Cheesy Potato Boats

I'm not sure what is up with me and Potatoes this month, but these little suckers are cheesy, crispy, starchy and good. Potatoes at this time of year are particularly good, I love the little new ones, so cute and sweet. I used new white potatoes for this recipe, ones that weren't too small, about medium size but you can feel free to use any size you like depending on how you choose to serve them. Smaller ones make delicious bites while a larger size would make a good man pleasing side dish.

They're just so pretty with little flecks of green and red.

For the recipe, I baked some potatoes until fork tender. After they were cooked and cooled I spooned out just a little of the middle to create a small pocket, these aren't potato skins so feel free to leave a lot of potato, you'll just want to create a boat. Line your lovely little boats up on a baking sheet and top with your favourite melting cheese, I used a combo of mozza and cheddar, kept it classic. Then for some good for you goodness I added some sliced green onions and red peppers. Bake in the oven until the bottom is crisp and the cheese is gooey and enjoy!

Smoked Trout and Corn Pot Stickers for Daring Cooks

I was so excited to see that this was the challenge. I was not part of the group last month but have signed up for both the daring cooks and daring bakers... I will post my next one on time, but as I tried to find rules on there about posting late and couldn't here are my scrumptious morsels:


To be honest I wasn't very impressed with my photography, well I wasn't impressed with the light nature had provided me. But. You know what nature did provide? A beautiful, fresh little trout on my father in laws line. So brined it with some soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger salt and pepper like this:


Then I gently smoked it in the BBQ... this is tricky but after a while of tinkering totally worth it. You just need to create a sealed tent with tin foil in the BBQ, put a sack of wood chips in and get them going, then put in the fish when it is really going. How long you leave it going will depend on how thick the cut of your fish. Mine only needed a few minutes. I charred the corn on the BBQ next, husks fully removed so that the kernels could carmalize. We haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet and it already drool-worthy.

After it cools, I put it in the food processor with a few other friends, green onions, sesame seeds, soy sauce and Chinese red pepper.


The dough came together easily enough, I used the food processor again. Ahh food processor my new best friend.. Just 2 ups of flour and slowing add 1/2 cup of water, until the dough pulls away, I used that amount the first time, but need a little more the second. It all depends on the humidity and what not. Pour it out, kneed it and let it rest. Here's a glamour shot of mine:


After some beauty rest, I just cut off little knobs and flattened them with my hand... maybe a secret fairy will drop off a roiling pin one day but for now I just used my hand, then added a little filling, just a little less then you think you should add, you need to make sure you can seal these babies up.


Which brings me to sealing, that was a little tricky, getting those pretty little crimps right, but it really only took a few to practice and then you got the hang of it.

After that I popped them into a frying pan with some oil and fried them part way, added some water and steamed them, then let them fry a little to make sure they kept their crispy little bottoms, like the picture above. And then:

So tasty!

Rice Paper Roll Ups

Today I had the hugest sushi craving, I decided that I would make it myself. After all it wasn't a full on raw fish craving just the novelty of a roll. I made the rice and then realized that I didn't have any seaweed so I ran down to the grocery store and you know what? They wanted $9 for 6 sheets of Nori. Ha! The nerve ! The gall!
I would outsmart them! Yes I would!

And I did, I knew that I had rice paper roll ups from making summer rolls, I picked up a package of Dulse and I went about recreating a sushi taste. I combined the sushi rice with some wild smoked salmon lox, avocado, cucumber, a few spears of Asparagus and some roasted garlic aioli. I rolled it up and it was just as satisfying.

And here it is all laid out...

Tuck in the sides and roll like a burrito...

Enjoy!

Potatoes worth blogging about

Potatoes are a funny ingredient. They are one of the most loved but at the same time under-appreciated items in our pantry. I would take some good potatoes over fancy ingredients any day, there is just so much you can do... today I roasted them until they were oh so crispy.


These little gems are baby Yukon gold potatoes and first I boiled them, this brings all of the starches out so that they crisp up very nicely. Then I cut the boiled potatoes drizzle some extra virgin sprinkle with coarse salt and chopped fresh rosemary and then roast at a high temperature, I did it at 450 degrees and it took a nice long oven hug of 45 minutes before the potatoes were covered in this much love.

Its also worth noting that the yellower the flesh of a potato the higher it is in vitamin A and if you eat the skin, you will also get some potassium. I'm not sure how many nutrients are actually left after the intense cooking process but it is important to learn something every day!

Refreshing Apple and Fennel Salad

What a great salad for a warm day, and man have these days been warm! We are so lucky to be having such a beautiful spring here on the Island. After such a cold winter, an early summer is just what we need. Who am I kidding I always love an early summer it is just so rare around these damp parts I hardly consider it possible!

Anyways on to the salad. I use thin slices of apple and fennel with a little bit of red onion. That's it! Dress it up with the juice of a lemon, a splash of red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Maybe a little honey if you like it sweeter. Honestly how much better could it get when you get a simple recipe for a refreshing salad, so that you can get back out into that beautiful sunshine!