Spice and Easy

I get asked a lot of food questions as a food blogger. Some are to be expected, like where I shop for specialty ingredients, what my go-to dishes are, and who my favorite chef is. But most surprising of all are all of the questions I get about potatoes. From making the perfect french fries, to creamy mashed potatoes and the just-like-my-mom's home fries and hash browns of their youth, people are looking for some serious answers about potato cookery. Potatoes are a big part of the Spanish diet and every woman in my family can make at least 5 awesome potato dishes off the cuff, from croquetas, to tortilla and french fries. I paid close attention when my grandmother fried potatoes on high heat in light olive oil, or when my mother added two egg yolks to her mashed potatoes. After years of watching patiently from the sidelines, I finally learned to make potatoes just like the other women in my family (even they're only half as good as theirs, they'll still be delicious).

Among the many tuber-related questions that make their way to me is a curious one: how does one make simple whole or halved potatoes? A few people tell me that they always encounter the outside being far too dark while the inside is raw, or that to get the inside cooked they end up with overcooked, mushy outsides. I must admit that I initially struggled with this type of dish as well. Why was it that every caterer, cruise ship and steakhouse in town could do it and I couldn't? I tried simply roasting on different oven temperatures, changing the temperature midway through, par boiling then roasting, simply boiling, pan roasting, and any combination in between. Nothing seemed to work, and then I encountered a new method for making mashed potatoes that involved steaming them instead of boiling. They cooked faster, more evenly, and softened without waterlogging. I figured if I applied this method to my potato dish, then quickly pan roasted them with whatever flavorings I wanted, I might stand a chance.

It worked perfectly, and shortly thereafter I learned that the steaming method is taught in culinary school, which explains why all of the professionals knew about it and I didn't. In fact, the potato recipe I made this week comes from the Culinary School of America and uses a number of my favorite herbs and spices, with an additional few that I thought would play nice. The first step was steaming the potatoes, which I do using your everyday cheapie metal vegetable steamer in a large pan with a lid. It took about 15-18 minutes for mine to cook through, but it's really the size of your spuds that determines the cooking time. After their steam bath I tossed them directly into a large non-stick skillet (very important with potatoes) with some melted butter and saffron. I added parsley, salt and pepper per the recipe, plus some fresh thyme, one of my favorite herbs to use with potatoes. I was far more generous with the salt and pepper than the recipe was, because the potatoes didn't have any of the salinity that they'd normally get from being boiled in salted water, so they were tasting a bit bland. The dish was quite tasty, and would make an excellent side for a grilled steak, a roast chicken (that's my choice for a main dish pairing) or even a nice piece of fish. At least give the method a try, and you'll never have burned or half done potatoes again!

Herbed Potatoes with Saffron
adapted from the Culinary School of America

1 1/2 lbs red new potatoes, scrubbed, halved, and peeled if you'd like
2 Tbsp butter
pinch saffron strands
2 Tbsp finely sliced parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
generous pinch of salt
generous grind of white pepper

1. Steam potatoes using a vegetable or bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water, about 15-18 minutes (I like them to be just shy of cooked through so I can cook everything a little longer in the pan without overcooking).

2. Meanwhile, melt butter and saffron in a large non-stick skillet. Add cooked potatoes, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss everything to coat well and cook a few minutes until potatoes are hot and everything has cooked together, about 3-5 minutes. Enjoy!

-Laura

The Comforts of Home

Some of you may recall the dish pictured above from the early days of this blog (see the original here). It appeared on the site before I owned a fancy camera, lived in Hells Kitchen, or even had anyone reading this blog but me and that guy in Kuala Lumpur (how he found it remains a mystery). It was one of the dishes that I most wanted to share with the world because to me it's the ultimate comfort food. I figure now that I have more people reading I should resurrect the recipe so everyone can enjoy it. My grandmother used to make it for us after long road trips and eventually taught me how to make it. My mother tells me that I make it just like my grandmother and that's why she asks that I make a batch every time she visits. I'd like to think I've mastered it, but try as I might to think so, I can't help feeling that it would taste better if it came off the stove of an eighty year-old woman in a bathrobe, flashing a loving smile and happily watching me enjoy each bite.

It's during these lean times that a dish like this can be extra handy. As I mentioned in the original post, it began as peasant food. Nothing more is needed than a sack of potatoes (6 or 7 potatoes could easily feed 4 adults), a few eggs and some frying oil. It's affordable, filling, warm, and exceptionally easy to make considering the returns you get on flavor. It's even easy clean-up, since all you need to do is slice the potatoes and fry them up in a non-stick skillet. It's essentially a scramble with potatoes, only here the egg plays second fiddle to the delicious potatoes. The secret is to use Yukon Gold potatoes, which already have an inherent sweetness to them. A little bit of sugar added to the seasoning enhances that natural sweetness, and plays nicely with the salt and pepper also used, for some of that "salty-sweet" flavor that's so popular right now.

I like to eat this dish as a main course by itself, just a heaping plateful of golden goodness, but there are plenty of alternatives. Of course it can be a side dish or starter, but it can also be an ultra-carbo load sandwich. My mother likes to pile the mixture onto a crunchy, warm baguette for a crispy outside and soft, delicate inside, while my dad liked to top it with tomato sauce. When I get carried away and make too much, I like to take the leftovers and wrap them in a tortilla with a little hot sauce. If there's cheese lying around I'll stuff some of that in there for a breakfast burrito of sorts, and if I'm feeling less frugal I'll stick some sliced avocado in there, too. So as you can see, it's actually a super versatile dish. So, just in case you need a reminder of how the recipe goes, or if it's your first time seeing it, here it is again. I hope you take it and make it your own, and that it gives you as much comfort as it always has me.

Patatas Revueltas con Huevo (Potato and Egg Scramble) 

(Makes 1 very large or 2 single servings)

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced no thicker than 1/8” 

vegetable oil 

2 eggs 

Salt 

2 Tbsp sugar 

1. Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large pan. 

2. Salt (to taste) and sugar potatoes then carefully add to the oil. The oil should almost cover the potatoes but not quite (they will shrink as they cook). When the potatoes are about halfway cooked through and the bottom layer is crunchy and browned, flip them over and cook until done. 

3. Remove potatoes from the oil and onto a plate, then drain oil from pan (you can save it for future use) and return it to the heat (on low). Add potatoes back to the pan and crack both eggs over them. Break the yolks with a spatula and toss everything to combine, repeating every 5 seconds or so until eggs are just cooked through and soft. Enjoy!

-Laura

You Say Potato

**We interrupt this blog post for a special bulletin: An Olive Tree Grows in Manhattan is up for Best Food Blog at the Bloggers Choice Awards! The award usually goes to a big site like Serious Eats, and granted, you can totally nominate yourself, but lots of votes usually gets a few new readers to the blog. So, if you have a free moment, go here and vote for An Olive Tree Grows in Manhattan, because it's so much better when the underdog wins :) Thanks for the support, and we now return to your regularly scheduled (most of the time) blog post**

There was a brief time in my childhood when I lived in an up and coming town called Burtonsville. It was a pleasant, brand new town in Maryland and straddled the line between two counties. It was the first time we lived in a brand new house (not an apartment!) with a yard (not a concrete square!) and best of all, it had the one thing I told my parents I wanted--stairs inside the house (not concrete steps outside leading to an apartment!). Even better, the neighborhood had exercise paths running around a man-made lake where my grandparents would take leisurely summer walks eating sunflower seeds while I roller skated at full speed around them.

But the most memorable thing in Burtonsville for me wasn't even a part of the housing development--it was the supermarket. It may have something to do with the fact that I was only three feet tall at the time, but back then, this particular supermarket truly lived up to its name. From the produce section, to the meat market, and even the pharmacy, it was huge. But nothing impressed myself or my parents more than the deli counter. Having dealt for years with the measly Food Town in downtown Silver Spring, neither of us was accustomed to the amazing spread of prepared foods and meats we now had to chose from.

I'll never forget the first time we tried to buy potato salad in Burtonsville for a barbecue and hit a bump in the road. The man behind the counter stared blankly at my mother after she placed her order for a pint of the salad. "Which one?" he asked, eager to get his gloved hand into one of the clumpy potato masses before him. My mom looked at me quizzically as I shrugged my five year-old shoulders. Unaware that there was more than one kind of potato salad, we had no choice but to get one of each to avoid embarrassment. It was after that encounter that we became potato salad aficionados. No longer did we think that potato salad was just a mix of potatoes, crunchy things and sweet mayonnaise. Now we knew that it could be dressed with everything from a vinaigrette to cheese, and even hot sauce.

These memories all came to mind as I pondered what to do with some leftover new potatoes. It was too hot to spend much time over the stove and then eat something piping hot, so a lukewarm potato salad with a tall glass of iced tea sounded like a good option. I still had some leftover blue cheese from the beet dish I'd made earlier in the week, so I decided to make this more than a traditional potato salad. In addition to the blue cheese dressing I threw in some crispy bacon and a handful of chopped scallions for crunch and flavor. It all came together in about the time it took the potatoes to boil (15 minutes) and was actually a perfect light dinner (and would no doubt be a great barbecue side).

Blue Cheese Potato Salad With Crispy Bacon

12-15 new potatoes, scrubbed, skin on
4 slices cooked crispy bacon, roughly chopped
2 scallions, finely sliced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream or yogurt (Greek or strained yogurt is best)
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp malt vinegar (sherry or cider vinegar would work here, too)
salt
pepper

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, 10-15 minutes depending on how small they are.

2. Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt, blue cheese, Dijon mustard, malt vinegar and pepper (to taste) in a large bowl and set aside.

3. When potatoes are done and cool to the touch, cut them into quarters and toss with blue cheese dressing, bacon and scallions. Enjoy!

-Laura

Home Again

When I was a kid, we had a fairly predictable weekend routine. Saturdays were always for winding down and sunny Sundays usually began with brunch and ended with seemingly interminable trips to the Home Depot. But on those gloomy, rainy winter days when getting out of bed, or worse, getting out of pajamas seems impossible, we turned to each other when hunger struck. Although he generally spent little time in the kitchen, weekend breakfast was my dad's forte. The whole thing usually started with steak and egg sandwiches on French bread. After a few cups of coffee (I loved it even as a kid) I'd whip up a big batch of scrambled eggs and he'd fry up a few minute steaks. The whole thing would go between two pieces of bread dipped in the steak's pan drippings. But the sandwiches weren't the best part.

Although our main dishes may have changed over the years, there was no removing our home fries from the menu. They were always there, a big heaping bowlful fresh from the frying pan, still glistening and streaked with smoked paprika. There's nothing we liked more than home fries in those days, and we ordered them in droves when eating out, but not one restaurant version could compare with the ones we made at home. There were no peppers or heaps of onions and burned garlic in ours, just sliced potatoes covered in spices and fried in oil. Home fries are the one exception I make for onion and garlic powder other than rubs. The best home fries are fried in oil, in a frying pan, on high heat. The worst home fries I've had are dry cooked on a flat top or baked in the oven. The best are fried because it allows for the right texture inside and out and helps the potatoes stay moist (yay grease!). Powdered onion and garlic works best because fresh garlic would burn, whereas the powdered does not, and actually permeates the entire potato with flavor.

It seems simple, but you'd be surprised at how many bad home fries there are out there. It's shocking how little thought people give to this wonderful side dish. I gave it quite some thought this weekend when, despite the sun, I began to crave the home fries of my youth. Fortunately, I had an entire bag of potatoes wasting away in the fridge just begging to be made into a delicious breakfast treat. Twenty minutes later I had the lovely plate of potatoes you see before you. It's deceptively easy to make, and you don't have to tell anyone about the onion powder.

Easy Home Fries

4-5 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces about 1/8 inch thick
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sugar
salt
pepper
vegetable oil (or your favorite light oil) for frying

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan or skillet until hot but not smoking.

2. Toss potatoes with onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sugar, salt and pepper. Add to oil and fry on high heat for 8-10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium. Turn potatoes periodically until cooked through. Enjoy!

-Laura

Some Like It Hot

If you read yesterday's blog, you're aware that my mother is currently in town visiting and camped out on my sofa. I happen to have recently found some interesting creepy crawlies camping out in my bedroom, so I am currently resting my head on the Aero bed in the living room while the pesticide clears. All of this is of course happening the same week that summer weather finally decided to kick in here in NYC, and I've been so busy that I have yet to buy an air conditioner. So even though it's about 90 degrees here in my apartment, I like to think that we're sweating off the pounds we're probably gaining from the meals I've been making.

The temperature inside the apartment finally reached its boiling point last night when I made the full meal my mother requested for dinner. Between the two burners going and the oven at full blast, it felt like I was making dinner in a sauna. But, the pork chops had already been defrosted, and so had the artichokes, so I went ahead and finished making the meal. Despite how delicious it was, all we could focus on while eating was the heat. We practically tossed the plates in the sink like frisbees in an effort to get in front of the fan as soon as possible. Eating that meal seems like a mirage, something I lazily dreamed up while trying to make it through the humid haze floating through my home. But, as the photographs show, it actually existed, and I actually consumed it.


And somewhere in the course of my seemingly imaginary meal prep, I managed to make a delicious batch of mashed potatoes so light and flavorful, I'm almost convinced it was all a heatstroke induced dream. A few years ago I began experimenting with replacing some of the milk, cream and butter in my mashed potatoes with alternative ingredients. The most successful ingredients I found were chicken stock and olive oil (not extra virgin), which are both flavor and contribute greatly to creating the right texture. Another helpful change for me was switching to what I now consider to be the best potato, the Yukon gold. Their natural sweetness actually adds flavor to the mashed potato party, unlike russets or red bliss. I find that using stock, a little butter and some mild olive oil lead to airy, yet rich mashed potatoes, with an almost whipped quality. Here's what I came up with:

(Almost) Healthy Mashed Potatoes

3 medium to large Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (I leave the skin on)
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock (non-tomato based)
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
salt
pepper

1. Bring potatoes to a boil in a large pot of salted water. Cook until soft and easily pierced with a fork. Drain.

2. Add milk, butter, olive oil, salt (to taste) and pepper. Mash potatoes, then slowly add stock until desired consistency is reached. Top with parsley for garnish. Enjoy!

-Laura

You Do The Mash

I like to think that every meal serves a purpose beyond just keeping us fed and nourished. I especially like to imagine that with every meal we are filling a void or satisfying a craving. A meal has the potential to be much more than sustenance--it can be the missing puzzle piece in your day that, for lack of a better term (my apologies to Tom Cruise) can complete you. Whether it's a craving for fast food, greasy take-out or your favorite mac and cheese, sometimes ensuring that what you eat hits the spot can be the variable that either makes it a great day, or a disappointing one.

I never felt this more than on Sunday night, when after yet another weekend out of the city, I returned home and craved something comforting and homemade. I have to admit that all of these road trips I've been on recently are really taking a toll on my normally (fairly) decent eating habits. Somewhere between the barbecues, pizza parties and post game commiserating, I've found myself wanting the one thing that used to satisfy me the most. Although I always cooked for myself in the years before this blog, I must say that there was less variety in my diet. Part of the reason I started the blog, in fact, was to encourage myself to diversify my cooking habits and skills. I used to rely on steak and potatoes or steak and a salad a few times a week, especially when I was tired or working late. Cooking something I craved was the exception, not the rule, and soon after the blog started my steak dinners fell by the wayside.

Collapsing on my sofa after the rainy Sunday drive back to the city, I was reminded of my pre-blog eating habits. Having feasted on pizza, coffee, donuts and beer all weekend, nothing sounded better to me than those old hearty steak dinners in front of the tv. I figured I shouldn't totally regress and perhaps find an alternative side dish to my normally very rich mashed potatoes and gravy. I decided to do a little crisper clean out and make a parsnip, potato and leek mash instead, and since I was being such a good girl, I topped it off with a pat of butter and a little crispy bacon. It turned out great and was super simple to make. It was also the perfect foil for something like steak, where you can scoop up the mash with a bit of meat. Here's my final (very satisfying) recipe:

Potato, Parsnip & Leek Mash

2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2 small to medium parsnips, peeled, cores removes, diced
1 large leek (white and light green parts only, thoroughly washed, chopped
5 Tbsp butter
1 cup water
1/2 tsp sage
1 Tbsp ricotta cheese
salt
pepper
crispy bacon (for garnish)

1. Heat 4 Tbsp butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook covered until softened (not browned) about 8-10 minutes. Add potatoes, parsnips and sage, cooking another minute.

2. Add water, salt and pepper and cook covered until potatoes and parsnips are tender and water has been absorbed (add more water while cooking if necessary).

3. Remove pan from heat and mash mixture. Mix in ricotta and a little water or butter if necessary for texture. Serve topped with remaining pat of butter and crumbled bacon. Enjoy!

-Laura

There's A New Potato In Town

Although I've found some excellent food resources in my new neck of the woods here in Hell's Kitchen, I must say that there are a few things that I miss about my old neighborhood. I'm no longer down the street from Kalustyan's, home to about every foreign food product, and most notably, I'm no longer walking distance from the Union Square greenmarket. This is the first time in eight years that I haven't been able to get up on a Saturday and head on over to the market in 20 minutes or less.This past Saturday was the first time since moving that I woke up determined to make it to the market--I'd installed every last piece of lighting, put up every shelf, and hung up every frame, so there were no more 'new home' errands to distract me.

The time had come to finally get back to my normal weekend cooking routine, which until recently meant stocking up on new ingredients to experiment with. So, armed with my environmentally friendly canvas tote bag and a 15% off coupon for Barnes and Noble (to be used on a cookbook, of course) I headed out into the 74 degree weather towards the greenmarket. This unseasonably warm weather of course meant that there were considerably more people there than in the last few months. Regardless, I managed to make my way around them and buy a few goodies to play with, including some heirloom new potatoes. A beautiful mix of red, yellow and purple new potatoes, they were super affordable and are just coming into season. I bought a few more things, then headed along on my merry way to buy a brand new cookbook. After perusing a few titles I settled on Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters, queen of the slow food movement (how appropriate for Earth Day).

It turns out that the book had exciting recipes and ideas for everything I'd bought at the market, so I figured I'd start with the potatoes. I decided to use Waters' method for simultaneous roasting and steaming in the oven, but my own recipe for the ingredients. I took a little inspiration from Scarborough Fair and used parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme to create the seasoning for the potatoes. Since I'd be eating a whole plateful of potatoes I figured I should pair them with something simple like a lovely, fresh (and huge) piece of cod that I picked up from the fishmonger after work. I roasted it in the oven with some of the same spice mixture that I used on the potatoes, along with a few extra turns of the pepper mill. A drizzle of olive oil over the fish and 10 minutes in the oven later and dinner was done. Here's how to make it:


Cod with Roasted New Potatoes

1 large cod fillet
2 cups new potatoes (larger ones cut in half)
3 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp each ground rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley
1/4 cup water
salt
pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F degrees. In a large bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil, spice mixture (reserving 1/2 tsp for the cod), water, salt and pepper. Place potato mixture on a non-stick baking sheet and cover with foil. Cook in the oven for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender and cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, season cod with salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp of the spice mixture. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until flaky and cooked through. Top potatoes with cod. Enjoy!

-Laura

Fishing Around

I very rarely order fish when eating out. It's nothing against fish, the freshness of the fish, the restaurant itself, or the preparation of the dish. It is simply, very easy to execute most fish dishes for myself at home, so why bother paying double for something I can easily make for much cheaper? That's how the rationalization goes in my head anyway, but the truth is that I never really made fish all that often. That's why, when I recently gave myself the challenge of cooking new things, I made it my number one priority to make fish more often. So far I've been sticking to making fish once a week, which is a vast improvement over my previous stat of once every four months.

It turns out that fish is actually one of those things (much like pasta) that once you start, you just can't stop making. The main reason (for me) is that it's affordable and cooks really quickly, usually with minimal effort. One medium sized piece of tilapia cost me $3.19, and ended up becoming dinner and lunch the next day. Not to mention, it's generally really good for you, and super low in fat, so you can pair it with a yummy carb or sauteed veggie side and have a really well rounded meal. I'd been waiting for months to make this one recipe in particular, and finally had the chance a few days ago. It originally called for cod, but my new supermarket wasn't working with me for once, so I used tilapia. The dish still turned out great, and held up well for lunch the following day. The bread-crumb topping is super fragrant, utilizing three different types of zest, and the cheddar sage mashed potatoes are definitely worth adding to your weeknight dinner repertoire.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I already knew it'd be delicious dish because I actually tasted the dish at work once before, because it's from the March issue of Redbook magazine (where I work in the production department). That issue, with the original recipe, is on stands now, or check it out online here. Below is my version of the recipe done with tilapia (for one).

Roasted Citrus-Crumbled Tilapia with Cheddar Sage Mashed Potatoes

Tilapia
1 large boneless, skinless tilapia fillet
1 cup panko or plain bread crumbs
1/8 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/8 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp grated lime zest
salt
pepper

Cheddar Sage Mashed Potatoes
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oven to 450 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, or have a non stick baking sheet handy.

2. Bring the potatoes to a boil in a large pot of water. Cook 15 minutes or until tender.

3. Meanwhile, combine panko, butter and zest until evenly blended. Season cod with salt and pepper and top with breadcrumb mixture, pressing lightly to ensure it adheres to fillet. Place on baking sheet and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until top is browned and fish is cooked through.

4. Drain the potatoes and return to pot. Add milk and sage and mash until smooth. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve each mound of potatoes topped with fish. Enjoy!

Laura

Girly Arms

Remember when you were a kid, and your mother, your teacher, or some other caring adult told you that lie about sticks and stones, and words never hurting you? Well, it has been my experience that words may not break your bones, but they sure do manage to pulverize your ego from time to time. This all came to mind last night as my quest to use up the contents of my fridge and freezer came to an interesting crossroads. You see, when I got home from work and opened the fridge, I came face to face with a sack of potatoes and several eggs. With my background, the obvious meal to make from these ingredients for me would be a tortilla española (kind of like a potato frittata, only it doesn't go in the oven). The problem with this dish is that it requires more than just the slightest ability to cook--it also requires muscle.

A tortilla española is traditionally fairly large, somewhere between 10 and 12 inches in diameter. It's cooked on one side in a large pan, then must be flipped out onto a large plate (without spilling hot oil over yourself) and then flipped back into the pan on the uncooked side. Growing up, my mother--who on a good day is just about 5 feet tall--would always summon my father to do the tortilla flipping. If it's done incorrectly, a spoiled dinner is the least of your problems--you've also got egg on your face and an arm covered in hot grease.


This all proved to be a problem as I considered making a tortilla last night for dinner. All of a sudden I was remembering my junior year of college and how two of my ridiculously in shape roommates used to make fun of my arms. After four days of being called girly arms, and three days of wearing long sleeves in June, I finally agreed to go to the gym with them. It only took two days of painful and intense weightlifting for me to feign a cold (in June) and give up on our group exercise. Although I'm no longer self-conscious about my arms, I do acknowledge that they continue to be the weakest part of my body. After some thought, I decided that I needed to be a big girl and take the bull by the horns. After all, if my grandmother and other tiny women all over Spain can flip a tortilla, then so can I.

So, with my mind made up, I made a traditional tortilla but decided to use up one more ingredient in my fridge and added in some chorizo. When the time came to flip, I suited up with an oven mitt in one hand and a kitchen towel in the other. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about--the flip came off without a hitch, and the tortilla was perfect. So if any of you girly arms out there want to give it a try, just be careful, and here's how to go about it:

Tortilla Española (with chorizo)

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
4 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt
1/2 cup chorizo, chopped
2 cups vegetable oil
salt

1. Heat oil on medium high heat. Meanwhile, season potatoes with salt and add them to the hot oil.

2. Cook potatoes, flipping them occasionally until soft and just cooked through, then remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate to cool for a few minutes. Drain the pan of all oil but 2 teaspoons and return it to the heat.

3. Add the potatoes and chorizo to the egg and carefully stir to combine. Pour the egg mixture back into the hot pan, shaking it occasionally to make sure the tortilla does not stick.

4. When the tortilla stays together and moves easily in the pan, check to make sure there is no excess oil bubbling up around the edges. Then flip it out onto a large plate or lid, and return it to the pan, uncooked side down. Cook until the bottom side is done and the tortilla easily slides out of the pan (shouldn't be more than 3 minutes). Enjoy!

-Laura

1080 Recipes

One of my favorite things to order when I'm in Spain are revueltos. A revuelto is basically a scramble of eggs with various ingredients, including everything from mushrooms, to capers, to blood sausage. These dishes are especially popular in the bars and taverns of old Madrid, home of some of the oldest bars in Europe. It has recently become en vogue to dine in these dark and cavernous underground spots prior to a night of bar hopping, always making sure to order several dishes in preparation for a night of heavy drinking.

Despite how easy they are to make, for some odd reason, I'd never actually made a revuelto at home. That all changed with my recent purchase of 1080 Recipes, one of the most popular Spanish cookbooks of all time. The English translation was finally released in the United States and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Unfortunately, between being sick and looking for an apartment, testing it out had to be put on the back burner (so to speak) for a few weeks. But, having just found an apartment (in Hell's Kitchen, no less--how apropos) I now have more time to cook. Since I'll be trying desperately to use everything in my fridge before moving (it breaks my heart when fresh meat and produce goes to waste), I'll evidently be challenging myself to make successful meals out of a random assortment of ingredients for the next few weeks.

My first self imposed challenge came this week with asparagus that was holding on for dear life in my crisper. Even though asparagus is out of season now (it'll be amazing come April), I found a really good organic bunch a few days ago and have been dying to use it. Turning to my new resource, I excitedly searched for an asparagus revuelto in 1080 Recipes. As luck would have it, there was a perfect recipe, and it included potatoes (which were about to start sprouting evil little eyes), so I could kill two birds with one stone. I didn't actually end up following the recipe exactly, because a few of the times seemed a bit off. It said to blanch the chopped asparagus for 10-20 minutes, which is definitely overkill for even the thickest of stems. It also ran a pretty long cooking time for the eggs, and underestimated (in my mind, anyway) the time it takes to fry up potatoes. So I pretty much ignored the actual recipe and went with my own instinct. And thank goodness for that, since the asparagus was ready in about 4 minutes, the eggs cooked through in about 5, and the potatoes took closer to 20 minutes than the book's suggested 5-8. In the end though, the dish came together nicely and fairly quickly. Revuelto's are a great idea for a quick last minute dinner, and who doesn't like breakfast for dinner? Here's how to make this one:

Asparagus and Potato Revuelto

6 eggs, beaten
2 cups chopped asparagus
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
vegetable oil (at least 5 cups for deep frying)
salt
pepper

1. Heat oil in a heavy pot or frying pan and deep fry potatoes in oil until golden brown and cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch asparagus until tender, about 5 minutes.

3. When the potatoes are done frying, remove them from the oil and set aside on a paper towel covered plate to drain. Season with salt. Remove oil from pan, leaving about 3 teaspoons still in the pan.

4. Reheat remaining oil in the pan and saute asparagus for about a minute on medium heat, seasoning with pepper. Add eggs--and additional oil if it's dried up a bit. Keep eggs in constant motion (with a spatula or wooden spoon) until almost entirely cooked through, then add potatoes and finish cooking eggs off the heat. Enjoy!

-Laura

Some Like It Warm

After several days of chicken broth and no real effort in the kitchen, I decided to bounce back with a soup that has real sustenance with minimal effort. I'm not usually a big fan of chilled soups (and believe me, I know that gazpacho, the mother of all cold soups, is from Spain--I'm still not into it) but I really love a certain cold soup served warm and with a few changes. Traditionally, vichyssoise is a puree of potatoes and leeks mixed with a bit of cream, but I like to add a bit of a twist by adding a few more ingredients to beef up the flavor.

Since this was the first truly homemade meal I'd be making post fever (and keeping in mind that I'm still a bit froggy in the voice department) I figured a good place to start would be to add more veggies. A few years ago I took a stab at Ina Garten's warm zucchini vichyssoise from her cookbook, Barefoot in Paris. In general, I found the recipe a bit bland for a warm soup (it would probably work well cold), but decided that with a few tweaks, it would have the potential to be a delicious light puree. It wasn't until this week that I finally got to test it with my changes, but I think it turned out great. One of the flaws that I found in Garten's recipe is that she doesn't sauté all of the vegetables. After heating the leaks in olive oil and butter, she simply adds the chopped zucchini and potatoes to the pan and immediately brings the mixture to a boil in chicken broth. Instead, I sautéed everything together and allowed for a bit of carmelization and also made sure to lightly salt everything to draw out those veggie juices and flavors.

I'd originally toyed with adding some kind of herb for freshness, or maybe a dry spice for heat, but couldn't really find anything that worked. So after a few moments of reflection (and watching Project Runway) I finally decided to try adding a bit of acidity. In staying with the soup's lovely green theme, I dug out a few limes and pretended like I knew this flavor combination was going to work. In the end, it did. But then again, I generally find that adding a squirt of lemon or lime to most soups really brightens up the flavor, so there wasn't a huge window for failure. The last thing I changed was the amount, and type, of dairy. Instead of heaps of heavy cream (although in Ina's defense, I think it was only a few tablespoons in her recipe) I went with just two tablespoons of half and half. I know that seems like a cop out, but I mostly added it for finish (also, it broke my heart to mess with the lovely color that develops as the vegetables slowly brake down).

That said, it won't look like much until after it's pureed, but once it is, the soup takes on a beautiful velvety texture, and a radiant spring green color that you don't see very much of in the winter. Although I normally find running food through a mill exhausting, the vegetables in this recipe are so soft and delicate after they're cooked, that it's a breeze--I was done in less than five minutes. I'm also normally a stickler for peeling vegetables for purees, but the zucchini peel is so soft after cooking that it almost melts--and the small pieces that don't are tender and harmless, just lovely emerald dots studding the soup for an almost rustic feel. If you don't have a food mill, they're actually pretty cheap, can be taken apart for easy storage, and are usually available at the hardware store. They're not required kitchenware, but are the best way to puree without whipping any extra air into your dish, and a great way to catch the skins from hard to peel veggies. If you don't have one handy, go ahead and use an immersion or stick blender. That's enough talk, here's the actual recipe:

Zucchini Vichyssoise

2 large leeks, washed and sliced
2 large zucchinis, chopped
4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (non-tomato based)
2 small garlic cloves
juice of 1/2 a lime
salt
white pepper

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a medium skillet. Add leeks, a pinch of salt, and sauté until soft.

2. Add zucchini and potatoes, season with salt and pepper and sauté another 5 minutes.

3. Add chicken broth and garlic to pan and bring to a boil. Cook until zucchini and potatoes are done, about 20-30 minutes.

4. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool until it's almost warm to the touch, then run mixture through a food mill until smooth.

5. Add lime juice, taste for salt and garnish with lime zest. Enjoy!

-Laura

From Russia, With Love

As you may have noticed, I've spent the last few weeks in culinary confinement, mostly cooking simple meals for my mom, in addition to making a few American favorites that she misses. But before she left for Spain this weekend, Mom was able to make me one of her favorite childhood dishes. She grew up in Madrid, at an all girls boarding school run by nuns. One day a week, the girls would get their favorite dish--filetes rusos ("Russian steaks")--small meat patties that are somewhere between a hamburger and a meatball. They're super kid friendly, probably because they're traditionally served over french fries or some other type of fried potato, and most kids eat them with their hands (unless, of course, there's a nun over your shoulder). My mom also has fond memories of her mother making patatas a la importancia ("important potatoes") for her as a kid, so we decided to make a full meal out of her favorites.

The potatoes are, for lack of a better word...really cool. Not to mention, the cooking method is something I've never seen before--slowly braised in chicken stock, but only after they're battered and fried (!). First, they're coated in flour and egg and carefully fried until golden brown, but still raw in the center. Then, the slices are layered in a pan and cooked slowly in a braising liquid like chicken stock. I thought this might lead to a mushy potato, but it actually resulted in a pillowy soft and juicy bed for the filetes. I'll have that potato recipe soon, since I was too busy reliving my childhood as the kitchen helper to write all of the measurements down exactly. We worked from the cookbook known as my mother's memory, and that my friends, is a very long book.

As for the filetes, they're super easy to make, not unlike meatballs. I like them streaked with moist, chunky breadcrumbs and cooked until there's just the tiniest hint of pink in the center. You'll notice in the recipe that I use garlic powder in lieu of fresh garlic, and that's because I generally find that no matter how small you mince garlic for this dish or for meatballs, the garlic never cooks all the way through and is way too pungent. But that's just me (and my mom). Give them a try, especially if you have little ones, they'll probably eat 'em by the handful. They can even help you make them just like my mom and I always have. I may be an adult, and about 4 inches taller than her, but I'm always happy to be mother's little helper. Here's how to make them yourself:

Filetes Rusos
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs soaked in milk
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp parsley (I like dried best)
2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp flour
Light olive oil (or whatever light oil you like for pan frying)
salt

1. Season ground beef with garlic powder and parsley and let stand in a cling wrap covered bowl, about 30-45 minutes. Afterwards, season beef with salt and combine with eggs and breadcrumbs (excess milk squeezed out).

2. Form meat mixture into 2 inch wide balls and coat lightly in flour. Brown in a skillet with light olive oil, carefully flattening each piece with a spatula as it cooks. Flip and brown on second side until cooked through, flattening once again so they resemble small, plump patties.

3. Remove each patty to a plate covered with paper towels to drain. Serve over potatoes. Enjoy!

-Laura

It Takes Two, Baby

Well, this is one for the record books, folks. For the first time in history, I cooked a full meal for my mother. It's not that I was never capable of doing so, but more that I never had the opportunity or the energy to convince her to let me try. But, as luck would have it, authoring a food blog with photographic evidence of my cooking capabilities did it. That, and she had an overpowering flu and bronchial infection rendering her incapable of moving from the sofa and cooking it herself. So, we scrapped our original seafood feast idea and set off to design a new menu fit for two gals (one of which was coughing up a lung) on Christmas Eve.

Since my mother was only just starting to keep food down, we decided that the protein should be simple, maybe poultry. She remembered my saying that I make a good Cornish game hen, so we went with that (we're not turkey people--very few Spaniards eat turkey) and decided to cook the two tiny birds over a bed of soft, oven roasted potatoes. Having missed Thanksgiving for the last 5 or so years, my mother demanded cranberry jelly on the side, so I gladly rid the supermarket of their Thanksgiving overstock. I love roasting green asparagus in the oven, so we added that as the bit of green in our meal. I'd already made a seafood paté to snack on while the hens roasted, so that bit would have to stay (even if I ate it all myself).

So, while my mom showered and dressed, I began reducing the glaze, chopping the potatoes, chilling the cranberry jelly and seasoning the asparagus. By the time she was done, the house smelled of cumin, fennel and nutmeg, and all that was left was to glaze the hens every 10 minutes. I felt invincible setting out the paté aperitif as my mom commented on how great the house smelled. Sure, there were a few comments here and there about how I should be leaving the skin to crisp, or that I should mind the asparagus, but all in all, I was not harassed by mother and really had the opportunity to cook my way. The meal turned out great, she loved it, and so did I. It was warm and filling, and had a real Christmas feel to it, even if it was just for two.

I've written about the Cornish hens before, so here's the recipe for the super easy oven roasted asparagus we had on the side. I hope everyone had a great holiday, filled with button popping meals and delicious treats. I'd love to hear about what you made for yourself or your family to celebrate. Merry Christmas!



Oven Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus (about 10 spears)
olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.

2. Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil (for easy clean-up).

3. Spread out asparagus on the sheet pan and drizzle with oil. Season liberally with salt and about a 1/4 tsp pepper. Toss to coat.

4. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through but still a bit crisp in the center. Enjoy!

**Sorry for the crappy photos, I am currently without Photoshop while I'm not working for the holidays. Also, I didn't bother to set up lighting so our food wouldn't get cold while I took a million pics. I'll get back to some decent photography in the next few entries!

-Laura

A Latke Fun

When I was a kid, I used to get in trouble in school. It was never for being bad, or insubordinate, or for not doing my work. I got into trouble because I had too much time on my hands. You see, I loved school because I loved to learn--I always have. I'm a nerd at heart that loves to read, so I'd tear through the books we were assigned, always reading ahead and finishing all of my dittos early (remember those?). I would almost always run out of work to do during class, having usually finished my schoolwork for the whole week by Wednesday. My problems started when I would run out of work to do and start talking to my classmates. According to my teachers I was a distraction to the other children that were trying to finish their work, but what was I supposed to do?

It wasn't until the third grade when I was placed in Ms. Krauss's class that I got the answer. Instead of scolding me or punishing me when I'd done all the work I could, Ms. Krauss suggested that I write things down instead of chatting with my neighbor. She said that I could write a story, a letter, a poem, anything I wanted, so long as I didn't distract the people around me. I really took to writing and spent all of the free time I had reading and writing stories. My desk at school and my room at home were littered with composition books, and when I got older our house was always noisy with the sound of me at the typewriter.

But Ms. Krauss did more than just instill a love of writing in me. She also introduced me to the food that she made for her family to celebrate Chanukah. Among what she showed the class to make were latkes, a treat that I've loved and often made ever since she showed me how. I love any kind of pancake, but one made of potatoes is pure perfection. I didn't make the traditional latkes that I've always made, I actually started out with a recipe from Everyday Italian for Parmesan latkes and then totally changed it (big surprise). I kept the toppings traditional with sour cream and apple sauce, but changed the spice from Giada's basil, to one of my favorites, sage, because I love using it in the fall and winter.

Latkes are a really nice dish to make whether you're celebrating the holiday or not. I make them year round, which is not surprising since they're really a lot like a tortilla española without the egg. I loved the idea of making one big one and cutting it into little sour cream topped triangles, so I did take that from Giada's recipe. I think next time I'll play with adding in something like chorizo, or maybe a really delicious veggie. If I can bring myself to, I may tweak the toppings, but some things are sacred and I love the play between the slightly tart sour cream and sweet apple sauce. But until the next time, I'd like to dedicate this post to Ms. Krauss for believing that I could be much more than just a chatterbox. So, Chanuka Sameach everybody! Here's how to make the latke pictured above:

Parmesan Latke

2 large Yukon gold potatoes, grated
1/2 a large onion or 1 small onion, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp ground sage or 1/2 cup chopped fresh sage
5 Tbsp olive oil

1. Warm 3 Tbsp of olive oil on medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until fragrant.

2. Meanwhile, squeeze any extra water out of the grated potatoes (you can do this in a paper towel or kitchen towel) and add them to the pan along with the cheese, sage and more salt and pepper. Make sure everything is well incorporated.

3. Using a spatula, press the mixture down into the pan so it's evenly distributed. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the bottom of the mixture is golden brown and easily moves in the pan (about 12 minutes).

4. Flip the pancake over (I just flipped it in the air, but I have a lot of practice) by lowering the heat and placing a heatsafe plate over the pancake and flipping it out of the pan. Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the pancake, uncooked side down. Turn the heat back up to high and cook until golden brown (another 12 minutes). Slide it out onto a platter and serve. Enjoy!

-Laura

Global Table

You know, global warming is really affecting more than the environment--it's actually changing my eating habits. Normally by mid November I'd be indulging in delicious stews, creamy chowders and luscious purees. But who wants to walk home in 62 degree weather and up seven flights of stairs only to make a steaming bowl of soup? The last thing I want at the end of the day in this unseasonably tepid weather is a chili facial. So, when I came home last night sweaty and exhausted, I asked myself what I could throw in a pot that would be comforting but also refreshing.

The answer was simple: take a dish that's normally robust and hearty, break it down into it's basic components, and add some of your favorite refreshing ingredients. What you basically end up with is a deconstructed stew. I decided to take one of my favorite chicken stews and take the soup out of the equation, add in some green peas, replace the chicken with tuna, and now I have a lovely potato and tuna salad. Instead of having a rich orange broth, I drizzled the whole thing with paprika olive oil, and the result was outstanding. I was pleasantly full afterwards, and I'm going to use the leftovers to make a vegetable puree for tomorrow's dinner (there was no leftover tuna).

This dish works really well for a picnic, or as a take to work lunch since it has no mayo or egg (although it does taste great with a little hard boiled egg mixed in-- even a fried egg on top would be lovely). Unfortunately, I couldn't get as much of the paprika oil in the shot as I hoped to, but the colors look great on the plate. This is what I used to make it, but I just made it up so definitely add in your favorite veggies and proteins. It's super easy and definitely takes less than 30 minutes. Here's how to start:

Potato Salad

2 medium potatoes
1 cup chick peas (I used canned)
1/2 cup green peas (frozen is best)
1 small can tuna (I prefer packed in olive oil, but use what you like)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
2 small cloves garlic, crushed

1. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and boil in salted water. When the potatoes have about 10 minutes left, add in the chickpeas.

2. Heat olive oil and garlic in a small skillet. When just starting the brown, remove pan from the heat and discard the garlic. When the oil has cooled add the paprika and mix well. Cook for 30 seconds over medium heat (to remove raw taste). Set aside.

3. When the potatoes are just cooked through, add in the green peas and cook another minute.

4. Drain the boiled mixture and add the tuna (drained) and salt to taste. Carefully mix it in and plate. Drizzle the paprika oil over the salad. Enjoy!

**TIP: I like this dish slightly warmed or room temperature, but it tastes great chilled as well. Just chill the mixture without the oil. Make the oil right before you're ready to serve.

-Laura

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, More.

It's entirely possible that I've hailed something as my favorite comfort food before, but it would have been a lie. It's actually what you see before you, a really rustic and simple dish that in Spain goes by many different names. In my family we call this dish patatas revueltas con huevo, as my grandmother did. But, if you visit old Madrid, home to some of the oldest restaurants in Europe, you'll see them called patatas estrelladas. They all essentially mean the same thing, they're basically just home fries with a scrambled egg or two. Restaurants usually serve them more like stubby little fries with scrambled eggs on top, but we make them a bit differently.

My fondness for the dish started as many favorites do, with my grandmother. It's really just a poor man's version of tortilla española, a dish somewhere between a quiche and a fritatta, and consisting only of potatoes, eggs, and onions. This version really is a poor man's treat, originating with peasants who had no more than a sack of potatoes and the eggs from their own coop with which to feed their families.

For us it started with a roadtrip from D.C. to Florida. My parents and I drove there in a day (barely, about 22 hours) to visit my grandparents who were spending the summer in our apartment in Miami. Tired of road food and potato chips, we finally stopped at a gas station and called my grandparents from a payphone begging for a warm meal. It was the middle of the night and we were only 30 minutes away, so my elderly grandmother did what she could with a half a dozen potatoes and three eggs. She worried that it wouldn't be a satisfactory enough meal after such a long journey, but before any of us knew it, all of the food was gone and we were begging for more. I don't know if it's the memory of how it felt to eat it for the first time that night, or that I know she always made the dish with love, but every time I make that dish at home I'm instantly comforted.

And I was definitely in need of some comfort when I came home Wednesday night to a note telling me that my elevator would be out of service until at least the 15th of November. So, just like some people go to their "happy place" when frustrated, I grabbed my sack of Yukon golds and got to chopping. It's possible that this is an entire plate of carbs talking, but I guarantee it'll be the most comforting meal you've had in years. Here's how to make it for yourself:

Patatas Revueltas con Huevo (Potato and Egg Scramble)

3 large Yukon gold potatoes
2 cups vegetable oil (approx)
2 eggs
Salt
2 Tbsp sugar (sounds weird, but go with me on this)

1. Thinly slice potatoes, no thicker than 1/8 of an inch to ensure even cooking. When you're halfway through slicing, start heating the oil on medium high in a large pan.

2. Salt and sugar potatoes and carefully add to the oil. The oil should almost cover the potatoes but not quite (they will shrink as they cook). When the potatoes are about halfway cooked through and the bottom layer is crunchy and browned, flip them over and cook until done.

3. Remove potatoes from the oil, and remove oil from pan (I actually save it in a metal oil canister and use it the next time I make any kind of fried potato) and lower the heat to medium low. Add potatoes back to the pan and crack both eggs over them. Scramble the eggs with the potatoes, then let them sit and flip everything over every 5 seconds or so until eggs are cooked through (I like them as soft and fluffy as possible, it always takes less than a minute. The idea is to let the warmth of the potatoes cook the egg as much as possible, not the heat of the pan.

**TIP: You can use this same method minus the eggs to make a killer batch of home fries. In addition to the salt and the sugar, season the potatoes with a tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, and 1/2 tsp pepper (I prefer white pepper). Fry them up the same way, only on slightly lower heat and you're all set. If you like yours spicy, use hot paprika, or for fire eaters, add 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. You can save the oil from this dish as well, so long as it didn't burn. Try frying up some eggs in it and serving them over white rice. Yum!

-Laura