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

Asiago Augratin Potatoes with Thyme

My daughter requested I bring these potatoes with me when I went to visit last week.  They are one of my favorite side dishes; so I couldn't wait to share them with you. I thought I had a cold, but I upgraded it to the flu since I couldn't get out of bed this weekend.  I had resigned myself and almost even accepted, I may have to eat canned soup for a couple of days to get through.  The fighter that I am, I pulled out my pots and pans and camera and proclaimed; "The blog must go on"!  Or maybe, I just couldn't accept the whole canned soup thing.

First butter the inside of 8 (4oz.) ramekins.  I'm only showing 6 because I couldn't get the other two in the shot.  If you don't have ramekins, use a casserole dish.

Heat a skillet on medium low heat and to it add 4 tbsp. unsalted butter and 2 minced shallots, cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.  Then add 2 cloves chopped garlic and cook 1 more minute.

Add 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour and stir for 1-2 minutes.

Add 2 cups 1/2 & 1/2 and stir till combined.  You can use lower fat milk, but I think it tastes better with the 1/2 & 1/2.  I thought I'd throw that out there; so the milk fat police didn't crack down on me!

Our mixture is gonna need a little seasoning now.  Add the leaves from a couple of sprigs of fresh Thyme.  I scored these lovelies in my garden.  Thyme is one of my favorites because it grows all year long.

Let's not forget one teaspoon of Mrs. Salt.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black Mr. Pepper.  Or is that Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper?  Please don't tell me you weren't subject to watching Blue's Clues with your toddlers!

Cook your sauce on low till it's nice and warm, and set aside.  Peel 3 large russet potatoes.

Cut the potatoes into 1/8" slices.  I like to use a mandolin for this task, but a knife works too, just try to make uniform slices so it cooks evenly.

Grate 8 oz. of Asiago cheese.  I love this cheese it adds quite a kick to these potatoes.

Ready to layer.  On the bottom of each ramekin, place a layer of potatoes.

Then add a layer of the sauce, just a couple of tablespoons.

Add a layer of cheese.

Repeat until full and place in a 375 degree F oven for 30-40 minutes, until tender.  Stick in a knife to see if the potatoes are soft.

Hope you enjoy these potatoes, once you try them you will never go back to the box kind.

Enjoy,

Gina