Lemon Potatoes

A few years back I had the opportunity to visit a restaurant in Houston called Niko Niko's, a greek place. I knew it would be good, as when I went at 8pm, it was dark and the line was out the door. I finally got to sample some of the food, and it was really very good and well worth the wait. I went back a few times before I moved, and I got, what they called "oven potatoes". I couldn't quite identify all of their ingredients, but I knew it was cooked in Lemon juice. It seems so odd to do this, but the subtle flavors were fantastic! I tried to recreate them, much to no avail but I did get close and make quite a good side dish in my experiments.


First, take some medium Potatoes and slice them in half only. Boil them separately for 10 minutes. We're not going for soft, just starting the process. We'll be roasting these, and to get them roasted all the way through the tops would burn if you're not really careful. Preheat your oven to 425F

Next, take your Lemons, roll them on the counter to break up more juice, and squeeze them into a 9 X 13 pan.

Don't worry about the seeds, you won't be eating them, so just squeeze with all your might into the pan. Add in about 2 tbsp of Olive Oil, 2 tsp Salt and 2 cups of water to the pan.

Once that's done, remove your par-boiled Potatoes from their other pot and place them into the dish. It should barely cover the tops of the potatoes.

Pop these in the oven for 30 minutes, checking on them occasionally. As the water boils down the tops of the potatoes will be exposed towards the end of the cooking process, crisping the tops, but not burning them.

This is the basic recipie, I've found that a bit of Rosemary or Oregano will add more depth, but really it's up to the individual.


3-4 medium russet Potatoes peeled and cut in half lenghtwise
2 medium Lemons
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Oregano (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F. Peel and cut Potatoes lengthwise in half. Par-boil Potatoes for 10 minutes. Juice lemons in 9 X 13 pan, add water, Olive Oil, Salt and Oregano. Add Potatoes to 9 X 13 pan. Place in oven for 30 minutes, checking occasionally. Check with a fork to ensure the Potatoes are tender. Once Potatoes are done, remove from the oven, and serve.

The Incredible Edible... Bean?

One of my favorite foods just so happens to be Beans. I'm rather partial to Pinto, and Black Beans. Packed with fiber, protein, and tons of other great nutrients, Beans often rank in the top 10 of healthy and tasty foods.

Beans themselves are quite plain. No flavor really at all. In this case, that's perfectly fine, because beans love to absorb flavors. Starting small and dried out that you find in the store, as they sit in whatever liquid, they readily absorb whatever you place in front of them, ready and able to be transformed!

Now, what you have to decide before you start is, what kind of bean do you want? Black? Pinto? Red? They are each best spiced with their own variations. Pinto is more of a rural, rugged bean from the old west. Black complements Mexican food greatly. Red is excellent in chili, and in Cajun food. I have memories from the past of having Beans, Cornbread and Ham for dinner. Ohhhh, delicious Beans!

Regardless of the bean chosen, the kind you start with is dry. You have to soak it. In the past, the soak was done overnight. You dump the beans into a wide pot, or a plate, pick out the bad beans (visible defects, half beans, rocks), rinse them a few times (a colander comes in hand here), then place them in a deep dish full of water overnight. You can speed up this process by heating the water to a boil, then cutting the heat. This will speed up the liquid absorption to around 4 hours.

If you notice in the above picture, I have some spices added. Me personally, I like to add in some flavors to the water. Onion powder, Garlic powder, Chili powder. Some folks may think this wasteful, but the water I covered these beans with didn't have any flavor, and the beans are absorbing the water, soooo... Also, you want several inches above your beans. These puppies will absorb liquid like mad and will expand greatly.

4 hours soak on the left, un-soaked on the right

Once soaked, drain the beans and rinse with clear water. Then comes the cooking part!

First, I start out with a mirepoix of 2 Celery stems, 1/2 of a medium Onion, diced, and 2 whole Carrots, peeled and diced.

Once the mirepoix has mingled for a few minutes, add into a large crockpot. Add your soaked beans, and about 4 cups of water, or better Chicken stock. Add spices, Pepper, Bay leaf, Garlic, Thyme.

 Hold off on the Salt till finished. Salt makes the skins on the beans less receptive to liquid, and a bit tougher. Once cooked, add Salt to taste.

2 Lbs  Pinto Beans

2 Celery stalks, chopped

2 Carrot, chopped

1/2 white Onion, chopped

2 Tsp Garlic powder

1/2 Tsp Thyme

1 Tsp Black Pepper

2 Bay leaf

Salt to taste

6 cups Water (or Chicken stock)

Sort beans, and soak overnight, or boil briefly for 1 minute, then sit for 4 hours. Rinse. In a sautee pan combine chopped Onion, Carrot, and Celery over medium heat. Sweat for 3 minutes. Once completed, add to a large crock pot. Add Beans, Garlic powder, Thyme, Pepper, Water/Chicken stock (enough to cover the beans with about 1/2 inch of liquid), and Bay leaf. Stir intermittently while cooking. Cover, set heat on crock pot to high. Cook for 8-12 hours in crock pot. Monitor and add 1/2 cup Water/Chicken stock as needed to keep beans slightly submerged with liquid. After 8-12 hours, check for tenderness. Add Salt to taste. Enjoy!

An afterthought here: I really like beans. They have good flavor, are versitle, and freeze well. A few years ago a person I met wanted to make a BBQ dinner for some folks, and brought along some tasty Pinto beans. I talked to him briefly, commenting that it tasted quite a bit like what I've had in the past, and asked him if he had any pointers. He asked me if I wanted to know the secret to "makin' a good bean." I replied yes, curious to what his experience could pass to me. His reply: "The secret to making a good bean is.... well you just gotta make it right!" I'm not sure if he was holding back, or if it was a family secret. I stood for a few moments waiting for something a little more tangible. He merely shook his head and said "Yep, make it right." 

Thanksgiving casserole

Like a lot of folks, my favorite time of the year is the holiday season. And what better season for food than Thanksgiving!

For years my favorite side dish has always been Broccoli and Rice casserole. I've had many variations on this, most are fine, a few a bit off, but the original I've had (of course, the best) was taught to me by my mother and I've cooked it exactly the same over the years. I've tried variations, and this is one of the few recipe that is best in it's final form. It gets rave reviews across the board, so if you're looking for something to try, you can't go wrong with this. I like to make this a few times a year, so it's not just for the holidays. 

First, I chop half of a medium onion into a dice. Then... oh my, is that picture correct? Is that... Cheeze Whiz? Indeed, it is. Some butter? Oh man, you're singin my tune, and is that.... oh my! Cream of Mushroom soup? Is it that versatile? Answer: yes.

Ok, once you've realized what you're prepping for (oh my I almost forgot the Brocolli!) it's time... to start your engines! I melt the butter on medium heat, add onion and sweat. This will take about 3 minutes total, I'm not looking for browning. Browning in this recipe isn't desired, just cook the onion till it's semi-see-through. 

Now, from there I add about 3 cups of white rice (this makes a lot by the way) to the onion mix. I stir it around for a few turns, then add the 'Whiz, and Mushroom soup. Mix in for a few turns until the rice, 'Whiz and Mushroom soup is worked together.

Then I add in about a quart of milk, and 1 package of chopped Broccoli. This may seem like a lot, but that rice is thirsty, and will expand greatly. Now, make sure the heat is at medium, and stir constantly. I know you heard me but I must insist, STIR, CONSTANTLY! With this much dairy, if you leave this alone for longer than 2 minutes, the bottom WILL scorch. You DO have to baby this, but trust me, it's well worth it! Be sure to scrape along the bottom of the pan, because this dish loves to build a crust on the bottom and build a nasty scorched layer. If you have kids that are learning to cook and are reliable, have them stir it constantly. 

You may have to add more milk to the pot as it cooks slowly, this is fine as it adds to the richness of the dish. If it's not cheezy enough for you, add some Velveeta cheese, or some more Cheeze Whiz if you have some.

The dish may seem a bit loose at first when you take it off of the heat, but trust me, it will firm up after about 30 minutes away from heat. It re-heats VERY well, and is good if properly 'fridged for about a week. Long enough to enjoy with the 458 variations you need to think about for your Turkey extras! I love to eat this with some Cranberry sauce; delicious!

1/2 medium Onion chopped

1/2 stick Butter

1 pack chopped Broccoli

1 jar Cheese Whiz

1 quart Milk

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

3 cups white Rice

Sweat chopped Onion with 1/2 stick Butter. Mix 3 cups rice with sweat'ed Onion, add Cream of Mushroom Soup, Cheese Whiz. Mix for 30 seconds until incorporated. Add Milk. Stir CONSTANTLY. Add Milk as necessary. If extra "cheesyness" is desired, either add more Cheese Whiz, or 2oz Velveeta cheese. 

Marinara!

So, I've been looking for a long time for a good marinara sauce. I love the sauce that comes with the mozzarella sticks, and often I use the sticks just to get more sauce. It looks so simple, yet tastes like it was simmered all day in a vat of deliciousness. Depth, richness, and totally tomato.

So I looked up a recipe, and saw such variations that it made my mind hurt just contemplating the variances. So I gathered what I had, and I gave it the ol college try! I was missing a few of the "absolutely vital" ingredients, but I strove ahead anyways. What is exploration without a little chance right? So we strive ahead readers!

I started with about 3 Tbsp Olive Oil, and half of a diced Onion.

DICED! Your move!

I sweat the onion in the heated oil for about 2 minutes. We're not looking for carmelization, just sweating and translucence. Add some minced Garlic and let it mingle.

Onion + garlic = mingle heaven!

Once the Onion and Garlic have mingled together in the oil, it's time to bring some crushed Tomato to the party, and some SPICES!

Feel the mingling, FEEL IT!

Once the Tomato has been incorporated, turn the heat down and let it simmer. Small, slow bubbles are good, large rapid bubbles, not so much. Let everything mingle together. HEY! Consider it to be a slow dance. The Tomato has got to get to know the Onion and Garlic.

One the sauce is finished, I placed the Meatballs from the previous recipe into the Marinara sauce. Honestly, I had a picture of it, but it was so delicious that... I ate the picture too!

3 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 medium Onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Salt
1 Bay Leaf
1 heavy pinch black Pepper
1 can crushed Tomato
1 Roma Tomato, diced

Heat Olive Oil over medium heat, add diced Onion and Garlic. Sweat for 3 minutes. Add crushed Tomato, Bay Leaf. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes.

From here you can add some Rosemary, Thyme, Basil or more Garlic. This sauce is really flexible, so put what you want in it. This is great with Meatballs, regular pasta, Mozzarella sticks, you name it!

That's a spicy meatball!

Well, not really spicy persay, but tasty? In the words of Mr. T. : I pity the foo (that doesn't like these meatballs)!

I always wanted to make meatballs. Before we'd always just put ground beef in the sauce and it was quite good, but I wanted something that stood out. I'd never made meatballs, but I'd had them before. Some were good, most were old "family recipies" that just fell too short in the taste area, tasting like cooked meat without spice. So I wanted to make my own, and I did last week!

I took 1 cup Bread Crumbs, 2 Eggs, 1.5 lbs ground Beef, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Garlic powder, 1/2 tsp Pepper.

So after combining the ingredients, I started to work with the greatest tool ever invented for food preperation: the Hand. From there, I combined, by hand, the ingredients until they were all integrated equally. While this was a bit dry, I did add in bits of beef stock as needed, about 1/2 cup or so, it depends on how much moisture your meatballs desire. You're looking for all the bread crumbs to get worked into the meatballs. If you still have some crumbs hanging out in the bowl, use a bit more stock/water until it's worked together.

Once everything is integrated, it's time to roll by hand. I took a decent chunk, about a golfball in size or so and rolled it in my palms until it was roughly round. From there I placed the meatballs in a greased pan. You can use some olive oil, or merely nonstick spray.

I left a decent space between each meatball so they could cook on all sides. I used 2 pans here, as I ran out of room in the first.

Once each pan was lined up, I popped these babys into a preheated oven @ 350 for about 25 minutes.

They came out beautifully, nice and firm on the bottom with a slight crust, fully cooked all the way through. Don't worry, I'll show you next post what I did with them the following day (OMG Yes I waited till the next day to eat them, I still don't know how I resisted!).

1.5 lbs 85/15 Ground Beef (you can use 90/10, I chose a slightly higher fat content for moisture)

1 cup Bread Crumbs 

1/2 cup Beef Stock (varies on how much you'll need)

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Pepper

2 Eggs, beaten

The Meatballs your grandmother made were delicious because of the amount of bread crumbs she used. Meat was a scarcer resource back in the day. Breadcrumbs hold onto moisture, making Meatballs more tender, so don't skimp on the crumbs and add more meat in. 

Combine all above ingredients into a large bowl. Add Beef Stock in at bit at a time until all the bread crumbs are thoroughly mixed in with the meat. This will take about 2-3 minutes of constant kneading and adding stock. You can add more pepper/garlic as your tastes permit. Once combined, pull of about a golf ball sized bit of mix, and roll between your palms. Place in a greased pan with 1/2 inch between each Meatball. Bake in an oven @ 350 for 25 minutes. Don't stir the meatballs! They'll develop a delicious crust on the bottom of the Meatball.

From there the applications are great. Add to a tomato sauce for Meatball subs, add to pasta for mega Meatball pasta. Drizzle with an Alfredo sauce for creamy goodness. I'll show you later how I applied it to a marinara sauce I stumbled into. Enjoy!

Dilled Potatoes!

I was experimenting one day on how to make fries healthier. While I enjoy the crispy exterior, and fluffy creamy interior, I didn't enjoy the higher amounts of fat and calories that came with one of my favorite junk foods. The obvious solution was to bake the potatoes, but they often fell short of flavor.

Then I remembered an item my mother used to add to her fried potatoes, onion! For some reason onion and potato go together almost as well as potato and rosemary. After that I tried different other accompaniments, and finally stumbled on dill when I was making cod one day.

First, the potato!

TA DAAAAAAAAH!

Once your potato is skinned, you want to cut it fairly thick. No shoestrings allowed here!

Yep, that'll do.

Depending on the number of people, I cut up between 2-4 large russet potatoes. Don't pile them on top of one another unless you plan on shuffling them around every 5 minutes inside the oven. I recommend a single layer if at all possible, but if you have a lot of people who are going to be eating some of these, use a larger pan and stir them around every 5-10 minutes. 

Add a bit of salt, non stick spray to the pan and about 1/8th cup of diced onion, not much is needed, but if you want more you can definitely add more. 

Add some salt!

Once salted and in the oven @ 425, let them cook for 20-30 minutes checking on them for fork tenderness. Once done remove and sprinkle with dill.

Crispy, and tasty!

Dilled fries with chicken.

This pairs well with fish, chicken, steaks, burgers ect. Just about anything you would normally use fries with, it will work well.

2-4 Russet potatoes
Salt to taste
1/8th cup Onion, diced
Non Stick Spray
Dill