'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)

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

GOING GREENS

Today the world is green, and so too, must be our dinner plates! It’s the time of year to sprout fresh ways with, well, fresh things. As in chard greens, beet greens, kale, baby spinach, grown-up spinach.....mix and match till your heart’s content (and, oh yes, your heart will be content). Mother Nature is helping out in the kitchen big-time this summer, so let’s take advantage.

(I’ve used spinach in this recipe, but you could happily substitute any green of your choice. Also, you will have success making it a couple of hours ahead, if you cook everything just up to the point of wilting the spinach. That way it can hang out on the stove as you get on with the rest of dinner.)

SAUTEED ONION, TOMATOES AND SPINACH

¼ cup olive oil

2 large onions, diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, large dice

8-10 cups spinach

½ cup kalamatas, pitted

3 scallions, minced

Splash of red wine vinegar

Drizzle of white truffle oil (optional, but advised)

Heat olive oil to medium high. Add the onions and the mushrooms, sauté. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Turn the heat down slightly after the initial browning and let them go for a while, until deeply browned and sumptuous.

Add tomatoes and garlic and let them cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Toss in the spinach, kalamatas and scallions. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the spinach has wilted.

For the grand finale add the red wine vinegar and truffle oil (if you don’t happen to have truffle oil lingering in the cupboard, a bit more olive oil or a dab of butter will do the trick).

Consume with great gusto!

HEALTHY RESOLUTIONS? STEW ABOUT IT!

Ideal for a cozy fireside evening, this Cioppino (fish stew) really needs no embellishment. It’s a deliciously perfect one pot dish. And it has the added benefit of buoying up those annoying New Year’s resolutions, whatever they may be! However, I did have gorgeous fingerling potatoes lingering in the fridge (the dreaded lingering fingerling) and wanted to use them up. I considered adding them directly to the fish stew, but didn’t want them losing their distinctive shape. So, I cut them in wedges and roasted them with olive oil and herbs.

For serving, I placed some of the tender crispy potato wedges on the bottom of the bowl and spooned the Cioppino atop. This proved to be quite the clever idea, if I say so myself. Roasting the potatoes added a depth of flavour to the stew you wouldn’t get by merely adding them to the liquid to cook. Also, they provided a great deal of interest at the bottom of the bowl. Or, you could simply serve them on the side and use them as dippers. (We did both! Food decisions not being my strong suit).

SHRIMP AND HADDOCK CIOPPINO

1.5 lbs haddock (or any firm white-fleshed fish will do. eg cod), large dice

Salt & Pepper

Thyme

Olive oil

1 small lemon, thinly sliced

¼ olive oil

1 large white onion, minced

1 large red onion, minced

! fennel bulb, chopped (or 1 teaspoon fennel seed)

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Pinch of saffron (if you have it)

Pinch of dried chile flakes

Salt 

Pepper

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

11/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon  prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 dashes hot sauce (Franks in our case)

1 28oz can San Marzano tomatoes

3 cups fish stock (substitute chicken or vegetable stock if necessary)

1 pound large shrimp

Oven wedges for serving, if desired (highly recommended)

Season fish with plenty of salt, pepper and a bit of thyme. Toss with enough olive oil to coat the lemon slices. Let this all hang out for about 1/2 hour. Or refrigerate for several hours. 

Heat a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Heat the oil and add onions, fennel, oregano, thyme, chiles, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until onions and fennel begin to soften and brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and sauté for a minute or so. Pour in wine and reduce to about half. 

Add horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour. 

Add the haddock for about one minute, then add the shrimp. Simmer just until shrimp begins to turn pink. About 2-4 minutes. 

Serve over oven potato wedges with a big, crusty loaf of bread on the side!