Peruvian Potatoes with Chiles and Cheese

Sorry for the rambling title - I felt it was appropriate to grasp the full magnitude of this dish.

Last November when we were in D.C. we ate at a Peruvian restaurant. It was the first time Johnny, Goran, and I had ever had the cuisine and all three of us fell in love. It's been on my mind since to see what I could incorporate into my own kitchen.

I'm not a member of any CSAs, but I am signed up for an e-mail newsletter for a local farm I considered. One of the things included in the weekly newsletter are recipes. The thing I love about these recipes are their focus - using up the CSA vegetables! It's a great resource to have for sides, as well as vegetarian and vegan meal ideas. A few weeks ago this dish came in the newsletter and I put it aside to make.

Please note, I made a lot of substitutions according to what we had on hand. I will be making it more closely to the original recipe in the future to try that out too.

2 pounds red potatoes (I used 6 medium russets)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped red onion (I used 2 small yellow onions)
2 minced jalapenos, minced (leave seeds according to your heat preference)
1 Tbsp minced garlic (I used a lot more - 5 cloves)
1 cup milk
6 oz feta, crumbled (I used Chihuahua, cubed)
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro, optional (DISGUSTING!)

Wash and cube the potatoes. Boil in salted water until nearly tender, then drain.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook for about 2 minutes, until tender.

Add the drained potatoes and milk to the skillet. Simmer for a few minutes until the potatoes absorb some of the liquid and it reduces to a creamy consistency. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese so it begins to melt. I used Chihuahua because I felt it was more appropriate for this cuisine than feta, plus I had it on hand.

Plate, placing the hard boiled eggs atop. (For perfect easy-to-peel egg instructions, see this post.) Garnish with chopped cilantro (YUCK!) or parsley.

This was some seriously good stuff. The starch from the potatoes and the milk made this delicious "gravy" that enveloped every bite. The jalapenos added a little something-something in the background, while the eggs where a nice change of temperature and texture. I'll be making it again, like I said - closer to the original recipe and also playing around getting more creative with it.

I am submitting this to the 100th week of Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI), which Biz is hosting. She chose chiles and you have until November 7th to submit a recipe - new or old!


I'm also sharing this with Just Another Meatless Monday, a weekly collection of meat-free dishes, snacks, and meals to be inspired by! (Click the image above for more information.)

BSI: Artichoke (Stuffed Artichoke)

Coincedentally, the Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) for this week is artichokes, hosted by Affairs of Living. I already planned on making artichokes for my Friday Firsts this week, so it was perfect timing!

My dad used to make stuffed artichokes every once in awhile for company when I lived at home. This is the only way I've ever eaten artichoke besides the jarred or canned hearts and I love it! I have not had it since the last time he made it (two Christamases ago) because I've always been afraid of artichokes!

One of the things that made me nervous was wondering how in the world do I choose one? Well, a little Googling can do wonders!

• Artichokes are available in the Spring - look during March through May for the best ones.
• Look for an artichoke without a lot of brown on the leaves.
• Hold the artichoke and it should be heavy for its size - this means it's still full of its juices.
• Fold back the bottom leaves and see if they are still crisp or have turned limp and rubbery.
• The top of the artichoke should be tightly formed.
• A fresh artichoke will "squeak" as it compresses when you squeeze it in your palm.

Woo, now that we got that out of the way, I was set with my two fresh artichokes! Next thing that made me nervous was how in the world do I tackle it?! One of my cookbooks actually helped with this one!

• Pull the bottom leaves off the artichoke and any outer ones that look worse for wear.
• Using kitchen shears, snip the prickly tips off the leaves along the side of the artichoke.
• Cut the top 1" off the top of the artichoke, exposing the inner leaves.
• Trim the stem to leave about 1 1/2" below the bottom of the artichoke.
• Rinse the artichoke under cold water, making sure to get in between the leaves.

Before

After

Place the prepared artichokes in a big pot with squeezed segments of a lemon and a palmful of peppercorns. Once the water comes to a boil add about a teaspoon of salt and let boil for 20 minutes. (I used a lid slightly smaller than the pot to keep the artichokes submerged.) Once done, drain the water and allow the artichokes to sit upside down to drain and cool for about 15 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle use a small paring knife to remove the center leaves, which have a little purple on them. Then with a small spoon, scoop out the fuzzy "choke" until you can see the tender heart.

At this point your artichokes are fully cooked and ready to be eaten. Feel free to enjoy with melted butter or other dip.

However, if you're like me and want to stuff them you still have a little bit of work ahead of you!

My stuffing (enough for two artichokes) included:

1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced

Separate the leaves of the artichoke so there is room for the stuffing. Starting at the outside leaves and working your way to the center, deposit a little bit of stuffing in each layer.

Place the artichokes in a covered baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and broil for the last 5 minutes to brown the stuffing, keeping a close eye on it.


Remove leaves starting at the outside and scrape the "meat" and stuffing with your teeth. Work your way to the center until you are left with the tender, flavorful heart - the best part of the artichoke!

Serve as is, or with melted butter for dipping. Also make sure to place a discard bowl at the table for the leaves!

BSI: Sunflower Seeds (Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies)

Alisa from One Frugal Foodie is hosting this week's Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) challenge and she chose sunflower seeds!

She said in the rules that you could use sunflower seeds or sunflower seed butter, but I decided to use both! Sunflower seed butter is amazing. If you haven't tried it yet, you need to. Hands down, it is my favorite item at Trader Joe's and that is saying a lot if you've ever seen me tackle their roasted plaintains.

This was inspired by a recipe I found online. The contributor said she originally got it from a Trader Joe's publication. A few ratings mentioned the centers of the cookies might turn greenish from the baking. (Something about the heat and sunflowers' makeup?) Mine did not do this, but if it bothers you a suggestion was to add a splash of lemon juice.

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sunflower seed butter, chilled
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour
sunflower seeds, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°. Beat butter, sunflower seed butter, and both sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mixing well. Gradually add the flour in 1/2 cup increments, beating until fully incorporated to a stiff cookie dough.

Roll into 1 1/2" balls and place a couple inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Using a fork, mush down on the ball in a criss cross pattern. Add a pinch of sunflower seeds to the top and push into the dough a little so they do not fall off during baking.

Bake for 10 minutes and let cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before removing to a wire rack. Yields about thirty 3" cookies.

Although these look almost exactly like peanut butter cookies, there were subtle differences! These were not nearly as sweet, which I really liked. Also, they had a bit more of a bite to them and were firmer, not as airy and crumbly as my peanut butter cookies usually are. I especially loved the extra sunflower seeds on top. They got toasted to a nutty crunch in the oven and added a salty/sweet dimension.

And we weren't the only ones who enjoyed a sunflower seed butter treat! Ally from Sweet & Savory shared a photo of her two pups having fun with a peanut butter jar a little while ago. I'm way too cheap to get Corky a Kong toy and it never occurred to me to give him an empty jar to enjoy in the same manner! Thanks for sharing, Ally - he was out there for half an hour in pure heaven! (Doesn't his shadow look exactly like Yoda, or is it just me?)

BSI: Beets (Beets with Sour Cream)

This week's Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) was beets, one of my favorites! Ok, I don't really have a fruit or a vegetable (besides raw tomatoes and all fungus) that isn't my favorite, but I digress...

Then I realized that I don't really have a recipe for beets. I just eat them. I searched and searched online and wasn't really finding anything except a lot of people that hate beets.

I came to the conclusion that beets, for whatever reason, are kind of an outdated food of yesteryear. Something that used to be eaten a lot more often than they are now.

Which, lucky for me, kind of worked out since I have an odd obsession with old cookbooks. You know, those weird ones from the 1950s with jello molds or church recipe collections with bindings hand sewn with yarn - they are my weakness in thrift stores. I struck gold in this little baby that is older than my boyfriend (and he's old!)

It has a section for each vegetable and tells a little about how to select, prepare, cook, and serve them. Then a few pages follow with recipes devoted to that veggie. I made my selection and went to town!

1 can whole beets
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp sliced green onion (I subbed normal onion)
1 Tbsp vinegar (I used white)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
dash cayenne, optional

In a small saucepan combine sour cream, milk, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne if using. Heat through over low heat, but do not boil.

Halve rinsed beets and add to the mixture. (*Note: You could easily use fresh beets that you would prepare by boiling and skinning. However, fresh beets were $5.29 for a bunch of 3 or 4 so I went the canned route.)

Stir until incorporated and let cook a few minutes until the beets are warmed through.


Serve immediately. (Johnny said it looked like we were having beets with Pepto Bismal and I had to agree.)

It was also cool with each forkful you took, the beet would "bleed" its true red more.

Overall I think this was a nice side dish to dinner. You could still very clearly taste the earthy beets, and the sauce acted like a dressing. It was a tad tangy and creamy which was a nice compliment to the beets. I'll still love them plain, but it's cool to have another way to eat them in the future!

BSI Sour Cream Winner

Do you know in all of my entries to BSI contests I never won?!

Don't feel too bad for me though, because I happen to think it's funner to host and pick the winner!

Our Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) for this week was sour cream! There were seven completely different and unique entries! Each recipe title links to the respective post to view more pictures and the full recipe, so check them out!


Ally from Sweet & Savory made Creamy Chicken Enchiladas


Michelle of Honest & Truly made Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins


Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser made Cauliflower Mac N Cheese


Natalie of Natalie's Killer Cuisine made Strawberry Sour Cream Loaf


Judy of Judy's Kitchen made Little Sour Cream Coffee Cakes


Sophia of Burp & Slurp made Baked Spring Greens Dip


and Laura of Hey What's for Dinner, Mom? impressively made her own Sour Cream!

Thank you all so much for your entries! As you can imagine, it was a bit of a hard one to judge since they were such varied recipes, but Johnny and I separately decided on the same favorite.

The winner of BSI: Sour Cream and the $10 Amazon.com gift card is ...

Natalie with her Strawberry Sour Cream Loaf!!!

Congratulations Natalie! Not only were your pictures beautiful, but both Johnny and I thought this loaf would be something we'd love to make and eat in our own home. I also really appreciate your thought process of buying an in-season and cheap fruit to use! This will certainly come in handy when we go strawberry picking and have a large abundance of ripe berries on hand that need to be used up! Send me your preferred email address to christina at dinneratchristinas dot com and I will email you your Amazon.com gift card!

The next host is my cousin Anne-Marie over at Part of the Whole! Head on over to see what ingredient she chose for this week!



And since it is Monday, you will find me over at Just Another Meatless Monday. This is a weekly collection of meat-free dishes and snacks to inspire and be inspired by! Click the above button to head on over, browse, and link back to your recipe!

Blogger Secret Ingredient Reveal

I am so excited to be hosting the BSI for a second time! I hosted way back at week 24 and now am hosting week 74!

Last time I racked my brain to come up with an ingredient and finally settled on cabbage and received some great entries. I had a strong second contender and always wondered what recipes people would have come up with had I chosen that other ingredient. Now, I don't have to wonder any longer because it's my choice this time around!

This is an ingredient that Johnny and I both love. It can be used solo or mixed with other things. It's easily made sweet or savory. It can be used in breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, dessert, or baked goods. Any guesses?

Source

Sour Cream!!!

To participate please submit a recipe featuring sour cream before midnight Sunday, April 11th by emailing christina at dinneratchristinas dot com. I will accept recipes featuring store-bought, home made, or vegan sour cream. The winner and next host will be announced Monday, April 12th.

The winner will receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card! So put your thinking caps on and get cooking!

In case you're new to BSI (or need to brush up on the rules) each week there is a new host and that host must:

1. Pick an ingredient, preferably one that is in season and readily available and not too expensive;
2. link back to all the other previous weekly hosts;
3. review the recipe submissions by Sunday night of each week;
4. pick a recipe that is your favorite; and
5. post the winner Monday morning and send the winner a token prize of your choosing.

To participate:

1. you do not have to have a food blog to particpate
2. you do not have to submit a photograph
3. if you don’t have a blog, you can submit your recipe to that weeks host, and they will post your recipe for you

The previous hosts and ingredients are:

Week 73: The Chef in My Head - Goat Cheese

Week 72: 5 Star Foodie - Asparagus

Week 71: Eats Well With Others – Carrots

Week 70: Burp and Slurp - Brussel Sprouts

Week 69: Fun Fearless Foodie – Parmesan Cheese

Week: 68: Natalie’s Killer Cuisine - Cocoa Powder

Week 67: Eat, Live, Travel, Write - Lemon Zest

Week 66: Travel Eat Love - Coconut Milk

Week 65: Run Beans Run - Tofu

Week 64: Chicago Marathon Val - Mushrooms

Week 63: Biggest Diabetic Loser – Cheddar Cheese

Week 62: A Fit and Spicy Life – Balsamic Vinegar

Week 61: Peanut Butter Fingers - Nutmeg

Week 60: Jenn Eats Nutritiously Now - Garlic

Week 59: Home Cooked Em – Cinnamon

Week 58: The Balanced Broad – Flax

Week 57: Cookin Fanatic - Blue Cheese

Week 56: Foodie in the City - Ricotta Cheese

Week 55: Savvy Eats - Maple Syrup

Weel 54: Sound Eats - Dried Fruit

Week 53: Mega Nerd Runs - Acorn Squash

Week 52: Healthy Tipping Point - Pancake Mix

Week 51: Live, Laugh Eat - Almond Butter

Week 50: Balance, Joy and Delicias! – Cauliflower

Week 49: Healthy San Diego Living - Chickpeas

Week 48: Thought 4 Food - Yogurt

Week 47: London Foodie in New York - Chocolate

Week 46: Johnstone’s Vin Blanc - Oats

Week 45: Guilty Kitchen - Figs

Week 44: Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet - Peanut Butter

Week 43: The Sophisticated Gourmet - Brown Sugar

Week 42: My Kitchen Addiction – Lime

Week 41: Nutmeg Nanny – Coffee

Week 40: Chaya’s Comfy Cook – Broccoli

Week 39: Healthy Delicious – Plums

Week 38: Zoe - Feta

Week 37: ChezWhat- Potatoes

Week 36: Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice – Blueberries

Week 35: Girlichef -Greens

Week 34: The Ungourmet – Watermelon

Week 33: Bread + Butter – Bell Pepper

Week 32: Burp and Slurp -Corn

Week 31: Say Yes to Salad – Kabocha

Week 31 1/2: Simply Fabulous Now – Cherries

Week 30: Thinspired – Bananas

Week 29: To Be The Whole Package – Almonds

Week 28: Kristas Kravings – Lemon

Week 27: From French Fries To Flax Seeds – Coconut

Week 26: Plentiful Plants – Avocado

Week 25: Training Fuel – Eggs

Week 24: Dinner at Christina’s – Cabbage

Week 23: Hey What’s for Dinner, Mom? – Strawberries

Week 22: One Bite at a Time – Basil

Week 21: Just Sweet Enough – Black Beans

Week 20: What I Ate Yesterday – Kale

Week 19: What’s for Dinner – Orange

Week 18: BranAppetit! –Spinach

Week 17: Tales of Expansion Dates

Week 16: Biggest Diabetic Loser – Zucchini

Week 15: Sweet & Natural –Peppermint

Week 14: bella eats [and runs] – Ginger

Week 13: Coffee Talk – Walnuts

Week 12: For the Love of Oats – Pumpkin

Week 11: Trying to Heal – Sweet Potatoes

Week 10: The Inner Workings of a College Graduate – Eggplant

Week 9: Itzy’s Kitchen – Pears

Week 8: The Fitnessista – Cranberries

Week 7: Tri to Cook – Lentils

Week 6: Rhodey Girl Tests – Polenta

Week 5: Eating Bender – Butternut Squash

Week 4: Care to Eat – Apples

Week 3: On a Lobster Placemat – Mushrooms

Week 2: Hangry Pants – Tomatoes

Week 1: sportsnutritionliving – Quinoa

BSI: Acorn Squash (Roasted Acorn Squash with Walnuts)

Come back tomorrow for a birthday give away!

Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) this week is being hosted by Megan of MegaNerdRuns and she chose acorn squash!

I love acorn squash and have utilized it as a vessel for stuffing other foods into, mainly. Otherwise I cut it in half and bake, or cut it in slices and roast.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Corn Pudding
Couscous Stuffed Acorn Squash
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Acorn Squash Soup

Yesterday Pioneer Woman posted Sweet-Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash Wedges and I put them on the menu for dinner - my way of course!

First time ingredient alert! I used two new types of acorn squash I'd never even seen before! Gold acorn (orange) and white acorn (yellow).

2 small acorn squash, cut into 8ths
olive oil
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
pepper
~2 Tbsp brown sugar
~1/4 cup maple syrup
~1/2 cup walnuts

First, I cut the acorn squash into 8ths, and spread into a casserole baking dish. Next, I poured a little olive oil over them and rubbed it around so they were all coated.

In a small bowl I mixed together the remaining ingredients for a savory-sweet topping. I spooned this around the top of the squash wedges in the baking dish. Into a 350° oven for approximately an hour and out they came really tender, moist, and caramelized. (Watch the topping, because mine started to brown pretty rapidly at the end!)

There was a savory bite of the garlic and onion powder in the back, but a nice sweetness from the brown sugar and maple syrup. The nuts were absolutely delicious and became almost like a nut brittle topping.

Johnny's friend Goran was over for dinner and while I started to tediously peel the squash away from the skin because I thought it'd be tough, he went for it and tried it with the skin. I'm happy to report it was tender and completely edible!

I kept switching back and forth, taking a bite from the white, and a bite from the gold, seeing if I could distinguish a difference. There really was not a difference in taste, only a small difference in the texture, because the white acorn was larger, so it was a bit juicier.

Served alongside Alisa's cauliflower risotto and pan fried cube steaks. Both posts will be up in a few days!

BSI: Chocolate (Entry 2: Chocolate Covered Coffee Bean Ice Cream)

Chocolate inspirations left and right this week for BSI, being hosted by London Foodie in NY!

In case you missed it, my first entry was Banana Boats. This is the second entry - another homemade ice cream. Both Johnny and I agree that it's our favorites of the ones we've made so far!

We followed the recipe for Coffee Ice Cream from Perfect Scoop, but as an extra somethin' somethin' included cut up chocolate covered coffee beans!

(Makes 1 quart)

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans (we used decaf)
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp finely ground coffee
1/2 cup chopped chocolate covered coffee beans

Because of the inclusion of egg yolks, this was also the most labor intensive of the recipes we've made so far!

Warm the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, pinch of salt (see below), and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium sauce pan. Once warm, remove from heat and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour. (Oh. Em. Gee. The smell!!!)

Johnny got to whip out his "pinch" measuring spoon for this one, too! (He's a measurer, I'm not.)

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream in a large bowl and place a mesh strainer on top. In a separate, medium bowl whisk together the egg yolks (the pic has a little cream around the edge because we swapped bowls!) . Rewarm the coffee-infused milk mixture.

Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so you don't cook the yolks. Pour everything back into the saucepan and over medium heat, stir constantly until a spatula is coated.

Pour the custard through the mesh strainer, pressing down and moving the beans around to extract as much flavor as possible. (We found it helpful to scoop some of the cream from below over top the coffee beans periodically to loosen up the custard mixture) Discard the beans, mix in the vanilla and finely ground coffee and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture and freeze per your machine's instructions.

We froze for about 15 minutes, then added the 1/2 cup chopped chocolate covered coffee beans for the final 4 or 5 minutes.

This smells, looks, and tastes delicious. It's rich, creamy, and full of hearty coffee flavor. The ice cream alone would be delicious, but the crunchy, chocolatey bits in there give it an extra level of flavor and texture.

Don't forget to head over to Hey What's for Dinner Mom? tomorrow to vote for my Best Foodie Fotos (BFF) in Laura's contest!!!