Pat Conroy, Meet Martha Stewart

I love to read, and I love to cook. My love of reading led me to Pat Conroy. I’ve read ALL of his books. Multiple times. There’s nothing he writes that I would not read. And then there’s the queen of cooking, Martha Stewart. I’ve subscribed to her magazine for as long as I can remember! I remember one of the first recipes of hers I tried to make was a triple layer chocolate cake with lemon curd filling. It took the whole day to make, but it was worth it! Well, worth it to me. My husband walked away in disgust when I mentioned the lemon curd filling. He’s opposed to anything that even suggests lemons. No worries, I’m pretty sure I ate the whole thing myself!

Last week I had a bounty of fresh produce, notably a dozen corn and piles of delicious heirloom tomatoes! I knew immediately what I was going to do with the tomatoes. About 10 years or so ago I came across a recipe in Martha Stewart Magazine for a mixed tomato cobbler with a Gruyere crust.

If these tomatoes aren’t ‘mixed’ I don’t know any that are!!

 

Martha’s recipe for the tomato cobbler is one of the simplest recipes around, and when you have such beautiful tomatoes, there’s no better way to showcase them! The crust comes together quickly, and one of the best things about it is it makes enough for two cobblers. Pop one crust in the freezer for the late summer bumper crop of tomatoes! Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds assorted cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped basil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1 cup Gruyere cheese. Add 1 cup butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
2. With machine running, pour ice water (about 1/4 cup) little by little through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without becoming wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Transfer to refrigerator; chill 1 hour.
4. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool slightly.
5. Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Toss with remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar, and basil and pepper. When onion mixture is cooled, add to tomato mixture, and toss to combine. Transfer mixture to a deep 9 1/2- or 10-inch pie dish. Set aside.
6. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out half the dough into a circle 1 inch larger than pie dish. Remaining dough may be frozen up to 1 month. Transfer rolled dough to top of dish; tuck in edges to seal. Make three to four small slits in crust; form a decorative edge if desired. In small bowl, mix egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush egg glaze over crust; sprinkle crust with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Place pie dish on a baking sheet to catch drips; bake until crust is golden and insides are bubbling, about 50 minutes. Let cobbler cool before serving.

Here it is in pictures….

  

I really should have followed Martha’s instructions and let it cool fully before digging in. But it just smells so heavenly, it’s hard to resist.

As I mentioned earlier, I have read everything Pat Conroy has ever written, and more than once. In the case of Beach Music, maybe eight times!! So given my love of all things Pat Conroy and all things related to food, it’s no surprise that I was reading The Pat Conroy Cookbook (for the second time). I decided that Pat Conroy’s recipe for summer corn chowder with seared scallops would be a great way to use up some of that corn.

One of these days I’ll transcribe the recipe. But it’s basically a few cups of milk. Six or so ears of corn. After I take the corn of of the cob, I steep the cobs with the milk for a really rich corn flavor. Oh, and of course, there’s bacon.

As we sat down to dinner that night, I imaged that Pat and Martha would have been proud of my efforts, and I smiled as I tried to envision them both at the table. The rather uptight, northern girl Martha and the thoroughly southern boy Pat; probably not a match made in heaven. If their food is any indication, I think they would have got on quite well!

I Think I’m Going to Need a Bigger Dish

What to do with an excess of perfectly ripe peaches? Marinate them in an Amaretto-infused brown sugar syrup and layer between slices of cake and whipped cream, of course!

The Humble Hamburger

Summer vacation has taken its toll. We bought a new car at the end of April, and it already has 6,000 miles on it. I’ve driven from Charlotte to Hilton Head to Asheville and back again. And then made a quick side trip down to South Florida. Needless to say I’m tired of driving. And I’m even more tired of eating on the road. So, now that I’m finally back home and have picked up my first box (really, boxes) of beautiful produce from the Farmer’s Fresh Market, you can imagine my excitement at being able to finally start cooking again. Only, it turns out my husband wants hamburgers for dinner. What’s a girl to do? My poor dear husband has actually been worse off than I have been in the food department: He’s had to cook for himself. So hamburgers it is… but it’s hamburgers MY way!

One of the best food discoveries I’ve made recently was during a visit to my in-laws. My mother-in-law mentioned she had tasted a delicious dip at one of their neighborhood dinner parties. She showed me the recipe, and I was a bit incredulous. Could it really taste as good as she made it sound?? It could, and it did. Here’s the recipe:

Vidalia Onion Relish

• 5 to 6 medium onions, finely chopped
• - Use the food processor if you like a finer relish, chop by hand if you like it a bit chunkier
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp celery salt

Soak onions in water/vinegar/sugar for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator. Drain well for 45 minutes in a colander. Pat dry. Mix onions with mayonnaise and celery salt.

As I shoveled this dip into my mouth (using any available vessel… club crackers, cucumbers, a spoon) I marveled at how such simple ingredients could yield something so marvelously delicious. I figured this could elevate anything you put it on (or in)! I enjoyed this dip so much, I took a copy of the recipe and a bag of Vidalia onions with me to the mountains for my annual girls weekend trip.

On that long drive from Hilton Head to Asheville I was listening to the Martha Stewart Radio show “Everyday Food”. Would you believe the episode I was listening to was about CONDIMENTS! The host asked for people to call in to share their favorite condiment. And that’s exactly what I did. Julie from Charlotte was live on Martha Stewart radio sharing the recipe for Vidalia Onion Relish!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming… My favorite girls were a little doubtful that onions and mayonnaise would be something worth eating… but the indulged me yet again! And all weekend long, every time I turned around I saw someone shoveling onion dip into their mouth!! On hamburger night, we brought out what was left of the relish and put it on top of our burgers. Now THAT was delicious!

Fast forward to last night. I had half a bag of Vidalia onions left over from that trip, so I make the Vidalia onion relish. I knew it was good ON a hamburger, so if figured it would also be good IN the hamburger. I took my ground beef (grass fed, locally raised) and mixed in about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, about 1/2 cup of the onion relish and some salt and pepper.

I added some cheese, another dollop of the relish and a slice of the juiciest tomato around! The Hamburger was humble no more.

In Defense of Lard

Notice how I put the picture first. That’s right, there’s lard in those biscuits. And I tell you, I have never tasted such a light, fluffy and absolutely delicious biscuit. It’s amazing how far a little lard can go!

I recently bought the Lee Brothers’ Cookbook, which is chock-full of delicious Southern recipes. What I love about this book is its focus on creating traditional Southern recipes using the finest local and seasonal ingredients. The Lee brothers have a small section in the book where they extol the virtues of lard, and well, it didn’t take much to convince me. I had already done some research on it, because while much maligned, it actually isn’t as bad for you as some would have you think. In fact, in moderation, it’s actually GOOD for you. You can read more about lard here.

 

So, with my sights firmly set on creating the ultimate buttermilk biscuit, I went in search of some lard. The good news is, I didn’t have to search for long, as I knew the exact person who could set me up: My friend Kirk at the Farmer’s Fresh Market! He very kindly sent me a pound of lard with my order of other Fresh Market goodies (stay tuned for more on that).

So last Sunday, I whipped up a batch of the Lee Brothers’ Bird-head buttermilk biscuits. I’ve been making buttermilk biscuits for quite some time,  and Scott (my husband, and official taste tester) has said on more than one occasion that my biscuits are one of the best things to come out of my kitchen. But I tell you, these biscuits set the bar even higher. They just melt in your mouth and are absolutely lard-o-licious. I also took the Lee brothers’ advice and whipped up a little batch of sorghum (molasses) butter, using up some of the sorghum I had leftover (also procured through the Farmer’s Fresh Market). Talk about a revelation. Josh tries to spread that sorghum butter on just about everything now. The rest of breakfast was almost an afterthought… well, almost. Soft-scrambled eggs with goat cheese and tarragon: The tarragon from my garden and the goat cheese from Looking Glass Creamery, also procured through… well, you know where. Delicious!

Firing up the Grill!

Spring is in the air, and right around the corner, the long, lazy days of summer. Ever since the end of the Urban Produce Box deliveries, I’ve been counting down the days until summer is back in full tilt and I can once again cook with the finest produce around! Until then, I have to make do with what I can find at the Harris Teeter.

I was recently inspired by a recipe for Middle Eastern Chicken Sandwiches on Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Middle-Eastern-Grilled-Chicken-Pita-Sandwiches-with-Yogurt-Mint-Sauce-12158

My kids tend to make a mess with any sandwich bigger than a grilled cheese, so I decided to ‘deconstruct’ the elements and serve it the way my mom used to when I was growing up.

I marinated the chicken as described for most of the day. I also went ahead and whipped up some dough so I could grill my own flatbread, way cheaper (and tastier) than buying a pack of pita bread. I made a cucumber and tomato salad, and the yogurt sauce as written in the recipe. I liked the idea of carmelized onions, but didn’t want to add the tomato, as I already used some in my salad. So I made a pot of Basmati rice and then topped that with my carmelized onions.

The whole thing came together beautifully. As usual, Josh had two helpings and Erin ate her rice. I will definitely be making this again in the summer when the tomatoes are actually in season. I think next time I’ll marinate a whole, butterflied chicken and grill that. The rice and onion combination was definitely a winner!

If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding!!

I was lucky enough to have been given a sample of locally grown short-grain sticky rice not too long ago. Rice grown by a community of Hmong people out in Hickory, NC. Incongruous, I know. Nonetheless, I had this bag of local sticky rice that I knew I had to find a purpose for. As you may recall, I had checked out the big Gourmet cookbook from the library not too long ago. In that monstrous book was a recipe for rice-studded meatballs. Rice. Meat. Yum.

I knew I had to make those meatballs. I also wanted to make the famous Vietnamese sandwich, Bahn Mi. I had some pork belly that I planned on using for that. So, Asian night at the Mall house was coming together nicely.

I have a freezer full of pork. It seems outrageous to go to the store to buy the ground pork necessary for my rice studded meatballs. So, despite the fact that I gave up shopping for Lent, I picked up the meat grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer at Target a couple of days ago. In my defense, it was on sale AND I had a coupon. I defrosted some pork shoulder, and whipped out my brand new meat grinder, and set about grinding me up some pork. Maybe now the Pink Floyd reference in the title is making sense. If it’s not, let me gently remind you. (it’s 3:30 and 4:15 in)

It might be a while before I grind anymore meat.

Anyway, I recovered from that rather traumatic experience, and had quite a bit more ground beef than I originally planned. So, I’m saving the pork belly to make the famous Momofuku Pork Buns and used my extra ground pork to make little Bahn Mi pork meatballs, a la this epicurious recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Pork-Meatball-Banh-Mi-356790

The rice studded meatballs were good, better when dipped in a little ponzu sauce. (also an epicurious recipe): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rice-Studded-Meatballs-109195

Josh loved both forms of meatball. But I knew a big Bahn Mi sandwich on French bread would be a little hard for the kids to eat. That’s when I remembered I had an extra dough ball left in the fridge. I rolled that puppy out and put it on the grill pan. That’s when I realized what I really had on my hands… PITA BREAD! I was able to split the bread and fill it with Josh’s little Bahn Mi. It’s really fantastic (the bread. and the sandwich. but really, this is about the bread) and would be even better on a real grill.

Here’s the kid’s version of the Bahn Mi. Okay, it’s really only Josh’s version. Erin’s (HOMEMADE!!!!) pita was stuffed with ham and cheese. I know my audience.

 

This is the ‘There’s no way I’m eating that!’ look.

 

The rice/meat balls before they went into the steamer.

Ready to eat!

The meatballs for the Bahn Mi cooking away in the oven!

How good does that look? Trust me, it tasted even better!

This One is for the Kids!

Because I think sometimes they get a little tired of all my ‘experiments’ in the kitchen! So this night was all about catering to the kids, who love cheeseburgers and pizza.

So I made cheeseburger pizza. I have made this recipe before, quite some time ago – but I remember the kids liked it. The best thing about this recipe is the pizza dough. The recipe is from Cuisine at Home and is so simple.

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Proof the yeast with the sugar and warm water. Put in a stand mixer with a dough hook and add the olive oil. Add in the flours and salt and mix for 10 minutes. Pop into a lightly oiled bowl and let rise for 2 hours until doubled in size. Divide dough into 4 equal balls and let rise for another hour.

Here’s one of my dough balls!

To make the pizzas, mix together 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1/4 cup yellow mustard. Brown some ground beef. Grate some Velveeta. (I know, Velveeta. This might be only the 2nd time I’ve used it in as many years).

Instead of just rolling out the dough and throwing it on the pizza stone, I decided to grill mine – as the dough recipe really was meant to be used for grilled pizzas. Since it was freezing AND raining outside, I used a grill pan on my stove. I grilled one side, flipped it over and then spread some of the ketchup mixture, topped with ground beef and the blasted Velveeta. I put the whole pan in a 500 degree oven for about 7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and dough is fully cooked.

As toppings, toss together some shredded lettuce, chopped cherry tomatoes and chopped dill pickles (which I toss all together). You can mix some mayo with pickle juice and drizzle over the whole thing to really take it over the top.

Josh ate a whole pizza by himself. Here’s his third ‘piece’.

It’s easy, tasty, and the kids love it. AND, my one leftover dough ball made a star appearance later in the week. Stay tuned for that!

Lady Apple, Where Art Thou?

It seems like every time I go to the grocery store, I see a little bin of cute Lady Apples. Every time I see them, I think of this absolutely fabulous meal I had in New York at the beginning of the year. Lady Apples baked with some sort of Italian Sausage that there’s no chance of me finding down here. The restaurant is Gottino, in NY’s West Village: http://www.ilovegottino.com/

Here’s a picture of those lovely apples that I think of every time I’m in the Teeter:

So, a few days ago I came across a recipe that called for a few simple ingredients: chicken thighs, bacon, and you guessed it, lady apples. I thought to myself, '”GREAT! Finally, I can pick up some of those cute little apples that have been taunting me every time I’m grocery shopping!”.

So, I drop Erin off at school, and head to the best Teeter in town, excited to finally get my hands on those cute little orbs. I push my cart with purpose through the produce section to the spot I know they occupy. Only, they’re not there. I push my cart not quite so purposefully up and down the produce section. I stop and ask the friendly produce man, “Where are my lady apples??”. He informs me that they are out, and they might, MIGHT have some more later in the week.

Well, I wasn’t about to abandon my dinner plans for the evening -  mostly because I just couldn’t get the idea of chicken, bacon, and apples out of my head. So  I went with plan B: I used some of the beautiful (albeit full size) Pink Lady Apples I had from the Farmer’s Fresh Market. I have the say, the results were still quite tasty, and rather pretty too!

The recipe is from epicurious.com and very straightforward. Cook your bacon until it just starts to brown, but is still pliable. Wrap around your lady apples, should you be lucky enough to have them. I wrapped my bacon around cored Pink Lady apple halves. Sear off your seasoned chicken thighs (bone in, skin on). Arrange in your baking dish in put in the oven. Using the same pan you seared your breasts in (ouch!) add apple cider and apple cider vinegar to deglaze and then a dollop of butter. Pour over your chicken and apples and continue to roast until the chicken is done.

The Meatless Meal

‘Tis the season. Lent that is. This Wednesday kicked off the Lenten season and had me thinking about how to put together tasty, healthy meals that were meatless. Usually, if I try and serve a meal without some sort of meat, my husband will look at me like I have 3 heads. But even he can’t argue with a meatless meal during Lent! And while I always look forward to trying new recipes, my imagination gets stretched pretty thin towards the end of Lent. By the 5th or 6th Friday, I’m probably serving up some scrambled eggs or pancakes for dinner. Certainly not the most healthy option, and definitely not creative.

Ash Wednesday was here before I knew it. I found myself in the Teeter to pick up some heavy cream, because I planned on using the leeks and goat cheese I had in the fridge to make a quiche. I planned on serving it with a simple side salad. Since I was shopping without the kids – oh what a treat – I picked up an issue of Cooks Illustrated and (warning: never shop hungry) decided that I would expand on the leeky theme and make the leek and potato soup from that issue. Oh, and the chewy chocolate brownies.

The quiche is super simple! For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 8tbps butter
• 5-6 tbps ice water
• pinch sea salt

I use the food processor – pulse diced cold butter with flour/salt until it looks a bit like coarse cornmeal. Then slowly add water. I’ve learned the hard way that if your dough starts to come together in a ball during this stage, you’ve added too much water and your crust will be tough and brittle. It should still look coarse, but you should be able to pinch it and it will hold together. Pre-bake it @ 425 degrees for about 15 minutes… don’t forget those pie weights!

Here’s the prepared crust, topped with the goat cheese and sauteed leeks.

For the filling:

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• salt to taste

Bake in the 425 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the middle is set. Here it is fresh from the oven.

And our first meatless meal of the Lenten season. I took a picture of Josh’s plate… I ate a WHOLE lot more than that! And I found the soup recipe to be very delicious – and so easy too! It’s in this month’s issue of Cook’s Illustrated.

   

Oh, and the brownies were good too. Josh loved them, which is odd because he typically does not like chocolatey desserts. I didn’t take a picture though, because although they tasted very good, they were a gooey mess. The recipe calls for a baking time of 30-35 minutes – I baked mine for close to 40 and they were still a little undercooked.

And for Breakfast….

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day (my others being lunch and dinner), however I rarely go to the effort of making it. It’s usually something quick like a scrambled egg or a bagel and some fruit. But, with guests in the house, breakfast is very much worth the effort. I recently purchased 1/2 a pig from the Farmer’s Fresh Market, so I had a copious amount of fresh sausage in my freezer.

Also on hand were about 4 dozen eggs, some frozen blueberries and a small bag of dried cherries I’d picked up from Trader Joe’s. Those few ingredients turned out a rather delicious array of breakfast goodies, if I do say so myself!

Cowboy breakfast casserole, courtesy of www.epicious.com. Garlic-butter spread on slices of Italian bread, topped with browned sausage, green onions, cheddar cheese, and my two dozen farm-fresh eggs!

The world’s best blueberry muffin, recipe from Cooks Illustrated. The clincher in this recipe is taking a cup of the frozen (best quality you can find) blueberries and bringing them to a simmer with a teaspoon of sugar, mashing up the blueberries as they cook. When reduced to about a 1/4 cup, let cool and then drop a teaspoon full on top of each muffin, swirling into the batter. Top all of that with a little lemon sugar (lemon zest tossed with sugar). I had a Meyer lemon on hand, which made the lemon sugar topping all the more delicious!

And finally, cherry-vanilla scones, recipe from www.finecooking.com. These are nothing like the hockey-puck type scones you find in stores or at Starbucks, these are the real deal! And so easy to throw together!

Dinner with Friends

Our good friends the Rawlins came for a visit this weekend. We had a great time! The kids were excited to have friends over and they had the rather unexpected treat of almost 4 inches of snow on Saturday!

The best part of having friends over is being able to share a great meal with people you love. I checked out this book from the local library, and in it found a great recipe for traditional lasagna, using a Mario Batali ragu recipe at its base, bechamel, and fresh spinach lasagna noodles. I made the ragu and bechamel as written, but bought the fresh noodles from Pasta and Provisions, because really, why go through the laborious process of rolling out your own noodles, when they can be found right up the road!

The result was rich and glorious!

In process….

Ready for the oven…

The final product!

And for dessert, homemade tiramisu! Instead of using the traditional lady fingers, I made a coffee-infused sponge cake. The result, in my opinion, is a much lighter version of the original tiramisu. The eggs used in the sponge cake and mascarpone cream filling are from local farmers via the Farmers Fresh Market.  The recipe is from www.finecooking.com.

World’s Best Snack

We had some good friends visiting this weekend, so in the rush to get everything cleaned/prepped on Friday before they arrived, I neglected to eat lunch. Or breakfast. So by the time the afternoon rolled around and I could stop and catch my breath, I found myself starving, but not wanting to make a meal – because I had a rather big meal planned for that evening. I had picked up a couple of loaves of French Bread from Pasta and Provisions, makers of the best French bread I’ve ever had, earlier in the day. In my purse, I found the small sample of local honey that my friend Kirk from the Farmer’s Fresh Market had given me. And in the fridge, a tub of local, fresh Chevre, also procured from the Farmer’s Fresh Market.

Those three simple ingredients turned into one of the most delicious and addictive snacks I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating!

That’s Some Pig

The season for the Urban produce box has slowly wound down, leaving us all excited for what’s coming in the spring/summer of 2010. In the meantime though, many of us continue to purchase individual items from the Farmer’s Fresh Market. I recently bought a whole pork shoulder, which came from ‘Glen-Finished’ pigs from the Searcy farm. Glen-finished means that not only have these special pigs been pasture-raised, but they have also been allowed to forage in the woods – something all pigs naturally love to do! The diet of these pigs has consisted of vegetables, grass, roots and berries, acorns, sweet potatoes and grain, which results in some of the most flavorful, tender pork you could imagine.

The shoulder roast from one of these pigs played the starring role in last night’s supper. I slow roasted the meat at 300 degrees for about 5 1/2 hours. Halfway through I added mushrooms, some onion, and a little chicken stock to begin work on the mushroom gravy. The meat was amazing, tender and so full of flavor. Nothing like the mushy, flavorless meat you see from a Smithfield pig. On the side we had buttermilk mashed potatoes (using my all time favorite spud, the Kennebec). And buttered peas with carmelized shallots. I also made some buttermilk rolls using a recipe I found in this month’s Saveur Magazine. It was the perfect Sunday supper.

Still Cooking

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve last posted. The holidays brought a whirlwind of activity that only now seems to be settling down. Even though I haven’t posted, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking. I’ve been lucky enough to get some amazing produce from the Farmer’s Fresh Market, which elevates just about every meal I make into something special. Or so I’d like to believe!

Okay, so these cookies don’t feature any produce… unless you consider Extra Virgin Olive Oil produce! I am a lover of a moist and chewy chocolate chip cookie. Can’t stand the thin crispy kind that seem to be the result using an all-butter recipe. So I came across a recipe for olive oil chocolate chip cookies, and the end result was my ideal cookie. Moist and chewy and all about the chocolate chip! And I didn’t feel so guilty about eating the whole batch because I used heart-healthy olive oil!

http://crepesofwrath.net/2009/11/16/olive-oil-chocolate-chip-cookies/

This was an amazing sandwich. I used some left over rib-eye, made an egg salad from my farm-fresh eggs, and topped it all with some fresh arugula. DELISH!

 

Braised baby turnips and apples with bacon. Created a few turnip lovers in this house. Well, really just me and Josh!

Served the turnips with a roasted pork loin studded with garlic cloves.

And some mashed (local) sweet potatoes! This was a great meal!

I had some left over mashed potatoes one evening, and found a recipe for ham and cheese stuffed potato croquette. That sounded just completely delicious, so I decided to give it a try.

http://italianfoodies.ie/2009/02/09/potato-croquettes-with-ham-cheese/

I served the croquettes with a salad using some greens and left over veggies from one of our produce boxes. You can tell the kids are enjoying their meal!