Who doesn't like Chocolate Pudding?

History of Jell-O; In 1845, industrialist Peter Cooper (who built the first American steam-powered locomotive, the Tom Thumb), obtained a patent (US Patent 4084) for powdered gelatin

Forty years later the patent was sold to a LeRoy, New York-based carpenter and cough syrup manufacturer, Pearle B. Wait. In 1897, Pearl and his wife, May, developed a packaged gelatin dessert and named the product Jell-O. Unfortunately Mr. Wait was never able to successfully market his product and in 1899 the Waits sold the business to a neighbor, Orator Francis Woodward, for $450.

In 1902 Mr. Woodward began an advertising campaign "America's Most Favorite Dessert" and the product took off. The Jell-O factory began as the Genesee Pure Foods Company and occupied a factory on North Street in Leroy from the 1910s until 1964.

Remember the Bill Cosby Jell-O Pudding Commercials? So cute!





I have a very personal and proud connection to Leroy, NY because my family founded this area. Between 1800-1820 I have 7 families, Stanard, House, Parmelee, Gordon, Gibbs, Rapp and Warner that migrated from MA to the Leroy, NY area. From Leroy, Genesee Co., NY my families again migrated, this time to MI and founded Flint, Genesee Co., MI. I am still in awe at the guts and determination of my grandparents that would travel to unknown, unsettled areas, clear the land, build a house, start businesses and raise their families...incredibly amazing people!

And not only do I have a personal connection to the hometown of Jell-O, I have to admit I was a closet Jell-O fan for years. And still Mr. Tastebud's would eat the flavored gelatin every day if he could! But Jell-O always makes me smile and brings back a flood of memories of fun times and family pot luck dinners.

But my tastes have changed and I now make puddings from scratch. Pudding is quick, easy and my favorite fallback dessert. And as soon as I make it, I help myself to a warm bowl of goodness.







Chocolate Pudding 101
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

6 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I use 2 rounded TBL cocoa powder)
Pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt. In a 4-cup measuring cup, combine 1 1/4 cups cream with milk and vanilla. Whisk 1 cup cream mixture into dry ingredients until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Whisk in remaining cream mixture until smooth.

Place saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add chocolate, and cook, whisking until chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter until melted. Using a 3-ounce ladle, pour pudding into six dessert cups. Refrigerate until completely set, about 1 hour.

Whip remaining cup of cream to soft peaks, and serve with pudding.






All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Filet Mignon with Blackberries

I never liked Blackberries. I thought they were too sweet and had too many hard, little seeds resembling teeny tiny BBs. But I love Red Raspberries, in fact every home we've ever lived in I've planted Red Raspberries but never Blackberries until now. Over the last two years I've grown to love Blackberries. And yes they are full of little nasty seeds but dental floss and a sieve take care of that problem!

I like Blackberries in just about any kind of dessert. But as a savory sauce with beef OH MY GOSH..delicious! If you can only make one thing from my blog let it be this recipe. It was delicious! Nope it was better then delicious, it was fabulous! In fact it was better then fabulous, it was a scrumptious, outstanding dish! And Mr. Tastebud's loved it!






Instead of using Blackberry Preserves I used fresh mashed Blackberries, added a little sugar and then cooked it down until thick. Since we are not in a Filet Mignon economy, I used a rib steak instead and I did not make the Compound Butter. I served the Rib Steak with Blackberries with steamed asparagus and a side dish of Israeli Coucous and finely chopped vegetables.

Israeli Couscous was something I've wanted to try for over a year but could not find it in my area. My friend and fellow Whisker, Glennis of Can't Believe We Ate sent me two boxes and I am so happy to finally taste it. The Israeli Couscous was wonderful and I'm keeping my eyes peeled for more! Thank you so much for thinking of me!






Filet Mignon with Blackberries
Recipe adapted from The Deen Brothers

Beef and Blackberry Sauce:
4 (6-ounce) Filet Mignon steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (I used 4 green onions finely chopped including tops)
1/2 cup dry red wine (recommended: Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 cup low-sodium beef broth
3 tablespoons blackberry preserves (see recipe for Fresh Blackberry Sauce below)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Compound butter, for garnish, recipe follows
Blackberries, for garnish

Compound Butter:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup fresh blackberries
In a bowl, combine butter and blackberries and mix well.

Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Sear the steaks in the hot oil for 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a serving plate, tent with foil, and let stand.

Using the same skillet, saute the shallots for 1 minute. Add the red wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Let wine boil until reduced by half. Add broth and blackberry preserves or the Blackberry Sauce (recipe below), return to a boil and reduce by half. (The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.) Whisk in the 2 tablespoons butter. Season sauce with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

To serve, drizzle the sauce over the steaks. Place a pat of compound butter and scatter a few blackberries on the plate

Compound Butter:
Place on plastic wrap to mold into a log shape. Wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.



Blackberry Sauce
Recipe developed by Big Black Dog

1-2 c fresh Blackberries
2-3 tsp sugar

Put Blackberries in a food processor or blender and whiz until finely minced. In a small sauce pan add the mashed Blackberries. Over medium-low heat bring to a simmer and add the sugar 1 tsp at a time. While constantly stirring, simmer about 20 minutes or until sauce becomes thick.

Strain sauce through a fine sieve catching all the seeds. Discard seeds. Set aside.







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Finally out on the Porch!

I've been so busy with enjoying my summer that I've not participated in Tablescape Thursdays for almost a month! I finally found a small table and chairs for our porch and I've been so enjoying it the past few weeks. Our porch is covered so even through rain storms I can sit outside and relax!

Today was the first hot day of summer and it almost reached 100 degrees. It was stifling. I did a little bit of yard work in the morning and decided to have my Iced Tea on the porch. Tinkerbelle decided to join me and what you're not seeing is she also enjoyed a few sips of my tea!











In the next village over there is a small Flea Market every Saturday and it's only about five minutes from my house. Last week I picked up some beautiful vintage tablecloths. I thought you might like to see them, freshly laundered and hanging to dry. I love them and although there's a few small stains the price, 1@$5, was not easy to pass up!





Several years ago we were in St. Maartin and I picked up these gorgeous very thick, 100% Cotton flour sack towels. They've been in storage for the longest time and I finally got around to washing them and hanging outside to dry. I love the fruit appliques. The towel furthest on the right is a vintage embroidered towel I picked up at a local church rummage sale.








Tablescape Thursday is graciously hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and see the wonderful tablescapes set out especially for you!


All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

BBA -- Ciabatta

Ciabatta; Ciabatta (Italian pronunciation: [tʃaˈbatːa], literally "carpet slipper") is an Italian white bread made with wheat flour and yeast. The loaf is somewhat elongated, broad and flattish and, like a slipper, should be somewhat collapsed in the middle. Since the late 1990s it has been popular across Europe and in the United States, and is widely used as a sandwich bread.

Ciabatta was first produced in Liguria, although at least one type of ciabatta can be found in nearly every region of Italy nowadays. The ciabatta from the area encompassing Lake Como has a crisp crust, a somewhat soft, porous texture, and is light to the touch. The ciabatta found in Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche varies from bread that has a firm crust and dense crumb, to bread that has a crisper crust and more open texture. The more open-crumbed form, which is usual in the United States, is made from a very wet dough, often requiring machine-kneading, and a biga or sourdough starter.

There are many variations of ciabatta. When made with whole wheat flour, it is known as ciabatta integrale. In Rome, it is often seasoned with olive oil, salt, and marjoram. When milk is added to the dough, it becomes ciabatta al latte. A toasted sandwich made from small loaves of ciabatta is known as a panino (plural panini).





Ciabatta is our eighth bread in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge. I was looking forward to making Ciabatta! I am a very enthusiastic sourdough baker and I love using kefir in anything I am baking. I choose to make the biga version and substituted sourdough starter for the yeast and kefir for the milk and I did use EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil).

Generally I like working with a very wet dough, but as soon as I mixed up this recipe I knew it was not wet enough and my loaves would not have the large gorgeous holes that I wanted. Could I have added a bit more water or kefir? Yes, but since I'm involved in this challenge to learn I'm trying to stay as close to the Reinhart recipe as possible.





All in all, I was not disappointed in my Ciabatta as it was a good bread and it was fun to do the stretching and folding method during the rise. But next time I make it, I will be experimenting and definitely adding more liquid and a little bit more salt too.

I baked my Ciabatta on a Sunday and served it as an afternoon snack after a day of yard work for both of us. I served the Ciabatta with 2 dips, Romesco Dip and an Olive and Parmesan Dip. Since my husband was home and watched the entire bread process and then smelled the bread baking, he could not wait to give it a try. So I cut the bread when it was warm..so not a good idea!





Google Books has the entire book, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread", by Peter Reinhart, scanned and you can find the recipe on Page 135 by clicking here.


All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Do's and Dips

I don’t know if it’s because of the increase in temperature and gorgeous summer days but I’ve been making the best dips lately! They’re so delicious and colorful, it’s almost a shame to scrape the last bit from the bottom of the bowl!

Deeba, a friend on twitter and author of Passionate about Baking, told me about a wonderful dip that she had recently made. As soon as I saw the gorgeous color I just had to make it. I found a good recipe on Dinner with Julie and of course proceeded to change the recipe which I have to do. I think it was about 6 weeks ago that Deeba pointed out the Romesco Dip and I’ve made it four times already. We love it! The gorgeous intense color is just a preview to the fabulous taste!

My second dip is just something I threw together to serve along with the Romesco Dip. I wanted something light with a unique taste to contrast the 2 dips. My Olive and Parmesan Dip was perfect and very good with my homemade Breadsticks and Ciabatta Bread!

Both dips would be wonderful for an appetizer or an afternoon snack or even something to munch on while watching a football game.







Romesco Dip

1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, or half almonds and half pine nuts
2 whole garlic clove, peeled
1 cup of unseasoned bread crumbs
2 sweet red peppers, roasted
1 TBL. red wine or sherry
1 TBL balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. paprika
salt to taste
1/4 c EVOO, you may need to add more (EVOO=Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Turn the broiler on High and move a oven shelf closer to the broiler.

Clean out all the seeds from the sweet peppers. Cut each pepper into thirds and then slice so that pepper will lay flat. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Place the pieces of red pepper in the baking pan and put baking pan in oven to broil. I only broil until the peppers start turning dark. Careful that you don’t burn the peppers! I do not peel the peppers because so much taste is in the broiled skin.

While the peppers are broiling add 2 TBL EVOO to a small frying pan. Over medium low heat sauté garlic cloves until golden brown and soft. Remove garlic cloves to cutting board and mash with a fork. Set aside.

Add almonds to the small frying pan and toast for about 2-3 minutes until just slightly golden. Remove from pan and cool.

In a food processor add bread crumbs, broiled red sweet peppers, mashed garlic, toasted almonds, vinegar, wine, paprika, and EVOO. Pulse until everything is minced fine and well blended.

Makes between 1-2 cups.



Olive and Parmesan Dip
Recipe developed by Big Black Dog

1/2-3/4 c. EVOO (EVOO=Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
4-5 Black and Green Olives, sliced thin
1-2 TBL of grated fresh Parmesan Cheese
Freshly ground Black Pepper

Thinly slice the olives. Pour EVOO into a small serving bowl. Add sliced olives and pepper. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper.








All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

TFF - Chicken Parmigiana

This week for Tyler Florence Fridays I made Chicken Parmigiana. We were having a cool day and when I read the recipe it just hit the spot.

Tyler's Chicken Parmigiana was a delicious dish. Mr. Tastebuds loved it and said he would remind me to make it again! This is the best compliment I've heard yet! Even though the recipe seems quite long and involved it was very simple. I only made a few small substitutions. I skipped the sugar entirely and substituted 5 chopped green onions for 1 large yellow onion. And I substituted Cavatelli pasta for spaghetti.







Chicken Parmigiana
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 medium onion, chopped (I used 5 green onions, chopped)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
Pinch sugar (I skipped)
Pinch red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dried plain bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 pound spaghetti pasta, cooked al dente

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil, reserve the rest of the basil for finishing the chicken. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.

Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, add the 1 cup Parmesan, chopped parsley, and garlic powder Season with salt and pepper and stir with a fork until thoroughly combined.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.

Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and arrange the mozzarella on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and remaining basil. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve with spaghetti.







Please visit Tyler Florence Fridays and see what the rest of Tyler's groupies are up too this week.







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Once you try it there's no going back -- Grilling Pizza!

I know that summer is the time for grilling but we grill year round and use our grill at least 3-4 times a week. So it was only natural that I would venture into the world of pizza on a grill. I first tried grilling pizza about a year ago and my pizza has not seen an oven since. The difference in taste is so distinctive, absolutely delicious and it's fun!

Of course I was concerned that the pizza dough would ooze through the grate, but it didn't. I was also concerned about sliding the dough onto the grill. Well this is a bit tricky, I do suggest making small pizzas at first and gradually increase the size until you feel comfortable handling a larger amount of dough.


What you need to Grill a Pizza:

1. Grill with a well seasoned grate. If you're using a new grill, as the grill is pre-heating generously brush the grill with Olive Oil several times before baking the pizza.
2. Pizza Dough Recipe (below is the one I use)
3. Pizza Peel or Baking Sheet (I use a baking sheet)
4. Cornmeal or Semolina
5. Pizza Toppings (I have all my toppings prepped and ready)
6. Large spatula, the bigger the better. To help guide pizza dough when sliding it onto the hot grill.






Pizza Dough and Grilling Instructions

For 1-1/2 lb. (makes two 12-inch pizzas or one 15-x-10-inch pizza)
1/4 c. plus 2 TBL water, warm
2 tsp yeast
3/4 c. milk
1-1/2 TBL EVOO
1 tsp salt
3 c. all-purpose flour
Semolina or cornmeal for sprinkling
Option: 1/2 c. sourdough starter

For 1 lb. (makes one 12-inch pizza)
1/4 c. water, warm
1-1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 c. milk
1 TBL. EVOO
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Semolina or cornmeal for sprinkling
Option: 1/2 c. sourdough starter

1. Select recipe size desired.

2. Mix yeast in warm water and let sit for about 5 minutes until you see some yeast action. Add sourdough starter, salt, milk and EVOO. Then gradually mix in flour. Rub EVOO on the inside of a bowl. Place dough in bowl and rub some EVOO on the top of the dough ball. Cover with a towel and put in a warm place for 4-5 hours. The dough will not rise much but just letting it ferment adds wonderful flavor.

Grilling Instructions:

3. About 20 minutes before you are ready to bake the pizza either start the charcoal or fire up the gas grill to about 450 degrees.

4. It's best to have the grill ready to go before you start forming the pizza. If the pizza sits too long on the peel or baking sheet it will stick and it's more difficult to slide onto the grill.

5. GENEROUSLY sprinkle pizza peel or baking sheet with semolina or cornmeal and I mean GENEROUSLY.



6. Now you're ready to form the pizza. I just do this with my hands and pull and stretch the dough until it is the right size. Don't worry about making a perfect circle. Your pizza will be delicious no matter what shape it is.



7. Place shaped dough on peel or baking sheet and immediately slide pizza onto grill. Cover or close the lid and bake for about 8-10 minutes until the underside has nice grill marks.

8. Remove pizza from grill. Take the pizza inside and flip the pizza over so that the grilled side is facing you.



9. Now you're ready to start adding the toppings. As for topping, anything goes at my house. I make up small prep bowls of anything I-have-on-hand-at-the-time: Onions, Olives, Variety of Cheeses, Mushrooms, Sweet Pepper, Spaghetti Sauce, Fresh Basil, Pesto Sauce, Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Ham, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Ricotta Cheese. Heck, we've even put Green Beans on our pizza and it was pretty good.

10. Spread the topping on the pizza. Everyone makes their own pizzas at my house. It's fun and this way everyone is happy.





11. Now, put the pizza back on the grill to melt the cheeses and finish baking the "other side". When the cheese is completely melted and bubbly, it's done. Enjoy!







All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

New York Housewives and The Swinger

I admit it, I'm a huge fan of Bravo's The Real Housewives series. When my friend Courtney of Coco Cooks, aka @Glamah on twitter, announced her Real Housewives Cocktail Contest, I jumped at the chance to highlight my favorite housewife. But which one? I like many of the housewives and now that the series has expanded from the original Orange County, CA to include New York City, Atlanta and the newest cast from New Jersey, I had several favorites to choose from.







But I knew all along who rose above all as my favorite! Not really a housewife but definitely one of the stars of the series, Simon van Kempen, was an easy choice. His Aussie accent, flamboyant sense of style and complete adoration for his wife, Alex, won me over months ago. His red leather laced-up pants in the last show was a sight I will not soon forget. Please view the below video to see Simon dancing in his red pants.







Inventing a cocktail for Simon was not difficult. I knew it had to be very colorful, slightly spicy with a bit of fringe and fun. I decided to use my new Mole Poblano Vodka, a slightly spicy but mellow vodka, distilled right here in IL by North Shore Distillery.







Red Patent Leather Swinger
Recipe developed by Big Black Dog

1 oz Mole Poblano Vodka
5-6 oz V-8 Juice
Dash of celery salt
Few drops of dill pickle juice
1 TBL beef broth
Freshly ground pepper

Garnish:
Slice of Lemon
Whole Green Onion, the longer the better
Playful monkey

Mix together V8 juice, celery salt, dill pickle juice, pepper. In a tall glass filled with ice add Mole Poblano Vodka, pour in V8 mix stir well. Garnish with a slice of lemon, whole green onion and monkey.








All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Challah **Sometimes you get it just perfect

Challah; chal·lah also cha·lah or hal·lah (KHä'lə, hä'-)
n. A loaf of yeast-leavened egg bread, usually braided, traditionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath, holidays, and other ceremonial occasions.

The below photos represent a huge milestone in my blogging experience. They are the very first photos posted to my blog that needed no color or lighting manipulation from a photo program. All I did was crop and add my name to each photo. For the very first time the lighting was perfect. Hallelujah..I finally got it right!






I can't believe I've already completed six breads from my Bread Baker's Apprentice Baking Group! I enjoy baking bread and would bake bread daily if we could eat that much. Challah dough is very easy to work with and although the braiding looks difficult, it's not.






I made the loaf of Challah on Saturday and promised Mr. Tastebud's I would make him some Strawberry French Toast for Sunday Brunch. Unfortunately, Sunday morning I had no appetite what-so-ever. Why I go through times like this I don't know but sometimes I just don't feel like eating and nothing sounds good to me. Now when I look at these delicious looking photos, how I wish I had at least tasted it. WOW, it really does look good!







Simple French Toast
Recipe adapted from my Mom

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. milk
5-6 slices of bread
Cinnamon
Cooking Spray like Pam

Option: Fresh fruit

Measure the milk into a small bowl. Add slightly beaten eggs and mix well. Pour milk/egg mix on to a small platter or pie plate. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Over medium-low heat, heat griddle or skillet coated with cooking spray.

Place a bread slice into the egg mixture, letting the slice soak up egg mixture for only a few seconds, then carefully turn to coat the other side. Coat only 1 slice of bread at a time and only as many slices as you will be cooking at one time. You may have to add more cinnamon.

Transfer bread slices to griddle or skillet, heating slowly until bottom is golden brown. Turn and brown the other side. Serve French toast hot with butter and syrup and fresh fruit.







I've done a 3, 4, 5, and 6-Braid Challah and I thought was doing great. But then I found the below video demonstrating a 12-braid Challah. A 12-BRAID Challah...OMW, it's huge. Doesn't this look like fun! I might have to make this one next time!





Google Books has the entire book, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread", by Peter Reinhart, scanned and you can find the recipe on Page 133 by clicking here.



All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Pink Saturday -- Lazy Days and Pink Stripes

Welcome to my Pink Saturday!

I've had a busy week but barely left our property. I always have the best days when I just stay at home. I fiddle and fuss with so many different things, sometimes getting quite a bit done and sometimes just being lazy.

I finally got our porch and patio furniture out of storage and almost arranged. And can now sit outside with my coffee in the morning. And yes, I am in my PJs and yes they are pink striped!

First, here are my Spring Cupcakes for this year. They turned out so pretty I could not resist sharing them with you. They are a vanilla cupcake with Plum Feathered Cream Cheese Frosting. They were delicious!! Please click here for the recipe.







It's still a little early for a our full summer color here in Northern IL but we have some color here and there.
















And last but not least my newest yearning, Pink Coveralls with matching jacket. I've got to have these, I MUST! I can just see me cleaning out the barn in these babies! Available from Rod's Western Clothing.







Thank you so much for visiting my blog for Pink Saturday and please visit Miss Beverly of How Sweet the Sound and see what the other Pinksters are up to!

And don't forget our Pink Saturday motto:

Get Pink !!!
It's not just a color, it's an attitude.




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

TFF - Salmon Potato Hash

This week for Tyler Florence Fridays I decided to make Salmon Potato Hash. My market sells salmon sausage which is a pork casing stuffed with fresh salmon. I bought a package some time ago and Mr. Tastebud's has said, more then once, "when are you going to use up this salmon sausage"! It was time to use it for something.

This was a scrumptiously delicious dish! There was nothing leftover and we nearly licked the plates clean. I would love to make this dish substituting the salmon sausage for salmon fillet or a mild Italian sausage.





Salmon Potato Hash
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

1 (2-pound) center-cut, skin-on, salmon fillet
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh dill, for garnish (I used chopped green onion stems)

Hash:
About 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 russet potatoes, rinsed in water and cut into large dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced (skipped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (skipped)
Pinch cayenne pepper (skipped)

Egg:
Water
White vinegar
4 to 6 large organic farm fresh eggs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

For the Salmon:
Place the salmon on a large baking sheet skin-side down. Drizzle salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes until flaky. Transfer to a cutting board.

For the Hash:
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Once heated add the potatoes and shallow-fry for about 8 minutes until evenly browned on all sides. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and place onto a paper towel-lined plate. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a large bowl.

Using 2 forks, flake the salmon, removing it in chunks from the skin, and fold into the potatoes.

Remove most of the oil, leaving only a couple of tablespoons. Place over medium heat and add the sliced onions, sliced peppers and garlic and allow to caramelize. Add the green onions, thyme leaves, paprika and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine. Add the potatoes back to the pan and stir to combine.

For the Eggs:
Place a large sauté pan with high sides over medium heat and fill with a few inches of water. Heat until just below a simmer. Add a splash of white vinegar and using a wooden spoon, stir the water in 1 direction to create a small whirlpool. Crack the eggs and add, 1 at a time, to the spinning water. Allow to poach until desired doneness. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.

To Serve:
Place the salmon-potato hash on serving plates or serving platter and top with the eggs. Pour Hollandaise sauce over the eggs and garnish dill (I used chopped green onion stems as garnish). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.



Hollandaise Sauce
Recipe adapted from "Tested, Tried and True" by The Junior League of Flint, MI

3 to 4 egg yolks (I always use 3 yolks)
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBL lemon juice
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
Dash of Tabasco (I usually skip the Tabasco)

Put yolks, lemon juice and seasoning in blender and blend for about 30 seconds. Melt butter in microwave. With the blender on, pour a thin, steady stream of melted butter into the blender. Viola...it's done and delicious!






Please visit Tyler Florence Fridays and see what the rest of Tyler's groupies are up too this week.





All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog