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Stuffed Potato Skins.

Published on December 30, 2012December 2, 2013 by KellyInTheKitchen4 Comments

Mmmmm. I love when amazing recipes are born of leftovers. What to do with leftover Christmas ham? This is a totally sumptuous and indulgent use of that holiday bounty, and it’s worth it in every way. My stuffed skins are the lovechild of a twice-baked potato and a potato skin, with the best of each coming together in this dish. It’s the steamy meatiness of a twice-baked, with the crispiness and the magical fillings/toppings of potato skins. Make this now or forever regret missing a wonderful food opportunity!

INGREDIENTS

8 medium baking potatoes, washed
canola oil
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 tbsp butter
3-5 tbsp milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp seasoning salt (I used Bridgeport seasoning from the Spice House)
1 1/2 cups ham, diced (great for any holiday’s leftovers!!)
salt and pepper to taste
5 scallions, chopped

Just the Recipe link: Stuffed Potato Skins

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Rub each potato lightly with oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake until fork-tender, about 40 minutes.

While the potatoes cook, get the toppings/fillings ready. Shred the cheese, dice up the ham, and chop the garlic and scallions.

When the potatoes are done, slice them in half long-ways and use an oven mitt hold them while you scoop out the middles. You want each potato to have enough room to stuff with filling, but enough potato remaining inside so that it still holds its shape. Put the potato meat that you scoop out into a large mixing bowl. Place the empty potato skins back in the pan, drizzle with olive oil, and put back in the oven to crisp up a bit more, about 10-15 minutes (or longer, if you want the skins really nice and crispy. I didn’t have the patience to wait!).

Now, mix up the filling. Stir together the potatoes with the sour cream, milk, butter, garlic, seasoning salt, ham, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of the cheese.

Take the skins out of the oven and stuff with the filling.

Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Bake until the cheese is melted and the skins are even crispier. Sprinkle with scallions. These go great with sour cream and/or ketchup. Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

Published on December 22, 2012December 22, 2012 by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

File this one under “tons of flavor in less than 20 minutes.” Also file it under “food for when you’re pretending it’s snowing,” because that’s what I did yesterday. It’s been something like 300 days since Chicago has had any measurable snowfall, and despite a snow-optimistic forecast, it’s just not happening for us. I woke up Friday morning to a depressingly still-green backyard, and it’s hard to feel Christmasy with such balmy weather. Global climate change is really throwing a wrench into my Christmas spirit! So I made this tasty, toasty dish for lunch, and I’m crossing my fingers we’ll get a white Christmas in the next few days. Until then, broccoli cheddar soup is a good distraction.

INGREDIENTS

olive oil
butter
1 tsp all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups stock (I used leftover beef stock)
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
a few handfuls of broccoli (I had some leftover cauliflower so I threw that in too)
about 1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese (don’t measure. Just add as much as you want.)

DIRECTIONS

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat a splash of olive oil and a bit of butter and add the flour, stirring constantly. Cook about a minute, then add the garlic and cook another minute. Pour in the half and half, stock, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Bring to a low boil and add the broccoli. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is tender.

Remove from heat and pour into a food processor or blender. Add the cheese and blitz to your liking.

Serve with bread and butter and cross your fingers it will snow before Christmas.

Roasted Carrots.

Published on November 29, 2012November 29, 2012 by KellyInTheKitchen5 Comments

Nothing fancy here, just an easy side dish. But there’s something kind of magical that happens when you roast carrots this way. They develop a silky texture with a warm, rich flavor that’s both sweet and savory. I love these—if you’re not usually a cooked carrot fan, make these and you will totally rethink your stance on the vegetable. They go great with baked chicken, lamb steaks, pork chops, and almost any other simple main dish you can think of. And the added perk that makes me even more excited about this recipe is the garlic cloves: after the carrots are done and the cloves are softened in the oven, toast up a piece of crusty bread, slather it with some good butter, and then spread the garlic all over that baby. Just don’t try to kiss anyone afterwards. Or alternatively, make them eat some garlic, too.

INGREDIENTS

6-10 whole carrots, washed and dried
olive oil
salt
pepper
3 cloves garlic, skin on, crushed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a pan or baking dish, toss carrots in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Drop in the garlic cloves.

Bake until tender and slightly caramelized. Yum.

Chicken and Rice Soup.

Published on October 3, 2012October 2, 2012 by KellyInTheKitchen4 Comments

I started out the week feeling a bit under the weather. On Monday, I got home from after-work cocktails, ate a quick dinner, and got right into bed. Still not at my best on Tuesday, I went right home after work and decided to jump on my sickness problem with an good old-fashioned remedy: I poured a glass of red wine and made this soul-warming soup…which I ate in bed under my cozy comforter while watching the Cubs lose another game. I’ll be sure to make a note here if I make a miraculous soup-driven recovery, but either way, mannnn was this soup good. Most soups with this much flavor take at least an hour or two to cook, but this one only takes about 45 minutes total! Lightly spiced chicken, rice, and veggies in a warm, comforting broth: just what a sick girl needs.

INGREDIENTS

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp powdered ginger
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup brown rice
1 tsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium potato, diced
6 cups stock or broth (I used homemade chicken stock)
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaves

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350. Season the chicken breast with cumin, ginger, red pepper flakes, coriander, salt, and pepper. Wrap it in foil and bake until just cooked through, about 25 minutes.

In a small pot, cook rice according to package directions. We want the rice slightly “al dente,” since it will be going in the soup pot after it’s cooked.

In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat butter and add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and potatoes. Cook about 3 minutes, until starting to soften.

Pour in stock or broth and season with parsley, marjoram, salt, and pepper (be generous with the pepper!). Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer about 20 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked, shred or cut it up into bite size pieces and add it to the pot. Cook an additional 10 minutes or so.

Garnish with fresh parsley and prepare to be comfort-fooded.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Homemade Garlic Mayonnaise.

Published on September 1, 2012August 31, 2012 by KellyInTheKitchen5 Comments

There are certain recipes that all chefs should know how to prepare. Some are grand and time-consuming, like coq au vin or borsch, and others are simple and versatile, like cream scones or chicken stock. Often these types of recipes are all about getting the technique right, which can be much more difficult than it sounds. I always have a couple of difficult recipes that I’m working on, trying a few times to make sure I’ve got them right before I post anything about them. Luckily for me, homemade mayo was one I got right the first time! It takes a strong arm, a steady hand, and a good eye, but it really isn’t so difficult when you get down to it. A whisk here, a few drops there, followed by a bit of frantic whisking-while-pouring, and you’ve got yourself a beautiful homemade mayonnaise. Crispy golden brown Brussels sprouts are the perfect accompaniment to this garlic mayo, but you’ll definitely have some leftovers on you hands, so go crazy and mayonnaise it up while you’ve got this beautiful fresh stuff around. Chicken salad sandwiches maybe? Or BLTs spread with a generous glob of mayo on perfectly toasted wheat bread? If there ever were a time to be glamorous and indulgent with your food, it’s when you’ve got access to your own homemade mayonnaise.

INGREDIENTS

for Brussels sprouts:
a few handfuls of Brussels sprouts, the smaller ones halved and the larger ones quartered
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

for mayonnaise:
1 egg yolk, room temperature (raw egg warning blah blah blah)
1 tsp vinegar (I used white vinegar)
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
not quite 1 cup oil (I used a mixture of olive and canola, with a bit more olive than canola)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread in a single layer on a foil-lined pan. Bake until slightly crispy and browned.

While the Brussels sprouts cook, mix up the mayo. Whisk together egg yolk, vinegar, and mustard. Whisking constantly, add a few tiny drops of the oil mixture at a time until the mixture emulsifies. Add the rest of the oil in a steady stream until it’s all incorporated into a smooth, pale yellow mayo.

At this point, whisk in the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic.

That’s all! Scoop the mayo into a ramekin and serve it as is, at room temperature, or cool it off in the fridge for a while. Serve as a dip with the hot Brussels sprouts. You’ll have a lot of mayo leftover, so do something amazing with it (it won’t last as long as preservative-y store-bought mayo so use it up quick!).

Baba Ganoush.

Published on August 12, 2012August 12, 2012 by KellyInTheKitchen7 Comments

I’m no farmer and I don’t know anything about the seasonality of produce. Visiting most American grocery stores, the average shopper would have no idea when various fruits and veggies were in season, because stores sell pretty much everything, all year round. And while it can be nice to have fresh avocados in winter and apples in spring, there’s really nothing as good as in-season local produce, picked by farmers and eaten by me on the very same day! On Saturday morning at the farmers market, I saw more eggplants in more different varieties than I even knew existed, so my keen non-farmer Spidey Sense tells me it must be eggplant season in the midwest. I picked up a nice big one and made this classic Middle Eastern roasted eggplant spread. Go get your own before the season passes!

INGREDIENTS

1 large eggplant
4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp tahini
2 tsp lemon juice
fresh parsley, chopped
1/8 tsp hot paprika, plus more for dusting
salt and pepper to taste