Everything potato gratin

April 13, 2022 by Rebecca Davis in Budget meals, Cooking, Gluten-free, Holidays, Kid eats, Nut-free, Quick meals, Recipes, Spring, Toddler eats, Vegetarian

This easy side dish is the perfect way to make something that seems fancy (gratin!) while using all the shortcuts (barely any chopping!).

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So, I used Jamie Oliver’s method for a quicker potato gratin. Gratin’s usually need up to an hour in the oven, but by combining cooking methods, you can get a creamy, crunchy, crispy dish in less than 30 minutes. Also, using everything bagel spice means that you don’t have to chop any onions or garlic or really measure much of anything.

Just a quick word of warning: Use oven mitts to secure the tin foil over your skillet or tin on the stove. You want a tight seal so that the potatoes steam a bit before going into the oven. ALSO, use caution when removing the foil as the steam is plentiful and HOT.

A note about SALT: I don’t add any in this recipe because most of the pre-made Everything Bagel spice mixes are pretty salty. Check your labels and then decide if you want to add more salt. I would recommend a sprinkle of sea salt over the top of the finished gratin if you feel like it needs more.

Everything Potato Gratin

1½ lbs russet potatoes (about 2 very large), peeled and sliced thinly
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup water
2½ Tbsp everything bagel spice, divided
5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1½ cups grated cheese (mixture of gruyere, asiago, gouda)

Time: about 30 minutes, mostly active
Yield: 5 side servings

Preheat the oven to 425.

In a large oven-proof skillet or tin, spread the thinly sliced potatoes.

In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, water, and 1 1/2 Tbsp of everything bagel spice. Pour over the potatoes in the skillet. Add the fresh thyme and stir well to combine and to spread out the dried and fresh herbs.

Over a medium-high flame, bring the liquid to a boil. The liquid around the edges of the pan will boil quickly. Look for the first few bubbles in the middle of the pan and turn down the flame to medium-low.

Carefully wrap a piece of tin foil over the top of the skillet or tin. I wear oven mitts to do this because I want a tight seal, but I don’t want to burn myself. Let cook over a medium-low flame for 6 minutes.

Turn off the flame and CAREFULLY remove the foil being sure to wear oven mitts and to remove the foil away from you to avoid the hot steam.

Top evenly with the grated cheese.

Cook, uncovered, in the oven for 15 minutes. Top with the remaining 1/2 Tbsp of everything bagel spice.

Let cool slightly and serve.

French toast casserole

January 28, 2022 by Rebecca Davis in Baking, Cooking, Quick meals, Recipes, Sweets, Vegetarian, Winter, Fall

Don’t throw out the sandwich bread crusts and heels that your kids won’t eat! Turn them into a simple, fast French toast casserole that’s crunchy, eggy, cinnamon-y, and caramel-y.

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Why don’t kids like bread crusts? Is that universal? I thought it was bullshit until I had kids of my own and one day, the older one disavowed bread crusts FOR NO REASON.

Funnily, my husband was horrified when M started insisting that the crusts be cut off because he was like, “that’s where all the fiber is!” To which I laughed in his face because what?! Bread isn’t an apple.

Anyhoo, this recipe is the perfect way to use up bread scraps. However, this isn’t a good recipe for that rock hard baguette or formerly crusty loaf that you forgot about. This is for the ever-so-slightly tougher outer layer of sandwich bread that you’ve been saving in a bag in the fridge so it didn’t get too stale.

Why do I advocate for using softer, fresher bread? I’ll tell you! Because most French toast casserole recipes require an overnight soak. But I, for one, am way too tired at the end of the day to plan for tomorrow’s breakfast. This recipe requires no waiting, something I am not very good at anyway.

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A couple of notes:

Amounts: As always, the amounts listed here can be considered guidelines or ratios more than hard and fast rules. If you want the caramel on the bottom to be more like what you’d find in a sticky bun, feel free to increase the butter and sugar! Or if you have more or less than 6 cups of bread, adjust accordingly. This one is very forgiving.
Eggs: You want the egg/milk/vanilla/cinnamon mixture to come up about 3/4 of the way to the top of the bread. But pour in the amount listed and squish the bread down gently with your hands. If you can easily see the liquid underneath, you have enough. If you have to push down more firmly to see any liquid or if it just doesn’t feel like enough to you, add more. It’s better to have a little too much liquid than not enough. But DO NOT cover the bread with the egg mixture.

French toast casserole

Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 large servings

Adapted from https://belleofthekitchen.com/french-toast-casserole/

4 Tbsp butter
½ cup brown sugar + 1 Tbsp (reserved for later)
6 cups roughly torn bread hunks
2 cup milk
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon (or any combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and cloves)
3 Tbsp coarse sugar (or substitute with granulated)

Preheat the oven to 425.

In a large ceramic baking dish (though if metal is your only option, melt the butter and sugar in a separate bowl and then add to the baking dish), combine the butter and ½ cup of brown sugar. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until the butter has just melted. Stir for 1 minute or until the butter and the sugar are mostly combined. Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of your baking dish.

Top the melted butter and brown sugar with the roughly torn bread cubes.

In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Whisk until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Pour over the bread cubes. Push down gently on the bread to assess how much liquid is in your baking dish. If the liquid doesn’t come up about ¾ of the way to the top of the bread cubes, whisk together another ½ cup of milk and 1 egg and add as much of the mixture as needed to achieve that depth of liquid.

Combine the remaining 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and the coarse sugar and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the middle puffs up and doesn’t jiggle when you gently shake the baking dish.

This warm, simple salad is so special thanks to the maitake mushrooms and the variety of textures and flavors. Made from expensive ingredients, this salad is meant for special occasions (or just the occasion of treating yourself), but I promise it’s worth it! #meandthemoose #salad #maitakemushrooms #warmsalad #saladrecipes #sidedishes

Maitake mushroom salad

December 20, 2021 by Rebecca Davis in Gluten-free, Holidays, Recipes, Vegetarian, Winter

This warm, simple salad is so special thanks to the maitake mushrooms and the variety of textures and flavors. Made from expensive ingredients, this salad is meant for special occasions (or just the occasion of treating yourself), but I promise it’s worth it!

Take me to the recipe!

This salad is based on my best memories from a tiny little restaurant in Brooklyn called Little Dishes that I used to frequent with my husband before it tragically closed. I remember running to this place in the thick snow when someone was having a craving for their Mac and cheese. Their food was so simple, but so thoughtfully prepared that the dishes ended up being much greater than the sum of their humble parts.

Maitake mushrooms, sometimes called Hen of the Woods, are my absolute favorite variety. They’re meaty and slightly herby with a wee bit of forest floor funk. I state from the outset that this is an expensive salad because maitakes definitely don’t come cheap and I wouldn’t substitute any other mushroom variety here. I mean, you CAN, but your salad with end up fine, instead of ethereal.

The original recipe used a local cheese that was somewhere between parmesan and gruyere. Use either in this recipe or any other favorite cheese that falls in the nutty, slightly dry realm.

A couple of notes:

Cooking the mushrooms: I like to leave the mushrooms in slightly large pieces. It will feel awkward to cook them at first because they’re pretty stiff until they heat up somewhat. Once you sear them on one side, the mushrooms will get much floppier and easier to cook.
Cooking the radicchio: I seared half of the bitter lettuce and left the other half raw for a bit of textural difference, but you don’t strictly need to do this step. I left the lettuce in pretty large pieces for the photos, but definitely slice them much thinner for the real salad.

Maitake mushroom salad

2-3 large maitake mushrooms, each cut into about 4 large pieces
1 small head of radicchio, sliced into very thin wedges
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 cups arugula (1 small bag of pre-washed lettuce is perfect)
Shallot vinaigrette (recipe below), to taste
Parmesan or gruyere cheese, to taste

Shallot vinaigrette
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp minced shallot
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp mayonnaise
1 large pinch of salt

Heat the butter in a large skillet over a medium high flame. When the butter has begun to bubble and brown slightly, add the mushrooms and cook, turning every 1-2 minutes, until well browned on all sides and very floppy, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the mushrooms to a plate and sprinkle with salt.

Add the olive oil to the pan and heat until very hot, but not smoking. Sear half of the radicchio on one side and then flip to the other side and sear again. If the pan is hot enough, this should take about 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with salt.

Add the mushrooms back to the pan with the radicchio to warm back up, but don’t turn the flame back on.

Add the arugula and the raw radicchio to a large plate or bowl. Add half of the dressing and toss well. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Top with the warm mushrooms and radicchio. Pour on more dressing to taste.

Add large flakes of the nutty, salty cheese on top to taste. Serve immediately.