Cooking and Blogging

Yes, you read that right! When I stumbled onto this recipe at the beautifully curated blog, Apron of Grace, I almost clapped my hands in delight! Mabel’s Potatoes call for small red potatoes, peeled. I’ll let Apron of Grace‘s recipe and images do the talkin’! Enjoy!

Apron of Grace‘s recipe and suggestions by me!

Mabel’s Potatoes

12 small potatoes

1/2 c. flour

seasonings to taste  (I used seasoning salt and parsley, but can add garlic powder, etc.)

lard/oil

Boil potatoes till the skin just starts splitting.  About 10 minutes or so (try this Michael Graves Kitchen Timer)! The potatoes do not need to be cooked thoroughly in the boil.

Take from the stove, drain and cool in cold water.

Gently peel the skin of the potatoes off. (Kenmore Stainless Steel Y-Peeler)

Mix the flour and seasonings and roll the potatoes one by one very gently.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a pot to deep frying stage at 325 degrees. (Or try this Waring Professional Deep Fryer from Crate & Barrel! It’s just under $50.00!

Drop the potatoes in very gently, I set mine on a spoon and lower them in.

When one side is browned, turn to the other side.

Drain on towel and serve warm.

This past weekend, I was treated out to a lovely dinner at a 2 star Michelin restaurant in Los Angeles called Providence. The standout dessert was their “banana bread pudding” and barley ice cream. I wasn’t too fond of the ice cream because of the strong star anise flavor, but the “pudding” was amazing! It had a gelatinous texture with a strong banana bread taste. It made me crave banana bread non-stop!

image via Roaming Belly

Here is an AWESOME banana bread recipe from What Megan’s Making with kitchen suggestions by me!

Best Ever Banana Bread

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup sugar (cute measuring cups from Anthropologie)

2 eggs

5 overripe bananas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp wheat germ

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 2 loaf pans (Rachel Ray Loaf Pans from Target) . Cream together the shortening and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer (Cuisinart Hand Mixer from Best Buy). Add the eggs and bananas; blend until the bananas are thoroughly mashed. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into a separate bowl; stir in the wheat germ. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and blend until just mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans, dividing it evenly. Bake for 40-50 minutes. The bread is done when the top springs back after being pressed in the center with fingertips.

I love, love, love smoked salmon. My Jewish friends have adopted me into their breakfast culture of cream cheese and lox bagels. This recipe for Avocado Salmon Rolls lets me cut out the carbs and focus on the smokey salmon with buttery avocado.

image and recipe via ZOMBTbakes

Avocado Salmon Rolls Ingredients
Smoked salmon
Avocado
Cream cheese
Fresh dill
Lemon juice
Method
Combine equal parts of the avocado and cream cheese with a splash of lemon juice and dill to taste. Mix until well combined. Spoon onto smoked salmon and gently roll up. Serve immediately. Easy!

Here are some serving dishes that would be perfect for these rolls!

Oval Platter – Frontgate

Colorcode Serving Platter – White

Mikasa 11×8-in. Rectangular Indigo Bloom Serving Platter

Have you heard of coffee percolators? I hadn’t until today, and I can’t believe how convenient they are! It keeps the coffee warm. while having a really sweet, vintage look that is perfect for brunch or company!

National Presto Presto 12-cup Stainless Steel Percolator

Farberware Percolator (4-12 Cup) FCP412

Melitta 12-cup Percolator

There is a general consensus about Italian food: it’s delicious! Pizza and pasta are so pervasive in American culture, it’s almost a no-brainer to keep these three Italian cooking items from Sur La Table in your home!

First, a pasta maker. Fresh pasta is bar-none .

Atlas Marcato Pasta Machine

Secondly, a pizza stone to turn your oven into sometime much more spectacular

Pizza/Bread Baking Stone

And Italian sausage and peppers would be amazing when made in a slow cooker!

All-Clad Slow Cooker

I love the look of copper pots in a kitchen. Gleaming copper pots can be more of a design element than a cooking utensil, but according to eHow.com, “Copper cookware is widely known as being a great conductor of heat and an energy saver.”

image via decorpad

Ruffoni Copper Fondue Pot

Mauviel Cuprinox 2.5 mm 9.6 qt Stew Pan with Lid – Brass Handles

Ruffoni Hammered Copper Sauce Pot

It’s time to start some spring cleaning in my kitchen! Everything is sitting in its original bag and my pantry looks so disorganized. With these containers, my spices, snacks and overall kitchen will be in so much better shape! Are you doing anything to get your home organized for spring cleaning?

OXO 10-Pc. Pop Container Set

Jk Adams 48 Spice Bottles, Caps, Sifters

Mini Spice Jar with Clamp Set

I didn’t feel like spending very much time in the kitchen tonight so I made instant mabo tofu. Mabo tofu is a Chinese spicy tofu dish that is really easy to make–especially so because I used the instant mix kind. Here’s a recipe for those of you who have more energy than me today!

Mapo Tofu recipe and image via Nook and Pantry

Suggestions by me!

1 block soft but not silken tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 oz ground beef (85% or 90% lean) or pork
3 Tbsp chili bean paste
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground or crushed (more or less depending on your tastes)
Dried whole chilis (optional, how much is up to you)
1 Tbsp fermented black beans (optional), rinsed
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine
3 slices of ginger
4 green onions, sliced in half lengthwise then cut into 3 inch sections separating the white part from the green part (you add them at different times, reserve some of the green parts to garnish on top)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 C chicken stock
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water
Salt to taste

If you are using ground beef, brown it first, then drain it of the rendered fat because otherwise the dish will be a little too greasy. Heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until the beef is browned and the fat has rendered. Transfer the beef to a sieve to drain the fat and set aside. If you’re using ground pork, no need to brown it first.

In the now cleared wok or skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the ginger slices, white part of the green onion, and ground Sichuan peppercorns and cook until fragrant about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the ground beef that you cooked earlier (or the raw ground pork if you’re using that), the chili bean paste, garlic, fermented black beans (if using), soy sauce, rice wine, white pepper, and sugar, and cook for another minute or two. Then add the tofu, green part of the green onions, chicken stock and simmer for about 15 minutes, stir occasionally and carefully so you don’t break up the delicate tofu. Meanwhile mix the cornstarch with some water in a small bowl and set aside. After simmering, add the cornstarch slurry and bring up to a simmer again and cook until thickened.

Garnish with chopped green onions and serve with white rice.

Some things you’ll need:

Chopstick Set

Cuisinart Simply Grilling Non-stick Grilling Wok

Rice Scoop

I just went to Vegas this past weekend and had a wonderfully whimsical meal at Jose Andres’ restaurant Jaleo in the new Cosmopolitan Hotel. One of the standout dishes was his Mussels steamed in a white wine broth. The recipe and image is via Honest Vanilla!

Here is the recipe and ingredients with suggestions by me!

Ingredients

• 1 kg black mussels, thoroughly scrubbed
• A third of a white wine bottle, or 250ml
• 4 garlic clove, minced
• 2 shallot, minced
• 2 bird’s eye chili (chili padi)
• A bunch of parsley, or 5 stalks
• A knob of butter, or 50g
• A couple drops of olive oil, or 1 tbs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat up a large non-stick pan on medium heat with olive oil and stir fry minced garlic and shallot (This Kitchen Aid pan is deep, has a lid, and comes in a great red!)
2. Add white wine first then mussels and cover lid for 5 minutes (You’ll need a wine bottle opener like this screwpull one!)
3. Check all mussels are opened, if not continue steaming with lid on for a couple of extra minutes. Discard stubbornly unopened mussels
4. Once ready add butter, chili and parsley
5. Stir fry to coat mussels evenly
6. Add salt and pepper to taste by testing the broth (Love this OXO salt and pepper mill)

Ice cream is a must with pumpkin pie, if I do say so.  Try this cinnamon ice cream recipe from Pure & Yummy–it would be the perfect pie accompaniment!

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Here is Yummy & Pure‘s recipe for Cinnamon Ice Cream with product suggestions by me!

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
Ten 3″ cinnamon sticks, broken up
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the cream on a medium saucepan (try the Revere 2-qt Covered Saucepan). Once warm, cover and remove from heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Rewarm the cinnamon infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl, whisk in the ground cinnamon (optional) and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly (try this Williams Sonoma 10″ Flat Whisk) , then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.