Summer Corn, Bacon & Potato Chowder (lunch)

by Irene Lindvall

I have really been going full force with recipes this month and today is no exception with three new ones. This lunch dish was delicious with fresh corn and red peppers from the farmers market and turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. Not much to report other than maybe it was a little too warm of a day to have chowder. I think it'd make a delicious winter lunch even with frozen corn.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I didn't have enough milk for the recipe so I ended up using half-and-half to make up the difference. Many years ago I remember my father-in-law telling me he went to have cereal one morning and didn't have milk so he decided to use half-and-half instead. I laughed and was a little grossed out by the thought back then, but all these years later, I see the wisdom in it and I'm glad I remembered the story.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Roasted Smashed Potatoes (side dish)

by Irene Lindvall

We ate burgers tonight and instead of a side of baked french fries I went with roasted potatoes. I've had smashed potatoes at restaurants before and have always been curious as to how they're made. It's really quite simple. The potato in the middle of the pan shows the first smash I did and the others followed and were maybe smashed a little too much, but still tasted great. We ended up deciding there is probably no amount of smashing that is too much. These tasted great and the thyme was a nice touch. We ate them with a little ketchup on the side, but definitely not necessary.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Do NOT grab the handle of the pan while it cools on top of the stove after being in the oven. I ended up asking Eric to put my cast-iron skillet handle mitt on this pan after I grabbed at the handle and luckily did not burn my hand badly. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

This recipe is similar to the one I used but not quite. My had the addition of fresh thyme which I thought was great.

 

Smoky Four-Pepper Salsa (side dish)

by Irene Lindvall

I have been growing Anaheim peppers this year and I needed to find a recipe that would utilize them because I haven't had anything saved that contained them. I'm definitely not in the business of seeking out recipes right now, but I made an exception so these peppers would not go to waste. I didn't find any recipes that weren't a salsa so I went with a roasted one since I've never made anything like it. All of the tomatoes and peppers were grilled, then peeled, then blended. It was quite a lot of work to grill (said Eric) and it was definitely a lot of work to peel them. The recipe said 4-5 pulses was all it needed in the food processor, but I really needed about 25-30. I went with the optional liquid smoke and I was glad I did - I love the added flavor. The fun part about this salsa was eating it warm. I served it with quesadillas and it was perfect. I did not go with the optional extra jalapeños but I could see doing it. The overall flavor wasn't too pepper-y even considering how many peppers were in it. I was a little worried about that since Eric isn't a fan of the way peppers taste, but he actually loved the salsa. The reviews say it gets better in the refrigerator - I can't wait to have it tomorrow.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Warm salsa is a thing and it is delicious.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

Vietnamese-Style Spicy Crab w/Garlic Noodles (dinner)

by Irene Lindvall

Back-to-back nights of crab - life is rough! This dish is nothing like last night though, but it is an interesting combination of my Vietnamese night of cooking + last night. In other words, it was fantastic. I love everything about this recipe except two things: the amount of time it took to do prep and the amount of time it took to eat it. I'll get to the latter in a minute, but first, the prep. To the recipe's credit, it did say it was going to take 1hr 30min to prepare/cook, and while it didn't take that long, there are a lot of little components and lots of ingredients. As I've said before, with wok cooking, it's important to have all of that done ahead of time. That said, the cooking went fairly fast except having to wait for the pasta. I couldn't cook the crab in the wok until the pasta was done because the pasta needed to be drained and kept warm (in the oven) while the crab was cooking. This was very important.

As for the eating, it took WAY too long to finish cracking and getting all the crab out. We were both ravenous by the time everything was served and it was difficult to get enough meat out without wanting to eat up all of the delicious garlic noodles. I ended up cracking all the legs and getting all the meat out and THEN eating rather than taking small bites along the way. In the end, this was much more enjoyable even though it was a pain to get there.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I've always loved eating Vietnamese food out, but I'm really enjoying learning how to make it.

Would I make this recipe again?:

I would love to, but it is a helluva lot of work. 

The recipe

Jalapeño Corn Cakes (brunch)

by Irene Lindvall

So these little nuggets tasted like Fair food! They really aren't too bad for you health wise, and I could see them being paired with a breakfast meat for more protein and to make it more of a complete meal. I served it with grapefruit which was a great choice to cut a little of the grease taste. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream (which the recipe said was OK) for the topping and it tasted great. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

I tried really hard to refrain from using ketchup as a topping and while I succeeded I was still left wondering if it would've tasted good. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure. Might be a fun thing to serve others for brunch. 

The recipe