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| Posted: Sun Jan 22nd, 2012 12:10 am |
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1st Post |
boojum
boojum
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   Ok, sometimes I think that Vargr and I should not be left alone together.   With a knowledge of what I had in my fridge and a desire to make an inexpensive dinner, we stopped at safeway to pad out our ingredients.. and pad..  and pad..  Ok, now it's time to pad out our waist lines!
    This is sort of a joint effort with us making it up as we go, and it turned out glorious! Â
                                          Boojum
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Ingredients:
6 medium russet potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium red onion
1/2 medium yellow onion
1/2 medium white onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2lb smoked pork, diced
1/2 Kilbasa Link, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 stick (6 Tbs) butter
4 tablspoons flour
2 tablespoons kentucky burbon
1/2 cup shredded 5 cheese mexican mix
1/2tsp salt (divided)
1/2tsp black pepper (divided)
1/4tsp marjoram
1/4tsp nutmeg
1/2tsp rosemary
2 cups milk
Instructions:
1. Put sliced potatoes into boiling water (I added salt and granulated garlic to the water that is not accounted for in the recipe).  Boil potatoes until they are still slightly firm, then drain.
2. Saute onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter until translucent and set to the side.
3. Add Kentucky Burbon to the pan and scrub brown spots for flavor.. allow alchohol to cook out and the sauce to reduce by at least half.
4. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter into pan until butter just starts to foam.
5. Rapidly stir in flour.Continue to mix until flour flavor is cooked out of the rue.
6. Add the black pepper, salt, marjoram, nutmeg, and rosemary to the mix, stirring in.
6. Add 2 cups of milk to pan, stir and heat mixture until milk starts to simmer and everything begins thickenning.
7. Return the sauted onoins and garlic to the white sauce and mix in.
8. In a 3 quart casserole dish, place 1/2 the potatos layered in the bottom.
9. Distribute meat evenly over the top of the potatos.
10. Sprinkle half the shredded 5 cheese mix lightly over the meat.
11. Spread 1/2 of the sauce from the pan over the layer and sprinkle with half the salt and pepper (1/8tsp each).
12. Place remaining layer of potatos in the casserole dish.
13. Smooth remaining sauce over top of potatos.
14, Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and sprinkle on the rest of the salt and pepper (1/8tsp each).
15. Place casserole dish in oven at 350 wdegrees for 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly.
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes to let it "set" before serving.Last edited on Sun Jan 22nd, 2012 01:15 am by Vargr
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| Posted: Sun Jan 22nd, 2012 01:32 am |
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2nd Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Oh yes! This was definitely a yummy "comfort" dish!
After serving and tasting and critiquing, Booj and I would recommend the following changes/ideas:
- Instead of slicing the keilbasa, dice it. That way, you don't get disks with a prominately different flavor in one bite, and none in the next. Spread the diced keibasa evenly over the roast pork to integrate the flavors better
- The keilbasa is a key flavor component in this. The smoked pork is excellent, but the keilbasa added both enough saltiness and a strong flavor note that makes it too important to leave out.
- Be careful not to boil the potatoes for too long. They're going to cook even more in the oven. You want them to hold together when you layer them into the cassarole. Don't be discouraged if you over-cook them though; the flavor will still be good, though the texture might be a bit softer than you wished.
This is a fantastic "mother" recipe, and you ought to be able to take it in many directions with variations on the theme. For instance:
- Substitute diced smoked chicken and fried panceta for the pork and keilbasa. Use the rendered fat from the panceta as part of the oil/butter in the butter/flour portion.
- Add "wild" mushrooms (shitake, porcini, etc) saute'd with the onions and garlic, to the chicken idea above.
- Substitute ham for the smoked pork
- "Kick up" the white sauce with some extra rosemary, paprika, or granulated garlic
- "Heat up" the white sauce with a bit of Sriracha pepper sauce
In any case, this was an excellent cassarole just "as is". The white sauce carried the flavors of everything else, and left a nice creamy texture. The Keilbasa brought a little punch, and the smoked flavor of the pork was nicely apparent.
On a rainy CA evening, this was definitely comfort of high degree!
____________________
We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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