I massacred my egg a bit- when I put it into the poach pod the yolk separated, so it’s a bit of a mess. After the tian and the napoleons the other day, I had a couple extra slices of sweet potato, red skinned, and butternut squash to use up, so I thought a hash would be good, especially since I didn’t get my egg this weekend.

Poached Egg over Mixed Root Hash
Serves 1

1/2 Potato
1/2 Sweet Potato
2 Slices Butternut Squash
1/2 Onion
2 tsp Parsley
2 tsp Paprika
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Egg

Chop up the root vegetables into small rectangles. If you can be bothered to grate them, go ahead. Chop up the onion and saute in some olive oil for a few mins, then add the parsley and root vegetable mix. Cook over medium low for a few minutes, to speed the process up cover the pan for 3 minutes or so, stirring intermittently. Once the root vegetables are almost done, poach the egg. Season the root veggies with salt and pepper and when crisp and brown, remove and arrange on a plate. Place poached egg over the hash.

Tomato and Root Vegetable Tian
Serves 4 as a Side

1 Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tomato
2 Red Skinned Potatoes
2 Sweet Potatoes
3 Turnips
Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Butter
1 tsp each of: thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, sage
1/4 Cup Red Wine
1/4 Cup Swiss Cheese

In a frying pan, sautee olive oil and finely chopped onions for 5-7 minutes until tender. Add minced garlic cloves and herbs- cook a minute or two. Add knob of butter, allow to melt, and transfer to a casserole dish. Slice potatoes and turnips into thin rounds- about 1/2 cm thick, and slice tomato. Arrange over onion and garlic mixture, with each slice overlapping the other. Drizzle over some olive oil and wine. Grate swiss cheese over veggies, and add some fresh thyme on top if you’ve got it. Season with salt and pepper. Spray some foil with some pam and wrap over the casserole dish. Cook in the oven at 400 for about 50 mins. Remove foil and cook another 10 mins or so. Serve with a salad and some crusty french bread.

P.S. Notice the St Patrick’s Day themed Lonely Bean that Jon did today!

Potatoes Boulangeres is a fancy way of saying Scalloped Potatoes, the difference being that scalloped potatoes typically involves a cream sauce, whereas Potatoes Boulangeres only bothers with milk and broth.  I used Delia Smith’s recipe, which you can find here. It is very simple and very delicious.  Add some greek yogurt and caperberries if you want a bit more flavour.

For the Chick’n: we used Quorn again, rattagon.  It cooked well, and did alright with the sauce, but Quorn fake chicken has a sweet taste to it.  Use Smart Cutlets, if you can.  And on a side note: the Quorn Chicken in England is so good, I don’t know what happened on this side of the pond.

Chick’n Francaise
Serves 4

4 Fake Chick’n Cutlets
1/4 Cup Flour
1 Egg
Fresh Parsley
1/2 Cup White Wine
1/2 Cup Veggie Stock
2 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 lemons, juiced
Salt and Pepper
4 tsp Veg Oil
1 Tomato
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Mixed Greens
Optional: Pecorino and Pine nuts

Arrange greens and diced tomatoes, and dress with olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper.  Keep cutlets frozen.  Mix flour with some fresh parsley, salt, and pepper.  Dredge chick’n in mixture and brush with egg wash.  Fry in Pan (4 tsp hot Veg Oil) for a few minutes on each side until golden.  Remove from pan and keep warm.  Wipe pan dry of excess veg oil, and throw in broth and white wine.  Cook until reduced by half.  Add lemon juice, butter, fresh parsley, salt and pepper.  When mixed pour over cutlets that hsould be placed over greens.  Garnish with pecorino and pine nuts.

It’s PANCAKE DAY!!!!! English pancakes only today, because that is the tradition.  Though we typically eat these with some lemon juice, orange juice, and sugar, I went the savory route today.  Thanks to years of practice flipping pancakes with the Metclan, these turned out okay with no disasters.

Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Mushroom Stuffed Crepes/Pancakes with Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes
Serves 3

For a good pancake recipe, I turned to Delia for help.  No revisions or adaptions needed.  Make the veggies first, and then prepare the pancakes.

Egg, flour, butter, milk, water, salt for Pancakes.
1/2 Butternut squash, skinned and deseeded and chopped into little cubes.
Spinach
1/2 Onion
8-10 Mushrooms, sliced
3 Tomatoes, sliced
Balsamic Vinegar
Bay Leaf
Olive Oil
Brie
Dried herbs: basil, thyme, sage.

Cube the squash, douse with olive oil and roast in the oven for about 20 mins until browned.  (Alternatively, if you want to save on the washing up, throw them in the frying pan with the onions).  In a baking dish, mix the tomatoes with a good douse of balsamic, olive oil and throw a bay leaf in, sprinkle with dried basil and cook in the oven for about 20 mins. Slice onions into strips and cook on medium low in olive oil for about 10 mins until soft.  Add some herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary etc), and throw in mushrooms.  Cook about 5 minutes, then add Spinach, wilt and set aside.

Make your pancakes!!! Get out a baking sheet and line with foil.  Take a pancake and arrange filling in a triangle, top with brie and fold over in a cone shape, secure with toothpick.  Place all on a tray and broil in the oven for a few mins to melt the cheese.  Place over dressed greens, with balsamic tomatoes on the side.  For extra taste, drizzle the pancakes with balsamic vinegar.

Yes, sandwich posts are a bit of a cop out, but I love sandwiches.  Speaking of cop outs, it’s pizza for dinner tonight-  take out.  We are in the midst of a giant taste test, that is we are trying to figure out who has the best pizza in Harrisonburg, Virginia.  To be honest, I’m slightly biased towards L’Italia Pizzeria (On Port Republic), but we want to make sure all pizzas get a shot, though I am fairly certain that my convictions are correct.  I’ll update you with results later.

Caramelized Onions, Sauteed Spinach, Gooey Brie and Plum Chutney Sandwich
1 Sandwich

1/2 Large Onion, or 1 small onion
Salt
Sugar
Olive Oil and butter
Brie
Spinach
Chutney- I used Old Sock’s Plum Chutney, I’d tell you the secret recipe but then I would have to kill you.

Caramelize your onion!!!  If you need advice on how to do so, check out smitten kitchen for some good instructions.  Once onions are done, sautee that spinach.  Toast your bread!! Melt some cheese on that ish.  Stick a bit of chutney on the bread.  Assemble.  Eat like so:

I need to paint my nails.

This is one of my favourite dishes to cook.  It takes a bit of time, though, so be ready to give yourself about 2 hours of cooking and prep time.  I like mine to be spicy, because I like the combination of the sweet squash with some spicy red chili, and a creamy (fake) bechamel sauce to cool off.  The sauce is a cheat (from Jamie Oliver), and much easier than the real bechamel, the key to which is creme fraiche, a commodity easy to find in the UK but not so in the US.  If you can’t find it in the grocery store, substitute for sour cream instead.

Apologies for the radio silence as of recent, I am back in BLACKSTONE living off microwave meals and left over lasagne (which is delicious).  Capitalization indicates disdain.

Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Mushroom Lasagne
Serves 4-6

1 Butternut squash
1 Red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 dried red chili
3 tbsp olive oil
1 package of mushrooms- baby bella, chopped up.
1 package of spinach, washed and destemmed.
Dash of white wine
Herbs: 1 tsp each of the following- basil, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary.
Parmesan Reggiano
1 ball of mozzarella
Approx 9 sheets of lasagne
1/2 cup of milk
~4 oz creme fraiche
1 shallot

Cut up butternut squash into cubes (after deseeding and removing skin). Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with red chili flakes.  Cook in oven (350) for about 45 minutes, or until starting to brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large frying pan, cook diced onion and olive oil until the onion is tender.  Add herbs. Add garlic and mushrooms.  Cook on high for a couple of minutes until mushrooms have released flavour.  Add a dash of white wine and allow to absorb.  Throw in spinach, allow to wilt.  Set aside.

Make bechamel sauce:  Whisk creme fraiche and milk together.  Add in some very finely chopped shallot, a generous helping of grated parmesan, salt, pepper, and a bit of ground nutmeg.  Mix until a loose consistency, but not too loose.  You want it to be the same consistency as….. well, bechamel sauce.

In a casserole dish, line the bottom with one layer of lasagne sheets.  Top with a layer of butternut squash, a layer of the spinach and mushroom mixture, and then drizzle with bechamel and grate parmesan over.  Add another layer of sheets, and do the same procedure until filling runs out.  When filling and squash has run out, place one final layer of pasta on top, throw some torn mozzarella on top, and cover the lasagne sheets with bechamel sauce.  Top with grated parmesan cheese.  Cook in the oven according to lasagne sheet directions.  If you are using oven ready lasagne, cover the dish with foil and cook for about 30 minutes, remove foil, and cook for another 10-15.  If sheets a have been cooked in boiling water, it may only take 30 minutes or so. Enjoy!

Smokey Potatoes with Roast Tomatoes, Facon, and Cilantro Pesto
Serves 2-3

3 Roma tomatoes, sliced
4 Medium-large potatoes
6 Mushrooms (baby bella works well)
1 Small onion
4 Slices of facon, chopped
Olive oil- enough to coat the potatoes and to sautee mushrooms and onions
1 tbsp Smoked paprika
Salt + Pepper to season
Optional: Gorgonzola

Pesto:
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, sliced thinly
1 small clove of garlic
1 tsp Paprika
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp pine nuts (can substitute walnuts or almonds for this recipe)
1 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
Red chili flakes
Salt and pepper to season

Chop up potatoes into medium sized chunks. Doused in olive oil and smoked paprika, season with salt and pepper and roast in oven at 400 F.  After 20 minutes, add the tomatoes and mix generously.  Allow to roast for another 25 minutes or so until potatoes start to brown.

Meanwhile, sauté onions in a frying pan for 7 minutes.  Add mushrooms and facon, cook until facon gets crispy and remove from heat.  Cut up the cilantro and ground with olive oil, pinenuts, lemon juice and minced garlic- we used a mortar and pestle, but if you have a food processor, use it!  Add in paprika and a bit of red chili flakes, if you want to kick it up a notch.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pulse or ground until the pesto is smooth.

Once everything is prepared, mix the mushroom-facon mixture with the tomato and potatoes.  Plate it, and sprinkle pesto and gorgonzola on top. Serve along side some greens, or over a bed of spinach.