The Plucky Housewives

I love anything potato.  I did not have an Italian grandma who taught me how to make these (I sure wish I did).  I ate them once, fell in love with them.  Im German and Irish, like I wouldn't love anything with so much potato???? I discovered that they are not as difficult as they seem and they are just so good.  Its also that making fresh dough thing.  There is something very therapeutic about it.   Gnocchi 4 large Idaho Baking Potatoes 2 Eggs 1 t salt 1/2 t pepper 1-1/2 Flour Wash and pierce the potatoes with a fork.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until tender and done.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle.  Cut the potatoes lengthwise, in half.  Scoop out the flesh.  (Set the skins aside and make some Smokey Potato Skins).  Do not cool the potatoes too long.  You want to work with the potatoes while they are still warm.  It helps in making a light and pillowy gnocchi.   Place the potato flesh in the center of a mixing board or mat, s

Key Lime Pie. CRUST 1-1/2 c crushed graham crackers 3 T sugar 5 T butter, melted PIE FILLING 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk 8 large egg yolks Zest of 2 lime 1 c key lime juice (approximately 20-30 key limes, depending on how juicy they are) Few tips:  For the Key Lime juice, you have a couple of choices - you can squeeze fresh key limes or you can use bottled Key lime juice.  If you choose to use the bottled juice, pick one that is not "imitation".  You have plenty of options.  If your supermarket carries it, they will shelve it with the bottled lemon juices.  If not, Amazon.com has  Nellie & Joe's by the bottle  or  by the pack . I like a thicker pie, so this recipe makes a filling that when set is 1 to 1-1/2 inches.   If you like a thinner filling, reduce the filling recipe in half. 1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 2.  In a medium bowl, add crushed graham crackers and sugar.  Mix together thoroughly with a fork or a whisk.  Add melted butter and

June 10, 2011 Weekend Grilling Menu - for 6-8 folks Beef (or Chicken) Fajitas Flour Tortillas (homemade or store bought - its all up to you) Grilled peppers and onions Creamy guacamole Tomatilla Salsa Grilled Corn Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake Marinade 1 lime, juiced and zest 1 lemon, juice and zest 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped 1 t kosher salt 1 t cumin 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil For marinade:   Combine in a bowl, the juice and zest of the lime and lemon, crushed garlic, jalapeno, salt, cumin.  Mix together.  With a wire whisk, slowly add the olive oil into the mix, while whisking.   You want to slightly emulsify the mixture. Fajitas 5 lbs of flank, skirt, flatiron, or chuck steak (boneless/skinless chicken breast or thighs) 2 red peppers, cleaned and halved 2 green peppers, cleaned and halved 2 sweet (Vidalia or maui) onions, cleaned and cut in half Place the meat into a large Ziploc bag.  Add 3/4 of the marinade to meat.  This can be marinated 2 hou

Creamy yummy Guacamole I think we have referred to the use of guacamole several times in previous posts, so it seems appropriate that we include a great guacamole recipe.  I prefer a creamy guacamole, primarily because it was the only way I could get my kids (or at least a couple of my kids) to try it.   One of my girls refused to eat it until a few years ago.  I dont think she believed me when I said it was good.....now she does, so good on her! I do use a little of my Tomatillo Salsa in this recipe.  Enjoy! Creamy Guacamole 4 ripe avacado (soft to the touch, but not mushy) 1/2 c red onion, diced small 1 clove garlic, minced 2 limes, juiced 1/4 c cilantro, finely chopped 3 heaping T of  Tomatillo Salsa 2 heaping T sour cream 1 heaping T mayonnaise 1 t kosher salt 1 t cracked black pepper Cut avocados in half, lengthwise.  Remove the pits.  Scoop the flesh out of the shells and place in a medium mixing bowl.  Mash the avocado in the bowl.  I use a pastry blender beca

Delicious Smoky Potato Skins I set out last weekend to make some homemade gnocchi.  Every now and then I like to immerse my hands in dough, be it bread dough or pasta dough.  I think it’s the touch and taste and smell combination.  It is also very therapeutic.  But, anyway, where was I going with this?  I made gnocchi.   I bake my potatoes (instead of boiling them) and I was scooping out the flesh, when I realized I had a stack of potato skins.  I hate wasting anything lately and wondered what would I do with these.  Sort of a duh moment, don’t you think?  So I foraged the fridge.  I had no bacon, but did have polish smoked sausage.  I found cheese and sour cream.  I also had 2 avocados perfectly ripe and some green onions and heirloom tomatoes.    Needless to say, we had scrumptious baked potato skins for dinner that night.  The gnocchi, I ate some too, but gave most of it away to a friend for their dinner.  I can always make more! Smoky Potato Skins 10 potato skin halves, scoo