks are the real stars here – the eggs just quietly hold it all together. Serve with a simple green salad and as many bad leek puns as you can think of.

Mushroom and Leek Quiche
Ingredients:
1 pound mushrooms, quartered or diced (I use a combination of cremini, shiitake, and portabello)
1 bunch leeks, washed and sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup half and half or milk
1.5 cups grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese (about 4 ounces)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
3 eggs
1 9-inch pie crust
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine mushrooms, leeks, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a large bowl and toss to combine, making sure everything is well coated with the oil. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Return to bowl and stir in cheese.

Prick pie shell with fork and prebake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove and lower oven temperature to 350 F.

Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add the half and half and thyme, and more salt and pepper to taste. Spread mushroom mixture into the pie pan in an even layer and pour half-and-half/egg mixture on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until lightly browned and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Filed Under: Main Dish

Let’s Start With a Drink: Watermelon-Thyme Cocktail

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Julie • 0 Comments


Whenever I have people over (rare, since my apartment is approximately the size of the a shoebox), the first thing I do is offer them a drink. Aren’t you sad that I can’t have people over more often? Me too. But since this is my first post here, I can’t think of a better way to start than with a cocktail.

Since I can’t have people over much, I often do the next best thing, which is to go to my friends’ homes and have them offer me cocktails. My friend Wendy, in particular, is the master of the casual get-together.  Her go-to is a frozen margarita that’ll turn you off the mix-heavy ones at Tex-Mex chain restaurants forever, but every so often she’ll unleash a new drink that leaves us shaking our heads in amazement (and taking cabs home). This watermelon-thyme drink is one of those, and I loved it so much that I made it at least three times over the ensuing months, twice for parties and once for no occasion at all. I’m not normally a tequila drinker, but found that the watermelon and simple syrup gave it a pleasing sweetness that muted the tequila’s…well, tequila face factor (you know what I’m talking about. We all have a picture from college that someone impeccably timed while we were taking a tequila shot. Um, right? Is that just me?). And though I haven’t tried it yet, I’m certain that vodka would make a more than suitable replacement (vodka is a suitable replacement for pretty much anything – water, cleaning solution, therapy). Cheers!

Watermelon-Thyme Cocktail
Yield: about 6 healthy pours
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup water
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
6 cups diced watermelon, seedless or seeds removed
1 cup ice
3/4 cup tequila (or vodka)
2 Tbsp orange liqueur (we used Triple Sec)
Fresh thyme sprigs (to garnish)

Instructions:
First, make the simple syrup. Combine sugar and 1/4 cup of the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir frequently to dissolve the sugar. When boiling, remove from heat, add thyme, and stir for 1 minute. Let cool.

Place the watermelon, 1 cup water, and ice in a blender on high for 2 minutes or until smoothly pureed. Add cooled simple syrup, tequila, and orange liqueur and blend until thoroughly combined. Pour into martini or margarita glasses and garnish with thyme sprigs.

Source: Adapted from Chef Marcela’s Mexican Made Easy.

Filed Under: Drinks