SWASHBUCKLED! (S1E5): Brupper for Bros (AKA. The Father’s Day Special)

Our biggest critic (Amanda’s husband) recently asked, “why can’t you just make something simple, like meat and potatoes?” Here in the Fearless Flying Kitchen, we like to take our fans (and critics) opinions seriously…which is why we have “meat and potatoes week” for all the Bro’s out there.

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Ingredients featured in this week’s episode:

 

This week, we throw Amanda’s husband a solid, by making a meal out of meat, potatoes, “not meat” and “not potatoes.”

We went with a savory brunch for dinner, which we have officially coined as “Brupper” (add that to your urban dictionary!)

The meal’s base is a blend of mashed red and yellow potatoes with frozen mashed cauliflower. The two are blended together with some Parmesan cheese and herbs and spices and formed into a patty (a savory pancake)

The bag of potatoes also came with purple potatoes. We didn’t include these in the mash, because they would have turned it a funky color. Instead, we rinsed and quartered then, added a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper, and put them in the oven to roast at 400 degrees for about a half an hour.

Next up is the soy-chorizo creamed spinach. Full of so much flavor! At this point, if you are a vegetarian (or just don’t like or have steak) you could top with a poached egg for a fun take on an eggs Benedict.

The steak we used in the episode is a little bit tough, and is perfect for braising (cooked with a liquid). We tried to soften it up a bit by pounding and soaking in buttermilk (the acid can help soften the tough meat), but in the end, it still wasn’t the ideal texture. If we had more time in the kitchen, we definitely would have let the meat marinate for a lot longer (or try a different, wet cooking method, like braising).

To finish off the dish, we ended with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Lots of flavor!

Lastly,  before you get to these awesome recipes…We did have a bit of a challenge with our new technology (the challenge was that Amanda accidentally deleted all the footage before uploading it), so apologies for the lack of actual cooking footage on the episode. We’ll work it out and make it work for future episodes. Thanks dad for the technology boost!

Parmesan Potato Pancakes

• Servings: 8
• Time: 20 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Recipe by Amanda Hibshman, RDN

Ingredients

• 7 Small Red or Yellow Potatoes
• 1/2 Bag Frozen Mashed Cauliflower
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Romano Cheese Blend
• 1/4 tsp Dried Parsley
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tbsp Everything but the Bagel Seasoning
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Spray canola or olive oil

Directions

1. Pierce potatoes and place in a microwave safe dish with a tablespoon of water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 6 minutes. Add half the bag of mashed cauliflower, re-cover, and microwave for another 4-6 minutes, until potatoes are soft and cauliflower is no longer frozen. Mash the potatoes and cauliflower together, add egg, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well. Let cool a little bit and turn on griddle (electric to about 350 or a stovetop griddle to medium-high).
2. Spray griddle with oil. Take a dollop of potato/cauliflower mixture and flatten into a patty (It will be really sticky, but that’s ok, you can get it mostly there, then continue to flatten with spatula once it is on the griddle ) and place on the hot griddle. Cook on each side for about 4-5 minutes, until it has a nice little brown mark on it.

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Soyrizo Creamed Spinach

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Recipe by Amanda Hibshman, RDN

Ingredients

• 1/2 package of Soy Chorizo
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Onion, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3 Cups Fresh Spinach (whole bag)
• 2 Heaping Tbsp Grated Parmesan Romano Cheese Blend
• 2 Tbsp Half and Half
• 1/4 Cup Lowfat Milk

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add minced onion and garlic then sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Add soy chorizo and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Add spinach and let cook down for another 2-3 minutes. Add milk, half and half, and parmesan cheese. Continue to cook over medium-high heat for another couple minutes. Turn off heat and cover until ready to serve.

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Buttermilk Steak Medallions

• Servings: 6
• Time: 60 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Recipe by Amanda Hibshman, RDN

Ingredients

• 1 lb Sirloin Medallions
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 Vegetable Oil

Directions

1. Pound sirloin steak tips with a mallet to tenderize and flatten. Place in a ziplock bag with buttermilk, garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Squeeze air out of ziplock, seal, and place in refrigerator for at least a half an hour (longer preferred).
2. When ready to cook, take steak out of ziplock, season each side with additional salt and pepper, and drudge through flour. Place oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once hot (will sizzle when something is placed in skillet), then add flour coated steak medallions. Cook for a few minutes on each side (you want it to be brown and crispy on the outside.

 

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SWASHBUCKLED! (S1E3): Carbs on Carbs on Carbs

Wanna know what a #HIFD is? Can Amanda keep her success streak going for the third week in a row? Check out the latest episode of Swashbuckled! to find out! (unless your name is Carin Sharin, then just turn it off right now!)

Read on for episode breakdown

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Ingredients in this week’s episode:

Cilantro $1.19

Pineapple $2.99

Bacon Jerkey $5.49

Wild Blueberry Muffins $3.99

I went into this week feeling extra confident, with two successful weeks under my belt, I thought I would be able to keep the streak going forever! But Marie SWASHBUCKLED me with her ingredients this week. Most notably, the Wild Blueberry Muffins (which were delicious on their own).

Speaking of delicious, that Sweet Sriracha Uncured Bacon Jerky was a little piece of heaven on earth, so do yourself a favor and pick some of that up, stat!

So with all those yummy standalone ingredients, why didn’t the dish work?

Well, for one thing, the texture was funky. The idea of carbs on carbs on carbs was a bust. The quinoa made the casserole extra mushy, and the blueberry muffins didn’t crisp up, taking the mush to the next level.  The spice in the jerky didn’t carry through as expected either, so more flavor and spice needed to be infused into the dish.

Below is the recipe…but, do yourself a favor and don’t make it! Instead, if you are interested in trying this out, make some changes and see what you can do to improve this Highly Instagrammable Fail Dish (#HIFD).

Definitely Not Gumbo Casserole

• Servings: 6
• Time: 45 min
• Difficulty: easy, but why would you?
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Recipe by Amanda Hibshman, RDN…unfortunately

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 bag Butternut Squash
• 1 Chayote Squash, peeled and diced
• 1 cup Heirloom Tomatoes
• 1/2 Pineapple, peeled and diced
• 2 Dorot Garlic Cubes
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 bag Frozen Shrimp, thawed and tail removed
• 1/2 – 1 cup Chicken Stock*
• 1 cup cooked Quinoa*
• 1/2 cup Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
• Strussel Topping:
  • 2 Wild Blueberry Muffins, crumbled.**
  • 1 bag Sweet Sriracha Uncured Bacon Jerky
  • 1/2 cup Oat Bran

Directions

1. First off – Don’t make this meal the same way I did, unless you really want to not be satisfied with the final product. If you insist, proceed to step two.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat Olive Oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add in butternut squash, chayote, and tomatoes. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, then add pineapple, salt, garlic and shrimp. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, then add broth and cooked quinoa and cook down (*or don’t add those and see how it goes. That is what i would have done differently). Transfer mixture to a baking dish.
3. In a separate dish, combine crumbled blueberry muffins (but…why??), bacon jerky and oat bran. Top on baking dish and bake in oven for about 20 minutes, until top is brown. **But, if you want to make this dish even better, swap out the blueberry muffins for cornbread, and add some shredded mozzarella cheese in there. Omit the quinoa altogether and use just a little bit of chicken broth…

White Chocolate, Raisin and Oat Cookies

 

My mother-in-law’s chocolate chip cookie recipe is something held sacred among her boys.

I, however, can’t ever get them right, even when I follow her recipe down to the most minute details. And trust me, have had lengthy conversations about her exact process, and I still really can’t figure out how she makes them so perfect each time. I have decided to stop beating myself up and attribute my past failures to the loss of 4.5K in elevation. But I still try! And, I tell ya, every time I make them, I always get a lack luster “yeah… they’re…good! But they just aren’t the same…did you change something in the recipe?”

At first…no, I wouldn’t change the recipe. But then after multiple failed attempts, I started to veer off and blaze a new trail.

Side note/Fun fact: I can never stick to a recipe. I always have to add a little this or a little that to make it more *me.* This aspect of my personality drives my other half absolutely bonkers.

Lucky for me, my daughter thinks it is super fun. If it were up to her, we wouldn’t use a recipe (or logic even) for anything we make.

Bless her heart, she just loves to be in the kitchen with me.

Most days of the week, my daughter asks if I want to make cookies with her. I know that she is ultimately asking because she is Cookie Monster’s mini-me, but I like to give her the opportunity to help out as much as possible in the kitchen and pass my knowledge on to her as often as I can. It’s a good life skill to have! So we usually make a little something together a few times a week.

Today, I had a container of oat bran staring me in the face (purchased to make Honey Raisin Oat Bran Muffins) My MIL’s chocolate chip recipe calls for oats, so I figured I would start with her recipe as a base and make a few…alterations.

First thing I did was swap out the Old Fashioned variety for Oat Bran.

Now, there isn’t anything wrong with old fashioned oats, it is just a little different than oat bran. Since I am super-pregnant at the moment, I need all the protein and calories I can get, I decided to opt for the bran (and here’s why…)

First, let’s have a closer look at oats:

When oats are harvested, their inedible hull is removed and you have Oat Groats. Groats are made up of three parts: the Bran, Endosperm and Germ  (Click here for more information on those layers). In a nutshell…The BRAN layer is the outside layer, rich in protein, fiber, antioxidants and B-vitamins. The ENDOSPERM is the large middle layer that is rich in starchy carbohydrates, and also contains some protein as well as small amounts of vitamins and minerals. The GERM is the innermost layer that contains lots of healthy fats and b-vitamins as well as some minerals, protein.

Old Fashioned Oats come from a processing technique that steams the oats and then rolls them flat, giving you all three parts of the groat, thus making it a whole grain. Oat Bran is not considered a whole grain, because it is just the nutty outer layer that is full of fiber and protein.

Looking at the nutrients side by side, Oat Bran provides significantly more fiber and protein, and has a texture closer to flour, so it works well in baked goods. Not saying one is superior to the other, they are just different.

Getting back to these delicious cookies…

Some other swaps I made were changing half of the flour to 100% White Wheat Flour, substituting honey for part of the sugar, and adding cinnamon.

The result was surprisingly delicious, probably the best luck I have had with this recipe yet!

• Servings: 26 Cookies
• Difficulty: moderately easy
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Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Shortening*
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 Cup Oat Bran
• 1/2 Cup 100% White Wheat Flour
• 3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup (approx) Raisins
• 1/2 Cup (approx) White Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar and honey in a mixer on medium-high speed for a few minutes, until light and fluffy.
2. Add egg, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add Oat Bran and Flours until combined. Add Raisins and Chocolate Chips according to taste.
4. Space cookies at least an inch apart on cookie sheet, as they spread. Bake for 10-14 minutes (smaller cookies 10, larger cookies will need more time). With a spatula, transfer to cooling rack and enjoy!

 

*I really am not a huge fan of shortening, because most contain partially hydrogenated oils (trans fat) and other chemicals that don’t belong anywhere near our bodies. But I do seldom use it in some baked goods because it does create a superior texture for cookies. Trader Joe’s doesn’t have shortening (that I know of), so you can use 1 cup of butter as opposed to part butter/part shortening. OR if you have some lard on hand, try that.  I use All vegetable crisco baking sticks because they have no trans fat (the oil has been fully hydrogenated to saturated fat as opposed to partially hydrogenated to a trans fat), but they still aren’t the best option. I haven’t really found an alternative, so if you have any tips or tricks to replace shortening in cookies – leave a comment below!

Rosemary Polenta, Tomato Confit, Carmelized Bacon and Eggs

In order to become a dietitian, you have to go through a minimum of a bachelor’s program in nutrition (and not just any program, one that is officially a “Didactic Program in Dietetics”). Then after that, you have to complete a 1-2 year (approx.) internship program, and then you can sit for your national exam.

My internship was at the VA Medical Center, and there were six of us interns who grew to be like sisters over that year (or, 10 months, to be exact). We would carpool, share food, spend holidays together, fight, complain, some even lived together. I really adored all of my intern-mates, and will have a special spot in my heart for them for the rest of my life.

One time, my intern-mate, Hai Van, invited the girls over to her place for brunch. It was probably the best breakfast I had ever had in someone’s home. I kept asking her what she did, and have tried to re-create the meal, but every time, it just isn’t the same. I shouldn’t be surprised, because this girl would come up with THE MOST creative menus, and was also a professionally trained chef. I mean, how can you live up to that??

I remember being very intimidated by this meal, not only because Hai Van was an incredible chef that made magic in the kitchen…but it called for Polenta. I had never made that before, and my only experience was seeing the log at the store. But my friend walked me through the entire process, and it ended up being a success.

Rosemary Polenta

• Servings: 8-10
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This was adapted from The Barefoot Contessa. Believe it or not, I actually reduced the amount of butter, half and half and milk by quite a but. It still turned out creamy and delicious. If you are short on time, you can always use the pre-made Organic Polenta from Trader Joe’s. (Side note, I don’t think Trader Joe’s carries cornmeal, at least I have never purchased it from there. Does any one know?)

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
• Flour, olive oil, and butter, for frying

Directions

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, salt, and pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, half-and-half, milk, and water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly sprinkle the cornmeal into the hot milk while stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for a few minutes, until thickened and bubbly. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan. Pour into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan, smooth the top, and refrigerate until firm and cold.

Cut the chilled polenta into 12 squares, as you would with brownies. Lift each one out with a spatula and cut diagonally into triangles. Dust each triangle lightly in flour. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan and cook the triangles in batches over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until browned on the outside and heated inside. Add more butter and oil, as needed. Serve immediately.

The rest of the meal was fairly easy. You can make the polenta the night before and in the morning, just slice some of it up and pan fry it in a little butter and oil. To make the Tomato Confit, combine a container of little grape tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake in a glass dish at 325 for 40 minutes.

The bacon is partially cooked on the stove then finished off in the oven @ 425 (until done, it all depends on how much you cook it on the stove). Before putting in the oven, sprinkle with pepper and brown sugar.

The eggs were just simply fried over medium. Then the dish was assembled with the polenta cake on the bottom, tomato confit and then topped with the egg. Bacon was served on the side.

When Hai Van made this, she sprinkled some fresh basil on top and served a side salad of field greens with balsamic vinaigrette and goat cheese, which was perfect for a brunch. It also added some more color to the plate. She also had a bloody mary bar, which is always a fan favorite (Side note – Trader Joe’s has a great bloody mary mix!)