Parsley Butter Potatoes with a little luck of the Irish

With St. Patrick's Day only 6 days away I figured maybe I could help you out with a few recipe ideas.  I had to go grocery shopping yesterday even though I don't like to do it on the weekend.  Hot Dog Dude was home and wanted to join me.  Look I like him and everything, but not when it comes to grocery shopping.  It never fails that I come home with way more than I went in the store for and a bill that is way more than usual.  I asked him to go pick out some meat that he wanted for dinner that night.  That was mistake number one for the record.  He came back from the meat counter proudly waving around the corned beef he wanted for dinner.

I said, "Fine I'll make you that corned beef, but there is no way I'm eating an all boiled dinner."  He grumbled the whole rest of the trip that without the boiled potatoes and cabbage that dinner would be ruined.  I should have known going shopping with him was like crossing paths with a black cat and now I was going to have bad luck the rest of the day instead of being favored by the luck of the Irish.

I got home, unloaded the groceries and figured I better get that corned beef on since I knew it would take a couple of hours to cook.  I cut open the package it was in, placed the beef in the pot, grabbed the package which I thought was right side up, but it wasn't and I received a corned beef blood bath straight out of a horror flick. Shirt, pants, shoes, floor and even the inside of my cabinet was filled with corned beef blood and pickling spices.  I'm standing there dripping in blood and trying not to gag and Hot Dog Dude announces he has to go look at a job, runs off and leaves me there.  After a whole roll of paper towels, a clothes change, mopping and a few (okay, a whole lot) of foul words.  I decided I had to shake it off and make my own luck (or at least something I wanted to eat besides that cursed corned beef).

Parsley Butter Potatoes
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
Salt

Parsley Butter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a food processor combine butter, parsley and salt and pulse until combined.  Place the butter on a piece of parchment and roll into a log and twist the ends.  Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Cover the potato pieces with cold water by a few inches and bring to a boil uncovered.  Let boil until tender about 15-20 minutes.  Drain the potatoes, add the 6 tablespoons of butter and mash the two together with a potato masher.  Add the milk and salt and whisk the potatoes until smooth, add a little more milk if necessary until smooth.

Cut the parsley butter into rounds and place on top of the warm potatoes.  You can use as much or as little of the parsley butter as you'd like.

Celery Root Slaw with Cherries and Pistachios
1 celery root, outer skin removed and julienned
1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped

Dressing:
1/3 cup shelled pistachios
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
Juice from one lemon
Salt

Combine the pistachios, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and salt in a food processor and combine until semi-smooth.

Julienne the celery root and toss in the cherries.  Toss the whole salad together with the dressing.  Mine held very well in the fridge for an hour and still was nice and crunchy.

My bad luck continued when I went to grab my Mandoline that was stored in an upper cabinet and cut my thumb on the blade.  That is when I realized, I have a julienne peeler and I don't have to risk any further injuries. Whoops.

My biggest critic declared at dinner, "He was skeptical of my side dish choices, but he really liked them."

My luck was turning around after all.  So much so that Lisa posted Chocolate Buttermilk Doughnuts with Salted Caramel Sauce she just made and I knew I was going to have a doughnut for dessert one way or another.  I seriously considered showing up on her doorstep but thought perhaps that was maybe a bit too much stalkerish.

I'll post the recipe for these cuties really soon.

Enjoy,

Gina

Sunflower and Parsley Pesto Bread Twists

Sunflower and Parsley Pesto Bread Twists the name sounded like a tongue twister to me. After whipping up these delectable bread twists I was left to ponder what exactly to call them. I tossed around a few ideas: Seven Seagulls Sunbathing on the Seashore Swigging Sangria? (Nah, but it is catchy.) Seven Serpents Slithering Sideways Sun Tanning with Santa Claus? (Hmm, no, but that's a visual.)

Fine I'll go with the obvious. I have to confess though I'm still stuck on the idea of sun tanning with Santa Claus, especially if Sangria is involved.

As I've been flitting around the blog-o-sphere this week, I've noted a discerning trend of "I've hit the creative wall". I have to confess to hitting that same wall many of times. After I've hit it enough times as to induce swelling it occurs to me that it's time to change gears. Usually I have to walk away completely and immerse myself in something else and if it was meant to be, I'll come back to it. Or sometimes I just need to chuck all that crazy talk in my head and go make something.

Sunflower and Parsley Pesto Bread Twists 

Bread Dough
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water, 110 degrees
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup spelt flour
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pesto
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup roasted salted sunflower seeds
3/4 of a bunch of flat leafed Italian parsley (leaves only)
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Also needed
1/2 cup finely grated Fontina cheese
1/2 tablespoon melted butter
Coarse salt

Add yeast and water to a large bowl or bowl of a mixer and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the salt, all-purpose flour, spelt flour, and olive oil and mix with a dough hook or by hand until combined. Once dough has formed a ball, place it on a floured cutting board and knead a lit bit until dough is smooth. Place dough ball into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise one hour.

If you don't have the spelt you can sub all-purpose flour, but it did add an extra nuttiness to the dough.

Add garlic, sunflower seeds, parsley, salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor and pulse. Stream in olive oil and keep pulsing until mixture is nicely chopped.

Place the dough onto a floured board and roll into a rectangle about 12-inches by 8-inches. Spread the pesto over the dough leaving about 1/2-inch around the edges. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the pesto. Cut the edges off to square up the dough and cut dough into 1 1/2 to 2-inch strips. I got seven out of my dough.

Place the strips on a baking sheet lined with a silpat, parchment or buttered. Hold both ends and twist each stick turning it over on itself a couple of times till reaching the center and repeat. Brush tops of sticks with melted butter and sprinkle with a little coarse salt.

Bake in 350 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes until nicely browned.

Can you smell them?

I've been busy this week preparing for a Valentine's Craft Party for the kids I'm having soon. I'll show you some of the prepping really soon. Rest assured though, their shall be glittering and bedazzling.

Enjoy,

Gina