This reminds me of my mother so much because she made the best ciambotta and she would pronounce it with an Italian accent, (Chumbotta) even though she was American born. I am so grateful for the simple Italian dishes I grew up on that used the fresh local vegetables of summer.

Once you eat this dish, you’ll make it again the next week. My husband ate three bowls last night, with some freshly made sourdough bread.

Ciambotta is typically made with zucchini, onions, tomatoes, and potatoes, and is similar to a French ratatouille, but is much thicker and more of a main dish than a side dish. I purchased the zucchini, peppers, potatoes and sourdough at the farmer’s market where I sell my keto bakes.

I used zucchini, green pepper, and potatoes purchased at the farmer’s market. I added onion, garlic, basil and a large can of Cento plum tomatoes. Sometimes I add in green beans, but I didn’t do that this time.

Add Left Over Meatballs or Sausage to Ciambotta if You Need Meat

If you happen to have some cooked meatballs or Italian sausage, you can always add those in, once the stew is done. However, we love this just as is.

Chop the zucchini into discs. Slice the onions and peppers into slivers. Saute onions, garlic and peppers in olive oil for about five minutes. Add zucchini. Saute another five minutes. Add in the can of tomatoes with a half can water, (more if needed). Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes. Add diced potatoes, cook for another 45 minutes on low or until potatoes are cooked. Add in more fresh herbs when ready. Serve with crusty bread, more olive oil and pecorino or parmesan cheese.

Similar Summer Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Stovetop Grilled Zucchini
• Italian Eggplant Stew
• Watermelon Gazpacho
• Linguini with Zucchini Sauce
• Garden Fresh Tomato Bisque
• Ribollita (Tuscan Soup)

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Ciambotta, and Italian Summer Stew

An Italian summer stew made with zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, green pepper and onion.

Course Stew

Keyword Ciambotta, Italian Stew, Summer Stew

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic sliced
• 1 large onion
• 6 zucchini
• 1 green bell pepper
• 28 ounce Italian San Marzano Tomatoes
• 6 yukon gold potatoes peeled, quartered

Instructions

Prepare Vegetables

• Slice onion into slivers.
• Seed and slice green peppers into slivers
• Cut zucchini cross-wise into discs.
• Peel potatoes and cut into large bite-sized pieces.
• Peel and thinly slice garlic.

Ciambotta

• Saute onion and green pepper in olive oil for five minutes. Add in garlic and keep stirring for a minute, careful not to burn garlic.
• Add in zucchini. Sauté for five minutes, continuing to stir.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add can of tomatoes, squeezing with hand. Fill the can halfway with water and add.
• Add in potatoes. Simmer for the next 50-60 minutes on low until potatoes are cooked through.
• Add in stems of thyme and basil.
• When done add in more torn basil. Serve with grated pecorino or parmesan.
• Serve with more olive to drizzle if desired.

The post Ciambotta, an Italian Summer Vegetable Stew appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I am embracing figs in the way figs should be embraced. As part of the mother of all comfort food, the roast chicken.

What do figs do for roast chicken? Everything. Figs usher in the Fall, which for us Americans means foods that echo us back to childhood, but for us foodies, we take it up a little notch. My mother didn’t roast her chicken with figs, because in that generation, it was carrots and onions, possibly potatoes.

In the generation before that, chickens were stuffed with rice and oranges one week and bread stuffing another. There are a thousand ways to make a roast chicken, and my goal in culinary life is to find them all.

Roast chicken with figs will be the dish of our Autumn. I will probably make it four or five times, changing things along the way. I will add in more shallots, because they became a bit candied in the roasting process and more divine than I anticipated. I might even add in more figs, because a bite of chicken together with a bite of fig is a new experience that I want to have again.

Figs are sweet in a not too sweet way, and when they roast down, they caramelize, adding a new texture and flavor which pairs well with chicken, white or dark. They are good eaten with a bite of roast potato that has been roasted with a mustard, garlic, olive oil, rosemary preparation. It’s amazing together.

I might suggest a salad with a tangy vinaigrette made with honey, champagne vinegar, mustard and olive oil, to help cut through the richness of the dish.

This is what I’m talking about when I say modern comfort food. It’s full of soulful flavor and texture, and it’s healthy, nutritious and looks a bit sexy too.

Roast Chicken and Dating

Marcella Hazan says in her book, Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking, that this lemon chicken recipe is something so special that men propose upon eating it. I agree that it’s a special dish, but I’m willing to bet that Roast Chicken with Figs is as equally seductive.

After a few months of courtship, show the man you can cook. Nothing is sexier than a roast chicken and a homemade apple pie. Sure, honey, he loves you for your brains, and your looks, but if you want to seal the deal by Christmas, start cooking, but don’t let it look like diet food. Just make big fat healthy food like this roasted chicken.

This is perfect because you stay in your calorie range and he fills up. Top it off with a vanilla ice cream over some kind of pie and this man won’t know what hit him. In today’s world men can easily find the sweet stuff, if you know what I’m talking about, but a girl who can cook better than mama is quite intoxicating.

So tell me, what’s your favorite Autumn supper and do you think it’s true that the way to man’s heart is through his stomach?

More Roast Chicken Recipes

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Roast Chicken with Figs, Shallots and Mustard Rosemary Potatoes

Figs usher in the Fall with Roast Chicken, Shallots, Mustard Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3 pound Whole Chicken
• sea salt
• 1 pint of figs most sliced in half, some left whole (see note).
• 6 shallots thinly sliced
• 4 Yukon gold potatoes quartered with skins
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 large clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary finely chopped

Instructions

• Rinse chicken, pat dry, salt and refrigerate for 1-3 days, wrapped in plastic
• On roasting day, remove from refrigerator, rinse, pat dry and resalt. Leave out at room temperature for 1 hour. If you can't do this, your cooking time will increase.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Put chicken in oven for 25 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare potatoes.
• In large bowl crush garlic with mustard, thyme, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, olive oil. Add quartered potatoes and mix well.
• During last 25 minutes of roasting chicken, add in shallots and potatoes and figs around the chicken. (If you don't use potatoes, add figs in whole form 25 minutes into baking.
• Use a meat thermometer to test chicken at 50 minutes. The chicken is done when the deepest part at the thigh not touching the bones reaches 165 degrees.
• You may need to cook for 10-15 more.
• Let the chicken rest for at least ten minutes before you cut it.

Notes

Figs: You can slice all in half, or mix it up. If chicken is larger than 3 pounds use up to two pints of figs.

The post Roast Chicken with Figs, and Rosemary Potatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

How are you holding up out there during flu season? Me. I’m fine now, but I didn’t do so well. I just had a terrible bout with pneumonia and then relapsed and then celebrated with a perfect check up and a 4th chest x-ray in 8 months. All symptoms were resolved. I didn’t want to talk about it here. Somehow I managed to keep the blog going, and it might have been the thing that kept my spirits up.

Finally after  8 weeks, I started boot camp classes. I even broke a speed record in our boot camp group the second week.I was happy to see that I hadn’t lost most of my fitness level because of a thing called muscle memory. If you work out consistently, the body remembers and it’s much easier to get back to it.

Ten days after that great doctor’s report, I got the flu. It took the wind out of my sails, and I admit to feeling discouraged, defeated and even a little depressed. I’ve never been sick in my life longer than a week. I’ve never had to battle anything serious or be hospitalized.  I have much gratitude for this, and even more so now because health is a gift, and its not guaranteed.

I had to do some deep thinking about what my life is. What do I need to do before I leave here? I came to the conclusion that I don’t need to do anything. The question is who do I need to become? Is it more important to have a cookbook on the Amazon to prove something to myself or is it more important that I know how to be a consistently kind person waiting in line in the grocery store. Kindness changes the world more than a good recipe. I can do good recipes all day long. I can’t do kindness as easily.

I thank God every day for having had a lifetime of general good health, and I try to do my part in the fight.

During this time of fighting back, this 30 Minute Health Soup was something I relied on. I made many variations of it, and this one was my  favorite. I wanted a soup, not only tasty, but I was looking for that bright green color that made me happy.

Broccoli, potato, spinach, watercress, chicken broth, leeks, onion, and fresh lemon. Even the color of the soup was what I had been hoping for, a bright green, as I thought it might be therapeutic to look at, and I didn’t want any mossy green color.

This couldn’t be any easier to put together. After I chopped the leek, onion and potato, I threw it into the chicken broth and let it start boiling away. I added in some black pepper and starting chopping broccoli. I used one whole broccoli stalk. Once everything was softened, put it all in the Vitamix with handfuls of raw spinach. This was blended and put back into the pot with a half of  lemon and it’s juice. Watercress was added right before serving, but one night I skipped it and it was just as good.

This soup is creamy with no cream.

I’m fighting back with good food and plenty of liquids, mostly water and green tea.  How do you fight your flu symptoms or fight for your health?

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30 Minute Health Soup

A quick and healthy soup of broccoli, potatoes, and raw spinach cooked in chicken broth and put into the Vitamix for a delicious, bright, green, healthy soup.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 quarts chicken broth see note
• 1 large broccoli stalk cut into course pieces
• 1 onion cut coarsely
• 1 leek chopped
• 1 large potato peeled, diced
• sea salt
• black pepper
• Squeeze of lemon
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 handfuls of raw baby spinach
• handfuls of water cress optional
• Note: Water must cover the vegetables by 4 inches. I used a heaping tablespoons of Better than Bouillon organic Chicken broth paste to make the broth.

Instructions

• Put all the vegetables in cold water and bring to boil. Continue on slow boil until the vegetables or fork tender. Squeeze lemon into cooked vegetables Put into a blender or Vitamix including broth. Serve immediately. Garnish with watercress, drizzle of olive oil.

The post 30 Minute Health Soup appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This roast chicken reminds me of our wedding. It was fast and cheap, but executed so well that nobody knew the corners that were cut. I put the money on what was important to me, flowers and food.

We feasted on filet mignon at a sit down dinner in a free outdoor venue decorated with $3,000 of wild pink roses. We used the same rented chairs for ceremony for the sit down dinner. Bad surprises, good surprises and humor, but we had our Hollywood wedding, planned in exactly five weeks on a budget of $10,000 for 80 guests and a wedding party of 16. It wasn’t really in Hollywood; it was in Long Beach, but it felt just as celebratory as the  police helicopters flew overhead in the evening and we could pretend it was the press.

The Bad Surprise

What Hollywood wedding doesn’t have an adorable long haired chihuahua in it? Her beautiful flowered wreath was ready to go around her neck. When Girly Girl returned from the groomer who was just supposed to give her a bath, to my absolute horror, they had mistakenly cut off her hair. My “oh no” was followed by a loud and firm,  “she’s out of the wedding.” Girly Girl did come to the reception and that was no surprise to any of my guests.

The Good Surprise

Out went the dog; in came the children and my BFF. It was my dream to have my best friend’s children in my wedding. We had a falling out, but two weeks before the wedding a chance meeting brought us back together.  Her clever thinking to procure wedding clothes from a Vietnamese bridal rental shop saved the day, time and money. It’s a long story, but this part didn’t come together until two weeks before the wedding and I consider it my miracle. Did you know you can rent a tuxedo for a two-year old? Little Gavin started the procession carrying the bible (over his head).

The Humor

My husband arrived in California five days before the wedding just in time for the rehearsal dinner as the Gay Pride Parade marching past my house. One of those guys should have dressed him for the wedding, because he was found to be standing at the altar with the price tag hanging off of his new suit. Fashion editing for the straight guy is a must!

The Drama

People say they cry at weddings. As a three times bridesmaid, I only ever cried out in hunger and in pain from cheap pumps and tight undies.  Until this day. I cried my eyes out reading my vows.  And, I continued to cry during our first dance, even though it was Barry White’s “Your My First, You’re My Last, My Everything.” To this day, that song just makes me happy, and somehow washed away the vision of that shirt and beret, because he did turn into that prince by 6:00 on May 28th, 1999.

The Glory

People remember the overall beauty and the food. They paid no attention to handmade favors and my very inexpensive, off the rack wedding dress which cost less than the undergarments and alterations.  The coconut cake was wedding cake perfection and  turned me into the bride who ate her weight in sugar.

A day that started with May clouds at the beach, survived a few bridezilla meltdowns and ended with a stunning sunset. The pastor proclaimed ours to be a marriage made in heaven and to this day I’ve never regretted our fast and frugal approach.

The After

Moving away from my friends was hard, but thirteen years later we still visit and remain close  Today I found a handmade card written by Chloe, who was six years old at the time and close since the day I met her at 18 months old. “I’m happy for you but I am not happy you are going to Tennessee.”  She drew a picture of seven people sitting at the dinner table, as food was a rich part of our history. This family will be a part of our life forever and forever and I’m so blessed that they shared this day with us.

A good meal with friends means everything because it seals a relationship with super glue.

 This wedding still makes me cry.

Fast and Frugal Roasted Chicken Cacciatore

 This is non-traditional chicken cacciatore. The frugual part is that you buy a whole chicken, which is always cheaper. The “fast” is that you roast the whole chicken. No cutting it up, no dredging in flour, no browning. The vegetables are made with an Oxo hand held mandolin which turned this into a five-minute prep job.

This dinner for four, including a Greenwise chicken, organic canned tomatoes, fresh bakery bread,  and farmer’s market  local lettuce cost under $20.

Five Minutes

1.  Use an  Oxo handheld mandolin, slice the potatoes without peeling them and the onion.

2.  Rinse, pat dry and season chicken and placed it in a roasting dish.

3. Open a can of tomatoes, and peel three cloves of garlic.

4. Layer  the potatoes and onions with olives around the chicken.

5. Place in oven at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

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Roast Chicken Cacciatore

A fast and nontraditional approach, using a whole roasted chicken and slices of potatoes.

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 small whole chicken
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 large sweet onion
• 2 large potatoes unpeeled
• 1 24 ounce can organic diced or crushed Italian tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper less if you want it less spicy
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or use the following fresh herbs
• several sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves peeled
• Handful cured Italian olives can substitute with 1 teaspoon capers

Instructions

• Salt and cover with plastic for refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Prior to baking bring chicken to near room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Rinse chicken in and out. Pat dry. Sprinkle with dried herbs and crushed red pepper in and out. Season again with salt and black pepper.
• Slice onion and potatoes a medium thickness.
• Place chicken in large baking dish (enough to give room for potatoes and tomatoes.
• Layer potatoes and onions around the chicken. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour tomatoes over the potatoes and onions. Add in olives and garlic.
• Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Allow to rest 15 minutes before carving chicken.
• Serve chicken with tomatoes and potatoes. Add some of the sauce to the chicken.

Notes

Make sure to spoon the tomato mixture over the chicken as you are serving it. If you use a larger chicken, add more ingredients. You can always double the potatoes, onions and tomatoes at anytime if you want more sauce. You can also quarter your potatoes and onions. I just happened to like them getting a little crispy as slices, and I prefer my onions sliced, because they caramelize in the juices.

The post A Roasted Chicken Cacciatore that Reminds Me of Our Wedding appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I swing both ways in the kitchen. I like to make what I call my five-minute meals like this grilled salmon which makes  an ordinary day of the week seem celebratory because the food is so good. Then on other days, I like my food to linger for hours in a cast iron pot braising away, soaking up the nectar of red wine, the sultry flavors of onion, the earthiness from root vegetables and aromatic notes from herbs.

Five minute food fits my personality because I tend to move fast.  But, then this other side of me finds a dutch oven kind of sexy. The kitchen smells good. The flavors build one by one as they concentrate and linger, and  I can’t think of anything sexier at the moment than Thomas Keller’s short ribs, braised in wine, sitting on top of a mound of vegetables which are encased in a cheesecloth. Leave it to Mr. Keller to be so genteel with the meat to protect it from getting little pieces of carrot on it.

I found the recipe in Ad Hoc at Home, a book that has a permanent place in my  kitchen. It’s not the Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. Oh, it’s the same guy, but this is the food that is a lot less fuss, and a bit more realistic for the home cook.  I see a trend in the better restaurants serving this kind of food more and more. I recently dined at Watermark in Nashville during restaurant week and a very similar dish was on the menu as one of the main courses for the night.  While their dish was served over mashed potatoes with kale, I decided to serve mine over spinach mashed potatoes. I tucked raw baby spinach leaves inside of hot mashed potatoes ensuring a perfect flavor and texture. You could do more to the potatoes by adding in some garlic or freshly grated parmesan. I kept it simple with just a touch of nutmeg, because the wine sauce had three hours to reduce and its flavored more than carried the dish.

The recipe calls for one 2 1/2 pound of boneless  short rib, which is braised in one piece. I purchased boneless short ribs already cut, and you could go either way.  This recipes yields a lot of sauce. Unfortunately, I didn’t show a picture of it.

Spinach Mashed Potatoes

Using my basic mashed potatoes recipe, I added in handful of spinach per two potatoes. You can judge for yourself how much you would like to add in. Trim the stems of baby spinach leaves and add in raw, after the potatoes are mashed and are still hot.

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Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine with Spinach Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home, this is an elegant, yet approachable way to prepare beef short ribs.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• Ingredients for Red Wine Reduction
• 1 bottle dry red wine such as Cabernet Saugvignon
• I cup diced yellow onion
• 1 cup sliced peeled carrots
• 1 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 2 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 6 flat leaf parsley sprigs
• cheesecloth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 3 large garlic cloves smashed, skin left on
• Ingredients for Braise
• wine reduction
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck short rib
• sea salt freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic cloves smashed, skin left on
• 1 onion diced
• 1 cup carrots
• small handful of parsely
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cups beef stock

Instructions

• Red Wine Reduction
• Combine all ingredients for red wine reduction in a heavy pot or dutch oven.
• Bring to a high heat, reduce and simmer for 50 minutes. If you are using a cast iron dutch oven, reduce to very low heat.
• Braise
• If using one large piece of meat, move any connective tissue where the bones were connected. Leave on fat and silver skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Add oil to a large frying pan, and brown meat on all sides. Transfer to a plate.
• Heat oven to 350.
• Add the second set of onions, carrots, garlic, thyme and parsley to the wine reduction.
• Cut a piece of cheesecloth 4 inches larger than the diameter of pan. Moisten and place over the wine reduction and tuck underneath the vegetables. Place the meat on top, and cover with oven proof lid (or piece of parchment paper).
• Reduce heat to 325 and cook for 2 hours. Meat should be fork tender.
• Remove heat, transfer to a warming dish.
• Strain wine reduction. If there is a lot more liquid than necessary, heat on top of the stove until reduced further.
• To serve reheat, meat in oven with some of the juice. Serve on top of mashed potatoes with the red wine sauce.

Notes

The original recipe has more details in preparation. Original recipe calls for leeks, which I left out. You may choose not to strain wine reduction but to include those little bits of vegetables.

The post Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine with Spinach Mashed Potatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Here are some of the best Thanksgiving recipe round-ups on the web. Check out these posts from talented food bloggers who’ve pulled together some amazing dishes for the biggest meal of the year.

Start the day with cocktails from Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn. The pointsettia is just one of 12 Thanksgiving Day cocktail ideas.

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks reminded me with her  kale and olive oil mashed potatoes why she has always been the blogger whose food I want to eat every day.  See her round up and favorite other things.

Barbara from Barbara Bakes starts the day with pumpkin monkey bread and  plans a traditional turkey dinner. We will both dry brine our turkey.

Katie at Good Life Eats tell us what to do with our leftovers. I’m swooning over her Turkey Pot Pie with Buttermilk Pie Crust.

Michelle from the Brown Eyed Baker has a beautiful fresh green bean casserole amongst 40 other choices.

And as for my own little round-up, please consider some of these from my kitchen:

Honey Goat Cheese Crostini with Tomato and Orange

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Cashews or as pictured in the turkey at the top of this post, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Almonds and Cranberries.

Autumn Apple Pie Baked in Cast Iron

Tangerine Sorbet and Roasted Chestnuts

And my most favorite way to eat leftovers, a turkey pie using all of the leftovers, held together by mashed potatoes. Keep some of your chopped celery and onions to make this on Friday.

And, if you want to look at over 750 blogger Thanksgiving recipes, go to this amazing mosaic from Pasplore and click the picture.

The post Thanksgiving Recipe Round Up of the Round Ups appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I know that you eat mashed potatoes beyond the Thanksgiving table, but, I dare you to find a more important day for this perfect no-lump recipe. Most days of the year, I like red potatoes, smashed with skins on for a rustic feel. But on this day, they must be smooth and perfectly done.

Perfect is a crazy word to describe any food for Thanksgiving, where each person has their own food memories and family recipes. But, in this case, there is only one way to serve your picky Aunt Edna or your father’s new wife holiday mashed potatoes. They must be smooth, completely free of lumps and not fancied up by any old or new trends, such as garlic, sour cream, pecorino, mascarpone or bacon. 

Save these for another meal when serving it your way doesn’t crush the family food memory of your dinner guests. I’m not saying you should bend over backwards or compromise the gourmande in you, but some things are best left alone and fantastic mashed potatoes  are what you need for your famous gravy. The taste is not nearly as important (although please don’t forget the salt) as is the texture on this day in which we give thanks and eat like roaring pigs.

Lumpy mashed potatoes are a kitchen failure and we have all been there, or at least I have. To get out those lumps caused by potatoes not cooked long enough, the beater comes out and the whipping begins. The problem is that the lumps never disappear, but the potatoes turn into a goo or a paste and there is no way to save them.

If you have bad memories of ruined mashed potatoes that even the dog wouldn’t eat, and you fear the upcoming holiday season, I have the secret weapon. I discovered this a few years ago when I was given a simple, inexpensive ricer, which belongs in every kitchen. The ricer and a few simple tips and you will be a mashed potatoes rock star.

My Best Tips for Perfect No Lump Mashed Potatoes:

1. Peel potatoes (especially for holiday menus). Save the rustic look for a different time.
2. Start potatoes in cold water. Cook all the way through to fork tender, but don’t cook so much that they are water-logged.
3. Scald the milk. Add a little at a time.
4. Use whole milk and real butter. Heavy cream is not necessary, but a splash is nice.
5. Use a ricer. Use a ricer. Use a ricer.  This guarantees no lumps and provides the perfect texture.
6. Freshly grated nutmeg takes the bland away and gives the potatoes a little umph. Just a dash or two, not too much.
7. Cook potatoes in cast iron dutch oven or heavy pot that has a lid.  Drain and return to pot, which keeps potatoes warm.
8. Taste and season. I love white pepper (it has a zing). Don’t forget the salt.

I am a purist and only use potatoes, milk, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. I use regular white potatoes, but some cooks prefer yukon golds. No matter. Just follow the tips, and don’t forget to taste along the way.

I hope you have the smoothest potatoes and stress-free Thanksgiving family dinner party. No doubt, something will go askew. We’ve all had years where the turkey didn’t cook, someone got too drunk, or too many family secrets got divulged. Normal Thanksgiving! But, this year at least you’ll have good potatoes.

Tell me, what is  the Thanksgiving disaster you most remember?

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No Lump Mashed Potatoes for a Perfect Thanksgiving Dinner

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 2 pounds white potatoes peeled (some love yukon golds for a creamier texture.
• 2 teaspoons salt for water
• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 6 to 8 tablespoons whole milk
• splash of cream optional
• salt white pepper to season
• dash nutmeg about three gratings

Instructions

• Peel potatoes, and cut into quarters and cut again. Rinse in cold water. Put just enough cold water in pan to cover potatoes by two inches.
• Add 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to boil and then simmer until fork tender. Drain and put back into pot and add butter. Season with salt and pepper.
• Scald milk.
• Smash potatoes with fork or old fashioned masher tool and add a few tablespoons of hot milk and three tablespoons of the butter. Mix with a wooden spoon.
• Take through the ricer and return to the pan. Turn the heat on low and add the rest of the milk a little at a time and use wooden spoon to stir.
• Add nutmeg. Stir again. Add in last tablespoons of butter.
• Taste and season again with salt and pepper if necessary.

Notes

For lighter potatoes, add in milk. Do this a little at a time to avoid runny potatoes.

The post No Lump Mashed Potatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Perfect mashed potatoes in my opinion can best be achieved with a ricer. Once your potatoes are peeled, cut, boiled and drained, take them through a ricer and then sparingly add in your butter and hot milk. You don’t want soup. You don’t want a puree. You want potatoes with no lumps and still lots of body to hold that gravy. It’s the classic dish that always pleases.

Mashed Potatoes Recipe

• 8 large red potatoes, peeled, cut into large chunks (about 8 pieces per large potato)
• 4 -6  tablespoons butter
• 1 cup warmed milk (you may not use it all)
• salt
• white pepper
• dash nutmeg

Potatoes can be prepared ahead and sit in a pan of cold water until ready to use. Rinse well, start again in cold, salted water, put on stove. Mashed potatoes should be fluffy, not creamy, so as soon as potatoes are fork tender, drain water, and mash with a fork or masher. Do not use an electric mixer, as this changes the chemistry of the potatoes, too often turning them gummy. You can use a regular dinner fork and mash, adding butter. Slowly add warmed milk, using just enough to make fluffy. Too much milk will also make potatoes too gooey and not substantial enough for this roast. Season with salt and pepper.

Salad is a must at my thanksgiving table. The acid in the vinaigrette will help to cut the richness of other dishes. These are three of my favorites for this time of year.

Fennel Orange Salad

Romaine, Pomegranate and Pear

Green Bean Salad with Pear and Citrus. The tulips tell you this was really served in the spring, but I think it works like a charm instead of the typical green bean casserole.

Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Cashews – Everyone will eat these. I promise.

Tangerine Sorbet, perfect finish for a rich meal. This year I’m going to use satsumas.

I hope these ideas add some deliciousness to your table. Tell me, what is your favorite side for thanksgiving?

The post Perfect Mashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Tangerine Sorbet and more for Thanksgiving appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Do you like surprises? I do, especially when I go to the farmer’s market and see something I’ve never seen before. And, this happens frequently. I ask myself, “where have I been?” Eating on the moon, or just too comfortable buying what I know.

That’s what happened when I purchased magda zucchini, a middle eastern variety. It’s a very light (whitish) color and chubby, which might make you think it’s not as good as the cute and elegant small and slender zucchini. But in this case, chubby is better. My farmer assured me that it was sweet, tender and delicious, and he was honest.

The chubby round size, not unlike eggplant, could be great breaded and fried in discs as a crunchy side dish. But, I rarely go in that direction, always opting for roasting as my first choice. This takes a little prep time, and to make life easier, I did all the prep the night before, slicing and layering and then baked the next day. The left overs are just as good, maybe better and give you options for a breakfast or lunch with poached eggs or frittata filling or a sandwich on a crusty roll. I am always searching for ways to eat healthy and make more than one dish from a recipe, especially in summer.

The tomatoes were roasted to perfect sweetness and intense flavor, and the potatoes add that just right texture that zucchini doesn’t have. A ratio of one cup of potatoes to 3 cups of zucchini works well.

This is a combination of sweet onion (pre-fried) sliced potato, zucchini, and sliced tomato and topped with grape tomato. The flavor boosters are olive oil, basil, rosemary, thyme and a touch of garlic.

It was dark when this was finished, thus, the picture at the top was taking at night with a low light setting on my camera. Some may think zucchini is not an exciting vegetable. I think it’s a misunderstood vegetable. It has a distinct flavor, but it must be coaxed out. I thought it still a worthy blog post because zucchini is plentiful and affordable, and there is no reason why it can’t grace the table at least weekly.

Tell me, what is your favorite way to make zucchini and have you ever heard of the magda?

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Magda Zucchini Bake, When Chubby is Better than Slender

Roasted magda zucchini and eggplant, as a side dish or a brunch topped with poached eggs.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 onion thinly sliced
• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic finely diced
• 3 zucchini If you can’t find magda, use regular zucchini
• 1 medium-large potato peeled, sliced medium
• 1 large tomato sliced medium
• 1 sweet red pepper
• poached eggs
• fresh herbs
• salt pepper

Instructions

• Slice onion thinly and saute in olive oil, until more than soft, almost caramelized. Set aside. Slice potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini the same size. Layer starting with zucchini,onion, potato, tomato, herbs. In between each layer, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle with herbs and parmesan cheese (the good kind). Keep the dish shallow. Each layer of potato and tomato is not a full layer, touching or over lapping, more scattered.
• Use salt and pepper as needed.
• Bake for one hour at 400 degrees, checking at the 40 minute point.
• Serve topped with poached eggs as an option.

The post Magda Zucchini Bake, When Chubby is Better than Slender appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

You turn to your friend, Mr. Cast Iron Pan, for a little help. But, it has to be special enough to qualify as “good restaurant” food, because the flood waters have also caused you to cancel weekend dinner reservations.

Your tried and true friend gives you a charming idea of layering tangy potato slices under and over your beautiful salmon, resulting in a crispy outer texture, while still being assured of tender fish.

I’ve made a similar dish before, using halibut and I called it a healthy version of fish and chips. It’s the truly guilt free dish that might just qualify as spa dining, although I was a little more generous with the potatoes than a spa would be.

The stable potato is as “home” to many as is my loyal cast iron friend. And, both have gotten bad raps in the latter part of the last century. Cast iron pans ended up in yard sales and women were known to shriek if they saw a potato on their plate.

But, if you read my last post, you know how I feel by now about REAL FOOD, and I wrote, instead of a “happy” meal, make a “happier” meal. You can still have your meat and potatoes or in this case your fish and potatoes. But, you get to control the way it’s cooked. This is not deep fried food with sugar added. This is food you can trust.

This is easy to prepare and I hope, by now, you have a mandolin to slice the potatoes to a uniform thinness, but, don’t worry, a sharp knife works just as well. I also hope you do have a cast iron pan, but any bakeware dish will do the job. I prefer cast iron as first choice, and stoneware as second choice because it lends to browning.

You can change this recipe by using a different fish. Be aware of the thickness of the fish. If the fish is much thinner or more delicate, cook it cold and use less layers of potato. You can change the herbs and use basil, tarragon, rosemary, thyme or dill. You can make it more spicy, or more buttery. You can still “have food YOUR way.”

Is this food a woman would love or is the kind of food a man will marry her for? Do you see this as heavy and off limits or the food you see on a happy, healthy dinner table?

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Cast Iron Baking: Salmon Encrusted with Potatoes

Potato Baked Salmon

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 Fish fillets at least one and half inch thick skin removed
• 1 t Dijon mustard or mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil for cast iron pan.
• 1 tablespoon Olive oil.
• 1 clove garlic finely diced.
• 2 small Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 teaspoon chopped Italian parsley or herb of choice
• Sea SaltFreshly ground cracked pepper

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 425. Set salmon aside to come to room temperature (20 minutes)
• Preheat baking stone, or cast iron. If using cast iron pan, rub with canola or peanut oil.
• Stir mustard and lemon juice together. Add herb and stir in olive oil.
• Thinly slice golden Yukon potatoes, using enough to cover both sides of dish
• Peel potato and slice thinly. Pat dry with paper towels. Toss in olive oil mixture.
• Place parchment paper on baking dish if you don’t have baking stone or seasoned cast iron. Place potatoes on paper or stone, overlapping slightly. Place fish on top and then layer again with potatoes.
• Bake at 425 for about 7-10 minutes each side. You will need to check at 7 minutes. Potatoes underneath will be crisp. At that point turn over to finish crispiness. Rest five minutes.

The post Cast Iron Baking: Salmon Encrusted with Potatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.