Potato Cakes

What's the only thing needed on a snow day? (Besides the more serious essentials, like shovels, snow boots, hats and gloves, etc.) Comforting...carb-loaded potato cakes, with a golden crust to hold in the creamy and warm inside. Did I mention these have bacon in them? I know, the story gets better...I don't know how this happened but it happened, I found creme fraiche at a health food store on sale! I couldn't wait to try it in my mashed potatoes and they came out great! The recipe is below for the mashed potatoes I made but if you have a tried-and-true mashed potato recipe, just set aside 2 cups for the potato cakes. For this recipe you'll need cold mashed potatoes, so leftovers from the fridge are great. Stay warm, happy weekend and enjoy!

• 1 pound skin-on Yukon Gold potatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 heaping tablespoon creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 tablespoon crumbly Gorgonzola
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• sea salt
• ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely cubed bacon *optional
• plain or seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup flour, sifted
• canola oil for frying

Cook your potatoes until fork tender, drain and mash in the creme fraiche, cheese, cream, butter. Season with sea salt and ground pepper. Allow to cool and place in the refrigerator. Once you are ready to make your cakes, fry up the bacon in a touch of canola oil, until as crisp as you like. Allow to drain on a paper towel and mix into the mashed potatoes. Add in the flour and combine well. (Depending on the consistency of your mashed potato recipe, you may have to add more flour. They shouldn't stick to your hands as you roll them.) Form into little balls, (using a cookie dough scoop works great.) and then roll them between your hands to smooth them out. Press the balls into the bread crumbs on both sides, forming little cakes. Heat up the canola oil until hot on medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet. Fry in batches, browning on both sides. About a minute on each side is enough. Drain on paper towels, then move onto a paper bag, so they stay crisp. Serve with sour cream. Makes 22 potato cakes.

Calamari with Fennel in a Saffron Tomato Broth

It's the most enjoyed time of year for food lovers. As my husband came home the other day, with all of these goodies that aren't usually in the house, I couldn't help but feeling like a child opening up gifts on Christmas day, as I unwrapped cheese pastries, gingerbread, poppy seed breads and a variety of kielbasas. Foods that aren't usually had, enjoyed (really enjoyed) and now the time comes, (sigh) the guilt of over indulgence. And to remedy it, a light, yet flavorful dinner is needed. Fennel is a great vegetable, flavorful, light and combining it with seafood makes an equally flavorful meal. But...if you are still indulging, lol, top with a little cream and it's a symphony of flavors, nice enough for a small impromptu party. Enjoy!

• 1 pound squid tentacles
• 3/4 cup minced shallot
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 fennel bulb, cut into small slices
• reserved fennel fronds for garnish
• 6 Campari tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/3 cup water
• pinch saffron threads
• pinch annatto
• pinch smoked paprika
• pinch fennel seeds, crushed and chopped
• sea salt
• ground black pepper
• pinch Vegeta seasoning or any all-purpose seasoning

In a heavy bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven, combine the olive oil, butter and shallot. Saute on low heat, until softened about 10 minutes. Add in the fennel bulb, very little salt, pepper, saffron, annato, smoked paprika and fennel seeds and give it a good stir. Cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste and water and let it simmer on low for 20 minutes until the tomato has broken down, stirring occasionally. Add in the calamari and cook for a few minutes, until the calamari is opaque and firm. Adjust the seasoning as needed with salt and Vegeta. Serve with a small shaped pasta, rice, grits or even smooth and creamy mashed potatoes would be a nice side dish. Top with fennel fronds. Serves 4.

Walnut Bon-Bons

If you leave some walnut bon-bons for Santa, I don't think he will be disappointed, as he bites into a Nutella covered walnut topped with creamy milk or deep dark chocolate and some sea salt flakes. You might wake up to find a letter from Santa, asking for the recipe. ;) The process is a little messy but it's the kind of making-mud-pies-type-of-fun, that's therapeutic and relaxing. Enlist the kids to help out, I'm sure it will be lots of fun! Enjoy! Everyone enjoy their Christmas! I hope it's filled with lots of merriment, laughter and good cheer!

• 1/3 cup Nutella
• 32 walnut halves
• 1/2 pound milk or dark chocolate
• smoked sea salt flakes like Maldons* optional

Chop your chocolate and place in a double boiler or with a metal bowl placed over a pot with a small amount of boiling water. Always be careful, when using the second method and use pot holders. Make sure you don't put too much water in the pot. Have your walnut halves ready and spoon on about a teaspoon or less of  Nutella onto your walnut, filling the crevices, (using a small rounded cheese knife worked great.) Using a fork to hold your walnut half, spoon on the melted chocolate. Balance between another fork, so the excess chocolate falls back into the bowl and place on parchment paper. Top with as little or as much sea salt as you like, if you like and allow to set in a cold pantry or refrigerator. Makes 32 bon-bons.

Step no. 5 is the most fun! ;)

A Side Dish of Sauteed Mushrooms

It may not be the prettiest dish to look at (just dim the lights and use lots of candles, lol) but there is never a holiday, where it's not on the table. I'm a mushroom lover and it's a simple dish that I always loved cooking and eating. (Make sure to use a wooden spoon, when tossing and stirring the mushrooms. I'm giving you advice that my mom would give me but when I would ask why? There would be no real answer except it tastes better, lol. But I've found the answer, wooden spoons and spatulas are gentle enough on your enamelled cast iron pots, while being substantial enough to handle what is in them.) You can always add some herbs like rosemary or marjoram to make them more special. This goes great with yesterdays' post, "Pistachio & Coriander Crusted Prime Rib." If there are any leftovers, you can toss them with cooked cheese tortellini and top with grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese. Enjoy!

• 2 1/2 pounds button mushrooms, sliced about 1/2 inch thick*
• 1 medium onion, chopped (equalling about 1 cup)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• sea salt
• ground black pepper

In a heavy 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven, combine the onion and butter and saute on low heat, uncovered until the onion is softened about 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and give them a nice toss and salt them. (I add them in two batches.) Cover your pot and give them another toss after about 10 minutes. Cook on low heat covered for an hour, stirring occasionally. Your pot will be filled with them but once they cook, they reduce down to about a third, so if you are serving many people, you might want to double the recipe. For a family of mushroom lovers, it's a good idea. After the hour is up, make sure your mushrooms are tender. (If tossing in any herbs, do so at this point.) Increase the heat to medium-high for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquids have evaporated. Adjust the seasoning as needed.


*I usually wipe down the mushrooms with a damp cloth but running them under water won't hurt to remove the dirt. Then trim the bottoms, if needed. You can alternatively quarter the mushrooms, instead of slicing them.

Pistachio & Coriander Crusted Prime Rib Roast

A slow roasted prime rib on Christmas bring a specialness to the dinner table. I remember the first time making it, how nervous I was, it took so long. I think in part because I kept opening the oven and checking its' temperature, lol. By the time the oven had warmed itself back up, I was checking it again, a roller coaster ride of uneven oven temperatures, a roast does not like. A prime rib roast has a perfect Christmas dinner feeling to it, as the evening becomes dark, the tree is lit, Christmas songs are played in the background and the ooos and ahhhs as the prime rib emerges from the oven. It's a truly memorable feast, once a year. As funny as it sounds, I remember the years not having it, the vegetarian years, the year I made ham (fantasizing it was prime rib, lol) and the year that I don't count because I cooked it way too long, where it was all grey inside, as my mood on the outside. I hate ruining anything in the kitchen, especially, a special dinner but there was no saving it, except lots of gravy and having it for leftovers in sandwiches. I've always made it as most cook books suggest with salt and pepper, served with a horseradish sauce but adding pistachios, nutmeg and coriander adds a delicious crust to the roast and gives it another level of richness. It's a nice variation for anyone looking for a twist on the classic. Enjoy!

For the roast:

• 1 4-pound prime rib roast with bone, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup raw pistachios, crushed very fine
• 1/4  heaping teaspoon whole coriander seeds, crushed and chopped
• pinch cinnamon
• freshly grated nutmeg
• fresh ground  black pepper
• sea salt

For the horseradish-pistachio sauce:

• 8 oz. heavy cream
• 1/4 cup home style prepared horseradish in a jar, usually found in the refrigerator section, squeezed dry, reserving the liquid
• 1 tablespoon of the pistachio mixture

Combine the pistachios, coriander seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Adjust the seasonings as needed. (A nice amount of nutmeg really stands up to the flavors of the roast.) Salt and pepper the entire roast. On a separate plate, lightly score the fatty part of the roast and pack on most of the pistachio mixture. (Reserving 1 tablespoon, plus some for garnish, for the horseradish pistachio sauce.) You really want to pack it on and then move it to a heavy bottomed roasting pan. Roast in a pre-heated 325 degree oven, averaging 20-25 minutes per pound, with 20 minutes for rare and moving up to well-done. (To be sure, use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.) Let your roast rest an average of 5 minutes per pound, loosely covered with aluminum foil. In the mean time, combine the heavy cream, horseradish and pistachio mixture, adjusting the seasoning with extra salt, pepper and the reserved liquid from the horseradish. You can always serve horseradish on the side so everyone can help themselves in making their sauces spicier. Garnish with the reserved pistachio mixture. Serves 4