Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Mashed and boiled have their merits, but sometimes you need a new way to serve potatoes. Scalloped Potatoes are my favorite side dish and go well with fish and pork. Use a mandolin to make the slicing process a snap.

CREAMY SCALLOPED POTATOES
(From Tide’s Table: Maritime Cooking from Inn on the Cove)


4 or 5 Potatoes, thinly sliced
¾ cup onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika
Unsalted butter
1 ½ cups milk, heated
Dash of paprika
Grated Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375°F

Arrange alternate layers of potatoes, onions and seasoned flour in a greased 2-quart casserole. Dot each layer with butter. Pour hot milk over top and sprinkle with paprika. Bake, covered for 45 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle with cheese; bake 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and top lightly browned.

Serves 4

Savory Roasted Butternut Squash Puree

Butternut squash is a fall staple. Hearty and slightly sweet, it can be used in countless ways, though the most popular preparation is roasted. This roasted butternut squash puree recipe makes for a savory side dish or a luscious filling for a delicious ravioli.

Savory Roasted Butternut Squash Puree

1 butternut squash
2 tbs of butter
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 sprigs of rosemary
salt
1 shallot, minced
1 tbs butter
3 tbs cream

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Rub the butter onto the squash halves and place cut-side up on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg and salt and place one spring of rosemary on each half. Bake in oven for 45 minutes to one hour, or until squash is tender.

Allow the butternut squash to cool completely. Remove the skin and cut into chunks. Place in a food processor and blend until smooth.

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the squash puree and cook until the mixture is slightly dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in additional nutmeg and salt, to taste.

Curried Quinoa

Quinoa is my favorite grain. It's quick to cook and tasty, makes a great side dish or vegetarian main. This recipe has a mild curry flavor and cashews which enhance the quinoa's natural nuttiness.

Curried Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup chicken broth

1 sweet onion chopped
3 carrots roughly chopped into smaller pieces
1 cup chopped spinach
1/3 cup currants, soaked for several hours
1/3 cup cashews

1/2 - 1 tsp curry powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
fresh cilantro
1 tbsp olive oil + some to saute vegetables

Saute onions and carrots in olive oil until onions have begun to caramelize. Add 1/4 tsp curry powder, a dash salt and continue to cook until onions are browned.

Combine water and chicken broth in pot and bring to boil. Add quinoa and reduced to medium. Quinoa takes only about 15 minutes to cook. While there is still some liquid in the pot, add the chopped spinach, cilantro and the curry powder.

Once cooked add the onions and carrots, currants and cashews. Toss with olive oil and lime juice. Serve as a side or as a main.

Fiddleheads with Lemon Brown Butter

Every spring I look forward to Fiddleheads -- baby ferns that taste like a cross between a french bean and an asparagus. I particularly like them served along side fish, they are perfect paired with some wild salmon (which you can start to get in the market around mid-april).

Fiddleheads with Lemon Brown Butter

1 1/2 lbs fiddlehead ferns
3 tbs. unsalted butter
1 shallot, diced
1 small clove of garlic, sliced
1 tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Clean the fiddleheads by rubbing them gently between your hands to remove any brown scales. Trim off any brown ends and before cooking, rinse the fiddleheads in cool water and drain.

In a small saute pan, melt butter over medium hear. When the butter starts to bubble, lower heat and cook, stirring until the butter turns a light brown and smells nutty (3-4 mins).

Immediately turn off the heat and add the shallot and garlic. Stir for 1 minute and add lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. keep warm.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. add the fiddleheads and cook until tender, but still crisp -- about 4-5 minutes. Drain and immediately toss with the brown butter.

Serves 6

Winter Salad with Beets and Goats Cheese

1 head romaine lettuce, dark outer leaves removed and hearts chopped
1 head radicchio lettuce, chopped
boiled beets, one per person
goats cheese
dried cranberries
toasted pine nuts

for vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tbs water
salt and pepper to taste
1 small shallot, minced

In a blender or food processor, combine the vinegar, oil, cranberries, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and water. Process until smooth.

In a large bowl, toss lettuces and with dressing. Thinly slice beets and arrange on the bottom of the plate. Pile lettuces on top of beets and sprinkle dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts and crumbled goats cheese.

Traditional Cranberry Relish

It's holiday cooking season which means there are a few staple dishes we all need recipes for. Cranberry relish for that turkey is one of them. This recipe includes orange juice and a dash of ginger for a little spice. It's a great compliment for that turkey meat.


TRADITIONAL CRANBERRY RELISH

16 ounces fresh cranberries, picked over removing squished and overripe berries
1 ½ cup granulated sugar, or to taste
¼ cup water or cranberry juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons orange zest
½ teaspoon ginger (optional)


First, combine sugar and liquid in a saucepan, stirring over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add the cranberries, zest and (optional) ginger and continue to cook over medium heat until the berries pop open (about 10 minutes). Be careful not to overcook. Skim the foam off the surface with a metal spoon and discard. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, covered. The relish tastes best when served the next day. Serves approximately 10.

Not Popeye's Spinach: Spinach with Currents and Pinenuts

Spinach is a great vegetable. But it's easy to run out of interesting ways to prepare it. This is a recipe I adapted from one found in a Spanish cookbook. Like a lot of my green cooked veggie sides, this one is seasoned with nutmeg. Of course, you can leave the spice out and just stick to regular old ground black pepper, but nutmeg really enhances the earthiness of the spinach. The sweetness of the currents and the buttery taste of the pine nuts balance the bitterness of the spinach. The amount of currents and pinenuts can be increased/decreased to your taste.

Served on top of grilled polenta or a potato pancake, this dish makes a great appetizer or tapas. I'll be posting my favorite polenta recipe in the near future, so keep an eye out.

Not Popeye's Spinach: Sauteed Spinach with Currents and Pinenuts

2 bunches spinach, rinsed twice with stems removed (baby spinach can be used to cut down on prep time -- you probably want to use two boxes or one large box)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup currents (raisins are an acceptable substitute)
1/3 cup pinenuts
nutmeg, salt, pepper -- to taste
1 tbsp salted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
flour

Soak the currents for several hours (1-4) in warm water. Drain and dry slightly. Toss the currents in a few tablespoons of flour, coating well and shaking off excess.

In a hot sautee pan, add butter, oil and pinenuts. Allow to cook for about a minute before adding garlic. Cook for another minute, being careful not to burn garlic. Add currents and spinach, tossing to coat with oil and garlic. Cook until the water from the spinach has evaporated.

Rustic Spanish Broad (Fava) Beans

By fortunate accident, I ordered these beans in a small family-run restaurant in Madrid, Spain. I spent the next three days scouring bookstores and tourist shops in the city until I found the recipe for these "Catalan Broad Beans." I adapted the recipe slightly to suit products and cookware available to me and I think the slight variation on the traditional recipe remains true to the flavours and is equally delicious -- it's become a staple in my house.

Shelling and de-skinning the fava beans is a bit of a chore, but the end result of the labor is worth it. The inner bean is tender and tasty and they cook up quickly (cook time for the whole dish is around 15 minutes).

Makes an excellent side dish or can be served over rice as a main.

Rustic Spanish Broad (Fava) Beans

2 cups shelled broad (fava beans) – outer skin also removed
2 cloves garlic minced
Serrano or Iberico ham cut into strips
1 small onion chopped
1 small glass (3-4oz) of sweet sherry
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
2 white sausages cut into rounds
Fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, chopped

Sauté onion and garlic in ample amount of olive oil, add the ham and cook until all items are transparent. Add the broad beans and parsley. Cover the mixture with water and add the glass of sherry. Cook until the beans are tender. Add the sausage.