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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 9:36 pm

Oven fries are so much easier and tastier than most people think. This technique is damn easy and waaaaaay tasty! Thanks Rachael!

2 to 2 ½ pounds red potatoes, washed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, enough to lightly coat
2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence seasoning (dried parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (Montreal Steak Seasoning) or 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Heat oven to 450°. Cut potatoes into wedges and throw into a large mixing bowl. Coat potatoes with oil and seasonings. Mix well with a large spoon to coat. Spread potatoes onto a greased cookie sheet or baking dish. Roast, turning once, for 25 minutes.

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 4:40 pm

1 medium head of cauliflower
2 eggs, well beaten
½ cup sifted all-purpose flour
¼ cup milk
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
Extra-virgin olive oil for frying
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese

Wash and trim the cauliflower.  Break it into flowerets.  Place eggs, flour, and salt & pepper in a bowl.  Combine milk, cream and butter and add to the flour mixture to make a batter.  Dip flowerets into batter.  Fry the breaded flowerets, a few at a time, in the hot olive oil.  Serve while hot with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Yankees suck!

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 2:05 pm

Growing up in any red-blooded American household, macaroni & cheese was a big deal. I still love to whip up some boxed Kraft’s Macaroni & Cheese every now and then. This recipe represents one of the most famous comfort foods. I like mine VERY, VERY cheesy. You may want to reduce the grated cheddar a bit if your cheese addiction isn’t as profound as mine.

¼ cup flour
1 stick butter + 2 tablespoons
3 cups milk
1 cup half-n-half
2 pounds sharp cheddar
1 pound elbow macaroni, pasta shells or rotini pasta, cooked and drained
1 ½ cup plain bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350°. Melt the butter completely in a sauce pan and add the flour. Vigorously whisk it together to make a roux. Slowly pour in the milk and half-n-half, still whisking. Keep whisking to avoid lumps. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes to make sure there is no raw flour flavor.

Fold in the two pounds of grated cheddar cheese. Season with some salt and freshly ground pepper. In a large mixing bowl gently mix the macaroni with the cheese sauce.  Melt the extra 2 tablespoons f butter and in a separate mixing bowl mix it with the bread crumbs. Pour the macaroni and cheese mix into a greased casserole dish and dust the top of it with the bread crumb mix. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the edges are bubbling and the top is golden brown. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.  Yankees suck!

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 10:27 am

This is a French-styled potato dish my father used to make a lot. When we lived in Germany, we were about 3 miles from the French border and used to sample many regional French dishes. Their recipes seem to have a lot of butter and cream and somehow are quite healthy. I’ll buy that!

1 clove of garlic
1 large leek
2lbs potatoes, peeled and finely sliced
8oz grated cheese . . . I use Gruyère, but you can also use a mild cheddar, jack or swiss
1 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°. Wait, heat the oven to 350°. I don’t know why people say “preheat”. Aren’t you heating it to 350°? Anyway … Mince the garlic and the white part of the leek and sauté in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of the butter for a few minutes and set aside. Beforehand, make sure you clean the leek real good. Lots of dirt gets trapped in it.

Spray an ovenproof dish with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with a layer of potatoes. The oven dish should be an appropriate size to pack in all the ingredients firmly. Add some salt, pepper, a sprinkling of the cheese and drizzle with the butter-garlic-leek mixture. Repeat the layers until you are at the top of the dish: potatoes, salt, pepper, cheese and butter-garlic-leek mixture. Add the egg and the cup of milk to a mixing bowl and beat together well. Pour milk and egg mixture over the potato layers. The potatoes should not be completely covered by the milk. Finish with the ground nutmeg, some more cheese and dot with butter. Bake for one hour or until the potatoes are cooked and the top is golden brown. Serve!!

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By J.Ho, March 6, 2006 10:20 am

Never being a spinach fan as a kid, I fell in love with creamed spinach while dining at Izzy’s Steak & Chop House in San Francisco. The House of Prime Rib, also in San Francisco, has very good creamed spinach as well, but they put a bit too much nutmeg in it.

10-16 ounces of fresh spinach
½ cup of heavy cream
Two tablespoons of butter
Fine grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Boil spinach with a pinch of salt for one minute or until it is bright green and tender. Cool the cooked spinach with ice water; squeeze excess moisture from it and chop it. Getting as much of the water out of the spinach is real important. Place the cream in a small saucepan, turn the heat to medium and cook for five minutes. Turn the heat to low and add the spinach, butter, salt, pepper and pinch of ground nutmeg. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is creamy and very soft, about 10 minutes.

Sometimes I’ll lace the creamed spinach with some onion. For this, sauté a small amount of very, very thinly sliced white or yellow onions with another ½ tablespoon of butter for about five minutes. Add along with the rest of the ingredients of the recipe.

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By J.Ho, February 20, 2006 12:39 pm

Asparagus is clearly one of my favorite vegetables. It’s loaded with vitamins and antioxidants as well as having detoxifying effects. I can’t get enough asparagus. Most people steam asparagus, but that isn’t all that enticing. Asparagus tastes incredible on its own, but this is one recipe that really brings out its true flavor and texture. And it’s easy!

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 large shallot, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°. While the oven is heating, wash and trim the asparagus. The best way to trim asparagus is to bend the spears with both hands, holding the tip and the bottom of the stem, till it snaps. The tough, woody stem should break right off. Snap a few spears and use that snap point as a reference to slice off the stems from the rest of the bunch. If you are using thick asparagus, you might want to peel the ends with a potato peeler to assure none of the woody stem skin is still there.

Place the asparagus in a large zip up plastic bag. Drizzle in the olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Toss in the minced garlic and shallots. Mix the asparagus, seasoning and oil in the bag shake-n-bake style. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Place asparagus in a sheet pan and squeeze lemon juice over it. Roast in oven, uncovered for about ten minutes. Remove from oven and toss with tongs. Roast for another two to five minutes. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of the asparagus is and your own personal tastes. I like mine thick, cooked through, but crisp and still bright green.

There are a slew of directions you can go with this dish. I always use olive oil, salt and pepper as my base seasoning. Instead of garlic and shallots, try any type of dried seasoning. Garlic & Herb Mrs. Dash works wonders. Emeril’s Essence Seasoning, even better! Try mixing in minced red onion, tarragon, sesame seed or sliced almond. Every now and then I’ll grate over some fresh Pecorino Romano or Grana Padana cheese over the top before roasting. Incredible!