Potatoes with Mushrooms and Peas

Ingredients: 300 grams potato chips, 1 onion, 250 grams mushrooms, 150 grams peas, 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce 2 spring onions,

Number of persons: 2

Put 300 grams of potato chipes with 1 chopped onion (frozen potato chips without oil, fresh potato chips with 1 spoonful of oil) in the ActiFry and put the ActiFry about 15 minutes on. Add 250 grams sliced mushrooms with 150 grams peas. Turn the ActiFry on for another 10 minutes. Mix 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup with 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce and put it together with 2 chopped spring onions in the ActiFry, turn the machine on for another 3 minutes.

Potatoes with Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients: 450 grams Country potatoes, 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, thyme, 100 grams cherry tomatoes,

Number of persons: 2

Put in the ActiFry 450 grams Country potatoes, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped garlic clove and thyme. Turn the ActiFry on for about 25 minutes. Add 100 grams cherry tomatoes cut in halves and turn the ActiFry another 5 minutes on. Serve the potato dish with a salad. Enjoy!

TWICE BANGED POTATOES

Because banging once is never enough!

Why bang once when you can bang twice or thrice and on and on? The first banging session is a warm up, a mulligan if you will. Sure it’s like the first ascent of a famed mountain peak, but sometimes you are too exhausted to really take in the view. Now that you’re onto round two you can savor it. You’ve been here before, so you are appreciating new aspects like the pubic foliage. I hope that the arduous journey (cooking) was worth the destination (banging). It would have to be if you are coming back for a sequel. If Godfather II, Empire Strikes Back and Evil Dead 2 taught us anything, it’s that the second time can be sweeter than the first. So warm that shit back up for late night spooning.

Total time: approximately 17 minutes
Projected cost: $10
Drinking Buddy: Milk or a

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 2 sprinkles of salt
2. 2 sprinkles of pepper
3. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
4. 2 large potatoes
5. ½ an onion chopped coarsely
6. 2 tablespoons of sour cream
7. 1 handful of fresh
8. 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
9. 2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese
10. 1 handful of goat cheese

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Drizzle the potatoes in olive oil and season with salt and pepper in a foil covered baking pan. Bake them taters until they are soft enough to poke easily with a fork (approx 1 hr). Remove from oven and let them cool down.

Step 2
Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Sauté the garlic, onions and basil in a pan. Slice a sliver off the top of the baked potatoes and scoop the potato meat into the pan, leaving the potato shell in tact. Mash up the potatoes and mix in the sour cream and goat cheese.

Step 3
Stuff the mashed potatoes back in their shells. Throw a handful of cheddar cheese over each potato. Bake until the cheese melts (approx 10 min), the same amount of time it will take your date’s clothing to melt right off. Serve with your favorite

Cumin Rubbed Sirloin with Basil Roasted Potatoes

Saturday night dinner is usually a bit more of a splurge, as we figure we are replacing going out to dinner. Even if we cook something fancy (like steak), it’s still cheaper than eating out. And honestly, this steak was better than anything I’ve ever had at the Outback.

This is our recipe. Simple but delicious. If you don’t know how to cook a good steak, go watch Good Eats with Alton Brown. That guy knows his stuff.

Cumin Rubbed Sirloin

INGREDIENTS
Sirloin or Ribeye Steak (approx. 1″ thick)
Cumin
Kosher Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pat steak dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt, cumin, and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.

Preheat a cast iron grill pan over medium high heat. Sear steaks for approximately 4 minutes per side (turn steaks 45 degrees after 2 minutes to get nice grill marks). Finish steaks in the oven for an additional 4-8 minutes, depending on thickness of steaks and desired doneness.

Wrap steaks in foil and let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Basil Roasted Potatoes

These are a staple in our kitchen. Delicious and tender, they go with just about anything. A great side dish. Also very versatile, try adding other herbs such as oregano, parsley, or rosemary, garlic, or other veggies to mix it up.

INGREDIENTS
Yukon Gold Potatoes, diced into 3/4″ wedges (bite sized)
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Fresh Basil, chopped
Yellow Onion, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray glass baking dish with nonstick spray or lightly coat with olive oil. Place potato wedges in pan and drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Sprinkle with chopped basil and onions. Toss.

Roast for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fork tender. Bigger pieces will take longer to cook.

Bourbon-glazed Baby Back Ribs with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Special occasions mean we get to treat ourselves to something normally out of our budget. This Christmas, that special something was a rack of baby back ribs. I have to say, I’ve never been a fan of pork, but this asian-inspired bourbon glaze would make anything taste delicious.

And compared to the all day endeavor that was thanksgiving, this seemed like a breeze. Really. You would think (or I would, at least) that cooking ribs is complicated. In reality, it’s easier than turkey (no temperature taking required).

Serve these ribs with the surprising wasabi mashed potatoes and some asparagus steamed and quickly seared in sesame oil, and you have yourself a delicious, albeit non-traditional, Christmas dinner. Now just wait until I post dessert…

We increased the cooking time on these to 90 minutes, with a slightly lower temperature than the original.

Bourbon-glazed Baby Back Ribs

Makes 6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
5 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup bourbon
1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon plum sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon hot chili paste or hot sauce (we used sriracha)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 2 1/4- to 2 1/2-pound racks baby back pork ribs
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

DIRECTIONS
To make glaze, whisk first 11 ingredients in small bowl. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place long sheet of heavy-duty foil on each of 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Sprinkle rib racks on all sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 rib rack on each foil sheet. Fold up sides of each foil sheet around rib rack to form boat-like shape. Pour 1/2 cup pineapple juice over each rib rack. Fold up foil to seal packets. Bake until ribs are tender, about 90 minutes. Remove ribs from foil packets. Transfer to roasting pan; pour any juices from foil over and cool. These can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Cut each rib rack in half. Grill until browned, brushing frequently with glaze and turning often, about 10 minutes. For the grill-less among us (ourselves included), broil the ribs for 4-5 minutes per side, until golden. Cut racks between bones into ribs.

Wasabi and Green Onion Mashed Potatoes

Makes 8 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons wasabi paste (horseradish paste)
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
1 cup chopped green onions

DIRECTIONS
Bring potatoes to boil in large pot of water. Reduce heat to medium; cook until tender, about 17 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, bring cream, butter, and wasabi paste to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Season with salt and pepper. Keep hot. Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat; add green onions and sauté until wilted, about 3 minutes. Set aside. Using potato masher in same large pot or ricer, mash potatoes. Stir in hot cream mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in green onions. Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in microwave, stirring occasionally.

Smoked Paprika Fingerling Potatoes

New Year’s Eve Eve gave us this delicious and balanced meal, the highlight of which might be Taylor’s smoked paprika fingerling potatoes. We paired them with a pre-marinated pork tenderloin from Trader Joe’s, and some roasted asparagus. Though we found this asparagus overly stringy, which I think was a result of the asparagus rather than us. Oh well.

If you’re serving these potatoes with some form of meat like we did, sear your meat, and then saute the potatoes in the same pan with all the delicious drippings. The leftover pork flavored oil did a lovely job of browning these for us, something we sometimes have a hard time achieving.

Smoked Paprika Fingerling Potatoes

Makes 2 side servings.

INGREDIENTS
12 fingerling potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

DIRECTIONS
Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes until tender, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool under running cold water. Once cool enough to handle, place the potatoes on a cutting board and slice in half lengthwise. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a 12-inch saute pan with the olive oil over medium high heat. Place the potatoes, cut side down, in the pan and cook the potatoes until browned and crispy, about 3 minutes. Turn over and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer potatoes to a bowl and toss with salt, pepper, and paprika until coated.