Stuffed Potato Skins with Sour Cream Dip

We LOVED this recipe and it filled us up. My wife and I made it with a salad so it became our main meal rather than merely an appetizer, but this is truly "comfort food." The recipe serves 6 but we easily cut it in half for the two of us. We used panchetta rather than the bacon called for in the recipe and used different kinds of cheese on each of the potato skins rather than just blue cheese. If you make the potatoes ahead of time, this is a pretty quick and easy meal. The recipe comes from a book called, What To Cook and How To Cook It, by Jane Hornby. This is a GREAT book for beginners like me. It has a lot of pictures of all the ingredients - in case you don't know what a scallion looks like - and pictures of the preparation steps along the way. Have fun and ENJOY!

Serves 6

2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
6 large baking potatoes (such as russets), 8-9 oz each
1 tsp kosher salt
6 strips of bacon
1 cup sour cream
1 handful fresh chives
1 bunch scallions
5 oz blue cheese (any type)
salt and pepper

1) Preheat the oven to 400 F. Rub 1 teaspoon of the oil over the potatoes, then put them in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with the salt. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are golden and crisp. Turn the potatoes over halfway through cooking.

2) While you wait, chop the bacon into small pieces. Place a frying pan over medium heat, then add 2 teaspoons of the oil. After 30 seconds, add the bacon. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring often, until the bacon has released its fat, and is crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels to absorb the excess fat.

3)Make the dip. Put the sour cream into a bowl, then snip in the chives using a pair of kitchen scissors, and stir them in. Season with salt and pepper, then chill in the refrigerator until needed.

4) When the potatoes are ready, remove from the oven and let stand until cool enough to hold. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the soft fluffy potato from the middles, leaving a shell of potato skin about 1/2 inch thick all the way around.

5) Cut each potato skin in half lengthwise. Put the skins into the pan, skin side down. Use a pastry brush to brush them with the rest of the oil. Return the skins to the oven and bake them for 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, finely slice the scallions and cut or crumble the cheese.

6) When the skins are ready, increase the heat to broil (or turn the oven off and preheat the broiler if you have separate units). Sprinkle the cheese and the scallions over the skins, then top with a little bacon.

7) Broil the skins for 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve with the sour cream and chive dip.

YOU'RE DONE!!

Broccoli-Tofu Stir Fry

Boy was this quick and easy! And I felt that my wife and I were eating something filling but good for us as well. Is it appropriate to begin a sentence with "And?" Anyway, you'll see that the recipe calls for Szechwan sauce to be "optional." Please add it, unless you have trouble tolerating spices. That sauce gives the dish a "kick" that makes it more interesting. The calories per serving are about 410. I took this recipe from a book called , All New Light Cooking. Since the book is not new, it's probably more accurate to say it's really OLD light cooking. Hope you try it!

Makes 6 servings

2 cups uncooked rice
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) vegetable broth, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 package (16 ounces) extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups broccoli florets
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
     Prepare Szechwan sauce (optional)

1)  Cook rice according to package directions. Combine 1/4 cup vegetable broth, cornstarch, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil in small bowl; set aside. Drain tofu and cut into 1-inch cubes; set aside.

2)  Heat peanut oil in large non-stick wok or skillet over medium heat until hot. Add ginger and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes. Add remaining vegetable broth and broccoli, mushrooms, green onions, and bell pepper. Cook and stir over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add tofu; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir cornstarch mixture; add to vegetable mixture. Cook and stir until sauce thickens. Serve over rice with Szechwan sauce, if desired. Garnish, if desired.

Romance at it's FINEST!

Yep. After nearly 40 years of marriage, this is as good as it gets. This was my Valentine surprise to my wife. Okay, so we also went to dinner and a play but those things took place over the weekend before Valentines Day. What you see above is what my wife saw on February 14th as she arrived home from work. I had Toby Keith's song playing on the stereo - "You shouldn't Kiss Me Like This" - and we danced to that song. Simple........like me!! How was your "V Day?"

Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

This was a recipe I got from a cooking class I attended recently with a former business colleague. I always enjoy these classes because you get a copy of the recipe, you sometimes participate in the cooking of the dishes, you get to sample every one of the 4-5 recipes they make at every class AND they serve wine with the sampling........which makes everything taste better!

This dish came out spectacular. I cooked the broccoli rabe a little longer than they did in class so that it would be less chewy and it came out perfect. You can also substitute spinach for the broccoli rabe if you wish and the taste would still be perfection! Any other ideas on how to fine tune this even more to make it still more interesting?

Makes 4 servings

3/4 pound dried orecchiette or other small shell-shaped pasta
1 pound sweet italian sausage (removed from casings)
1 bunch (about 3/4 pound) broccoli rabe (also known as ropini), tough stems discarded, washed well
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Accompaniment:  freshly grated parmesan cheese


In a large kettle of boiling salted water, blanche broccoli rabe, remove with a large slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process. Drain well. Cut up into 1 inch pieces. Set aside.

In the same pot of boiling salted water, cook the orecchiette until very al dente!

While pasta is cooking, heat a large heavy skillet and add the olive oil. Add the sausage and saute over moderately high heat, stirring to break up chunks, until no longer pink.

Add the broccoli rabe and saute in pan with the sausage, stirring occasionally until it begins to brown. Add garlic and saute, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Add broth and raisins and simmer until broccoli rabe is just tender, about 3 minutes - a little longer if you want it softer. Add butter, stirring until incorporated. Add pine nuts.

Drain pasta and return to kettle. Add broccoli rabe / sausage mixture and heat through, stirring to incorporate all the flavors.

Serve pasta with parmesan and an additional drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Voila!

Pasta with Roast Tomatoes and Goat's Cheese

Now we're talking! Any time I find pasta to be part of a recipe, I'm excited! After eating pasta, I always want to take a nap. Sometimes before eating pasta, I want to take a nap. In a few more years, I'm afraid that I'll want to take one WHILE eating pasta.  Anyway, this dish is real COMFORT FOOD. This was the very first dish I made when I decided to take up cooking just a short time ago. I thought the best way to begin down the culinary road was to find a simple but delicious recipe. What better way to stick to my plan than to take a recipe from a book called, the Three Ingredient Cookbook by Jenny White. I figured, how can you screw up a recipe with only three ingredients? Try it.....you'll love it!

Serves  4

8 large ripe tomatoes
450g / 1lb any dried pasta shapes
200g / 7oz firm goat's cheese, crumbled
60ml / 4 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil
salt and ground black pepper

1)  Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F / Gas 5. Place the tomatoes in a roasting pan and drizzle over 30ml / 2tbsp of the oil. Season well with salt and pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes, or until soft and slightly charred.

2)  Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water, according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well and return to the pan.

3)  Roughly mash the tomatoes with a fork, and stir the contents of the roasting pan into the pasta. Gently stir in the goat's cheese and the remaining oil and serve.

Stuffed Tomatoes - YUM!

I made this with my daughter and other than the fact that I let the tomatoes get a little too soft, they came out great. I put them in the broiler rather than over hot coals outside because...well, because....it was too cold outside! I'm going to love making dishes with my wife and kids. My son is in London so we won't be making many dishes together but he is a pretty good cook himself. I look forward to when he and I can concoct something together! It's fortunate that he grew up perfectly normal seeing as how he could have been traumatized from an early age. When he was two years old, I took him to the supermarket with me and while he was playing in the toy aisle, I was trying to get everything on "THE LIST" that my wife gave me. This was a challenge for me so I really focused in on that list. So much so, that I checked out and headed home - forgetting that I brought my son with me. All the way home, I sensed that I had forgotten something on "THE LIST" and pulled it out while driving to double and triple check it. That uneasy feeling never left me and it wasn't until I pulled into the driveway that I remembered about my son. Before heading back, however, I remembered that I had perishables with me so I threw them in the doorway and asked my wife to put everything away. Thank God I didn't have to explain the situation to her until I had thought it through a little more. Phrasing is everything! Good news: I found my son still playing in the toy aisle when I returned to the supermarket AND I saved the perishables!
This recipe comes from a book titled, Practical Low Fat Cookery.

STUFFED TOMATOES     Serves 4
Prep time:  about 25 minutes   /    Cooking time:  around 10 minutes
4 beefsteak tomatoes
4 1/2 cups cooked rice
8 scallions, chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp pine nuts
3 tbsp raisins
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1)  Cut the tomatoes in half, then scoop out the seeds and discard.
2)  Stand the tomatoes upside down on absorbent paper towels for a few moments in order for the juices to drain out.
3)  Turn the tomatoes the right way up and sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper.
4)  Mix together with rice, scallions, mint, parsley, pine nuts, and raisins.
5)  Spoon the mixture into the tomato cups.
6)  Drizzle over a little olive oil, then grill the tomatoes on an oiled rack over medium hot coals for about 10 minutes until they are tender and cooked through.
7)  Transfer the tomatoes to serving plates and serve immediately while still hot.

REALLY GOOD!

                                    
Vegetable Lo Mein was one of the first dishes I ever made and that was just a few weeks ago. This not only tasted wonderful BUT looked just like the picture you see above (taken from a book called, All New Light Cooking by PIL Publications). I was very proud because, well, let me tell you where I started from just a short time ago: Before I retired, I knew absolutely nothing about cooking and I tried to take the initiative to warm up some soup for myself one evening. I understood the directions to say that I needed to put the soup in a pot and heat. That sounded easy enough! So, I put the can in a pot and turned on the heat. My wife came home from work and informed me that I was supposed to first remove the contents from the can BEFORE placing in the pot. Who knew? I am not a lot further along the cooking continuum right now but I did learn that lesson and successfully cooked the vegetable lo mein. I'm sure no one has done anything like that before.........but if you have, I'd love to hear it.

VEGETABLE LO MEIN     Makes 6 servings
8 ounces uncooked vermicelli or thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
3/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 cups sliced bok choy
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 cups shredded carrots
6 ounces firm tofu, drained and cubed
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup plum preserves  (not easy to find - plum jam will substitute)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1)  Toss vermicelli with sesame oil in large bowl until well coated; set aside. Heat vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet or wok over medium heat. Stir in garlic and ginger; stir fry 10 seconds. Add bok choy and onions; stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add carrots and tofu; stir-fry 2-3 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender.

2)  Combine vinegar, preserves, water, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until preserves are melted, stirring constantly. Combine noodles, vegetable mixture and sauce in large bowl; mix well.