#mountainkin

Spinach Artichoke Hand Pies

14.1 oz. pre-made pie crusts, gluten free if desired

9 oz. frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed

6.5 oz. jarred artichoke hearts drained

2 garlic cloves

4 oz. cream cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

salt

1 egg white

grated parmesan cheese for topping

Make sure that spinach and artichoke hearts are nicely squeezed. Chop artichoke hearts and spinach a little extra and add both to the mixing bowl.

Add cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, pressed garlic, and salt into the mixing bowl as well. Mix well until all ingredients are completely incorporated.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a baking sheet.

Roll out the pie crust and cut a little less than an inch off the sides, to form a square (it may not be a perfect square and it's okay). Cut each square in half.

Scoop about 1/3 cup of spinach artichoke mixture and place it in the center of each pie crust half. Spread if in a shape of a rectangle leaving about an each of pie crust on each end. (You may have a little bit of filling left over...spread it on a cracker!) Fold the hand pies and make sure to lightly press the seams together. You can use the pieces of dough that you cut off to cover any space not covered when folding the ends together or make shapes and decorate the top.

Place hand pies on a baking sheet. Whisk egg white and brush each hand pie with it.

Mountain Stimboard

Sweet Potato Rounds with Herbed Ricotta and Walnuts  

1 large sweet potato sliced into ¼ inch rounds

1 Tbsp. avocado oil

1 pinch ground cinnamon

1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1½ tsp. Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. honey

¼ tsp. sea salt to taste

1 cup raw walnuts roasted and chopped

¾ cup dried cranberries

honey for topping

For the herbed ricotta, add ricotta cheese, italian seasoning, honey, and salt to a small bowl and stir well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Use a sharp knife to slice the sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick rounds.

Add the sweet potato slices to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with avocado oil. Sprinkle sea salt and ground cinnamon over rounds. Use your hands to rub the oil and seasoning on both sides of the sweet potato rounds. Arrange rounds on a large baking sheet (or two if necessary). Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the rounds, then bake for another 17 to 20 minutes, or until rounds are cooked through and crispy on the edges

Spread walnuts on a baking sheet. 8 to 10 minutes before the potato rounds are finished cooking, place the walnuts in the oven to roast.

Remove sweet potato rounds and walnuts from the oven. Place walnuts on a cutting board and chop.

Place oven on high broil setting and move the oven wrack second to the top shelf. Place a dollop of herbed ricotta on each sweet potato round and place in the oven for 2 minutes, just until ricotta is melty and warm.

Lemon Raspberry Baked Oatmeal

3 cups old fashioned oats

1½ cups plain yogurt

1½ cups milk

2 large eggs

½ cup sugar 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp salt 

1 large lemon 

12 oz. frozen raspberries 

Clean the lemon well, and then remove the zest using a fine cheese grater or zester. In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest, juice from half the lemon, eggs, milk, yogurt, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.

Stir in the raspberries (thawed), and then stir the oats. Coat a casserole dish with non-stick spray and pour in the oat mixture.

Minted Lamb Leg

¼ cup olive oil

⅓ cup malt vinegar

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 bunch round mint, leaves picked and chopped

3.31 lb. lamb leg, bone in

sea salt and cracked black pepper

2 bunches green asparagus, trimmed and blanched

2 bunches white asparagus, trimmed and blanched

Mint Sauce:

⅓ cup malt vinegar

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 bunch spear mint, leaves picked and chopped

To make the mint sauce, place the vinegar, sugar and mint in a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Sweet Corn Polenta with Broccoli Pesto

Polenta:

6-8 ears of corn, husks removed

1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

salt

Broccoli Pesto:

about 2 cups, chopped broccoli stems and florets

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

about ½ cup packed basil leaves

a squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

about ⅓-½ cup olive oil

salt and pepper

1 oz. of grated Parmesan or 2 oz. crumbled Feta

Polenta:

Grate the kernels off of each ear of corn using the large holes on a box grater.

Heat the butter or olive oil in the bottom of a heavy bottomed pan, add the grated corn and cook over medium-high heat, stirring pretty much constantly, until it thickens, just 3-5 minutes, or so.  Add salt to taste.  

Broccoli Pesto:

Either steam or cook the broccoli in boiling water until just becoming tender, about 5 minutes, then drain.

Put the broccoli, garlic clove, and basil leaves in a food processor along with the squeeze of lemon juice (if using) and a pinch each of salt and pepper.  Process until finely chopped.  Scrape down the sides.  Then, turn the processor on and with it running, drizzle in olive oil until the pesto reaches a spread-like consistency (it will be on the thick side).

Crispy Spring Chicken

1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs), quartered and backbone removed, room temperature

1 Tbsp. plus ¼ cup (optional) extra-virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp. red-wine vinegar

1 cup packed parsley or basil or tarragon, chopped or pulsed in food processor

½ tsp. minced garlic

½ tsp. red pepper flakes, or more or less to taste

An hour before baking, remove chicken from fridge, quarter it (if you haven’t done so already), and let it rest on a cutting board or the rimmed sheet pan you will use to roast it on. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. I find my chicken gets the most evenly golden brown when I roast it on the highest rack. This definitely creates a more smokey oven, but it does work nicely.

Pat chicken dry really well with paper towels and transfer to rimmed baking sheet (if it’s not already there). Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon oil; season liberally all over with salt and pepper. Arrange, skin-side up and roast until golden (or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (without touching bone) registers 160 degrees), about 30 minutes.

Overnight Eggs Benedict Casserole

6 English muffins

1 lb. thick cut canadian bacon

10 large eggs

1 cup milk

salt and pepper

chives to garnish if desired

6 egg yolks

1½ Tbsp. lemon juice

1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, melted

salt

squeeze of hot sauce, if desired or pinch of cayenne

For the Casserole, spray or butter a 9X13" baking dish.

Split the english muffins in half and cube and distribute them evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cube the canadian bacon and sprinkle half of it over top of the bread.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk and season very liberally with salt and black pepper (about 1 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp black pepper but I just eyeball it). Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread and top with the rest of the canadian bacon. Press down on the bread to make sure that it is all submerged in the egg mixture.

Cover with tinfoil and refrigerate overnight.

About an hour and a half before serving, pull the casserole out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temp while the oven preheats to 350 F.

Cook the casserole at 350F for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the egg custard has set. You may place a loose piece of tinfoil over the casserole during the last 20 minutes of baking to avoid over-browning.Remove from the oven and keep covered before ready to serve and slice.

Top with hollandaise sauce and minced chives if desired.

For the Sauce, while the casserole is baking, about 30 minutes before serving, set up a double boiler (a saucepan with barely simmering water that a glass or stainless steel bowl will fit over without touching the water).

Put your egg yolks and lemon juice in your glass or stainless steel bowl and whisk vigorously until it begins to thicken and double in size. This will take some time. Be patient!

Place the bowl over the double boiler and continue whisking constantly, paying attention that the bowl does not get too hot. You can take the bowl on and off the double boiler if needed.

Drizzle in the melted butter, a little bit at a time, while continuing to whisk. I shoot for about 1 Tbsp. at a time and whisk until completely incorporated before adding more.

Once all the butter is added, remove from the heat and taste and season as desired. Add salt, a bit more lemon juice, and a little hot sauce or cayenne if desired.