Category Archives: Back to Basics Cooking
Hasselback (Accordion) Potatoes
No, these aren’t a favorite of David Hasselback. Rumor has it they were named after a restaurant in Stockholm. Otherwise known as accordion potatoes. They are simple to prepare, but make an elegant presentation on any dinner plate.
I’ve been practicing for a few days because I wanted something special to make for a dinner party. These really fit the bill. Once I got the hang of it I was able to slice 4 potatoes and prep them for baking in less than five minutes.
One trick I read really made the job easy: use a wooden spoon to keep the knife from slicing all the way through the potatoes. Worked like a charm.
But what if you slice all the way through a section? No worries, it bakes up just as well and if you set the cut end down on the baking sheet, it comes out extra crisp and a pretty shade of yummy…otherwise known as golden brown.
Here’s an easy recipe, you can add anything you like in the category of herbs and spices, add cheeses (at the very end only) or serve with herbed butter or sour cream. Add some parsley before serving to class it up. 
Mine are seriously lacking, because when I pulled the parsley out of the vegetable keeper it was decidedly unphotogenic.
If you’re looking for something a bit special, but still quite simple, these are it. They are moist and fluffy on the inside and crisp and buttery on the outside. This recipe is a keeper:
Hasselback (Accordion) Potatoes
I used russet potatoes because that’s what I had on hand, but I think Yukon Gold or Reds would work well. I’m also thinking of trying it with sweet potatoes and using a little brown sugar and cinnamon in the butter.
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 4 cloves of crushed garlic (more as desired, but for any garlic flavor at all, you’ll need a clove for each potato)
- 1/8 tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper
- 4 medium to large potatoes
- shredded sharp cheddar or grated parmesan
- minced parsley
baking sheet, wooden spoon, saucepan, pastry brush, foil or parchment
Melt butter and stir in garlic, onion, salt and pepper.
Using the wooden spoon as your guide (see photo above) slice potatoes 3/4 of the way through, in thin slices. Place on foil or parchment covered baking sheet and baste thoroughly with butter and bake at 425 degrees F for 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender and the outsides crisp.
Sprinkle cheese over potatoes and broil until cheese is melted and golden. Remove to platter and sprinkle with minced parsley.
Friday Recipe Exchange: Corned Beef and Cabbage
I have made corned beef and cabbage a total of one time before prepping for tonight’s recipe exchange. It was early in my marriage and I was having a ball trying out family favorites out on my own. I followed the recipe completely and what I got for my trouble was dry, stringy, tough meat. The veggies were ok if I remember correctly. I never tried it again.
But I love corned beef and cabbage and decided I needed to try to find a way to make it simple and foolproof. I’d been experimenting with my pressure cooker while reviewing a pressure cooker cookbook (which was horrible but that’s a whole other post) and had a realization – the pressure cooker was the perfect solution to my corned beef cooking fears.
But don’t worry. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, I included a slow cooker recipe, too.
Corned beef is really one of the perfect foods to do in a pressure cooker. You get a nice, tender beef and instead of mushy, colorless vegetables, you get perfectly cooked vegetables infused with that great corned beef broth flavor.
The recipe below uses a bit of dill pickle juice in place of some of the water and a touch of spicy brown mustard. But I saw recipes that used chicken broth, sherry or beer in place of some of the water. I think you should experiment and use what sounds good to you. Me, I like dill pickle juice.
A lot of recipes call for 3-4 lbs of corned beef. When I shopping , 4 lbs was the smallest piece I could find, most were 5-6 lbs. You may have to cut a piece in half, but since both the pressure cooker and slow-cooker recipes are easy, you don’t need to save corned beef and cabbage for a special occasion. Just freeze the other half and save for another day.
And the best part, making Reuben’s with the leftovers. My mom makes the best ones, but I one up her by grilling mine Panini-style. Yum.
Are you a corned beef and cabbage household? Reuben fans? What about cooking disasters? Have any good stories about your failures in the kitchen?
On to the recipes:
JeffreyW tackles corned beef dinners here and here
And he loves the leftovers – see his gallery of Corned Beef Sandwiches here.
(you know there’ll be pretty pictures at those links)
And my family weighs in on their favorite ways to fix corned beef. (click here)
Now the featured recipes:
Pressure Cooker Corned Beef Dinner:
- 3 to 4 lbs corned beef, trim the fat to about 1/4 inch
- Water
- Spices included with corned beef or the following: 1 tbsp black peppercorns, 1 tbsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp fennel seeds,
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 – 6 medium to large potatoes, cut into four to eight pieces, peeling optional
- 4-6 carrots, sliced in half and cut into 2” lengths
- Cabbage, cut into 4 to 6 pieces
pressure cooker and cooking rack
Remove the corned beef from the brine (discarding the brine), rinse thoroughly and place in the bottom of the pressure cooker, fatty side up. [You don’t really want to brown this beef, because it’s been brined.] Sprinkle spices over the top of the beef. Add enough liquid (water or water and a combination of ONE of the following: pickle juice, chicken broth, beer or wine) to come to the top of beef, about 3-4 cups usually. Cover and bring to pressure and let cook for 1 hour. I use the cold water method to depressurize.
The key to getting the perfect corned beef and vegetables with the pressure cooker is to cook them separately. Prep the vegetables during the last 15 or so minutes of beef cooking time. Once the beef is done, put it on a cutting board, cover loosely in foil and put a towel over the whole deal.
Remove all but enough liquid to come to the bottom of the cooking rack when placed in the pressure cooker. Place potatoes first on the tray, then carrots and then cabbage, cover and bring to pressure. Cook for about 12 minutes. The vegetables will be fork tender, not mushy and the beef will be fully rested. Slice, plate and serve.
For the slow-cooker:
Place rinsed beef in the bottom of the slow-cooker, sprinkle spices and add liquid to come to the top of the beef, and cover. Cook on low for 4 hours. At the 4 hour mark, add in order: potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Cook additional 4 hours. With the exception of adding the vegetables, try to resist the temptation to open the lid. You need it to stay covered to properly cook.
There you go, some easy ways to put together a nice corned beef dinner.
Interestingly there seemed to be a green cabbage shortage last week. I went to three different grocery stores and they were completely sold out. I didn’t want to use red cabbage because I don’t really like it. I decided to use Nappa cabbage and really liked it, much more than green cabbage, it’s sweeter and has a more delicate flavor and I think it will be my cabbage of choice from this point forward.
Specialty Flour: Prairie Gold
On a whim, I bought a specialty flour. It’s called Prairie Gold, it’s a white, whole wheat flour – the wheat itself if golden, not the darker brown of traditional wheat, so it’s buttery colored instead of the deeper brown.
It’s organic, grown in high altitude and has a high protein content. I was not expecting it to make any noticeable difference, but it did offer a way to make fluffier whole wheat baked goods, so I was on board. It didn’t hurt that is wasn’t that much more expensive than my plain old unbleached flour.
Was I in for a surprise. The biscuits I made were practically creamy. It’s hard to explain the texture, but it was light for whole wheat, creamy and still fluffy – not like white Pillsbury biscuit fluffy, but darn good. The flavor is slightly nutty and it gave the biscuits a richer flavor.
I’ll be using this a lot more.
Friday Recipe Exchange: Pizza, Pizza
![DSC_3846 [1600x1200]](http://whats4dinnersolutions.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/dsc_3846-1600x1200.jpg)
JeffreyW tempts us with yummy-ness.
Making your own pizzas can be pretty quick and definitely much cheaper than ordering out as long as you plan ahead a bit. Things to keep on hand for the weekly Friday night pizza: shredded mozzarella, grated Parmesan, tomato sauce, and some type of crust, which I’ll address below. Then you can top with your favorite things. Let your imagination run wild.
My idea of pizza is a good crust, spicy sauce and cheese. Pepperoni is a plus. Nothing more.
What’s a good crust varies by personal preference. I’m as happy with a Chicago-style flaky crust as I am a thin New York-style.
Pizza seems like a good place to have a lively discussion. I bet everyone has a favorite they’d argue for, what’s yours? Is pizza a treat or a weekly item on the menu?
JeffreyW seems to have one for every occasion. For your viewing pleasure: JeffreyW Pizza Gallery.
Now let’s run through a few ingredients.
Sauce is pretty easy, you can use leftover spaghetti sauce – I always make a double batch and freeze half (recipe here).
Or try some of JeffreyW’s Awesome Sauce™ (recipe here)
A simple sauce of one 15-oz can tomato sauce, and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of crushed garlic and dried oregano, with a dash of dried basil will deliver a nice pizza. Skip the dried basil if you’re going to use fresh basil as one of your toppings. Always crush the dried spices between your fingers to release the flavor. You can keep a jar of pizza seasoning if that’s easier. Oregano is the key to restaurant style pizza, that’s the signature flavor of a traditional pizza.
So for a quick pizza crust, this one from my Men Who Cook Series works really well:
Todd D’s Pizza Crust
(enough for two large cookie sheets)
- 2 c. whole wheat flour
- 2 c. white flour
- 2 c. warm water
- 2 pkg yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ c olive oil
Mix together and knead. Add enough flour so that it’s not sticky. The dough should be elastic.
Roll out and place on greased cookie sheets. Top with chopped tomatoes, pizza seasoning and parmesan cheese. Then add your favorite toppings and cheeses.
Bake 25 minutes at 400.
Instead of using a baking sheet, how about using a cast iron skillet. It worked great (see here)
Or try JeffreyW’s (photos of the process here):
I’ve been adding stuff to my pizza dough lately. It may be overkill, given that the sauces and toppings are what a pizza is all about, but if I have fun doing it-why not?
Tonight’s dough got thyme, red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, and fennel seeds. The candidates for inclusion are limited only by whether they might taste good on a pizza. The dough recipe isn’t anything special or “to die for”. You can find hundreds of “the best dough ever” recipes-just pick one and go with it. I put this one together on the fly, some sourdough starter, perhaps a half cup, then a tablespoon of sugar and one of yeast, about a cup of water, four cups of flour, a half tablespoon of salt, a generous drizzle of olive oil, and the additions mentioned above. Mix in the stand mixer for ten minutes, then a turn in a greased bowl for a first rise. After the first doubling, divide into eight portions, form them roughly into balls, and let them rise again, covered, on a tray.
I roll them out on a plastic mat. Let them rest for a few minutes after a first roll to relax a bit, then finish rolling. I manage to get them to about ten inches in diameter. Poke holes all over with a fork or they may balloon out like pocket bread.
I “par bake” them on a stone in a 375 oven for about two minutes a side. You don’t really want them to brown, they will finish cooking when you use them for a pizza. I let the first one tonight get too brown, I had the oven a bit high, and left it a wee bit too long.
They are ready to use right away-freeze what you don’t use for a quick pizza anytime!
You don’t have to make your own crust, you can do what friends of mine do, and keep frozen, store-bought crust dough in the freezer, or you can use pita bread, which JeffreyW does frequently, use refrigerator tube dough, or make french bread pizzas with loaves from the grocery. Now why would you order out? But if you do, you’ll probably find your best pies with a small, local vendor instead of a chain.
