Chicken Stew with Mashed Potato 'Dumplings'

Merry Christmas ! Happy New Year ! Got leftovers ? Me, too !

'Kind Of' Colcannon ...Just in Time for St Paddy's Day

Weekend fare that seems fitting for a bowl of comfort and a cold beer at the pub ...

Hedy's German Potato Salad

Simple flavors combine to make a warm and tart take on potatoes, onions, ham, and parsley ... German Potato Salad. SB and I are just back from a visit with German friends and I'm feeling the nostalgia for all that German brauhaus food that we enjoyed while touring. Every small village has its little pub/restaurant that serves the local specialties and potato salads come a few different ways.

Chicken and Potato Gnocchi Soup

I snipped and hung the bittersweet to dry this weekend.

Shirred Eggs with Potato Puree

A few years ago, I did a melancholy post that revolved around my forced retirement from teaching. It involved the economic downturn, the slashing of teaching budgets, my age and reduced chances of getting hired to a teaching position in New Hampshire's slow economy and the angst at 'letting it go' and embracing a new chapter of life.

Reading Ruth Reichl's memoir/cook book, My Kitchen Year, gave me much the same feeling that I had as I posted that earlier post here at The Spice Garden.

Ukrainian Beet Borshch and Pampushky

Christmas always brings me at least one new cookbook and this year was no exception! My traditional first recipe from most of the cook books I get is a soup recipe. This is, perhaps, the result of looking to use leftovers from the Christmas food shopping fest or maybe just a rustic reaction to all the rich food we consume during the holidays. Soup seems simpler, less caloric, and less stressful to create.

IHCC - Nigel Slater's Mushroom and Leek Pie

It's time to get back in there and dig in ... so says, Silent Bob.

 

IHCC - Here's to the Taters, Nigel!

... 500 grams of tiny Yukon Golds ... a Nigel Slater recipe ... a tasty side dish for baked cod ...

This week's challenge from the I Heart Cooking Club was to find a  root vegetable recipe from Nigel Slater's vast collection of work. I have been enthralled by his potato recipes for the past few weeks, so I thought I'd extend the tater love and go for one more goodie!

Cooking With Nigel - Baked Apple Chicken Sausages and Golden Mash

I'm not quite through with my fascination with bangers and mash, as you can see. This week's version highlights apple chicken sausages that are browned and baked with onions, apple slices, fresh thyme leaves, black pepper, and a brown sugar sweetened gravy of broth and dark beer.

The Virtual Supper Club Welcomes Spring !!! Let's Make a Big Ham Dinner with ALL the Fixings !!!

... Get that ham roasting, 'cause we've got the sides! ...

Gnocchi with Spinach and Dolcelatte ... Cooking with Nigel ... and Potatoes

... Homemade gnocchi, double the spinach, and a creamy cheese sauce. What's not to like? ...

Saturday Night Supper Courtesy of Nigel Slater

Tonight, it's all about the eggs and sausage ... I could have gone all fancy on you and made more meringues or lemon curd, or some other such fancy Brit sweet treat, but it's Saturday night and I've been busy all day. All I want is a warm, stick-to-my-ribs supper and I remembered a segment from Slater's webpage that he did on breakfast hash.

You can watch him at the link below or trust my version of the recipe as seen further on.

BBC TV's Nigel link to Breakfast Hash

Virtual Supper Club's - Under 300 Calories Challenge

The holidays are, indeed, coming and all around the food blog world folks are pulling together the recipes that they want to highlight for holiday dinners, party buffets, and easy meals. This month's Virtual Supper Club members are trying to help busy cooks keep a grip on holiday dinner preparations, while not overextending the caloric load TOO much. The challenge was to form a menu with dishes that are below 300 calories per serving.

Clean Plate Special - Beef and Mushroom Pies !

Pub food is the best! In my mind, it's easy to fix, can be put together fast and slapped down on the table in the time it takes to draw a pint and let the 'head' settle a bit.

Viennese Potatoes ... or ... Glorified Home Fries

So ... the first time we had these taters we had them with lamb kabobs and a side salad. The second time we had these, I plopped eggs in the center instead of that sour cream and cooked them to a soft yolk finish.There were dollops of plain yogurt on the side. Tonight, we had them as the cookbook suggested  (with the sour cream front and center). They shared the dinner plate with vegetables all around to make a meatless meal.

IHCC - Ugly Food From A Lovely Lady

This week's I Heart Cooking Club is a potluck affair - I decided to look around at the other chefs that the club has concentrated on over time ... and ... oh, look! Giada de Laurentiis! How can a woman who looks that good eat the killer recipes that she comes up with and remain looking that good? She must take nano-bites and eat salad the rest of the time! Take this recipe for baked potatoes with sausage and arugula.

IHCC - Royal Potato Salad

Oh, what a warm green mess this is and oh, how utterly delicious! I found myself humming Mellow Yellow as I peeled eggs last evening while making Yotam Ottolenghi's Royal Potato Salad.  Whirling the basil, parsley, Parmesan and pine nuts in the blender made me giddy with the luscious shade of green that resulted. I switched over to trying to remember the Seuss text to 'Green Eggs and Ham'. Whenever, I plopped warm potatoes and eggs, pesto, and peas together and added some mint and tossed, I could tell by the texture, color, and scent that we had a winner here!

Cheeseburger in Paradise Soup

This is a new soup ... one that I found in a Taste of Home magazine that my son gave me at Christmastime. With time and finagling, I think it will be a worthy soup, but yesterday when I made it, I couldn't put my finger on what will make is a perfect cream soup. As you look at the list of ingredients, give it a think, will you?  Let me know if something glares out at you.