Flour's Tortilla with Chorizo, Peppers & Potato

I've been making liberal use of my oven during the recent snowstorms and "polar vortex," the better to warm up the house. Icy, grey mornings call for a hearty breakfast or brunch like this tortilla.  Red peppers are sauteed and potatoes get browned before pouring in an egg mixture laced with Parmesan, and then the skillet is thrown in the oven to finish.  You can keep the recipe vegetarian as is, or add some chorizo like I did.  It adds a nice, salty bite.

Sprinkle on some chopped scallions and parsley for freshness, then slice into wedges.  I like that the tortilla can be served hot or at room temperature, and that you can make it a day or so in advance and reheat when serving.  Perfect if you want to get a head start before house guests arrive, or for getting one weekend brunch dish out of the way.

Making a Spanish tortilla usually involves flipping the eggs, hot skillet and all, onto a plate, and then sliding the filling back into the skillet to cook the other side.  I'm not a fan of inverting piping-hot cast iron skillets with ingredients that could still be runny, so I'm glad this recipe involves no flipping!  When the next snowfall hits, I hope this is in my oven.  It'll sustain us through lots of shoveling.  Stay warm, friends!

Two Kinds of Chips with Caramelized Onion Dip

One day when Joe asked where the bag of potato chips had gone, I sheepishly said I had finished it.  Neither of us felt like going out in the rain for a replacement bag.  But I had a potato, oil, and salt, so why not make some?  It was the easiest thing and I didn't even use a recipe.  A single spud makes dozens of chips, which he devoured in one sitting.

This time I mixed it up a little, with the addition of sweet potato chips and a caramelized onion dip.  Sometimes Joe will mix a packet of powdered onion soup mix into some sour cream to make a dip.  Now I don't mind jarred dip, but I can't stand that soup mix with the dehydrated onion bits.  So I made my own caramelized onion dip, and it was way better.  The sweet potato chips are made the same way, and add a slightly sweet flavor to the mix.

Use a mandoline to create thin, uniform slices of potato.  It's hard to get them thin enough or uniform with just a knife.  You can even leave the skins on the potatoes.  Just slice, soak, dry, and fry -- that's it!

Some of the sour cream in the dip can probably be replaced with plain yogurt -- if you try that, let me know how it turns out.  Also, I know there are recipes out there for baked chips, but in my experience they haven't turned out very good.  They stuck to the pan, didn't brown evenly, and only some come out crispy.  Frying does a more even job; just make it an occasional treat.

Forgive me, but I had to:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Gollum: What's taters, precious? What's taters, eh? 

Sam: *Po-tay-toes!* Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew... Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish. 
[Gollum makes a noise of disgust while sticking his tongue out]
Sam: Even you couldn't say no to that.
Gollum: Oh yes we could. Spoilin' nice fish. Give it to us raw and w-r-r-riggling; you keep nasty chips.
Sam: You're hopeless.

Potato Crust Quiche

I thought this was the coolest idea for a quiche. A hash-brown-like crust of potatoes encases an egg filling. I chose this for New Year's brunch because my friend has wheat/gluten allergies, and the usual flaky butter crust would have been out of the question. I used a simple cheese and scallion filling instead of the mushrooms and leeks in the original, since we hate mushrooms and my friend doesn't eat ham, bacon, or asparagus (the other things I had on hand). Will I make this again? The crust was a bit time-consuming for my tastes, and I needed more in the filling for my own personal tastes, but it was fun to try it once.  I might play around with it in the future.

Update: In the process of editing, I think I deleted the recipe!  You can find it on King Arthur Flour's website at: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/potato-crust-quiche-recipe.

Moosewood's Cheesy Potato Soup

My friend Jill made this soup for my birthday last year, and I had to ask for the recipe. It's hearty and just what you want as the weather gets chilly. I like to puree a little over half of the soup, so you get that creamy texture but still have some good chunks. It's easy to make, and can come together in under half an hour.

Moosewood's Cheesy Potato Soup
3 tbs butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large potatoes, peeled in large dice
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into chunks
3 cups vegetable stock or water
2 tbs fresh dill
4 oz. cream cheese
1½ cups milk
1 cup grated cheddar (3 oz.)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the garlic and onions in the butter until translucent. Add potatoes and carrots and saute 5 minutes longer. Add the stock and dill and simmer until vegetables are tender (expect 15 to 20 minutes). Stir in the cream cheese and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheddar and cook until just melted.

I throw chunks of cheddar in the food processor to shred, and then ladle about half of the soup in to puree.

Then return the velvety mixture to the pot, stir to combine, and add the cream cheese and milk.