koko's corner

Only I can mess up something so simple, and easy, as a twice baked potato. I couldn't believe it but I did. 

I'm attributing my last two cooking mishaps to my mind, (what's left of it) being preoccupied with school work. When I'm not doing homework, I'm thinking about homework. 

So I turned my second cooking mishap, in as many days, into something not only edible but wonderfully delicious. 

Twice Baked Potato Nest

My intention was to make twice baked pizza potatoes, but they just fell apart. I couldn't get the potato flesh to scoop out without demolishing the whole stinkin' potato, so I chopped the potatoes up, including the skin, and put them into a bowl. I then made a rough mash using butter and pepperoni. 

Using an ice cream scoop, I put little mounds of the potato mash onto a baking sheet. 

The back end of a mellon baller was perfect for making little indentations in the potatoes. Brilliant, now I a nice little nest for the cheese

I baked the potatoes, again, until golden brown, then filled the nests to overflowing with the mozzarella cheese. Returned to the oven, just long enough to melt the cheese.  

Oh Yeah, I'll be making this mistake again. 

And that's that

Remember my Screaming Green Jalapeño Sauce? Well, I just can't seem to leave well enough alone. Once in a while I like to fiddle with a recipe, to see if I can improve on it or not; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Well, this time my fiddling didn't exactly work out, but all was not lost.  

The sauce didn't emulsify and I was left with half a jar of jalapeno "bits" sitting under a thick layer of green oil. Not wanting to throw the baby out with the bathwater, I set it aside in the fridge for a while. 

Then I got to thinking, dang, that should be some great flavored oil. I tasted the oil, yup, nice and spicy and wonderful. I strained the "concoction" through a strainer, but in order to keep all the little bits of jalapeño out of the oil, I ended up doing a final strain through cheesecloth. 

Is that beautiful or what. 

Oh, all the wonderful things I can do with this. 

@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format

Screaming Green Jalapeño Oil

sauces/dips

12  jalapeno peppers; seeded, stemed and diced
6 cloves garlic; peeled, chopped
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cups olive, grapeseed or sunflower oil

In a medium saucepan, saute the peppers and garlic in a little oil.
Add the rest of the oil and simmer for a few more minutes. Turn off the
heat and let the oil cool completely in the pan.
Once cool, strain, place into a container and refrigerate.


** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.87 **

And that's that

A crispy, crunchy salad with a bit of a bite.

This is a great salad to accompany any meal.