Foodidude's Kitchen

Open-Flame Cheesy Bacon Baked Potatoes

5/29/2013

One of my favorite things to do during the summer months is to grill. And when doing so, I like to come up with side dishes that allow me to cook it while sharing grill time with the main course. I do this mainly because I really like standing over a grill with a cold beer without having to run in and out of the house.
Thinking along these lines, though I love grilled veggies immensely, you can only do so much squash, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and corn over the course of a summer. Even those wonderful seasoned potato wedges brushed with olive wear thin after a while.

Sometimes I want something that tastes like it came right out of the oven, yet I can cook on the grill. This is a side dish I created that fits that bill exactly. Crispy, caramelized and cheesy, it goes great with anything.

Ingredients:

2-3 medium potatoes, cut into 1" chunks (I prefer the skin on)
2 tsp butter or margarine
1 cup blend of shredded sharp cheddar and Swiss cheese
3-4 slices thick cut bacon, fat trimmed off and roughly diced
2 green onion, sliced
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cut potato into 1" chunks and lay on heavy duty aluminum foil.
Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. (For this, I like to use a wonderful gourmet sea salt called "French Garden Sea Salt" made by Pure Mountain. It is a terrific product that adds a great dimension to food prep.)

French Garden Sea Salt by Pure Mountain

3.   Remove the fat from bacon slices and dice into larger
        sized pieces.
4.   Dot potatoes with butter.
5.   Add bacon and diced green onions to seasoned potatoes
6.   Cover with cheeses.
7.   Tent the foil around the potatoes and pierce to vent.
8.   Grill over medium heat for 50 minutes.

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Kraft FRESH TAKE Challenge: Cheddar Jack and Bacon Cottage Pie

5/10/2013

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The recipe below was created using the Cheddar Jack & Bacon Kraft "Fresh Take" product.

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the ground beef.

3. Just as beef begins to brown, toss in garlic, onions and carrots, and saute together.

5. Continue to saute until beef is mostly brown and onions are translucent.

7. Place in colander to drain completely (we don't want a greasy pie!) and allow to cool a bit.

10. Gently spread meat filling into a pie dish (preferably deep-dish). Give a couple of twists of freshly-ground black pepper.

12. Take the Bacon/Breadcrumb portion of the FRESH TAKE Cheddar Jack & Bacon package and generously coat the top of the potato topping. (If you noticed, I haven't used salt in this recipe. That's because the breadcrumb seasoning adds ample saltiness to dish.)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/4 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp flat Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp black pepper

For Mashed Potato topping:
2 lbs potatoes, peel and cubed
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk

4. As beef browns and onions begin to sweat, add the chopped Italian parsley and a pinch of black pepper.

6. Add frozen peas, stir skillet and immediately remove from heat.

8. While cooling, bring the cubed potatoes to a boil and cook until tender, 15 minutes or so. Drain potatoes and mash with butter and milk. You should have a creamy, yet firm, consistency.

9. When filling has cooled, transfer to a bowl and mix with the cheese portion of the FRESH TAKE Cheddar Jack & Bacon package.

11. Spread the mashed potatoes over the filling and smooth edges. For this application I like to use a heat-resistant rubber spatula, but feel free to use whatever works for you.

13. Bake 35-45 minutes until crumbs darken and the outside of potato topping just starts to crisp up.

14. When allowed to rest, the pie will maintain the integrity of each slice. Then, just dig in!

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Kraft FRESH TAKE Challenge: Rosemary Garlic Braciole with Seared Angel Hair Pasta

5/5/2013

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The recipe below was created using the Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Kraft "Fresh Take" product.

Ingredients:

FOR BRACIOLE:

1 -1/2 lbs round steak
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
2-3 slices slab bacon, cooked and diced
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 egg, beaten
flour
1/2 cup water
cooking twine
Kraft Rosemary & Roasted Garlic FRESH TAKE

FOR ANGEL HAIR PASTA:

1 lb. angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup of the water pasta was cooked in
Kraft Rosemary & Roasted Garlic FRESH TAKE (remaining amount after braciole prep)

2. In a bowl, combine onion, parsley, garlic, bacon, pine nuts, salt, black pepper, oregano, 1/2 cup of cheese from FRESH TAKE and 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs from FRESH TAKE, and mix thoroughly. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and whisk together.

5. When each steak is coated, roll tightly and tie into rolls with cooking twine.

7. When crisp (it should only take a couple of minutes at most), lay braciole in a baking pan and pour in 1/2 cup of water (OR 1/4 cup water & 1/4 cup white wine). Place in 350 oven for 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it because over-cooking will dry it out.

9. When pasta is cooked, drain and set aside 1 cup of pasta water. Add pasta to toasted garlic and pine nuts, and in a minute or so, add pasta water as well (as shown above). Cook pasta a minute or two until water disappears. Toss with remaining bread crumbs from FRESH TAKE along with a splash of olive oil, then plate.

Preparation:

1. The first thing to do is to lay the round steak flat and cover it with plastic wrap. With a mallet, pound steak flat. This flattens steak as well as tenderizes it.

3. Brush a small amount of olive oil on the surface of each steak.

4. Take the combined ingredients and spread across each steak. The whisked ingredients should be enough to coat 4 steaks or 1-1/2 lbs of braciole.

6. Take each braciole, dip in beaten egg and roll in flour. Heat a couple of tbsp of olive oil in a skillet, and crisp each side of braciole.

8. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook angel hair pasta for no longer than 5 minutes. While pasta cooks, toast garlic and pine nuts in a 2-3 tbsp of olive oil.

10. Slice braciole into 1/2" portions, and plate 4 or 5 slices atop angel hair pasta. Garnish with remaining cheese from FRESH TAKE.

Recipe developed by foodidude.

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Open-Flame Cheesy Bacon Baked Potatoes

Kraft FRESH TAKE Challenge: Cheddar Jack and Bacon Cottage Pie

Preparation:

Ingredients:

Kraft FRESH TAKE Challenge: Rosemary Garlic Braciole with Seared Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients:

Preparation:

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