Buddy’s Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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I couldn’t find my original recipe for my roasted garlic spuds so I am adapting with this one…

Good, Nope…

Great, OH YEAH!!!

You can even prepare this dish several hours before eating! If you plan to do so, use only half of the cream, pile the garlic mash into a heat proof bowl and cover with foil until required. About 1/2 an hour before dinner, stand the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally. At the last minute, beat in the remaining heated cream……and serve!

Ingredients:

2 heads roasted garlic
4lbs Maris Piper (red) potatoes, peeled and quartered
3oz (120g) unsalted butter
½ cup (125ml) sour cream
2 Cups grated cheddar cheese

TIP

I like to roast several heads of garlic at the same time, use one for the garlic mashed potato recipe and then keep the others for alternative uses. They are excellent on a steak (with truffle oil), puréed in soup, rubbed on toast or fresh bread, enhance a bruschetta, mixed with vegetables, or mashed and served on the side with cheese.

Preparation Roasted Garlic:

Cut the top ¼ inch off the head of garlic.
Rub the olive oil, salt and freshly milled black pepper all over the surface.
Wrap the clove with a small piece of kitchen foil.
Place on a baking tray and roast for 25 to 30 minutes until just tender.
Remove from the oven. Once cool, Peel the skin off (don’t worry about any browned parts of the clove as they will add color and flavor).

Preparation Garlic Mashed Spuds:

Peel the potatoes – Optional: I don’t peel mine but remove some as I run it through the ricer but I think about peeling them every time to avoid the challenge of clogging up the ricer
Cut the potatoes into 1.5” cubes or so
Put the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with cold water.
Season with ½ teaspoon of salt.
Over a high heat, bring the pan to the boil, cover and simmer steadily for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until tender in the centre.
Carefully drain off the water, and then while holding the lid firmly in place, shake the pan vigorously to start breaking up the potatoes.
Cut the butter into chunks and add it along with the sour cream, cheddar and the garlic cloves to the hot potatoes. Place the lid back on the pan and leave for a few minutes for the butter and cheese to melt.
Run the potatoes (with ingredients) through a ricer twice. (if you don’t have a ricer, you can use a mixer but they aren’t as smooth)
Add milk or cream to get the desired consistency and a generous seasoning of salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste. It’s now ready to serve.

TIP

Even though this garlic mashed potato recipe is enough for 8, you can always make up the full amount even when serving less people. The reason being is that it is excellent fried a day or 2 later for a dish that here in the UK, we call “Bubble’n Squeak”!

To make Bubble’n Squeak, simply fry ½ a finely diced onion in 2 tablespoons of oil until softened. Then add the garlic mashed potato and some leftover chopped green vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, green beans, or peas. Season with salt and freshly milled black pepper. Turn occasionally adding a little more oil if it starts to stick to the pan. Continue to fry over a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until it all starts to crisp and brown.

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Buddy’s Roasted Jalapeños

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I had a good batch of chillies on year in the garden and needed to find a way to consume a copious amount in a hurry, and after several iterations, I came up with this (it’s similar to the Spanish Padron Recipe but with a kick).

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp garlic olive oil
~20 fresh jalapenos peppers,* left whole with stems and seeds intact
1 tsp salt
2 tsp coarse sea salt for serving
1 Tbsp Buddy’s Fried Garlic
1 tsp ground Cumin
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Juice from 1/2 lime

Preparation Oil:

Heat heavy large skillet over high heat. Add Garlic Olive oil and swirl skillet to coat. Heat until oil is very hot and begins to shimmer, about 1 minute
Add whole chillies and 1 teaspoon salt; stir constantly until chilis are blistered over half their surface, occasionally shaking skillet, about 2 minutes
Add minced garlic and continue to stir until chilis are blistered all over, about 2 minutes longer (some chilis will be soft and some will be slightly firm, depending on size)
Transfer chilis to paper towels to drain briefly, then place chilis in medium bowl
Add 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1tsp cumin and coarse sea salt and toss to coat then transfer to a serving bowl. Serve immediately

WARNING – This is like playing chilli roulette. Some chillies get angry when you fry them (a term I learned from my Mexican friends) and as a result some of the REALLY angry ones tend to be MUCH spicier than anticipated while others have a nice bite to them. That aside, these are HIGHLY addictive and every time I make them, I wish I had more to make as they go down so well with a nice cold beer. And it is hilarious when the person that got the spicy one isn’t you (not so funny when it is).

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Buddy’s Baja Style Fish Tacos

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After spending over a year looking for a recipe that brought back memories for me of trips to Mexico from Cali, I gave up and decided to write my own.

Slaw can be prepared a day in advance, mashed avocado, fish and batter are best prepared on the day, if preparing slaw the day before, sprinkle on some additional fresh coriander for looks!

Servings: 4-6

PREP: 45 minutes

Marinade: Under an hour

Cooking Time: Roughly and hour

For Slaw

Ingredients:

2 cups Red Cabbage – Shredded
2 Tbsp Red Onion – Minced
1 Lime – Zested and Juiced
1 or 2 Garlic Cloves – Minced
1 or so to taste Serrano, Canned chipotle packed in adobo or jalapeño chili – Minced or chopped
1/4 Cup Coriander (AKA Cilantro) – Chopped
1 Tbsp Honey
1/8 Cup Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper (to taste at end)
Optional: 1 Green Bell Pepper – Julienned

Preparation:

Zest and juice the lime (keep separate)
Mince the onion, garlic, lime zest and chilli
Julienne, grate, shred or slice the Cabbage, coriander and Bell Pepper (Optional) and place in a large bowl
Add the minced aromatics, and the rest of the ingredients
Mix well
Season with S&P to taste

Best if allowed to sit for a few hours for the seasonings to blend

For Mashed Avocado:

Ingredients:

2 RIPE Avocados – Halved, Pitted and Peeled
1 Lime – Juiced
2 Tbsp Coriander (AKA Cilantro) – Chopped
1 tsp Salt – To taste

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork until the avocado reaches the consistency of a chunky salsa.
Season with Salt to taste
Chill before serving

For Fish

Ingredients:

For Marinade

1 or 2 Limes – Juiced (can discard zest and peel
2 Tbsp Buttermilk
2 Tbsp Buddy Taco Seasoning
4 fillets Cod – Sliced into small goujons (think thin chicken nugget)

For Batter

1⅔ cups (400 mL) All-purpose flour – Sieved
1½ cup (375 mL) Cornstarch – Mixed with flour
2 cups (500 mL) Water, sparkling – Added to dry mixture and lightly mixed (slight bumps are ok)
2 Tbsp Buddy Taco Seasoning – Mixed with dry goods
Marinated Cod Goujons

Preparation:

Marinating Fish:

Slice the code fillets to the correct size
Place fillets in Tupperware or bag, add marinade ingredients and place in the refrigerator to marinade for at least 30 minutes

Frying Fish

In deep saucepan, pre-heat oil to 350 °F (180 °C)
For the fish batter: In bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, water and seasoning; keep cold until ready to use.
Remove fish from marinade and pat dry with paper towels
Once oil has reached the desired temperature
Dip each piece of fish in batter and fry until golden and crispy, about 6 minutes.

Don’t overfill the frying pan and check it between each batch to ensure the correct temperature

For Tacos

Serve Fish, Mashed Avocado and slaw with warm corn tortillas – Goes great with 1T, 2G & 3R Margaritas!

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Best Yorkshire Puddings!

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I had a friend try and explain to me that once you had home-made Yorkshire Puddings that you would never want either store bought or pub grade again and I disregarded his advice… Boy was I wrong.

I can’t take the credit for this but, wow! Light, airey, your lucky if you have any left over to freeze and they are definitely moorish!

Goes great with roast dinners (roast chicken, beef or pork), sausages or meatballs – if the latter then drown them in onion gravy if the former, then whatever gravy you are serving with dinner. You can even have them for breakfast (without the salt and pepper) and serve them with jam or syrups!

Again, this one isn’t mine so I can’t take the credit for it, after years of searching for something that stounds out, I found it – here

Recipe from: Barney Desmazery

Servings: Makes 8 large Puddings or 24 Small

PREP: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 to 20 minutes or so

IMPORTANT TIP The secret to getting gloriously puffed-up Yorkshires is to have the fat sizzling hot and don’t open the oven door!

Ingredients:

140g plain flour (this is about 200ml/7fl Oz / 1 1/4 Cup)
4 eggs
200ml / 1 Cup milk
sunflower oil / for you non-vegetarian or health nuts out there, it is a lot better with either bacon or beef drippings

Directions:

Pre-Heat oven to 230C:450F/fan 210C:410F/gas
Drizzle a little oil evenly into 2 x 4-hole Yorkshire pudding tins or a 12-hole non-stick muffin tin and place in the oven to heat through. (until oil is smoking)
To make the batter, tip 140g / 1 1/4 Cup plain flour into a bowl and beat in four eggs until smooth.
Gradually add 200ml/1 Cup milk and carry on beating until the mix is completely lump-free.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour the batter into a jug, then remove the hot tins from the oven.
Carefully and evenly pour the batter into the holes (about 1/4 cup per muffin cup).
Place the tins back in the oven and leave undisturbed for 15-20 minutes until the puddings have puffed up and browned. Watch them closely after 10 – 15 minutes as they are easy to overcook (you want them about the color of toast)
Serve immediately. You can now cool them and freeze for up to 1 month.

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Sriracha Street Corn

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Made this tonight, great, just great – can’t wait to do this in combination with the BBQ!

Can’t take the credit for this one though, found it here

Recipe from: Camille Styles
Originally posted: June 18th, 2013

Comments from the site:
If I had to choose just one recipe to represent this summer so far… this sriracha-spiked street corn would be it. Mainly because I can’t stop making (and eating) it: for lunches, dinners, happy hours, and barbecues, and I typically make a solemn promise to several guests that I’ll share the recipe on the blog. So here it is in all it’s ridiculously simple glory. Don’t be alarmed by the fact that a fair amount of mayonnaise is involved, and don’t, I repeat do not, substitute yogurt as some healthy-minded cooks (me) might be tempted to do. And did I mention that it’s highly addictive? Consider this your fair warning…

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes or so

Ingredients:

4 ears of corn, shucked and split in half to form 8 pieces
extra-virgin olive oil – Buddy suggests enhancing this with garlic olive oil
garlic salt
1/3 cup mayonnaise (I prefer classic Hellmann’s)
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
a bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
a couple tablespoons chili powder
3 limes, each cut into 6 slices
course flake salt, like Maldon

Directions:

In a small plate, pour a bit of olive oil and roll the corn in it to evenly coat.
Sprinkle all over with garlic salt.
Heat a grill or grill pan to high heat, and grill the corn until slightly charred, about 5 minutes. Turn occasionally to cook on all sides.
In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sriracha and a squeeze of lime juice. Whisk to combine.
When the corn comes off the grill, slather it with the mayonnaise mixture, than sprinkle with cilantro, chili powder and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Roll all the corn cobs around in the mixture to get it all evenly coated, and serve with slices of lime so guests can squeeze more juice as they like.
Embrace the messiness… I promise, it’s worth it.

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Buddy’s Salsa and Guacamole

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Whether it is Tacos, Burritos, Fajitas, Nachos or super simple tortilla chips, they just aren’t complete without Salsa and Guacamole. But if you buy the store bought stuff, I can forgive you if you skip it on occasion. These recipes will change that!

I started making salsa after my best friend in Colorado would make salsa for us to eat with chips as an after school snack, while I have strayed from that original recipe quite a bit, all salsa is basically made from at least 4 ingredients and as his recipe had those 4 ingredients, I will say that this is an evolution of his, thanks Jason/Bob!

As for the guacamole… lazy…

I knew the ingredients were roughly the same as salsa, why fight it. Word of caution, while you can add Pace or some other store bought salsa to start this off, you will taste the difference, it isn’t as good. Also, rather than blend the guacamole, if you are making a small batch, squish the avocado by hand, it gives you a much better judgement of the consistency you are looking for and a sense of destruction 🙂

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Salsa:

Ingredients:

1 onion (minced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 can jalapeños or MUCH BETTER – 2 fresh angered jalapeños**
2x fresh tomatoes (halved) – Angered if you have time**
Cilantro (Coriander)
Lime (quartered)
2 tsp olive oil (extra virgin)

Directions:

Heat oil in sauce pan then “anger” the tomatoes by lightly scorching them to the point of almost black.
Dice tomatoes
Dice cilantro, jalapeños, onion and garlic.
Mix tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeños, onion and garlic in a bowl.
Squeeze in lime, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Guacamole:

Ingredients:

Homemade Salsa
2 or more Ripe Haas Avocados*
Lime
Cilantro (Coriander)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Add a mixture of roughly (I do it by eye) 1 part salsa to 3 parts mashed fresh haas avocados.
add lime, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste.

Notes:

**Angered chilis and tomatoes

A couple of friends of mine from Mexico suggested that I “anger” the chilis and tomatoes by either dry frying them or placing them directly over open flame to char the skin and soften the meaty pulp – it does enhance the flavour of the salsa and depending time and who I am cooking for (will they notice the difference) I will anger the chillies and tomatoes.

* Ripe Haas Avocados

While I call California home, I have lived in Europe for close to 20 years and the UK for over 3/4 of that time. The European’s know a lot about food but they are appallingly ignorant to how to eat avocados! When they become ripe, most people think that they have gone off. Unfortunately, that includes the stores who throw them away and then aren’t available in the shop…

You have to either be quick or more likely follow the suggestions in the link provided. I personally, buy them when they are close to ripe, leave them on my kitchen window sill until they are ripe and if we aren’t eating them within days, we keep them in the fridge to significantly slow the ripening process.

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Refried Beans

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Tonight I am going to cheat and use doctored Old El Paso canned refried beans as a side with dinner. When I have time however, or wanna go for the WOW factor, I make this in the pressure cooker…

There is no doubt however, that while this recipe calls for a white onion, Zoey DEFINITELY prefers it with a red onion (bit more subdued)

Ingredients Pressure Cooked Beans:

1 pound dried pinto or black beans
Water
4 sprigs fresh epazote (see note above) or oregano
1 white onion, 1/2 minced (about 1/2 cup), 1/2 left whole
4 medium cloves garlic
Bay Leaf
6 Tbsp tablespoons lard, bacon drippings, vegetable oil, or butter
salt

Ingredients Refried Beans:

1 Red onion (diced)
2 tablespoons lard, bacon drippings, vegetable oil, or butter
Chopped Coriander

Pressure Cooker Directions:

Presoak the Beans: 6 to 8 hours before you cook the beans, dissolve 2 tablespoons of salt into 6 cups of water. Add the beans (you may want to rinse them first to remove any residual dust and dirt) and cover with a plate or a towel.
Drain the Beans: When the beans are done soaking, drain them in a colander or sieve. Place the pressure cooker on the stove and add the drained beans.
Add the Aromatics: Add 8 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, garlic, bay leaf, oregano and oil to the pot.
Cook the Beans: Secure the lid according to instruction manual and turn the flame up to high. Keep an eye on the pot and when it reaches high pressure, reduce the flame to medium/medium low and start timing the beans. (15-20 minutes)
Natural Release: When the time is up, turn off the heat. Allow the pot to cool down and release pressure naturally. Follow your instruction manual to determine how you will know when the pot is ready to be opened.
Remove the Lid: Unlock and remove the lid, tilting the lid away from you and allowing any condensation to drip back into the pot. Using a slotted spoon, fish out and discard the onion, garlic and bay leaf.
Reserve Bean liquid for refried and can be frozen for soups
Use or Store: Your beans are now ready to use. If you want to store them, measure out 1 1/2 cups of beans into 2-cup storage containers. Add liquid to cover, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Seal and store in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days or in the freezer for up to one year. Be sure to label the jars with date and contents.

Refried Beans Directions:

In a large skillet, heat lard, bacon drippings, or oil until shimmering, or butter until foaming, over medium-high heat.
Add minced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and lightly golden, about 7 minutes.
Stir in beans and cook for 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup of reserved bean-cooking liquid.
Using bean masher, potato masher, or back of a wooden spoon, smash the beans to form a chunky purée; alternatively, use a stick blender to make a smoother purée.
Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, until desired consistency is reached; if refried beans are too dry, add more bean-cooking liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Season with salt

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Mexican Rice

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I modified a recipe from food.com to work with our rice cooker and some additional adjustments based on ways I made this in the past.

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

12 ounces canned tomatoes
1 medium white onion
2 medium jalapeños
2 cups long grain white rice
4 minced garlic cloves
2 cups chicken broth
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
1⁄2 cup fresh cilantro/coriander, minced
1 lime

Directions:

Make 2 Cups of chicken bullion
Process tomato, bullion, garlic, jalapeño and onion in processor or blender until pureed and thoroughly smooth.
Place rice in rice cooker, add puree to water limit or supplement with more water as necessary
Turn on rice cooker as normal
While cooking, chop cilantro/coriander
Once complete stir in cilantro/coriander and serve with lime wedges.

Comment: Leftovers are just as delicious the next day so this is a perfect dish to make ahead time for potlucks. This rice also freezes well. For Freezing Ahead: Cool, portion and freeze in a ziploc bag. To reheat from frozen: Place in a pyrex dish and warm in the microwave, stirring every 2-3 minutes until heated through.

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Out of this world Garlic Bread

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I have to hand this recipe to Laura Vitale in her YouTube video, while I use my garlic butter as the seasoning the rest of the recipe is all hers (or her father’s). In either case, it is extraordinary and thank you!

Preheat Oven: 400°F | 200°C

Ingredients:

Buddy’s Garlic Butter
Mozzarella or provolone
Parmesan
S&P to taste
Baguette

Directions:

Cut roll but not in half
Fan roll out onto aluminium foil
Smear Buddy’s garlic butter/oil on both sides of bread
Wrap bread up and place in preheated oven for 10 minutes
Unwrap roll, reopen and evenly cover with shredded mozzarella and parmesan
Add freshly ground black pepper
Place uncovered back in the oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned
Slice into strips and serve

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Pressure Cooking Beans

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Pressure Cooker Beans = Fast and Easy
Pressure cooker beans cook up in a fraction of the time of regular stovetop beans.
Be sure to soak your beans first. While making beans in a pressure cooker cuts the time down drastically versus cooking in a good old regular pot on the stovetop, you should still soak your beans. Not only does soaking your beans first cut the time down EVEN MORE, it also aids in the digestion of beans, which can be a bit hard for some people.

First, measure out your beans (let’s use 1 cup as an example) then lay them out on a plate or in a rectangular container of some sort so you can clearly see the beans. Pick over your beans to be sure there are no small stones or tiny chunks of dirt.

Pour the dry beans into a jar or other container, then cover with about 3-4 times the water, so in this example that would be approximately 3-4 cups water. You don’t really HAVE to measure this water, but you just want to be sure you use ENOUGH water that your beans will remain covered in water as they soak up the water. Experience will teach you how much water you need to use for soaking your beans. Then let sit for 6-8 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse.

Step 1: Add 3 cups of water to the Pressure Cooker for every 1 cup of dry beans which have been soaked. (or triple amount of dry beans)
Pour pre-soaked beans into pressure cooker with water

Step 2: Add beans to water. If you’d like, add a clove of garlic (peeled and smashed or sliced), 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp. dried herbs such as thyme or oregano, or a three-inch strip of kombu (sea vegetable, which many feel makes the beans more digestible).

NOTES: Adding salt or any acid (like tomatoes or vinegar) to beans hardens their skins and prevents them from cooking properly. In most instances, it’s best to add salt AFTER the beans are almost entirely cooked.
With one exception: When pressure cooking soups, adding a small amount of tomatoes or using a lightly salted stock may lengthen cooking time slightly, but does not prevent the beans from softening.
Bring beans to high pressure

Step 3: Lock the lid in place and bring up to high pressure. Cook for required amount of time.
Turn off heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally (about 10 minutes). Beans are done to perfection when you can easily smoosh one between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.
Cool your beans thoroughly before refrigerating

Step 4: Let the beans cool in the cooking liquid — which is likely to thicken — and serve them in their own “sauce”. Or drain — and if you like the taste of the cooking liquid, set it aside for soup-making or for cooking grains.

How To Flavor Your Pressure Cooker Beans
How do you use Flavor Matches? It’s very simple. Look over the list of ingredients which match your bean of choice, and add those ingredients to your beans after they are done cooking. Also, be sure to balance your flavors using sweet, spicy, salty, and bitter ingredients.