Fried Potatoes with Spicy Aioli

Man, another Michael Symon recipe, but still.

I made these to complement steak with Bearnaise sauce and carrots tonight, and HOLY CRUD they were yummy.  I will say I used half the Sriracha, because I’m not as much a spicy person, but if you are, go right ahead.  🙂
So, enjoy!  It’s from Michael Symon’s new show, Symon’s Suppers.

Recipe courtesy Michael Symon
Show: Symon’s Suppers
Episode: Comforting Classics

TOTAL TIME:30 min

Prep:10 min

Cook:20 min

YIELD:4 servings

Ingredients

POTATOES:

• 1 1/2 pounds 1- to 2-inch Yukon gold potatoes (about 16)

• Kosher salt

SPICY AIOLI:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lime, zested and juiced
• Kosher salt

• Favorite fat, for frying
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias, to garnish

Directions

For the potatoes: To a small saucepan, add the potatoes and cool water to cover. Salt the water generously and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, 10 to15 minutes. Remove from the water and let cool. While the potatoes are cooling, make the spicy aioli.

For the spicy aioli: In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Sriracha, paprika, garlic lime zest and juice and a pinch salt. Stir to combine and set aside.

To finish the potatoes: Heat a large cast-iron skillet with your favorite fat until it reaches 350 degrees F. The fat should come 1 to 2 inches up the side of the pan.

With the heel of your hand, smash the potatoes so they are relatively flat but still holding together. Add the potatoes to the fat and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from the fat with a slotted spoon and place in the bowl with the aioli. Add a spoonful of the hot fat, stir to coat and transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the scallions and serve immediately.

Fried Brussel Sprouts, Chicken Tater Bake, and Baked Mac and Cheese

Three completely unrelated, though delicious, recipes I made on three different nights this past week.

The first one I made as a companion to some chicken and mashed potatoes, liberally stolen again from Michael Symon and The Chew.  I left out the capers, because neither Jeff nor I are fond of them, but you can include them if you’d like.
Michael Symon’s Fried Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers

Ingredients

canola oil for deep frying
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/2 Serrano chile, seeded and minced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb Brussel sprouts (trimmed and quartered lengthwise)
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1.  Pour enough oil into a medium pot so that the oil comes 3 in. deep up the sides.  Heat the oil to 350 degrees, or until you see the snakey lines.

2.  While the oil is heating, whisk together serrano, honey, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a bowl large enough to toss all the Brussel sprouts.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Keep the bowl near the stove top.

3.  Working in batches, deep-fry the Brussel sprouts until the edges begin to curl and brown, about 3 mins.  Add the walnuts and capers to the last batch.  If using capers, stand back because the capers will pop and sputter.  Give the contents of the pot a stir, remove with a skimmer and place directly into the bowl of dressing.  Toss to coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

These are delicious and crunchy!
This picture is what was posted on The Chew’s site… mine didn’t look quite so elegant, but were just as tasty.

Chicken Tater Bake

This is a recipe from Jeff’s Aunt Carol.  It’s extremely easy, but extremely awesome.

Ingredients

1 3-4 lb chicken or 3 boneless chicken breasts
1 32-oz package of tater tots
2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
6 tbsp margarine
6 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1/2 to 1 onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
Topping
2 cups corn flake crumbs
1/2 cup margarine (or enough to coat crumbs)

Directions

Cook chicken until done.  Remove from bones if using a whole chicken, and cut into bite size pieces.  Grease a 9 x13 pan and place tater tots in bottom of pan.  Cover with chopped chicken.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt margarine.  Stir in flour and make a paste.  Add milk, onion and soup.  Stir until thick and pour over cheese layer.  Melt 1/2 cup of margarine, add corn flakes and stir to coat.  Pour over casserole and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until bubbly.

This last recipe was a variation of baked mac and cheese that I took from Alton Brown, because I needed a quick Sunday lunch before some work.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

1/2 lb elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 tsp salt
pepper
Topping
3 tbsp butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter.  Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five mins.  Make sure it’s free of lumps.  Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika.  Simmer for ten mins and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg.  Stir in 3/4 of the cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese.

Melt butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat.  Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs.  Bake for 30 mins.  Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Please enjoy these recipes!   …Though not necessarily all together.  🙂

Michael Symon’s American Ghoul-ash

This was a recipe that Michael Symon did on The Chew…it’s extremely tasty and makes lots of leftovers!

Time: about 20 minutes
Servings: at least 4

Ingredients:

1/2 lb elbow pasta
1 lb ground beef
salt to taste
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1.  In a large pot cook elbow pasta according to directions

2.  Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add a drizzle of olive oil to pan.

3.  Add ground beef to pan and cook until brown.  Move meat to one side of pan and add onions in on the open side.  Season with salt.  Smash the garlic cloves and add them to the pan.  Mix the beef, onion and garlic together, and add tomato paste and canned tomatoes.  Stir to combine.  Add chili flakes to taste.

4.  Drain pasta, and put back in pot.  Add meat and tomato sauce to pasta, stir to combine.  Add freshly grated parmesan (or the parmesan from a container), remove from heat, and serve.

And just for your edification, here’s my one of my favorite pictures of Michael Symon:

That’s right, the man has a tattoo that says “Got Pork”.  🙂