Skillet Potatoes with Shallots and Lemon

My mother-in-law (Justin's mom) had shared a recipe she saw on Facebook for skillet potatoes.  They reminded me of our Accordion Potatoes, only sliced all the way through and in a cast iron skillet.  I really liked the concept and wanted to give it a try.  Anything in a cast iron skillet is delicious!  But I wanted to combine what I was doing with the Accordion Potatoes... so I decided to add shallots and lemon.

They came out delicious!  Sort of pretty, as far as presentation goes... but the taste!  Man!  So delicious!  The lemons were thin enough that they sort of candied and you could eat them, rind and all, a fantastic flavour along with the potato and shallots.   The potatoes had so many different textures... some on the outside were as crispy as potato chips, the tops crisped up great, the bottoms were just tender, delicious, seasoned potatoes.  I loved this dish, and I am not a lover of potatoes! 


I chose some Off With Their Heads for this recipe - "Nightlife".  I dig this band.  I swore I had used them before on a recipe, but I can't find anything... so here we go.  -jen 
 

SKILLET POTATOES WITH SHALLOTS AND LEMON
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Cook Time:  75-90 minutes
Serves:  6

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 large shallots
• 2 large lemons
• 4 medium garlic cloves
• 3 large baking potatoes, skin on (we used russet)
• 1 tablespoon Caldo de Pollo (dried bouillon - optional)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (if you don't keep bacon fat, you can just use 2 more tbsp of butter)
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• one-gallon-size Ziplock bag
• 12" cast iron skillet

Before baking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat bottom and sides of cast iron skillet.

Using a mandolin, thinly slice shallots, lemons, garlic cloves and potatoes.  (If you don't have a mandolin, just make sure you slice everything super thin... like a potato chip.)  Place the sliced potatoes into the gallon-size Ziplock bag.  Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, Caldo de Pollo, salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne.  Seal bag and use your hands to move the potatoes around and really mix it all up, separating all the sliced pieces so everything gets coated.

Arrange one layer of potatoes around the outer most edge of the skillet.  Once neatly arranged, carefully intersperse 1/3 of the lemon and shallot slices between the potatoes.  Repeat with a second and third layer inside the first.  Once the skillet is full, sprinkle the garlic slices over the top.  Melt the butter and the bacon fat (about 30-45 seconds in the microwave).  Pour all across the arranged potatoes.  I sprinkled a little more salt and pepper over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 75 minutes.  Using a fork, test by piercing the center potatoes.  The fork should easily pierce the potatoes when cooked through.  If there's resistance, bake for another 15 minutes and fork-test again.  Baking times may vary since potato sizes vary and how tightly you arrange them - if your potatoes were bigger than mine, it could take up to 90 minutes.  Just keep fork testing every 15 minutes after the first 75 minutes.

When potatoes pass the fork-test and are golden brown, remove from oven and pour the lemon juice over the top while hot.  Serve hot (we served it with homemade pesto over the top).

Topped with homemade basil pesto

Before baking

Chipotle Chocolate Chili

So Jen had been craving some chili lately and I decided to make a batch on Wed, which happened to be April 20th, Carmen Electra's birthday!  Also, it is supposed to be some sort of stoner holiday or hippie celebration or something...not sure where I heard that.  Anyway, since stoners, bachelors, and assorted college students (was that redundant?) always have a trusty can of chili in the cupboard for that "Crap I can't afford food" emergency meal, I thought it would be fitting to undertake such a meal on said day.  For musical accompaniment, I had a variety of tunes but the most fitting for this adventure would have to be Sublime's "Smoke Two Joints".  I know it's not very punk but they used to be a punk band...and, well, we live in Humboldt.  Reggae, ska, and such are just the norm around here.  Everyone's got a Che Guevara tee or a knitted rasta hat and dreads, so this works for the day and setting.

This chili is actually very easy to pull off and has an amazing complexity to the flavor and heat.  There's a slow, medium burn at the end of a spoonful that stays with you for a bit and warms the body nicely but it's not very hot up front.  It has a bit of chocolate, cinnamon and agave nectar (to mellow out some of the heat) so it's very Mexican inspired and ends up having a very silky texture and a dark, smokey flavor that is a definite plus in my book!  Plus, it's made with a whole bottle of dark beer, which we all know makes everything taste better! - justin

 

CHIPOTLE CHOCOLATE CHILI
Prep Time:  40 minutes
Cook Time:  2-3 hours
Difficulty:  medium
Serves:  8-10, depending on serving size

BEEF

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds ground beef (20/80)
• 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 12oz bottle of dark beer (I used Lost Coast Brewery's 8Ball Stout but a porter or Guinness would work nicely as well)

VEGGIES

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 whole poblano chili
• 1 whole jalapeno chili
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 2 cans (14oz each) whole peeled tomatoes, pureed
• 1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
• 1 tablespoon Chili de Arbol powder
• 1 tablespoon Pasilla chili powder
• 2 Tbsp Light Agave Nectar 

To start the beef you'll need to heat a high-sided skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add  the 3 tbsp of olive oil and when it starts to shimmer add the ground beef.  As the beef starts browning add the salt and pepper and cook until well browned.  Drain off the excess fat and add the cumin, cinnamon, and chocolate to the beef and continue stirring to melt the chocolate chips.  Once they are mostly melted add the bottle of dark beer (making very sure to save a bottle for sampling...you know, for safety) and cook the liquid down till it's mostly evaporated.  This concentrates all the seasonings and flavors in the meet before it's added to our vegetable base.

Fire roasting the jalapeno and poblano chilies is not necessary but can be done very quickly over a gas burner on the oven.  Use tongs so as not to fire roast your finger tips.  When the skin starts to snap and pop and singe, you are done.  The peppers can then be cut in half, seeded, ribbed, and diced.

In a separate soup pot, add your 2 tbsp of olive oil and set on medium high heat.  When the pan is hot, toss in your onion and sweat it down until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.  While the onion is sweating, puree the whole peeled tomatoes and the chipotles in adobo (found in the Mexican or ethnic aisles of the market) in a blender or food processor.  Add the garlic, poblano, and jalapeno to the onion and cook for another couple of minutes.  Add the powdered chilies, tomato/chipotle puree, and the chicken stock, turn the heat up to high, bring the pot to a boil, and let it boil uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

After the 20 minutes are up, puree the entire pot.  I used a stick blender but a standing blender or food processor would work.  Make do with what you have.  The main idea is to break down the sauce to a smoother consistency, unless you want a chunky chili, in which case, ignore this whole paragraph.

Add the meat to the veggie pot and stir in.  Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for an hour.  Add the 2 tbsp Agave nectar (one could alternatively use maple syrup or some light molasses, or dark brown sugar for another twist on the flavor profile) and stir in thoroughly.  At this point, one must taste and season as needed.  If it's too spicy, add a little more sweetness to cut some of the heat.  If it's not spicy enough for ya, toss in another chipotle and simmer for another 10 minutes or so.  Serve with some bread for sopping, a little grated cheese and some sour cream and you have one killer bowl.  This pot of chili will serve 4-6 folks with hearty appetites.

Oh, almost forgot to mention the best part!  This chili gets better with age...to a certain extent.  It tastes great the night that you make it.  Try it the next day for lunch and you'll find that the flavors really marry in the fridge overnight.