Thursday 29 November 2012

'NACH'O AVERAGE POTATOES



As everyone knows, the whole purpose of preparing a lavish feast is to surround ourselves with the people we love. (Or is it the other way around.....? I can never remember.) Nevertheless, in our family, love of food and each other is so intertwined that at times we seem unable to distinguish between the two.
The good news-bads news scenario is that one of us always seems to be coming or going. Which naturally equates to the perfect excuse (welcome home or farewell) for feast and fun!
We paired these potatoes with a highly acclaimed Hot Sauce Turkey, and couldn't decide which one was actually the main course.
(Check out upcoming Disheveled Chef blog for Hot Sauce Turkey recipe).



                                                  'NACHO'O AVERAGE POTATOES




12 Large Russet Potatoes
2 cups sour cream
4 tablespoons hot sauce
8 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (more or less, according to your taste. Or sub parsley)
1 tablespoon onion powder
11/2 cup crushed nacho chips (your choice of flavour, I used chipotle. Yum!)
(plus reserved nacho chips for sprinkling)
4 cups shredded mexican-blend cheese (plus extra for sprinkling )
Salt
Pepper

Toppings (Optional)
Salsa
Sour Cream
Guacamole

Scrub potatoes, pierce a few holes in them with a fork, and bake at 425 F for about 11/4 hours, or until soft. When they're cool enough to handle, cut them in half lengthways. Then scoop out the insides, leaving about a 1/4 inch of potato around the edge. Place scooped out potato in very large mixing bowl.

Lightly mash the potatoes, and stir in the rest of the ingredients until well combined (keeping aside the reserved nacho chips and cheese). Be careful not to over mix though, as the potatoes could get gluey. Taste for salt and pepper, adjust if necessary. Also, if filling appears too dry, you could add more sour cream or even a bit of milk.

Now, evenly distribute filling in all the potato shells. Sprinkle with the reserved nacho chips and cheese.

Place on large baking sheet (with this amount you'll need two). Bake at 425F again for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melty. I like to switch racks halfway through.

Serves 24 (ideally)
Serves 12 (realistically)




Thursday 1 November 2012

Roast Eggplant Bruschetta Chicken


Although I love the organic produce delivered to my doorstep each week, at times it can be a bit of grab bag. Last Friday, upon discovering an immense eggplant lurking amongst the yummies, I knew to expect unrest around my kitchen table. My husband (usually a staunch fan of my culinary skills) had thus far rejected all my wily attempts to fool him into enjoying the purple pretty.

However, this particular concoction met with applause. Success! The flavours of the chicken drippings, the tangy acidity of the tomato mixture, the oven browning prior to adding the other ingredients...these things all added up to transforming the eggplant into something beyond a mere vegetable (well, actually a fruit, but that’s a whole other blog) and into a silken carrier of scrumptiousness.





Roast Eggplant Bruschetta Chicken



6 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, halved
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise, about 1” thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
1 28 oz can good quality tomatoes, drained
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1 tablespoon dried oregano

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil. Lay the eggplant slices atop. Brush eggplant with the with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, brush chicken breasts with remaining olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Lay chicken on top of eggplant slices and roast for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned.

Remove chicken/eggplant baking sheet from the oven, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Combine remaining ingredients, breaking up the tomatoes a bit. Pour this mixture over the chicken. 
Return entire thing to the oven and roast for about another 40 minutes or until chicken is  no longer pink.

Great spooned over rice, pasta or baby roast potatoes