7-Minute Egg Potato Salad

A few of my favorite things: potatoes, soft-boiled eggs, mustard, dill pickles, all in one recipe. I’ve been making this potato salad every few months since I first saw it in the June 2015 issue of Bon Appetit. It’s great with nearly anything that comes off the grill in the summer, or in the winter when you wish it was summer, or just any time you happen to be standing in front of the refrigerator with a fork needing to get your snack on.

The trick to peelable soft-boiled eggs, as I learned from Kenji Lopez-Alt in The Food Lab, is to add the eggs to already-boiling water. Adjusting cooking time changes the softness of the yolk.

This is the original recipe. I use less oil but more mustard and pickles.

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ pounds new or baby Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup parsley leaves with tender stems
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped dill pickles
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS

1. Steam potatoes, covered, in a metal steamer basket set in a large pot over boiling water until tender, 20–30 minutes, depending on size. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, cook eggs in a large saucepan of boiling water until whites are set and yolks are still slightly soft, 7 minutes. Drain; transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and chill until cold. Drain and peel; set eggs aside.
3. Toast mustard seeds in a dry small skillet over medium-low heat, tossing constantly, until seeds start to pop, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl (be ready with bowl; once seeds get going, it’s chaos).
4. Whisk vinegar, mustard, and honey in a large bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually add oil; whisk until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Set 3 Tbsp. vinaigrette aside for drizzling.
5. Halve potatoes and add to bowl with vinaigrette. Add parsley and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter. Halve reserved eggs and tuck in between potatoes. Drizzle with reserved vinaigrette. Top with pickles, chives, and toasted mustard seeds.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Fried Onions

I make these crispy, fluffy, oniony flavor bombs every chance I get. They’re easy, incredibly delicious and basically a perfect side dish to just about anything. It’s like French fries and onion rings at the same time.

I made a few adjustments from Alison Roman‘s recipe: I use a whole onion instead of half because they’re that good, and I add a few sprigs of fresh thyme while the onions cook for some extra flavor.

INGREDIENTS

• Kosher salt
• 1 ¼ lbs new potatoes (golf ball size). Fingerlings work too.
• ⅓ olive oil
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsps unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced into disks
• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper (crushed pepper flakes work too)
• Flaky sea salt
• ¼ cut chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil potatoes in large pot of salted water until tender, 10-15 minutes.
2. Remove potatoes and allow to cool. Using the palm of your hand, smash each potato until they’re just crushed to expose the inside. (Not too much or they’ll fall apart).
3. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add the potatoes in a single layer. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook until both sides are browned and crispy, about 5 minutes per side.
4. Transfer potatoes to a serving platter using a slotted spoon or spatula. Add butter to the skillet and let it melt and foam. Add the onions in a single layer and the thyme swirling occasional until the onions have turned golden brown and started to crisp. Flip them over and brown the other side (this is when the usually separate into individual rings).
5. Pour the onions and any butter in the skillet over the potatoes and top with flaky salt, parsley and Aleppo pepper.

Adapted from recipe in Dining In by Alison Roman

Pork Tenderloin with Juniper Berries, Sage and Garlic Potatoes with Green Beans

Pork with Juniper Berries

One of my favorite aspects about being home for several weeknights in a row is that I get to make nice dinners.  I scour my various cooking magazine subscriptions in the evenings and try to pick something I think Bri would love to come home to the next night.  Tonight’s offering from Saveur is absolutely amazing.  It’s a super flavorful Italian dish from the Umbria Region.  It’s a little complicated, but well worth it.

I’m on a continued quest to lose weight so I made severe adjustments to the amount of oil used.  We couldn’t tell the difference.

FILETO di MAIALE con BACCHE di GINEPRO (Pork with Juniper Berries)

For the Potatoes

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large russet potatoes
• 12 oz green beans, washed and trimmed
• 1 ½ Tbsp minced sage
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Pork

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 oz pancetta
• 1 1 lb pork tenderloin
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp juniper berries
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock

1. Make the potatoes: Heat oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high.  Cook potatoes until golden, 10-12 minutes.  Stir in green beans, sage garlic, salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to medium; cook covered until potatoes are tender, 6-8 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl ; keep warm
2. Make the pork:  Wipe skillet clean and heat olive oil over medium-high.  Cook pancetta until crisp, 2-3 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.  Season pork with salt and pepper; cook, turning as needed until browned, 8-10 minutes.  Add junior berries, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.  Add wine; stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet, until evaporated, 12-15 minutes.  Add stock; boil.  Reduce heat to medium; cook, slightly covered until an instant read thermometer inserted into pork reads 145 degrees F.  Let pork rest 5 minutes, then slice ½” thick; divide between plates.  Simmer sauce until thickened, 10-12 minutes.  Discard herbs and stir in reserved pancetta, salt pepper; spoon over pork.  Service with potatoes and green beans.

Maple Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas with Mint

Maple Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas with Mint

For our 15 year anniversary, we decided to cook and treat ourselves to some amazing wine.  We’ve both been on a pork kick lately and this recipe from Southern Food was more than we could resist.  The glaze is really tasty and could easily be adjusted with a little fresh ginger into an Asian feeling dish.  We’ve been fascinated with purple potatoes recently so we mashed some with garlic and half and half and served the whole thing with very simple sautéed sugar snap peas with fresh mint.  Made for a perfect decade-and-a-half celebration dinner.  Paired with Chasseur Pinot Noir.  Love!

Maple Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

• 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloins
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Olive oil
• 6 to 8 ounces sliced or diced mushrooms
• 4 green onions, sliced
• ***Glaze***
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon rosemary

1. Heat oven to 350°.
2. Slice pork tenderloins crosswise into 1-inch rounds. Lightly sprinkle both sides of the medallions with salt and pepper; press both sides into the flour.
3. Put enough olive oil in a large nonstick skillet to coat the bottom of the pan; heat over medium heat. Add the pork medallions and brown for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the medallions to a plate. Add the mushrooms and green onions to the pan. Cook until mushrooms are just tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine the glaze ingredients. Put the pork tenderloin back in the skillet and pour glaze over all; stir to coat all pieces of pork. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once — be careful not to over-cook the pork. (If the skillet is not ovenproof, transfer everything to a baking pan.)
5. Serve pork with glaze.

Snap Peas with Fresh Mint

This very simple and delicious recipe came from from Martha Stewart.  It tastes like summer!

• 1 pound trimmed snap peas
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, bring 1/4 cup water and butter to a boil over high. Add snap peas; cover, and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes.
2. Remove lid; reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking, tossing occasionally, until peas are crisp-tender and water has evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Toss with mint leaves; season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

Chausseur 2010 Pinot Noir

One of my favorite special occasion wines is Chasseur Pinot Noir.  It’s pricy, but it’s worth it and it will make your special occasion more special and more memorable.