Warm Potato Gratin with Goat Cheese and Garlic

It's another rainy day here in southern California, and to be honest, I couldn't be more pleased. I LOVE rain. I love the sound it makes, the way it leaves the air so pure, and the earth so fresh and green. We haven't had a good rainy season here since at least 2005, so this is a rare treat and a blessing. I want to revel in every minute of it and treat myself to as many warm cups of tea, lazy afternoons snuggled up with a blanket and a good book, and winter comfort foods as possible!



Now if you live anywhere else in the world other than California, you are probably snowbound, grumbling about heating bills, and rolling your eyes right now. I know, I know. We have year round perfect weather, WE POOR CALIFORNIANS. Boo hoo us, right? I'm sorry. We make up for it with horrendous traffic, smog, and outrageous housing costs. Does that make you feel better? I thought so.

On to the food! This potato dish is something I have had on my "Cook this!" list for at least a year, and I don't know why I waited so long, because it is fantastic! If you like garlic (oh! I do!) and if you like goat cheese (oh! I really, really do!) you are going to love this. Meltingly tender with a tang of goat cheese and the rich roundness of garlic and cream.





Warm Potato Gratin with Goat Cheese and Garlic
Adapted from Epicurious.com

I suppose you can use any potato for this, but I love the Yukon Gold potatoes especially, and rumor has it they are better for you too. Of course, the FULL CUP OF CREAM might negate that, but who's counting anyway? Besides, beach season is soooo far away, and it's cold NOW. So lets enjoy warm comforting dishes now, and leave the calorie counting to, oh, May. Deal?

This is also one of those recipes that are impossible to get pictures of. It's always eaten up before I can get a shot! I have made this over and over again since we first tried it at Christmas, and this is the first time I was able to get pictures. So don't expect there to be leftovers, because it goes fast!


Ingredients
3-4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
5 oz soft fresh goat cheese (about 1 cup crumbled)
8 - 10 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take 8 - 10 garlic cloves...


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...and finely mince them.



Now get 3-4 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes...



... and peel them...



... until they are all peeled. Slice them thinly (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. I use my food processor slicing attachment, because I am lazy like that).




Now take 5 oz goat cheese...




... and place it in a mixing bowl.



Add in 1 cup heavy cream...



...and mix it together with the goat cheese, breaking up the goat cheese with a wooden spoon. (By the way, you can do all of this in a stand mixer, just be sure not to overmix the cream. Otherwise, you will end up with... garlic and goat cheese whipped cream. Yuck!)



Now add 1 cup whole milk and whisk until smooth.



Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt...



...one teaspoon freshly ground black pepper...



...and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.




Finish by adding the the minced garlic



Now you need, an empty baking dish. You want it to be empty, because we are going to put stuff in it.



Add enough of the cream mixture to coat the bottom of the pan, then layer on some of the sliced potatoes.



Fill the pan with 1/3 of the potatoes, and top with 1/3 of the garlic goat cheese cream.



layer another 1/3 of potatoes and 1/3 of cream, then the third 1/3 of potatoes and 1/3 of cream. Are you confused yet? I hope not. Otherwise you will screw it up FOREVER! Ok, not really. Make sure the top layer is pretty and neatly arranged, since you are going to have to look at it when you take it out. Or don't make sure: prettiness is subjective anyway.


Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender and top is golden.



Enjoy!

Steel-Cut Maple Nut Toasted Irish Oatmeal

People, my HOUSE flooded. Flooded! We had a wonderfully wet week here in Southern California, and speaking as a resident of a drought-ridden land, we enjoyed every minute of it. There was much curling up with mugs of hot tea, lots of warm soups and stews, and there may even have been some wearing of warm socks and sweaters. It was deliciously wonderful. Until, of course, my house flooded. That was NOT wonderful. Not at ALL.

I live in an older home that was built in the 1930's, and in that time the house seems to have sunk into the ground a bit. And by a bit, I mean about 3 feet. So we live at the bottom of a charming little hill, a fact to which I never paid a second thought. After all, it only really rains about every 5 years here. Of course, we happened to have that once-in-five-years rainstorm this week, complete with lightning, thunder, hail, tornadoes, and of course, flooding. Because when the rain really started picking up one afternoon, I noticed a rather large puddle forming at the bottom of that charming hill, right before my front door. And as it continued to thunder down, that puddle began to grow at an alarming rate, until it came right up to the front door. And then to my horror, it started gushing under the front door, and the next think I knew the carpet was sopping wet from one end of the room to another. I was left helplessly trying to soak up the mess with towels while frantically texting Nate to GET THE HECK HOME RIGHT NOW and oh, BRING SANDBAGS.

So the rest of the week was spent sandbagging the front door, moving furniture around (and of course the most heavily laden bookcases would be in the flood zone, of course!), pulling up the carpet, drying said carpet with very powerful fans, and all the other boring details of flood damage recovery. And once the furniture was moved and the carpet was already up, it seemed like as good a time as any to paint the living room, so that's exactly what I did.

What does this have to do with oatmeal you ask? Exactly nothing. But it does explain the lack of posting, and if you have been wondering where I have been all week, well, that's it! And of course, there is nothing like a warm, hearty bowl of oatmeal to get you going on a cold wet morning, particularly if your house happens to have flooded recently, and you need an extra cup of comfort to help you cope with the hideous muddy mess. And also, can we keep this a secret between you and me? Pretty please? This oatmeal is ridiculously good for you. It's so healthy that it really ought to taste awful, but actually? It's delicious.





Toasted Maple Nut Steel-Cut Irish Oatmeal
• gluten-free • soy-free • casein-free • vegan
• Serves 1 - 2

This is one of those recipes that was created out of necessity (hello gluten-free casein-free soy-free vegan baby!), but then turned out tasting SO good that now it's our go-to recipe. I love this oatmeal so much that I have been eating it every single day for weeks now. It's nutty, rich, and delicious. And may I point out just how GOOD it is for you?

First, you have the whole grain goodness of steel-cut oats, with a wonderful chewy texture and none of that rolled oat mushiness. Whole grains have tons of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, and can help reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes, etc. Then you have coconut oil which is wonderfully healthy for your heart, cholesterol, immunity, hair, skin, and nails, etc. (seriously, google it). Top that with almonds (rich source of vitamin E and cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated fats), pepitas (pumpkin seeds, which have iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin K, and zinc), and walnuts (also great for your heart, with lots of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, folate, and vitamin E). Also? Tastes really good. REALLY. I promise.

This recipe is for one large serving, but I find that I have quite a bit more appetite for oatmeal than my husband does. So if you like a small serving of oatmeal, you may want to halve this or serve it for two. And if you are going to feed a crowd, double and triple to your heart's content!

Ingredients
1/2 cup steel-cut Irish oatmeal
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or regular milk, or soy-milk)
1/2 cup water
1 tbs virgin coconut oil (or butter)
1 tbs grade A maple syrup + more to taste
1 tbs oat bran (or other type of bran such as wheat)
1 tbs raw almonds
1 tbs raw pepitas
1 tbs walnuts





Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil.




Add 1/2 cup steel cut Irish oatmeal and...




...toast oats, stirring occasionally, 4 - 5 minutes.




Add 1/2 cup water (stand back! It will sizzle!) and...




...1/2 cup almond milk.




Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until oatmeal is thick and grains are soft (the liquid tends to rise to the top, and the bottom can burn if you don't give it a stir now and then).




Remove oatmeal from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon oat bran...




... and 1 tablespoon grade A maple syrup. Stir well, until completely incorporated.




In a coffee grinder or mini food processor (or just eat them whole - I just love the taste and texture when they are ground up), grind 1 tablespoon almonds, 1 tablespoon pepitas, and 1 tablespoon walnuts.




Believe me, it's pretty fun. And it tastes good. Really, really good. I promise.




So tasty, in fact, it's hard to believe it's so good for you. Don't tell anyone. They'll never believe you.




Spoon oatmeal into serving bowl. Top with maple syrup to taste (I like about 1 glug, which I have very scientifically estimated to probably be about 1 tablespoon. Because I am precise like that). Top with nutty ground goodness. Enjoy!

Chili Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

I don't know about you, but for me and for the longest time, "sweet potatoes" conjured up images of mushy orange lumps poured out of a can, topped with a molten layer of charred mini-marshmallows. The only time I ever came in contact with a sweet potato was during the thanksgiving meal (their traditional venue), so I didn't really have to work hard to avoid them either. Like many of the other "scary" foods in the produce section (rutabaga anyone? Jicama?) I gave sweet potatoes a wide berth, and went straight for the more familiar Idaho potatoes.




This was, of course, a huge disservice to a totally delicious vegetable, because sweet potatoes, fresh (not canned) and not topped with high fructose corn syrup? Delicious! Nutritious! In addition to tasting wonderful (really), they pack a powerful nutritional punch. They are full of all kinds of healthy goodies, like beta carotene, vitamins C and B6, calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. Compared to white potatoes, they are a superfood! And add to that their low glycemic index, and you have one very body-friendly food, and did I mention how great they taste? Oh, I did. Well, just in case you forgot already, THEY TASTE REALLY GOOD.

This particular recipe is what got me turned onto sweet potatoes in the first place, and let me warn you: these are not your mother's sweet potatoes! Rich, sweet, smoky and spicy, these make a great snack or side dish. Try them with burgers, tacos, or grilled steaks, or try them as an afternoon snack.






Chili Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
Adapted from Everyday Food

Tis the season for sweet potatoes, so they are at their best right now. Look for ones that are crisp and firm, without bruises or soft spots. Store them on the counter, and don't keep them around too long. Unlike white potatoes, they store for weeks, not months, and once they get old they will get tough and lose their flavor.

If you want this recipe to be even lower on the glycemic scale (or you don't eat sugar, etc. etc.), I am sure you could substitute agave nectar, honey, or even grade A maple syrup for the sugar. The chili isn't actually very spicy, so if you want your potatoes to have a little more kick, you can also add in 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper.


Ingredients
3-4 medium sweet potatoes
2 tbs olive oil
1 tablespoon fine sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshy ground black pepper




Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut 3-4 medium sweet potatoes into wedges, and arrange on a baking sheet.




In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon fine sugar, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Whisk with a fork, and drizzle over sweet potato wedges.




Toss to combine, and until potatoes are completely covered in the chili sauce.




Bake in preheated over for 15- 20 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, and let cool.




Enjoy!

Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup • Gluten free! Or not.

This blog is seriously turning into a Barefoot Contessa fan page, isn't it? And two soup recipes in a row? But I can't help it! Ina's recipes are SO GOOD. They are exactly my favorite kinds of food: classics that have been updated to be lighter and brighter, and which pack a powerful punch of flavor. And of course, this soup is no exception.







Being a Californian (and not an Italian or from Ohio/Pennsylvania, where this soup is apparently very popular), I had never had Italian Wedding Soup before making this recipe. The most I had to compare it to was plain Jane chicken noodles soup, and may I say that this soup absolutely blows chicken noodle soup right out of the water? It's like everything that chicken soup ever wanted to be, it's so deliciously perfect. Not to mention that it's ridiculously easy. I love that the meatballs are baked in the oven; it's so much less work than frying them, and they are much less greasy and heavy than traditional fried meatballs. This isn't Nate's favorite chicken soup (go figure. Probably the dill), but it sure is mine. Next time I come down with a cold (or I just get a hankering for something warm and comforting) this is going to be the first thing I ask for.






Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup • Gluten free! Or not.

I had a dickens of a time finding chicken breakfast sausage, and I had to go to four (yes FOUR) grocery stores before I could find it. I finally found some at Trader Joe's, which is the only place I know of that carries it. If you can't find it anywhere, I think turkey breakfast sausage (as well as ground turkey) is much more widely available. Alternatively, you might use chicken/turkey italian sausage and even pork sausage if you really can't find anything.

The second difficulty for me was that the recipe calls for 1 cup of very small pasta, like stars. I haven never seen any gluten-free pasta that small, so I wasn't sure what to do. Finally (brilliantly, if I do say so myself), I gave some uncooked rice spaghetti a whirl in the blender, and it came out perfect! If you don't eat gluten-free then don't worry about it, but if you do end up using this method, keep in mind that rice spaghetti is much starchier than wheat spaghetti, and all that starch may thicken up your soup. To avoid this, you can use less pasta, or cook the spaghetti separately, strain and rinse it, and then add it to the soup. Or you can do nothing, if you don't mind a thicker soup (I don't).

For the Meatballs
3/4 lb ground chicken (or turkey)
1/2 lb chicken sausage, casings removed
2/3 cup bread crumbs (I like to pulse up leftover gluten-free bread in the blender, and then store it in he freezer until I need it)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (the kind that comes in a green can works great. Save the expensive fresh stuff for grating over the hot soup)
1 extra large egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons milk
kosher salt and freshly ground black Pepper

For the Soup
olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely diced carrots (2-3 carrots)
3/4 cup finely diced celery (2 stalks)
2.5 quarts chicken stock (10 cups, preferably home made)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta, such as stars or broken up spaghetti (precooked or not)
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
12 oz baby spinach
freshly grated Parmesan cheese


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together ground chicken, chicken sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Parmesan, egg, milk, and salt and pepper to taste (all the meatball ingredients). Using a teaspoon, scoop meatball mixture in even measures, placing each scoop on the prepared pan. Don't worry about making the meatballs round, just scoop and plop. Bake meatballs in preheated oven until firm and browned, about 30 minutes.

2. In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil, and saute onion and garlic until softened and translucent. Add carrots and celery, and saute another 5 minutes or so, until vegetables begin to brighten in color.

3. Add stock and wine, and bring soup to a boil. Add (precooked or not) pasta, and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes, until pasta is al dente and vegetables are soft.

4. Add meatballs, and dill. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Remove heat from pot, stir in baby spinach. Serve, top with freshly grated parmesan, enjoy!