I know I am not a fan of two part
episodes usually either. Who really
likes the suspense anyway? Thankfully,
living in the era of the DVR I can wait and watch both parts back to back and
avoid the suspense. It may be one
instance where technology does make life easier. Only complaint is that they don’t always warn
you about two part episodes in the description.
I suppose it is better to be frustrated 10 percent of the time than all
of the time, like back in the day… The
time we had to wait a whole week to find out if Fonzie really jumped the shark or crashed to his certain doom. That was
serious business. It is SHOCKING that our childhood angst
has now been reduced to a glib pop-culture reference for unnecessarily overwrought televised drama. –chuckle-
I will close out Volume 2 with the remaining
two recipes from my weekend kitchen cruise.
Although this recipe starts with boxed potatoes, if you have a good
recipe for basic scalloped potatoes, I suspect you could add the Italian
cheeses to your recipe too and it would yield much the same result. You might have to tinker with it a bit to get
the quantities just right, but if you are cooking them from scratch, you won’t
have any trouble ironing that out. –smile-
Alfredo Potatoes - For this project, I tripled the recipe for 15 servings
1 Box Scalloped Potatoes (4-5 servings)
Modifications to Package Directions:
Reduce water by 1/3 cup, increase milk by 1/3 cup
Add 6 ounces of Grated Italian Cheese(s)
Layer 6 – 8 slices of provolone (smoked or unsmoked) over
the top
(just prior to removing potatoes from the oven)
Since I don’t have what anyone would call a chef’s kitchen, doing large quantities (100 – 200 servings) of potatoes from scratch can be a challenge. Even in the Manna Café kitchen it can seem like a bridge too far. One of the tricks I learned from the Manna Café pros (John and Sharon Davis) is how to use boxed potatoes and enhance them so they don’t taste like boxed potatoes when they are finished. It makes life easier in a number of ways, potatoes are already peeled and sliced, the servings per package are determined, and cooking time is too. These are all key success factors for the Shade Tree Chef. –smile- Once I found that it works well, I steer that way even with much smaller quantities (10 – 30 servings).
<<Did I mention John was a chemist by trade and also a fellow Boilermaker? BOILER UP!!!>>
A little bit on where this recipe originated… On a work trip to Minneapolis, I visited a
restaurant called Axel's River Grille (in Mendota - http://axelsrestaurants.com/locations/mendota/) with two associates. It was an old school steakhouse, with black
and white pictures on the walls, dark wood throughout, Sinatra music in the
background, expert wait staff, and the aroma of USDA prime seeping from the
walls. Axel's had one of the best
signature potato dishes I have ever tried.
They called it The Alfredo Potato.
It was a baked Idaho russet scored both ways and then finished in the
oven with an Alfredo sauce-like combination of butter, cream, and Italian
cheeses across the top. I can still
taste it. Mmmmmmm…
I thought that approach could work with scalloped potatoes
too. I sort of transform them into “Alfredo-style”
Au Gratin potatoes. I favor a good
mixture of Asiago, Pecorino, and Parmesan cheeses. You can use any combination
of these or just one. Whatever you
prefer or would happen to have on hand will do just fine. Put the slices of provolone on right at the
end for 5 minutes or so to melt and give a nice bubbly golden brown
presentation. Your dinner guests will
definitely feel the cheesy love with these potatoes. You will want to make a few extra servings as
folks typically go back for seconds.
If you ever find yourself in Minneapolis, I encourage you to go to
Axel's River Grille. I recommend the surf and turf (their walleye is killer). They let you pair the walleye with any
steak on the menu. I wish I could tell
you about their great key lime pie too, but I skipped it. I was the only one in my party that evening
that was interested in dessert. I
suppose that is the downside of travelling with a couple of caloric girly-men. I should note that I found their company to
be thoroughly enjoyable in every other possible way.
The waitress could tell I was truly agonizing over the
decision. Moments after leaving the
table, she emerged from the kitchen with a monster slice of key lime pie that
she was delivering to guests at another table.
My eyes immediately locked onto it.
Noticing my forlorn gaze, she was careful to tilt the plate to give me a good
view of that magnificent creation and continuously turned her body toward me so
as not to break my eye contact. She was
so intent, in fact, that she failed to notice a wrinkle in the carpeting,
stumbled forward and nearly tossed the pie into the lap of the guest who had
ordered it. –chuckle- Fortunately, she
recovered somewhat gracefully and laughed as she explained to all concerned
what led to the near disaster. I should
have taken a piece of that key lime pie to go.
We would have both felt better about it.
To this day, it is one of my life’s great regrets. For several weeks after, the key lime pie
gods took vengeance on me. Every place I
visited that had it featured on the menu would be ‘all out’ by the time I
placed my order. I was denied so many
times, one waitress who had just broken the news thought the look on my face
meant I lost my favorite puppy. If I
ever get back to Minneapolis, I will certainly return to Axel's River Grille
and pay homage to the key lime pie. I may
even go so far as to eat dessert first. If it should no longer be on the menu, I will go straight back to the airport and head for home, never to return again.
Country
Style Green Beans - For this project I
doubled the recipe for 10 servings
16
Ounces Cut Italian Green Beans (Frozen)
¼
Cup Diced Sweet Onion
¼
Cup Crumbled Cooked Bacon
½
TBSP Butter
½
Cup Water
½
Tsp Ham Base / Condensed Ham Stock
 |
I
have a number of different recipes for green beans and this is a favorite,
mostly for ease of preparation. I start
with the water, ham base, butter, and diced onions in a 3 quart sauce pan on
the stove over medium heat. Once it
comes to a boil, I will add the beans.
If the beans were fresh, I would cover them to ensure even cooking, but
with frozen I cook them uncovered and stir occasionally. Timing varies widely depending on the overall
quantity, but I would say 10 – 12 minutes is a good estimate for one pound. Cook until they are just tender and add the
crumbled bacon. You can serve
immediately or leave them on the stove-top (very
low or no heat) covered. They will hold easily for 30 minutes while you get
the rest of your meal ready to serve. It
isn't absolutely necessary to use Italian green beans for this recipe, but that
is what I prefer. Ordinary cut green
beans will work in a pinch too. I have
noticed that Italian cut green beans are getting harder to find in the grocery
store these days. One of the reasons I
grow my own in the summertime. I use ham
stock, because I like the smoky and salty character it adds. You could easily switch it up and use chicken
stock if you have a preference for that.
Or skip the stock and just season more generously with salt. I season only a shake of salt (if any) and a
healthy dash of ground pepper. As I have
someone in my household who is sensitive to that, I am careful. If I am
uncertain of the crowd, I go easy. I am
sure you will know your crowd and can season accordingly.
The
Shade Tree Chef will be back in the kitchen this weekend cooking round two of
our “meals on wheels” project. Menu will
feature deep-fried turkey breast, crunchy mashed potatoes, maple glazed baby
carrots, and a dark chocolate torte (courtesy of Deb of the legendary Marshmallow Twins Bakery). Her dark chocolate ganache makes grown men cry and women swoon. The recipe is one of the most closely guarded secrets this side of King Tut's tomb and won't ever be divulged in these lowly pages. I trust you will keep reading anyway.
Your Shade Tree Chef,
Michael Hurd, aka Big Mike
Your Shade Tree Chef,
Michael Hurd, aka Big Mike
