Twenty years ago, Dennis and I would go to Mrs. Olson’s on Hollywood Beach, and have these potatoes. This little place always had a swarm of people with coffee cups in hand waiting for a table. We loved taking a walk on Saturday or Sunday morning along the beach, heading toward Mrs. Olson’s and then heading back home. Many years later, here I am discovering potatoes and chorizo.
2 T olive oil
4 ounces chorizo
2 Potatoes, large 1/8 inch slices
1 yellow onion chopped large (optional)
1 bell pepper chopped (optional)
Salt and Pepper and paprika to taste
Saute the onion and bell pepper until tender. Add chorizo and cook 5 minutes. Set aside.
In another pan, Fry the potatoes, until crispy then add the chorizo mixture and serve hot.
Serve with Eggs Monterey or alongside Sunnyside up fried eggs and flour tortillas.
We were in Uganda with friends at the Speke hotel restaurant and they specialized in Indian Cuisine when I first tried this great dish. It is wonderful. So many flavors,in it’s like a party in your mouth.Â
I have loved it every since. One of my boys is improving his backyard and lay pavers.  I whipped them up some lunch and delivered it since I knew they would be hungry. I made it spicy, because the boys like it that way.
Awesome bite! Butter Chicken
2 pounds cut up chicken (I like chicken thighs)
Marinade:
2 cups yogurt, drained or sour cream
6 cloves garlic, puree
½ in fresh ginger, puree
2/3 tsp red chile powder or paprika
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
A tiny pinch of red tandoori coloring (optional)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp lime juice
(Marinade the chicken at least 1 hour but best overnight)
 Makhani Sauce:
1 ½ pounds tomatoes, skinned, mashed
½ tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
3 oz chilled butter
Few drops of vinegar
½ tsp garam masala
Salt
1 ½ ounces light cream
When ready to cook, heat oil in cast iron or heavy braising pot, add chicken with marinade and cook over low heat turning chicken until it is done. Â
For sauce, in saucepan cook tomato pulp about 5 minutes until liquid has evaporated. Add chilled butter, paprika; after butter has melted cook for just 1 minute.
Taste, if it is not sour add a couple of drops of vinegar. Add the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), garam masala, salt to taste. After 30 seconds, add the cream. The sauce is ready.Â
Pour into the skillet and mix with the chicken.Â
(You can prepare and cook the chicken ahead of time. The Makhani sauce takes only 5-6 minutes to make, so wait until the last bit and serve immediately with rice.)
Puree beans in food processor  or with hand held blender with sage and olive oil, salt to taste. Smooth a spoonful of bean puree on the bruschetta. Top with shredded arugula and roasted red peppers. Grind a bit of black pepper on top and serve immediately.
If you keep a jar of red pimentos in the pantry along with can of cannellini beans – all you need is a loaf of good bread for a quick and easy appetizer.
I didn’t eat much coleslaw as a kid, just didn’t. But upon getting married, my mother-in-law Jacque loved coleslaw.Â
Her coleslaw was the creamy style without the red cabbage, but right before serving, she would add peanuts, toss and serve.Â
Jacque's Coleslaw with Peanuts
Good! That was a little over 20 years ago, and now I am a full addict. I will not recover in my lifetime. I do love coleslaw so much I can eat it straight up on a piece of bread for lunch. I know, I know, be gentle…you are talking to an addict. My favorite slaw is without the mayo and more on the vinegar side, but if you are going to have a baked potato the creamy stuff is great. Tacos, Sandwiches all benefit from coleslaw. Hold the lettuce and go for the ‘slaw!
1 large head green cabbage, shredded
1/8 head of red cabbage (optional)
 2 carrots shredded
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3 T sugar
1 1/2 cup unsalted raw peanuts (optional – but Jacque loved her coleslaw this way!)
1 tsp salt
1 T Dijon mustard
2/3 cup olive oil
Combine cabbage and carrots in a large glass bowl. Toss.
In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Whisk together. Pour dressing over cabbage and toss to mix. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2-3 hours.
If you like creamy dressing, use the same amounts of vinegar, sugar and salt. Substitute cream for oil. Eliminate the mustard.
Awesome Slaw!
BBQ Beef and Coleslaw Sandwich
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Variations:Â
Jalapeno Lime Coleslaw
1/2 cup Lime Juice
1 basket of tiny cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Instead of Vinegar in above recipe use 1/2Â cup lime juice.Â
In a skillet or oven (350F) roast the peanuts for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice along the way, until golden and toasted.
Just before serving fold in the peanuts (add them too early and they lose some of their crunch). Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed.
When my husband and I first got together, a fisherman Jimmy lived in the apartment below. He would be gone for days at a time, and then would announce his arrival home by leaving fresh fish or lobster in our sink. Wonderful to come home to. Often, Jimmy would join us for dinner and volunteer to cook.
Perfectly Crusted Fried Fish
I still love his recipe for fried fish.Â
Eggs beaten with a little water
Crumbled up saltine crackers, no bigger than 1/4 of an inch.
Take fish filets and pat them dry, dredge in the egg and then the cracker mixture. Cook in a medium hot pan of oil. The crust that develops is excellent. Be sure to only turn once. Sprinkle with a dash of salt while still hot. Your filets should take no more than about 4 minutes per side. If you are cooking a few, you can put them in the oven to keep them warm. Serve with a healthy salad.
For your tarter sauce: combine Best Foods mayonnaise and hot dog relish. Equal portions of each and stir.
Tarter Sauce and Cocktail Sauce
For cocktail sauce:Â 1/4 cup Ketsup and 1-2 tablespoons of horseradish.
In a frying pan, saute the onions and hot links slices, add beaten eggs, cover with lid and reduce heat to low for 3-4 minutes or until eggs are set. Salt and Pepper, sprinkle with cheese of your liking.
Sweet Potato, Russet Potato, Sweet Onion and Roast Pork
As I wake up and everyone in the house is starting to stir and the chorus of “I’m hungry”, I take a gander in my refrigerator and see we have eggs and a bit of leftover meat and decide, let’s make some hash. I have a knack for using leftovers from my refrigerator and bring it together for something good to eat. Hash is great for a crowd.
Breakfast Hash
2 Russet Potatoes diced
1 Sweet Potatoe diced
1 Sweet Onion diced
Leftover pork shoulder roast, or ham, or roast beef or chorizo
Salt and Pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
If you can dice all the ingredients so they are about the same size, the hash will look good and cook evenly.
Brown the diced potatoes and set aside.
Sweat the diced onions and set aside.
Warm the meat, then add back in the potatoes and onions.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Once the potatoes are browned, crack an egg for each person on top, bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes until the whites are set. Yell out, come and get it!
If you want scrambled eggs, get ’em done and serve on the side. Breakfast is ready!
Soup, made ahead, can be fast food.  Just put what want to save for later into jars, and either refrigerate or freeze. Don’t be afraid to make a lot. Soup gets better with age. A good side dish to this soup is fried Keilbasa polish sausage.Â
Bowl of Butternut Squash Soup without cream.
6 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth
1 butternut squash cubed – about 6 cups
1 Ham bone or 1 Turkey Carcas
2 Tomatoes sliced
1/2 cup carrots
1/4 tsp of Cayenne Pepper or Red Pepper Flakes (Go easy. A little goes a long way.)
Bring to a boil, bring up to pressure and cook at pressure for 30-40 minutes
Blend with a stick blender.Â
After blending. If you want even smoother, strain it.Saving some Butternut Squash Soup for later. Refrigerate or Freeze.
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