Jacques Pepin's Potatoes

You gotta love a great French Chef and a quality pepper grinder!  Lucky you, I am here to introduce you to both. 

First, my favorite Christmas present of 2011.  It is the Unicorn Magnum Plus pepper grinder.  That's right, the MP.  I bet you were thinking, it must be the Unicorn Magnum, or even the Unicorn Plus, but no.  I kid you not, I got the Unicorn MAGNUM PLUS.  Thank you again, Sister E!

Side note:  The lovely Sister E has become a bit famous, and I am quite proud.  Please see her featured in the green section of a great blog, called blogher.  Check it out, I think you will enjoy it.  She is under Ellen, and she really is the best neighbor you could ask for.

Okay, on to JP.  I have been hearing about these Jacques Pepin potatoes for years.  And I have always been intrigued.  So finally, here they are.

Let's see what we need.

Small Yukon Gold Potatoes

Chicken broth

Canola Oil

1 tbls. butter, halved

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper from a Unicorn Magnum Plus

For the entire meal, add boneless chicken breasts, onion and salad.

In a non-stick skillet, over medium high heat, place the Yukon golds, seasoned with salt and pepper.  Add chicken broth about half way up the potatoes.

Let it come to a boil.  Please note the fine grind of pepper below.

Then lower heat to medium and cover.  But make sure the cover is slightly ajar.

You can see here that they have come back up to a boil.  Let them go for about 20 minutes.

Once they are fork tender, take them off the heat.

Next, bring in an experienced smasher, with a light touch.  I naturally asked UD to take the helm.  Do not press too hard.  You just want to break the potato, not actually smash it.

Put them back on the medium heat, and let them go, uncovered, until the broth reduces, about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, I have put 2 boneless chicken breasts over medium high heat, with some sliced onions, and of course EVOO.  Cook 4-5 minutes, or until beautifully browned, and slightly caramelized.

Turn over, and place in a preheated 425 degree oven.  Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Remove, and let rest for about 10 minutes.  Let's get back to the JP potatoes.

They are simmering away!

Once the liquid has evaporated, it is time to flip-a-rino!

Mmmm, they are looking like my new friend Jacques would want them to.

Once they are all flipped, leave them for 4-5 more minutes.

Done.  Serve them up, and I hope you like them.  I know we did.  They are crispy on the outside, and very creamy and delicious on the inside.

A bientot!  See you soon.

Good to the Last Drop - No, not coffee, fried rice.

As in the Battle Chicken Marsala, I am trying to hone in on the best fried rice EVER!  So I started searching blogs, YouTube videos, and any other venue that would allow me to peek in on strangers, and see what they do to make their favorite fried rice.  Then I put all of those together, and turned them upside down and inside out.  Well not really.  I just checked what they used for ingredients, and stole some of those ideas.  And what I discovered, certainly surprised me.

They all use lite soy sauce.  I know!  Amazing.  I was experimenting with oyster sauce for a while, and it just wasn't working for me.

So I am sure you are expecting to see lite soy sauce below, but oh no.  I am not going along with the crowd completely.  I am using Tamari, which is considered a premium soy sauce.  It's claim to fame is that it is made with more soybeans, which give it a richer, smoother, more complex taste.  Sounds impressive, nes cafe?  Well, I fell for it anyway.

So we will be using:
4 cups of cold leftover white rice
Tamari
Sesame Oil
Canola Oil
5 lightly beaten eggs
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup frozen green peas, slightly thawed
1/2 to 1 lb tenderloin beef - cut up in bite size pieces
(or the protein of your choice)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
(If you want a vegetarian version of this, simply add more eggs, or use your favorite tofu)

And now I have to give UD his due.  I am not sure if I have confessed this dirty little secret before, but whenever I make rice of any kind, UD takes out the Kikkoman teriyaki and douses the rice with it!  I have to admit I am always somewhat hurt and annoyed.  Mostly annoyed, I must say.  I always say, will you taste it first, at least?  Well now I have to give him my humble apologies.  In a previous post, you will see I made another version of fried rice.  A lesser version.  We liked it, but didn't love it.  And I actually took that opportunity to try the "teriyaki douse", and I must admit it helped tremendously.  So in this fried rice, it shall be added.

Start with a pan over medium high to high heat, add to that some canola oil.  When it seems nice and hot, add one cube of beef and see if it sizzles.  If it does, the pan and oil are hot enough.  Add the rest of the beef at this point.

While the beef is browning up, add the chopped onion.  Mmm, such a good flavor combo already.

When they are both nicely browned, set them aside in a bowl.

Turn the burner down to medium, and in the same pan, pour a little more canola oil and let it heat up.  Then add the five eggs.

Slowly stir it around.  Don't cut it up too much, you want to get a sort of ribbon effect, or at least somewhat large pieces.

When the egg is cooked through, add it to the bowl with the beef and onions.

Now turn the burner back up to medium high and add some more canola oil.

Add the white rice and break it up in the pan.

When the rice is nice and hot, add the beef, onion and eggs.

Stir everything around.

Then add a few teaspoons of tamari, or lite soy sauce.  And for me, I love the taste of sesame.  So add two or three drops of sesame oil.  It is pretty potent, so you don't need a lot.  If you don't have it, no problem.  Just leave it out.  And UD's secret ingredient, a little teriyaki sauce.  A few teaspoons will do.  Or you could leave that for later, and add it once it is served.  We all know that is what UD does.  Blah, blah, blah.

Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper to taste.  Add in the peas, and stir to combine all the flavors.

Serve it up in a fun and colorful serving bowl, (optional).

Bon Appetit !

And I have got to tell you, it was good to the last drop.

A bientot!  See you soon.