Dinner, Lunch, Pasta

ATK’s “Cheater” Gnocchi with a Mushroom Medley Cream Sauce

So of all the “pastas”, “dumplings” and “easily bought so why make them yourself” items, gnocchi is my least favorite to make myself. I mean, why bother making gnocchi when you can just buy them? They are generally a lot of work — roast the potatoes, let them cool, but make sure that they don’t gummy so make sure to release the steam just at the right minute. Then make the dough, but depending on the potatoes, add more less of this or that. So, America’s Test Kitchen came up with a recipe to make gnocchi, but using potato flakes — still potatoes, right? So, that is how I made these earlier today. Was much easier than the traditional method. The recipe is more about showing off the gambit of potato things than the actual gnocchi in mushroom sauce.

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Dinner

Hachis Parmentier (French Cottage Pie)

Next up in the potato week extravaganza: Hachis Parmentier! What the heck is Hachis Parmentier? Well, it’s cottage pie with a French accent. Seriously, I looked at 10 cottage pie recipes and 10 Hachis Parmentier recipes and I can’t find a lick of difference. Cottage Pies (and it’s cousins Shepard’s Pie (with lamb) and Shepherdess’ Pie (vegetarian)) are a filling on the bottom and then covered with mashed potatoes. This particular one also has a healthy dose of cheese — Gruyer in this case (maybe the Cottage Pie Version would have cheddar instead). Either way, delicious, easy to make (and can be done in stages over a few days, if needed) and perfect comfort food for a cold January weekend.

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Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Meyer Lemon + Blue Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

It’s so very cold these days. Yes, it’s January, yes, it’s supposed to be cold and generally, I like the cold, so I am not really complaining. Arctic cold snaps are tolerable, but they do make me feel like turning on the oven more. My flat is so small that turning on the oven actually heats up the entire place somewhat. So I decided to make this Meyer Lemon + Blue Poppy Seed Bundt Cake before work this morning. The meyer lemons make it all sunshiney too, which is good for the winter-blahs.

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Appetizers/Starters, Dinner, Lunch, Savory Snacks, Sides

Hasseltots
(aka Teeny Tiny Hasselback Potatoes)

These are Hasseltots…. teeny tiny potatoes, cut hasselback style. Contrary to the autocorrect on my phone, these are NOT Hasselhofs. As far as I know, The Hof is not involved with my lunchtime kitchen activities (shudder), but I’ve had to correct the autocorrect more than a few times.

Autocorrect is annoying. These Hasseltots are delicious. Hands down yummy.

Also, might be kid friendly (minus the greenery?) because they are “snackable” and taste a lot like french fries.

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Appetizers/Starters, Breakfast/Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Savory Snacks, Sides

Potato Manchego + Caramelized Onion Tart

More spuds! And what’s not to like about putting carbs in carbs! Yea, a potato pie with carbs nestled in more carbs and nope, I don’t regret a thing. This is delicious. A little sweet from the caramelized onions, salty from the machego cheese, hearty from the potatoes. Can be served on it’s own as a brunch dish or an appetizer, or as your carbohydrate along with meat and a salad.

(PS: don’t have manchego cheese? Asiago or Parmesan will serve you just fine too!)

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