Hasselback potatoes are definitely comfort food to me! Long time followers of this page will know that I am very proud of this style of potato: back in 2015, I even won a contest with this recipe put on by the Idaho Potato Commission and if it’s one thing that Idaho knows, it’s potatoes. 🙂 These take a bit of time (usually right around an hour, although if you have larger potatoes, they can take a little longer), and they take a little bit of precision to make, but I think that they are worth it. My trick for not cutting all the way through the potato is to put a chop stick on either side o the potato so I don’t slice all the way down to the cutting board. If you aren’t a fan of garlic, you can omit it, though I do think the fresh herbs are nice in the basting butter.
sides
It’s beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving! Long time followers will know that I often make a few things ahead of the big foodie holiday. I also typically try a riff on your standard cranberry sauce. This year,I found some fantastic italian plums at their peek so I frozen them to add to this Plum Pear and Cranberry Chutney. It’s delicious, and while it doesn’t take very long to make, it’s nice to have it ticked off the list. Should stay good in the ridge until Christmas, if you don’t eat it all at Thanksgiving.
Baby Dill Refrigerator Gherkins (Cornichon)
I have a thing for pickles. I have told the story many times that my first word was actually “Gurke!” which is the German work for pickle. And I will eat them by the jar. OK, hopefully not by the jar because that is a little too much vinegar even for my iron stomach. So, I decided to make my own this year. I do this every few years, but when I saw the baby cornichons (these are literally just an inch or two in size), I just had to make them. They are a little salty (next time add a little more sugar to the brine), but otherwise, these are pretty fantastic. They should stay good in the fridge for a while, but I’ll likely eat them all by next week!
This week, in my ingredient challenge game, we’re doing things with peppers and chilis and I remembered that I had a whole lot of Thai Bird Chilis dried from last summer, so I decided to make some chili oil. It’s pretty hot, so definitely designed as a finishing oil. It’s got a bit of sesame seeds and sesame oil in it as well. Spicy, but not blow your head off spicy!
Here’s another little bread recipe: I realized that I had no bread in the house last night, and I am a “toast for breakfast kind of person”, though I am not an early breakfast eater. That means that this loaf making was perfect as I started my day baking and ended up having a few slices near mid-day. Great all-purpose bread, from breakfast to sandwiches.











