Easy Breakfast Potatoes

/ pumpkinhoney / Leave a comment

Stephen & I always make a breakfast potatoes in the morning. It’s easy and it tastes great by itself or with eggs (any style). Tons of flavor and an easy way to sneak in some veggies – you can add anything you want.

I’d say I make this at least a couple of times a week and it doesn’t have to be for breakfast, if you’re looking for something lighter. It’d be great for lunch or dinner too. Hell, it’s potatoes, you (at least I) could eat them anytime of the day.

Stephen’s dad always makes what they call “country eggs.” He sautes the potato/onion/pepper and whatever seasoning he wants to add, then adds scrambled eggs directly to the pan, and finally when the eggs are cooked he lays some slices of cheese over the top to melt. Then he dishes it out with a few bottles of hot sauce for everyone to use as desired (for us, that’s A LOT of hot sauce please).

Breakfast Potatoes

  • Olive Oil
  • 5 Small/Medium Red Skin Potatoes
  • 1/2 – 1 Orange Bell Pepper, large dice
  • 1 Medium Onion, large dice
  • 1 Jalapeño, finely diced
  • 1 Tbsp Chili Powder (or to taste)
  • Dashes Vinegar-based Hot Sauce (Crystal is my favorite)
  • Salt & Pepper

If you’re under time constraints, sprinkle a couple tablespoons of water on the potatoes and microwave them for about 5 minutes to cook them through. Heat the oil over medium high in a large skillet (I highly recommend using a nonstick pan for obvious reasons) and then add the potatoes. After a couple of minutes, add the bell pepper, onion & jalapeño. Add chili powder & hot sauce. If you don’t like spicy you can use a few dashes of vinegar instead… it just brings out the flavor. Saute for about 15 – 20 minutes or until cooked to the “brownness” you prefer (crispy potatoes, soft potatoes, browned onions, etc). If you’re making eggs too, you can add them scrambled directly into the skillet for a “country” breakfast style hash.

Mushroom Risotto

/ pumpkinhoney / 2 Comments

Whenever I make risotto, I always want to make mushroom risotto. Sometimes I throw peas in too. And even though I want to try something new I always end up with mushroom risotto. It’s my fallback. Probably because it’s really really good. And probably because I always make risotto when it’s cold outside. Mushrooms, with their earthy, woodsy flavor in a rich risotto just scream autumn! winter!

I have a sinus headache that I can’t seem to shake so I apologize if the cooking instructions below don’t make a whole lot of sense! I shall revise at a later time. Honestly, I don’t really know the proportions I used so I’m about to guess… but I swear, risotto is super easy. You just have to be able to watch it & stir… which is really quite therapeutic.

 

Mushroom Risotto

  • Olive Oil & Butter
  • 1 1/4 Cups Arborio Rice
  • 1 Pack of Baby Bellas, diced
  • 1/2 Medium Onion, finely diced
  • 1 Shallot, finely diced
  • 1/2 Cup White Wine (preferably dry)
  • 5 Cups HOT Water
  • 1/4 Cup Dried Oyster Mushrooms
  • 1/4 Cup Dried Porcinis
  • Zest of One Lemon
  • Freshly Grated Parmesan (optional)
  • 1/2 Cup Frozen Peas (optional)
  • Fresh Thyme
  • Salt & Pepper

Soak the dried mushrooms in 5 cups of hot water and let sit for about 15 minutes or until reconstituted. Remove the mushrooms from the water and set the water aside to use to cook the risotto. Dice the mushrooms and add to diced fresh mushrooms.

Heat mushroom stock in small pot over low heat keeping it warm while cooking.

Heat oil & a pad of butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Saute the mushrooms with some fresh thyme (to taste) until lightly browned. Set aside.

In the same pot saute the onion and shallot until translucent. Add arborio rice and stir until covered in oil/butter. Add the white wine and stir. Add 1/2 cup of the mushroom stock and stir risotto until mostly absorbed. If adding peas, now would probably be the time. Continue adding stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring, absorbing, etc. cycle until risotto is cooked all the way through, tender and creamy.

When the risotto is done cooking, add the lemon zest & parmesan cheese. Stir to incorporate. If you want your risotto extra creamy you can add 1/4 cup of cream, otherwise the risotto tastes great without any added dairy (even without the parmesan).

Gingerbread (Cake)

/ pumpkinhoney / Leave a comment

Some people love ginger. Seriously love ginger. I would say my mother is one of those people. I REALLY like ginger. I like fresh ginger with my sushi, ginger crackers, ginger carrot soup, and ginger ale… but i’m not going to nom on some candied ginger anytime soon.

But I really LOVE gingerbread. Dense, moist, chewy, heavy, delicious gingerbread. Cake-like, full of flavor, full of molasses gingerbread. Whole Foods makes a gingerbread like this my dad used to bring home all the time. Mom would eat it with lemon curd. I’d microwave mine for 15 seconds and eat it warm. Now I have a recipe to make even better gingerbread. And it is so. damn. good.

It’s a perfect winter dessert. The cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and molasses give you this warm feeling inside that’s perfect against the cold weather. And the baking gingerbread makes your house smell like Christmas.

GINGERBREAD

Originally from Cook’s Illustrated

  • 3/4 Cup Stout
  • 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
  • 2/3 Cup Molasses
  • 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/4  Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Finely Minced Ginger
  • 1 1/2 Cups AP Flour
  • 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt
  • 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp Ground Ginger
  • 1/4 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper (optional)

To make gingerbread, preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9in square baking dish.

Heat the stout over medium/high heat in a medium-to-large pot, until boiling. Add the baking soda & stir. The stout will foam up in the pot. Turn off the heat & remove pot from burner.

When foaming subsists add the sugar & molasses and stir until dissolved. Using a whisk is really the best way to go. Scramble the eggs in a separate bowl. When the mixture is no longer hot, add the eggs, oil, and fresh ginger. If the mixture is too hot, the eggs will begin to cook. Ew, you don’t want that to happen. So be patient.

Add the rest of the ingredients… aka all the dry stuff… the flour, the cinnamon, the dry ginger, the black pepper, the salt, the baking powder. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. How easy is that?

Pour batter into prepared baking dish (I doubled the batch to make more than enough gingerbread for thanksgiving!). Bake in center of oven at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool & enjoy with some lemon curd, whipped cream, creme anglaise, milk, whatever tickles your fancy.

For the most part my relatives loved & raved about this gingerbread. Some were not so keen… my little cousin Ava adorably called it “too spicy.” But if you like ginger & love dense moist desserts, you will loooooove it. Omg, I need to go get a piece now. Ciao!!

Love,

Kelley