Vegetarian Posts
Making Gourmet’s Panfried Smashed Potatoes, Step by Step
Ever since this month’s Gourmet magazine showed up at The Mouse House, I kept going back to this recipe. When I found a bag of the sweetest little red bliss potatoes, I took it as a sign. The skins are crisp, the potatoes are soft and fluffy, and it’s ridiculously fun to fry a whole [...]
Warm Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Who hated beets when they were a kid? Raise your hand. Me, too. I couldn’t stand them when I was a little mouse. They were either pickled and vinegary or boiled and vinegary. Either way, they were just all-around icky. (And, did I mention…vinegary?) They were *almost* as bad as saurkraut. Not quite. But almost. [...]
Creamy Mashed Parsnips & Potatoes
See? I eat vegetables. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!) This is one of my favorite takes on mashed potatoes. It’s rich, buttery, and gets a delightfully mellow sweetness from the parsnips. Soft bits of onion add a really nice texture and contrast to the creaminess of the potato and parsnip. If you can boil water and chop [...]
Basic Cooking: The Secret to Perfectly Cooked Hard-Boiled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs? How about *hardly* boiled eggs? Now that’s more accurate. (And that’s also the secret to perfectly cooking them.) I make hard-boiled eggs the way my mother does. And she uses the same basic method that Julia Child did—minus the egg pricker. Every time I do this, the eggs are marvelous. The whites are [...]
One Potato, Two Potato, Part 1: Cognac-Laced Potato Cream Soup
The humble potato is so versatile—and filling—that I’m not sure why I don’t use it more often. This soup sounds fancy, but you can whip it up in no time flat—with stuff you probably already have in your house. Loaded with potatoes and heavy cream, it’s also ridiculously decadent (no diet food today!).
Deep-Fried Ravioli
Fried ravioli! These are so yummy, it’s almost ridiculous. They’re oh-so-crispy on the outside, and oozing with creamy, molten cheese on the inside. Start with fresh ravioli. (Frozen will work, too. Just thaw them completely in the fridge first.) For this recipe, I used a four-cheese ravioli made locally. Use any quality ravioli that you [...]
Garlic & Spinach Parmesan Rice
This is fast food, Mouse House style. We eat a lot of rice. It’s almost always our starch of choice over pasta. This rice is bursting with fresh spinach flavor. It’s salty, garlicky, and laced with a heavenly amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. And hey, with a little bit of fresh garlic and all [...]
Nice & Easy Pizza Dough (Plus Simple Red & White Pizzas)
I have a few different pizza recipes. This is my old standby, whip-it-together-then-forget-about-it pizza dough. It produces a versatile, bread-y crust that can hold an almost-heroic amount of toppings. The crust is pre-baked, then topped and blasted quickly in a hot oven, so it won’t get soggy. The crust itself has a relatively mild flavor, [...]
Goat Cheese & Black Pepper Truffles
Looking for an extra, last-minute appetizer for New Year’s Eve that’s easy and delicious? These goat cheese & black pepper truffles fit the bill—and then some. The combination of tangy goat cheese and green herbs is fresh, filling—and at least a little decadent. (I mean, come on, it’s literally a bite-size ball of cheese.) Freshly [...]
Spicy Chipotle-Lime Ketchup
This dip was a hit this weekend when we had folks over to watch the fight. I served it as one of the companions to my Crispy Sesame Chicken Nibbles. The cold, garlicky ketchup was a perfect balance to the crunchy crust and moist chicken. A healthy dose of lime juice and zest give the [...]
