Twice Baked Potatoes

Now that I'm detoxing from my detox, it's time for a cheese smorgasbord! This recipe for extra cheesy twice baked potatoes is perfect for watching sports if you're into that sort of thing or awards shows if you are me and my sous chef and our motley crew of friends.  I whipped these babies up for the golden globes along with some pretty darn delicious hot wings. I'm still tweaking that recipe but this one is ready for action. I use neufchatel cheese because it has less fat but when you're eating carb blobs laden with butter and cheese, I doubt it makes much of a dent healthwise. Still, I can't tell the difference between full-fat cream cheese and this stuff and that means one less sit up I have to do (ha!)

These are so good and they travel well. You can make the up to a day ahead and all you have to do is bake them for the second time when you're ready to eat!

Ingredients:
- 5 lbs Russet Potatoes
- Olive Oil
- Kosher Salt

Filling:
- 8 oz Neufchatel or cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick softened or melted butter
- 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, reserve 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top of the potatoes before they bake a second time
- sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- Potato innards once they've been baked once

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry potatoes and pierce each one a few times with a fork. Place potatoes in roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle liberally with kosher salt. Roll the potatoes around and make sure they are nicely coated with olive oil and salt. Bake for 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours, remove from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes.

Cut the top 1/4 of the potatoes off, scoop the potato off the skin tops into a large bowl and discard the skins. Scoop out the rest of the potato leaving a 1/4 inch of potato on the skin so you have a substantial enough potato skin "bowl" that will hold up when you fill it.

Once all the potatoes are hollowed out, add the butter, cream cheese and shredded cheese to the bowl of potato innards.  Mash until the mixture is thoroughly combined and not too lumpy. Add up to 1/4 cup cream to smooth mixture. Taste and add salt and cracked black pepper as needed.

Fill the potato shells with the mixture and top with a sprinkle of cheese.

Increase heat to 475 and put the stuffed potatoes back in the oven. Bake until cheese is melted and potatoes are heated through.

You can also add some crumbled bacon or cooked chorizo to the mixture for more pop. This recipe is a huge crowd pleaser.

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Asparagus and Prosciutto Frittata

You may notice some disparity between the photo quality of this and previous posts compared to that beaut of an apple cranberry crisp recipe. This is because I borrowed a SUPER fancy (read: expensive) camera from a very nice (read: trusting) friend. Those of you who know how clumsy and accident prone I am know how much trust was involved in letting me babysit a camera worth more than my refrigerator and oven combined. I normally shoot the pictures on this blog with a decent point and shoot camera but the more I compare my blogs to others out there, the more I covet their beautiful, magazine worthy photo spreads. My kitchen is teensy and has zero natural light whatsoever. That is my excuse and disclaimer for the pictures of this recipe which don't quite stack up to the stunning, Pioneer Woman inspired pictures of my last creation.

Now that that's over with, on to the food! After determining that my kitchen was simply bereft without a sturdy, seasoned cast iron skillet, I went on the hunt for an affordable but durable one and found my match at Target for about $18. I scoured the internet for recipes that would make the best use of it and decided that a frittata would be just the ticket. I had been sitting on a gorgeous bunch of asparagus from a local farmers market and I knew that it would be perfect with the addition of some salty prosciutto and a nice nutty cheese. Here is what I came up with. It was delicious and seeing it slide right out of my new skillet was a real thrill; not quite as thrilling as putting the skillet away after just a swipe of a paper towel and NO WASHING! Gotta love that cast iron!

- 7 eggs
- 2 tbsp mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 clove or 1 small clove of garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 lb asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1/4 cup sharp gouda cheese (I used Rembrandt) shredded
- 2 slices proscuitto cut into thin strips

Pre-heat oven to 300.

Heat canola oil in a 9"-12" cast iron skillet over medium heat and add onions.

When they start to soften add the asparagus and cook until bright green and just barely tender.

Add garlic and sautee 1-2 minutes more.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together mascarpone and eggs until thoroughly combined.

Pour egg mixture over the asparagus, onions and garlic. Sprinkle with a substantial pinch of salt and the gouda cheese then top with the strips of prosciutto.

Place the skillet in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown the top. Remove, let cool for a couple of minutes then sprinkle with chives and more shredded gouda.

Slice and eat. Goes great with a simple green salad with balsamic vinaigrette!

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Polenta Caprese Towers

I miss summer already and it barely has one foot out the door. It's not the sweaty, sticky weather I miss, it's the gorgeous, plump, rainbow hued heirloom tomatoes. You can still find the last of them kicking around farmer's markets and shops but it's obvious that fall is here and the best tomatoes are gone until next year. If you do happen to come across some decent tomatoes or if your garden produced a bumper crop, this recipe will put them to good use, making the most of their tart, umami goodness. I put together this recipe to use up the last bit of burrata cheese we had in our fridge. Burrata is a very soft mozzarella stuffed with cream. It is one of my very favorite things in the world. It's mild, creamy and tender. It brings out the very best in anything you put it on. My sous-chef likes his on warm crusty bread with a bit of sea salt, olive oil and balsamic. Since bread is a no-no for me, I decided crispy polenta would be even better.  I couldn't be happier with how these turned out. Try them for yourself and see!

- 5-6 heirloom tomatoes of assorted sizes and colors
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar 
- 1-2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper

- ready-to-use polenta log
- pinch of garlic powder
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 4-6 oz package fresh mozzarella cheese (cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices)
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)
- 1 package burrata mozzarella cheese
- 4-6 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Slice tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick slices and place in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar.
Sprinkle minced garlic evenly over the tomatoes.
Mix together sugar, salt and pepper and sprinkle evenly over tomatoes.

Bake for 45 min to 1 hour until tomatoes are softened and beginning to brown at the edges.

Cut polenta into 1/2 inch slices

Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Place polenta slices in the oil and cook each side about 10 minutes or until crisp.

Place the rounds on another foil lined baking sheet.

Top half the slices with grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of garlic powder.
Top the other half with a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese (NOT the burrata.)
Broil in the oven until the cheese melts; watch closely. When cheese is bubbly and edges are brown, remove and let cool.

Stack: Start with a polenta round topped with parmesan cheese, next place a roasted tomato, next place a plop of burrata, next place a polenta round topped with mozzarella then top with a tomato. Sprinkle fresh basil on top. Voila!

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Blue Cheese "BCT" Coleslaw

Those of us new to a gluten-free lifestyle know that we have to be really careful and do our research when it comes to eating almost anything. Gluten hides in unexpected places like soy sauce, salad dressing and even Mc D's french fries! I had read that blue cheese often contained gluten because most blue cheese is made from bread mold. I was pretty sad to hear this because I LOVE blue cheese; I was REALLY sad about it when I had a big bite of delicious coleslaw at a party, not knowing that is was chock full of blue cheese. The one bite I had haunted me. I couldn't stop thinking about that tasty combo of crispy cabbage, tangy blue cheese and salty bacon. I had to have it. I went online to do some digging and found this helpful site.

I could eat blue cheese!?! Hallelujah! I now know that I just have to be smart and search for brands that I know do NOT contain gluten. So far I have had no trouble finding G free options. Shout out to Ralph's for incorporating new labels on their private label products that clearly show whether the item contains wheat (or any of the other eight major allergens.)

You really must try this recipe. It's insanely easy and makes the best coleslaw I have ever had, hands down. Heck, I didn't even like coleslaw until I tried this! I tweak the original by adding halved cherry tomatoes to make kind of a Blue Cheese "BCT" (bacon, cabbage, tomato) slaw. Feel free to leave the tomatoes out if they are not your thing, maybe add something else like avocado chunks (mmmmmmmmm.) This recipe is the perfect side for summer grilling.

- 8 strips of Niman Ranch bacon
- 3/4 cup mayo
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- pinch of celery salt
- 16 oz coleslaw mix
- 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Pre-heat oven to 375.
Place bacon strips on a foil lined cookie sheet. Cook for about 20 minutes or until very crispy but not burned. Drain and cool the strips on paper towels then chop or crumble them into small pieces.

Whisk together all wet ingredients, add the blue cheese, sprinkle in celery salt to taste and whisk some more.

Stir in the coleslaw mix and sprinkle in the bacon.

Top with tomatoes, mix gently and serve!

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