So Hasselback Potatoes…. I think that most of you know the story (and the reoccurring results) of my Hasselback Potato Skillet Bake winning the Idaho Potato Recipe of the year about a million years ago (back in 2015). The recipe resurrects itself every now and again and I make it for myself sort of often. Many of you also know that I spend a lot of time randomly pondering “How can I make this recipe better?” for lots of my recipes. Well, I got to thinking about that this afternoon, after finding some perfectly sized russet potatoes (on the small side): How do I make Hasselback potatoes even better? They are already sort of like a baked/jacket potatao meets potato chips/crisps, so why not not go all in: bacon (and the bacon fat)…. cheddar … scallions. Yup, these Bacon + Cheddar Hasselback Potatoes are sort of a love child between baked potatoes, potato skins and chips. Serve with sour cream. Add on some pickled jalapenos and serve with guacamole. Simply to die for.
veggies
winter is soup season, and this one turned out great: Carrot and Smoked Gouda Bisque. It’s sweet and savory at the same time, righ and smokey too. Might even be healthy, except for the rich cream. Either way, it was delicious.
It is, however, hard to photograph. You might have heard me complain before: soups and chowders aren’t fun to photograph — monochromatic, often light colored liquid. [Yawn]. This time, I went for adding a few carrot swirls, just to give it some contrast in the picture. Totally unnecessary for the recipe though. 🙂
Well, here’s something different. I’m still on my “summer tomato kick” (because if you aren’t getting good tomatoes now, when will you get good tomatoes?!?), but these Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Crackers can actually be made year round because you’re using the dried variety. I know that these may not look like much, but they are packed with flavor and would go great with cheese or dip or as an addition to a rustic charcuterie platter. You won’t be disappointed!
The other day, we had Peas & Pearls! Now we have Sprinkles & Curls. Ok, so it’s just a cute way of saying tiny cherry tomatoes marketed as “sprinkles” and curly spaghetti, but I think that it’s funny. And if you don’t have either, you can make this recipe with cherry tomatoes and regular spaghetti as well. A super quick mostly hands off meal but also super delicious. The tomatoes are just bursting with flavor!
Yup, it’s way to hot to cook so here is a salad. 🙂 I’m calling this one Peas and Pearls Pasta Salad. Peas are self explanatory. Pearls because of the perlini mozzarella. you don’t need to use orecchiette pasta, however I think it looks cute when peas or perlini end up nestled inside them. Don’t have baby arugula? Baby spinach or even watercress would be good too.